Diana Fessler address Washington State and Oregon legislators

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9 AM EDT, March 7, 1997

Fessler Visits Oregon and Washington State

Recently, Ohio State Board of Education member, Diana Fessler, was the guest of Washington State Senator Harold Hochstatter, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. 
Mrs. Fessler addressed a joint session of the Washington State Senate and House Education Committees on the topic of restructuring education and employment. The ninety minute presentation was televised.

Senator Marilyn Shannon, Vice Chairman of Oregon's Senate Education Committee, likewise invited Mrs. Fessler to testify on the work toward national standards, assessments, and certificates. Both Oregon and Washington State have been involved in education reform for several years. Such reform includes School-to-Work, Alternative Learning Centers, occupational certificates for adults, a new system of financing education and job training, and regional economic labor boards to bring all five systems together.

Legislators in both states were particularly interested in learning more about the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) and how it differs from a high school diploma. Mrs. Fessler stressed that the primary difference is that a diploma brings closure to K-12 schooling, whereas a CIM does not. "In fact," Mrs. Fessler stated, "The CIM certifies that a student is ready for the workforce; it is a work permit and those without a CIM will be, according to its creators, 'condemned to dead-end jobs that leave them in poverty even if they are working.'"

Mrs. Fessler said, "I was delighted to have the opportunity to present The Work Toward National Standards, Assessments, and Certificates. Legislators in both states were familiar with the report and my presentation was well-received."

After attending the First Annual National Standards-Based Reform Conference in San Antonio last August, Mrs. Fessler presented the 65-page report to her colleagues on the State Board. The report details the plan to convert public and private schools to job-training centers.

Legislators in both states requested a list of recommendations for their consideration. In response, Mrs. Fessler urged legislators, among other things, to be cautious with all education proposals, and to carve out the time to read their respective Goals 2000, School-to-Work, and One-Stop Career Center federal grants.

When asked about the connection between education reform in the northwest and Ohio's schools, Mrs. Fessler said, "We, as a nation, with virtually no public debate, are rapidly moving,

toward national standards, assessments, and certificates. In fact, much of the system is already in place."

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