April 2012

Dear NAFEPA Members:

On behalf of the NAFEPA Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, I want to wish you a very happy spring. We hope you had a restful and enjoyable break and that you are refreshed and prepared to close out the 2011-12 school year.

Our annual NAFEPA conference was a huge success! Without the outstanding leadership and passion of our Vice-President Debra Baros, this could not have happened. Five years ago our Board decided to manage our national conference on our own for several reasons so that we could provide more resources to our members. We were extremely pleased with the evaluations from the folks who attended the conference, and already, we are planning the 2013 conference.

NAFEPA recently contracted with our long time partner, the Brustein & Manasevit law firm, to provide weekly updates on federal programs and what is happening in Washington, D.C—the US Department of Education and the Capitol. Our Board members have taken on the responsibility for distributing the weekly updates to NAFEPA members via email. NAFEPA members can also find the updates on the Members Only section of our website, www.nafepa.org .

Recently NAFEPA was contacted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to participate in a project they were asked to complete by Congressman Kline (R) MN. He requested the GAO to report back to Congress on reducing the burdensome reporting that is causing significant barriers in states and districts. NAFEPA was also contacted by the U.S. Department of Education to play a part in the redesign of the department website. Even though we may think of ourselves as “The Little Engine That Could,” we are being recognized for our part in shaping the world of federal education programs.

I hope you have a great end of the year and I am much honored to be part of this outstanding federal educators’ organization.

Most sincerely,
Rick Carder, President of NAFEPA

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