Support Repeal of NCLB…Support HR 1539

Time to get on the horn and call your congressman and tell him/her to support HR-1539, the new Academic Partnerships Leads Us to Success Act of 2007, which essentially repeals No Child Left Behind-Leaves Many Children Behind. NC Reps. Virginia Foxx (from the Triad) and Patrick McHenry are co-sponsors of this bill. See this commentary from edNews.org for more background.

An excerpt:

 Chief author Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan told CNS News, “With No Child Left Behind we shifted down the road toward federal government education. We are now on the road to a national curriculum, national accountability, national testing…and then we will also have a process of federally mandated corrections standards for those who don’t meet the standards.” Hoekstra added, “Every school in the country will begin to look exactly the same. Say goodbye to local control, and say hello to federal government schools.”

Neal McCluskey, a political analyst with the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, said, “Federal education programs live or die by whether or not they work politically, not academically.” Dr. Karen Effrem of EdWatch said it is for that reason that, “every member of Congress should be on this list of bill sponsors. NCLB was never a good plan for academics,” Effrem stated. “It was always about politics, which is exactly why education should be out of the hands of Washington, DC bureaucrats. Take our schools out of the hands of politicians and put them back in the hands of the local communities.”        

“We expect an outpouring of public support for this bill,” said Effrem, “and it will take that kind of effort. Congress doesn’t willingly release its hold on anything. It’s time for people to speak up clearly, with a united voice.”

E.C. 🙂

Fed. Reading Program Improperly Managed: AP

This is why the U.S. Dept. of Education needs to just go away quietly.

See this AP report on a federal General Accounting Office report that says “officials and their contractors appear to have improperly backed certain types of instruction in administering a $1 billion-a-year reading program, congressional investigators found.”

An excerpt:

The Government Accountability Office report supports assertions by the inspector general of the Education Department, who has released several reports in recent months into the Reading First program.

The program is a key part of the 2002 No Child Left Behind law. It offers intensive reading help for low-income and struggling schools.

The GAO, Congress’ investigative and auditing arm, surveyed states to get their views on the program.

In a report due out Friday and obtained by The Associated Press, the GAO states that some states said they received suggestions from federal officials or contractors to adopt or eliminate certain programs or tests.

As soon as the report hits the GAO website, I’ll provide the link.

UPDATE MARCH 25, 2007, 10:36PM: here’s the link.

E.C. 🙂

Opt-out Schools Raise Busing Concerns: HPE

In today’s High Point Enterprise, my friend and former colleague Katisha Hayes reports that GCS may change its policy on how students will be handled if they transfer out of magnet schools. See sidebar companion article here.

An excerpt:

 School officials say only a small number of kids opt out from magnet programs each year, but Superintendent Terry Grier said such small numbers “play havoc” with transporta­tion. Board member Jeff Belton said he believes there would be cost savings for the district if parents were required to pro­vide their own transportation after deciding to transfer their child from a magnet school.

E.C. 🙂