Fw: NCLB Commission Convenes in WI on June 9th

["Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>]

Commission on No Child Left Behind Media AdvisoryFYI

Anyone want to send their comments on Hickock's Post ad (er, op ed) to the Commission? No point is using too strong (inflammatory?) language, but the pointing out what his selectivity, evasions, etc., could be good. The testimony will end up on website - presumably eventually in print, initially as an audio file.

Monty Neill 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Jennifer Adams 
To: Monty Neill 
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 5:10 PM
Subject: NCLB Commission Convenes in WI on June 9th



      Tommy G. Thompson, Co-Chairman  
     Roy E. Barnes, Co-Chairman
     
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
      FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2006  
     Contact: Jennifer W. Adams
      Phone: 202/736-3858 (O) or 202/285-4268 (C)
     
      MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
      FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2006 @ 9:30 AM CST
     

      Commission to Convene in Wisconsin for Fourth Hearing
      Successful Interventions
      Helping Schools Achieve Academic Success

      Washington, DC---Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes announced the fourth in a series of hearings on the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).  This hearing will help inform the Commission's recommendations on how NCLB's school improvement, corrective action and restructuring provisions have impacted schools which have not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  The hearing will take place on Friday June 9, 2006 at 9:30 AM CST and will be held at the Monona Terrace Multimedia Lecture Hall in Madison, Wisconsin.

      The Commission on No Child Left Behind is an independent, bipartisan effort to improve the No Child Left Behind Act and ensure it is a more useful force in closing the achievement gap that separates disadvantaged children and their peers.  The Commission will uncover the successes of NCLB, as well as provisions which need to be changed or eliminated.  The Commission, after a year of hearings, analysis and research, will report to Congress and the Administration in early 2007 with its recommendations.

      WHAT: Hearing on how NCLB is impacting schools which are academically struggling (not making AYP)

      WHO: Commission on No Child Left Behind

      WITNESSES:
      · The Honorable Elizabeth Burmaster, Superintendent, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
      · The Honorable Gene Hickok, Senior Policy Director, the Dutko Group
      · Mr. John Ashley, Executive Director, Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Inc.
      · Ms. Yvonne Caamal Canul, Director, Office of School Improvement, Michigan Department of Education
      · Ms. Cheryl Clancy, Principal, Kosciuszko Middle School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

      Additional witnesses to be announced.

      WHEN: Friday June 9, 2006 @ 9:30 AM CST

      WHERE: The Monona Terrace Multimedia Lecture Hall, One John Nolen Drive, Madison, WI 53703

      **THE HEARING WILL BE LIVE ON THE INTERNET AT: www.nclbcommission.org **

      BACKGROUND:
      Enacted in 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) required states to set up a series of interventions for consistently struggling schools.  Interventions include initial targeted assistance, providing options for students attending schools labeled "in need of improvement", and an escalating list of sanctions for those schools that consistently fail to meet "adequate yearly progress" targets in subsequent years. 

      Adequate Yearly Progress, discussed during the Commission's previous hearing in Atlanta, is a state developed measure of progress for all school districts and schools.  The law requires states to annually assess student performance in meeting academic standards for reading and math in grades three through eight and in grade ten.  In order to make AYP, schools must demonstrate that all children, including disadvantaged and minority students, are achieving at the state defined "proficient" level of achievement.  Last school year (2004-2005), 16% or 14,121 schools were identified nationwide as not meeting AYP1.  This means that at least one or more of several disadvantaged subgroups of children at these schools did not meet the state standard of proficiency.

      Specifically, students in schools that fail to make AYP for two consecutive years are given the opportunity to transfer to another public school.  If a school fails to meet AYP for a third year, students are given the option of receiving free tutoring (supplemental services) from state approved providers which can include school districts, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies.  For schools that continue to struggle, these interventions are followed by requirements to develop and implement school restructuring plans that include actions such as:  replacing all or most of school academic staff; entering into a contract with an outside organization to operate the school; re-opening the school as a charter school; restructuring the school's governance and other actions.

      These NCLB requirements, as well as some state accountability systems which predated the law, have helped focus teachers, principals, school board members, superintendents and others in taking action to turn around the performance of schools that are not succeeding for all groups of children and to provide immediate help to struggling students. 

      Since the adoption of NCLB, these provisions have produced mixed results including notable successes in some cases and a lack of measurable progress in others.  Some have argued that NCLB's provisions are punitive in nature and do little to spur academic improvement.  Others have sited progress in student achievement and successful turnaround efforts by schools that have implemented the reforms outlined in the law.  With regard to NCLB's choice options, questions have arisen about: district implementation struggles that have resulted in low participation rates among eligible children; state oversight of the quality of tutoring providers; and the need for effective evaluation of student achievement gains as a result of these interventions.

      THE HEARING:
      At this hearing, the Commission will closely examine how NCLB's school improvement, corrective action and restructuring provisions have impacted schools which have not made AYP.  Have these provisions helped schools take appropriate action to make improvements that produce results?  What are some of the successful reform options under NCLB that have helped schools address their academic difficulties?  Has NCLB created any barriers to effective reform?

      The Commission will also examine the impact of NCLB's public school choice and supplemental services provisions.  What are the causes for the current low level of participation in these options among eligible students?  How have they contributed to improvements in student achievement?  How effective are State oversight efforts over supplemental service providers?

      DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
      Any persons or organizations wishing to submit written comments for the hearing record may do so by sending such comments electronically to nclbfeedback@aspeninstitute.org please include 'Hearing Testimony' in the subject line. Written comments can also be sent through the U.S. Mail to:  The Commission on No Child Left Behind, One Dupont Circle, Suite 700, Washington, D.C.  20036.  ALL WRITTEN COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY COB JUNE 16, 2006.  Written comments mailed to the Commission must be accompanied by an electronic version on computer disk.  Those submitting comments must clearly identify themselves with a valid mailing address and clearly indicating any affiliations the comments represent.
       
      Submissions will be included in the record of the hearing at the discretion of the Commission.  The Commission will not alter the content of your submission, but does reserve the right to format it accordingly.  Submissions must be no longer than 10 pages in length, including any attachments.

      1 From the Capital to the Classroom: Year 4 of the No Child Left Behind Act, Center on Education Policy, 2006 
      The Commission on No Child Left Behind is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Spencer Foundation. This document is published to communicate the results of the Commission's work. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in the Commission's documents are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the donors.

      ***
     


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