Local Hispanics rap No Child Left Behind Act

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

Local Hispanics rap No Child Left Behind Act 
By Leann Holt 
Tribune Reporter [Albuquerque, NM]

The dispute that is simmering in other states over President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act boiled over in Albuquerque. 

Inside the University of New Mexico's Johnson Center, 1,100 middle and high school students participated Friday in Feria Educativa - a U.S. Department of Education-sponsored education fair designed to expose students to local resources that will help them succeed in college. 

But on the steps outside, the Hispano Round Table of New Mexico had a news conference during which prominent local Hispanics vented against the act, which they claim is more hindrance than help in the fight to better educate Hispanics. 

"The No Child Left Behind Act has good intentions, but it discriminates because it measures kids against higher-income schools," said state Sen. Richard Romero, an Albuquerque Democrat running for his party's nomination in the 1st Congressional District. "This is very much top-down legislation that leaves out the rank and file." 

Rep. Miguel Garcia said the act is creating "chaos and turmoil" in New Mexico schools. 

"The government is using us as guinea pigs for education reform," Garcia said. "It will further polarize Hispanics from getting good educations." 

The No Child Left Behind Act has been controversial in many states, and some legislatures have taken action to oppose it. 

David Almacy, a spokesman for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, said he was "a little surprised" at the response to the education fair. He said he had not seen anything like it in the four other fairs his organization has sponsored in cities across the country. 

"Both sides of the No Child Left Behind issue are passionate about Hispanic education," Almacy said. "We encourage debate. We need to be working together instead of using this for political gain." 

Those for and against the No Child Left Behind Act agreed Hispanic children are not being well educated. 

The statistics are alarming: 41.5 percent of Albuquerque Hispanic high school students drop out; high-minority schools score an average of 50 points lower on TerraNova standardized tests than low-minority schools; only 10 percent of Hispanics in the United States have a four-year college degree. 

Opponents of the No Child Left Behind Act say it is underfunded. Almacy said the money has been approved but not yet appropriated. 

Christine Trujillo, president of the New Mexico Federation of Education Employees, said the Bush administration has cut funding for high school dropout initiatives, Pell grants, second language assistance and Title I. 

"They might have funded (the act)," she said, "but they didn't think of other things they'll need to stay afloat." 

Undersecretary of Education Eugene Hickok said many educators are initially embarrassed when their schools are identified as subpar under the No Child Left Behind Act criteria. 

"We don't want to embarrass anyone," Hickok said. "We hope the law will make people decide they want to change things. 

"Being in Albuquerque renews confidence in people - not in the law. But the law makes it impossible to ignore the problem."

Monty Neill, Ed.D.
Executive Director
FairTest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-4810    fax 617-497-2224
monty@fairtest.org
http://www.fairtest.org