McKay School of Education > CITES > Nner > Mission

NNER Mission Statement

   The National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) leads by example in its commitment to improve simultaneously the quality of education for future citizens of our democracy and the quality of preparation of educators for our schools through IHE/LEA partnerships.

Members of the Network agree on four moral dimensions for teaching in a democracy, which are as follows:

• provide access to knowledge for all children ("equity and excellence");
• educate the young for citizenship in a social and political democracy ("enculturation")
• base teaching on knowledge of the subjects taught, established principles of learning, and sensitivity to the unique potential of the learners ("nurturing pedagogy"); and
• take responsibility for improving the conditions for learning in the entire school and university community ("stewardship")

Members of the Network assert that quality schooling for a democracy and quality preparation of educators can best be accomplished by sharing responsibility for the following actions:

• pursuing an Agenda for Education in a Democracy
• engaging university faculty in the arts and sciences, with faculty members in education and the public schools as equal partners collectively responsible for the Agenda;
• including partnership settings across the nation that together represent urban, suburban and ruralcommunities, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse public school and university students, and a broad range of public and private teacher education institutions of varying sizes and missions;
• inquiring into and conducting research pertinent to educational practices and the renewal of public schools and the education of educators.

Operational Goals

The NNER pursues the Agenda for Education in a Democracy and its implementation in member settings, with other educators and partnerships, and in policy arenas at the state, regional and national levels. The Network carries out this commitment through the following practices:

• continuing to serve as a laboratory and proofing ground for implementing the Agenda and further testing its specific components for validity and application within varying contexts;
• synthesizing and sharing knowledge and experiences that relate to the work of the Network in the design of excellent programs for the education of educators, the evolution of partner/professional development schools, and issues of governance and partnership embedded in the Agenda.
• providing incentives, means and opportunities for its members to share ideas, concerns and possibilities;
• facilitating visits among settings and organizing regular meetings of the NNER:
• assisting member settings by facilitating fiscal support through external funding for work on the Agenda;
• expanding the community through offering opportunities for deepening understanding and furthering implementation of the Agenda in other settings interested in and committed to the mission, conditions, and strategies for simultaneous renewal;
• increasing its membership to include additional settings committed to the work whose presence within the Network would advance the Agenda;
• disseminating information about the implementation of the NNER agenda through electronic networks, publications and presentations to the university and P-12 colleagues, policy makers and others at the national, state and local level;
• engaging in ongoing conversations within and across Network settings, and with policy makers and other interested parties advocating for the Agenda and its implications for education in the United States and other aspiring democracies;