Agenda Packets - 1989/01/09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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� WINTER REPORT COUNTDOWN 1986 IM i987 1988 1909 1990 1991 1992 t99r ,99A 1995 19H 1997 1996 r999 20m 2661 DEAR PARTNERS AND FRIENDS OF COUNTDOWN 2001, At holiday time, we pause to count our blessings, mark our progress, and chart our course for the coming year. We want to welcome our new staff member Teresa, and send our warmest wishes for a happy futa^ to our departing intcros, Anita and Ann, and to Ambassador John W. McDonald, who is moving to Grinnell, Iowa, to become President of the Iowa Peace Institute. We are deeply grateful for your support in 1988 and hope you will continue to support our work in'89. Our big news is that we completed production of the Educator's Guide, pan of our Agenda for the 21st Century Curriculum Project. It's being field-tested by teachers throughout the country now --and we're lookin, for others who want to try it out. Everyone who has examined it is impressed -- nothing like it exists in education today. In fact, in November I attended the annual conference of the National Council for the Social Studies, and they were just beginning to talk about the need for such an instructional package. As always, I've been traveling a lot, working with many organizations. In the last several months, we've done presentations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the; U.S. Department of Energy; the Minresota State Legislature; the San Antonio Unified S:hools; Howard County, Maryland Public Schools; the Washington State Council for Social Studie,; the National Association of Local Arts Agencies (now called "Arts for America"); and corporations such as GenCorp, for whom we are designing and facilitating a series of Design Forums with a futures perspective. I've also been attending organization meetings, such as u,e November gathering of the U.S. Club of Rome, of which I am a member. We are making progress on our videotape series, which nicely complements the Educators Guide. The National Education Association generously continues to cover direct production costs. In November, we traveled to Detroit to interview Douglas Fraser of the United Auto Workers and Dr. Marina von Neumann Whitman, economist and Senior Vice President of General Motors. We expect to complete shooting for the shows this spring so they'll be available next fall to teachers for classroom use. Looking back at 1988, we're pleased with the progress we have made and the track record we've established. We have dedicated 1989 to THINKING AND WORKING BIG and have some exciting, large-scale plans in the works. To help us manage this period of growth, a group of trusted advisors who have affectionately called themselves the "COUNTDOWN Kitchen Cabinet" has agreed to meet with us every two months. Although not official board members, they've committed themselves to helping us grow wisely and well in this upcoming year. We're very thankful for their participation. On January 1, 2001, humanity will step into a new millennium. Let's do what we can fit the next twelve years to assure that when that moment arrives this planet puts its best foot forward. We invite you to consider what legacy you are leaving for fume ymerations. We believe that, in shaping the next century, YOU COUNT. Please become a COUNTDOWN 2001 Partner, support our work, and join us in maldag the most of this unique moment in the history of our planet. Best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year+ S eery L. S filler, PIt.D. 'dent