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Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate

Amy Qualliotine joined the Center in 2012 and focuses on family economic security, education, and employment outreach efforts. Before joining NWLC, she spent two years teaching incredibly brilliant 4th grade students in rural Louisiana as a Teach For America corps member. She has interned at the Center for Strategic International Studies, the Mortara Center for International Studies, and for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Amy graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and will forever "Bleed Hoya Blue". 

My Take

To President Obama, with Love

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: May 03, 2013 at 10:32 am

A few weeks ago, President Obama announced an ambitious agenda for early care and education. This plan would expand access to the high-quality early learning opportunities we know help put children on a path to success!

Thank you, President Obama!

You know who is excited about this plan? KIDS (and their parents who understand just how important early learning experiences are to their future success)!

Next week, members of the Strong Start for Children – Building America’s Future campaign will be delivering notes to President Obama thanking him for prioritizing the needs of America’s youngest and most vulnerable children. Thank You notes have been pouring into our office and the offices of our campaign partners across the country, and we are getting very excited about getting them to the President.

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Urgent Action Needed for Fair Pay!

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: April 11, 2013 at 09:23 am

Today, thanks to the great work of Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the Paycheck Fairness Act will come up in the House of Representatives. Yes, you heard that correctly – your Representatives will have a chance to vote in support of PFA today.

Take Action: Make a quick phone call to your Member of Congress! It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

  1. Call the switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
  2. Ask to speak with your Representative. (Not sure who your representative is? Check here.)
  3. When you get someone on the phone say: “Hi my name is ____________ and I’m a constituent. I would like to urge Representative _______ to stand up for women and vote in favor of the Paycheck Fairness Act when it comes up later today.

It’s that simple. What are you waiting for?

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Why the Tennessee Legislature Has My Blood Boiling

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: April 02, 2013 at 03:37 pm

A number of state Senators and Representatives in Tennessee have identified a serious problem – Tennessean children aren’t doing that well in school. And they’re right. Tennessee earned a C+ this year on Education Week’s State Report Card and Tennessee’s average ACT score ranks 48th out of 51.

Unfortunately, their solution is simply absurd. There is a bill [PDF] that has cleared committee in both the Tennessee House and Senate that would “fix” the perennial underperformance of students by linking a student’s academic performance to his/her family’s government supports. Specifically it would cut a family’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits by 30 percent if their children “are not making satisfactory progress in school.”

WHAT?! (Let’s keep in mind that in TN, TANF benefits max out at $185/month, we aren’t talking about anyone living large off of a government program.)

I couldn’t neatly package all of my rage into nicely organized paragraphs, so here are the top three reasons why this idea makes me think my head is going to explode…

  1. The bill claims the cut to benefits wouldn’t apply if the student has a learning disability. Newsflash – not every child that has a learning disability has been properly screened and diagnosed. When I was a teacher in a low-income school, I taught students that had “highly likely to be dyslexic” results on their preliminary screenings. But in order to be officially classified as dyslexic they had to take a specific exam administered by a diagnostician.  Those exams cost thousands of dollars so none of my students could be properly diagnosed, therefore they couldn’t receive any special services, and they didn’t make adequate progress over the year. The families of those kiddos, if they lived in TN under this law, would have lost vital TANF dollars that helped them barely scrape by.
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What’s Next for Title I Schools Under the Ryan Budget – Cutting Fridays?

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: March 19, 2013 at 11:36 am

Once upon a time (last year), I taught 4th grade at a Title I school in rural Louisiana.  We went to school Tuesday through Friday.  Yes, that’s right – only 4 DAYS A WEEK. In 2006 the underfunded and low performing school district desperately needed to find a way to save money, so the school board had to cut out Mondays.

Last week Paul Ryan released his budget and guess what - in FY13 it CUTS $15.8 million in funding from Title I schools (schools where over 75% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch) in Louisiana alone!  In FY14 it adds a whopping $54.9 million in additional cuts to Louisiana schools.  By the end of 2014, under Ryan’s plan, over 4 million of the most vulnerable children across the country would lose access to education services. 

According to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan this is the “The Path to Prosperity.”  Is that a joke? 

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Jon Stewart Agrees – Early Learning is a Critical Investment

Posted by Amy Qualliotine, Outreach Associate | Posted on: March 08, 2013 at 12:45 pm

On Wednesday night, the President’s new Early Learning Initiative got a moment in the spotlight on the Daily Show. Host Jon Stewart, in that way only he knows how, highlighted the importance of investing in children’s early years. My trying to recap the clip will certainly erase all the humor, so I’ll let you watch it for yourself.



Think of life like a marathon (just go with me on this metaphor). Many of America’s most vulnerable children are starting five miles behind everyone else - yet we expect them to finish on par with their peers. Expanding the access these children have to high quality early learning opportunities will be revolutionary.

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