| “This
legislation needs to be revised to make it workable and to make it into
something that will actually help students.”
Bill McCabe
School districts throughout the United States are becoming familiar with
the No Child Left Behind legislation that was passed into law January
8, 2002. School districts in California have recently completed their
Local Education Agency Plan (LEAP), the first major requirement of the
law.
Tracey McCully, manager of categorical programs for the Madera County
Office of Education, spoke to the Yosemite Joint Union High School District
staff this spring, outlining what NCLB means to educators and students.
This is legislation that many educators are concerned about but YJUHSD
and Coarsegold Union School District Superintendent Bill McCabe says it
won't go away. "We can only hope they will work with us to revise
it so it will be workable," he said.
Mr. McCabe wrote a letter earlier this year to a number of federal and
state officials citing concerns about the legislation. All area superintendents
and principals signed the letter.
The NCLB rules apply to all districts that accept federal funds and some
state funds. Some districts are beginning to question whether or not to
accept the money.
In his letter to Representative George Radanovich, Mr. McCabe wrote: "There
are so many requirements attached to NCLB and some of the entitlement
programs, that some districts, particularly small ones, are starting to
ask if they would be better off to decline the federal funding so they
don't have so much red tape to wade through. In a time of shrinking budgets
it is almost unthinkable to decline funds but when you look at all that
is required because of these programs, you find that you might be better
off without the money."
Further in his letter, Mr. McCabe wrote that "No Child Left Behind
is clearly setting schools up for failure. It discriminates against small,
rural schools and it hurts students by taking away resources that are
badly needed. This all just seems so wrong."
In addition to sending the letter to Rep. Radanovich, Mr. McCabe sent
copies to Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Dianne Feinstein and to Education
Secretary Rod Paige. He sent letters to California Senator Chuck Poochigian
and Assembly-man Dave Cogdill.
He received replies from Sen.. Poochigian and Assem-blyman Cogdill, both
expressing concerns as well. "I am sympathetic to your situation,"
Poochigian wrote, "especially given the rural nature of the Yosemite
Joint Union High School District, and many other small rural districts
throughout the state."
Cogdill wrote that the annual Rural Education Summit to be held in October
will have NCLB as its central focus.
NCLB was designed to make schools accountable for student progress in
areas where federal funds are used. California's State Board of Education
has adopted five performance goals for the state that had to be addressed
in the LEAP.
These performance goals are:
*All students will reach high standards, at a minimum, attaining proficiency
or better in reading and mathematics by 2013-14.
*All limited-English proficient students will become proficient in English
and reach high academic standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency
or better, in reading/language arts and mathematics.
*By 2005-06, all students will be taught by highly qualified teachers.
*All students will be educated in learning environments that are safe,
drug free, and conducive to learning.
*All students will graduate from high school.
"California will be maintaining college level standards for all students,"
Mrs. McCully said.
The measure of school progress under NCLB will be the Annual Yearly Progress
(AYP) report. Districts were to receive their baseline data from 2001-02
during June of this year. In order to meet the AYP, schools must meet
or exceed annual measurable objectives for each student subgroup (economically
disadvantaged, major ethnic or racial groups, students with disabilities,
and English language learners).
Schools that do not meet their AYP become Program Improvement schools.
Mrs. McCully said "the prediction is that all schools will be program
improvement in the next couple years."
After a school is designated Program Improvement, they have 90 days to
develop a Program Improvement Plan. In order to get out of the PI status,
a school must meet its growth targets for two consecutive years.
A number of programs take effect when a school is designated PI. All parents
in a school will be notified if that happens at their school.
The NCLB outlines requirements for "highly qualified" teachers
and instructional aides.
Highly qualified means the teacher will have at least a regular credential
and a bachelor's degree. "Emergency credentials are gone," Mrs.
McCully said.
Elementary teachers must pass a rigorous state test and high school teachers
must have a degree in the field they are teaching or pass a content-specific
test.
Newly hired instructional aides who work with Title I students must have
two years of college or demonstrate on formal assessment knowledge of
and ability to instruct in reading, writing and math. Existing aides must
meet these requirements by 2005-06. (Title I is a federal program that
provides supplemental funds to be used to narrow the educational gap between
disadvantaged children and other children.)
"I don't think anyone disagrees with the basic philosophy of No Child
Left Behind," Mr. McCabe says. "We all believe that students
should make steady progress and that teachers and instructional aides
should be highly qualified. However, there are many parts of NCLB that
are unrealistic."
He points to the performance goals that state "all students"
will achieve proficient level or above. "What about special education
students or students who have suffered traumatic injuries that have left
them mentally impaired?" he asks. "It is not reasonable to expect
these students to achieve at this level without accommodations and it
is not reasonable to penalize a school because they don't reach the proficient
level."
He notes that many schools do a wonderful job with special needs children,
including the local schools, bringing them to levels of self sufficiency
and teaching them basic skills. "To look at the school or the students
as failures because they don't reach a level of academic
success is not right," Mr. McCabe says.
Mr. McCabe intends to continue pursuing relief for schools from some of
the most unrealistic aspects of NCLB. He invited Rep. Radanovich to attend
a discussion by area administrators and to hear their frustrations with
the legislation. He is hoping that this will happen at some point in the
future.
"We are not opposed to being held accountable. We should be accountable
and I believe we are. Other administrators agree with me that this legislation
needs to be revised to make it workable and to make it into something
that will actually help students, not just penalize schools and students
alike."
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