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"The Council's Mission: CCSSO, through leadership, advocacy, and service, assists chief state school officers and their organizations in achieving the vision of an American education system that enables all children to succeed in school, work, and life. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public."

"Social studies educators teach students the content knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy. The mission of National Council for the Social Studies is to provide leadership, service, and support for all social studies educators."

USICH (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

"CLIR's mission is to expand access to information, however recorded and preserved, as a public good. CLIR is an independent, nonprofit organization. Through publications, projects, and programs, CLIR works to maintain and improve access to information for generations to come. In partnership with other institutions, CLIR helps create services that expand the concept of "library" and supports the providers and preservers of information. CLIR pursues three primary goals in support of its mission: To foster new approaches to the management of digital and nondigital information resources so that they will be available in the future; To expand leadership capacity in the information professions; To analyze changes in the information landscape and help practitioners prepare for them."

"Who We Are: The UHI serves as an interface between Johns Hopkins and the Baltimore community in which it resides. The UHI was established in 2000 by Dr. William Brody, president of the University, in response to a recommendation from the Urban Health Council - a group of community residents, clergy, local leaders, business representatives, city officials, and faculty, staff, and students from the Johns Hopkins Institutions (JHI). Together with its community partners, the UHI explores ways that the research, teaching, and clinical expertise of the University can be better harnessed for the benefit of the residents of East Baltimore; Mission: To serve as a catalyst that brings together the resources of Johns Hopkins Institutions with the City of Baltimore, and especially East Baltimore to improve the community's health and well-being, and in so doing serve as a model of community-university collaboration regionally and nationally."

"Holocaust Issues The Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues develops and implements U.S. policy with respect to the return of Holocaust-era assets to their rightful owners, compensation for wrongs committed during the Holocaust, and Holocaust remembrance. The Office does this in a manner that complements and supports broader U.S. interests and initiatives in a Europe committed to democracy, pluralism, human rights, and tolerance. The Office seeks to bring a measure of justice and assistance to Holocaust victims and their families and to create an infrastructure to assure that the Holocaust is remembered properly and accurately. This is an important issue in our bilateral relations with countries of central and eastern Europe and with the state of Israel. Much of the Office's work relates to bringing closure to issues left outstanding during the Cold War. Before 1989, the governments of Russia and its satellites refused to permit research into Holocaust questions or the payment of compensation to Holocaust victims and their heirs. The end of communist governments in eastern Europe made it possible to extend Holocaust programs to those countries. In addition, the Office has been involved in facilitating negotiations to reach, and in implementing, various agreements on the subject of Holocaust-era claims. Class action suits in the United States in the 1990's set the stage for the negotiation of a settlement agreement with Swiss Banks and executive agreements with Germany, France, and Austria that dealt with claims arising from unpaid Holocaust-era insurance policies, as the use of forced and slave labor, the illegal seizure of private and communal property, and other personal injuries. The Special Envoy is a member of the boards of directors overseeing the French and German payments programs. He maintains close relations with Austrian officials administering the programs negotiated with the Austrian Government. He also serves as an ex-

"American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO The American Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, was founded in 1916 and represents nearly 3,000 local affiliates nationwide, 43 state affiliates and more than 1.4 million members. Five divisions within the AFT represent the broad spectrum of the AFT's membership: pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; and nurses and other healthcare professionals. In addition, the AFT represents approximately 80,000 early childhood educators and nearly 250,000 retiree members. The AFT is governed by its elected officers and by delegates to the union's biennial convention, which sets union policy. Elected leaders are Randi Weingarten, president; Antonia Cortese, secretary-treasurer; Lorretta Johnson, executive vice president; and a 39-member executive council. Many well-known Americans have been AFT members, including John Dewey, Albert Einstein, Hubert Humphrey, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, former Senate Majority Leader and Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield, former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, and former United Nations Under-Secretary and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche."

"A Legacy of Education Education has always been a core value of the Walt Disney Company. Since 1945, when Disney became the first studio to bring educational films into schools, educators have turned to Disney Educational Productions for award-winning classroom media that enhances learning and unlocks student creativity. We believe that kids who succeed at learning grow to love learning, and it's that life-long celebration of curiosity and innovation that built the Walt Disney Company. Building Thinkers Every Day...For more than 60 years, our programs have been receiving numerous awards and accolades -- among them Oscars, Emmys, and honors from organizations such as the National Safety Council and Learning Magazine. Today we are harnessing the timeless power of immersive storytelling with the new possibilities of dynamic multimedia to provide teachers with the tools they need to engage, inform, and inspire learners of all types. We collaborate with educators, curriculum specialists, scientists, mathematicians, historians, writers, musicians, artists, and many other skilled and passionate experts to create compelling content based on national curriculum standards. Our classroom edition DVDs include public performance rights, educator's guides, exclusive educational bonus features, and assessment tools to reinforce key lessons."

"VISION STATEMENT: The Tavis Smiley Foundation is the premiere leadership training and development program for African American youth. WHAT WE'RE ABOUT: Youth rights. Voter Education. Homelessness. HIV/AIDS. Juvenile Justice. Hate Crimes. Media Influences. Violence in Schools. Peer Pressure. Families. Intolerance. Government Spending. Education. Politics. Leadership. If there's an issue that impacts the success of a young person, we're concerned about it. More importantly we want to provide opportunities for young people who are concerned about these issues to be active participants in solving problems as the mantle of leadership is passed from one generation to the next. We want Martin Luther King, Jr. to meet Malcolm X at 13 and Ida B. Wells to meet Harriet Tubman at age 15. TSF National Youth Advisory Council members Fred Shelton and Charles Prince. WHAT WE BELIEVE: We believe that preparation is the key to success and that opportunity and vision are essential to create visionary leaders. We also believe that every child has a talent which can be used to improve their community and our country in a real and meaningful way. Our goal is to serve as a powerful positive force in young lives to counter the negatives in media and our society as a whole and provide an infrastructure that allows youth to voice their concerns and actively engage meaningful civic participation. The future of America depends on the cultivation of the next generation and a national network of young leaders is an essential force to enlighten, encourage and empower communities and affect social change."

As part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), the draft K-12 standards are now available for public comment. These draft standards, developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, seek to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce. Governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia committed to developing a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. This is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

"Recommended Websites Ten recommended websites for free resources and lesson plans on media literacy: National Association for Media Literacy Education http://namle.net Action Coalition for Media Education www.acmecoalition.org The Center for Media Literacy www.medialit.org Project Look Sharp www.projectlooksharp.org Teaching Media Literacy www.teachingmedialiteracy.com Media Literacy Clearinghouse www.frankwbaker.com New Mexico Media Literacy Project www.nmmlp.org Just Think www.justthink.org Media Awareness Network www.media-awareness.ca Media Literacy.com www1.medialiteracy.com"