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Dear Fellows, Colleagues, and Friends,

Good morning and good afternoon. Attached is the letter signed and forwarded to me by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon that was sent to HHS Secretary Burwell on July 8, 2016 urging the Administration to reform the Head Start Designation Renewal System (DRS) by immediately suspending the use of the lowest 10% of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System trigger. Senator Merkley was joined by Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and 17 other U.S. Senators in this ”tripartisan” effort (13 Democrats; 5 Republicans; 1 Independent).

I am grateful to these Senators, NHSA leadership and members, and Head Start leaders across the nation for demanding these changes. My sincerest thanks also go out to Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post for shining a bright light on our concerns and demands in her blog, Answer Sheet. Finally, I am indebted to my friend, colleague, Fellow, and standard bearer, Ron Herndon, for inspiring me to give voice to his vision and passion for our nation’s Head Start children, families, and programs.

Yours truly,

Alan

Alan Guttman, Program Manager

Early Childhood & Special Education Initiatives

Center for Technology in Education (CTE)