Fwd: [arn2-strategy] NEA Members Voe to Challenge NCLB

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>
> Date: Mon Jul 3, 2006  1:34:08 PM US/Pacific
> To: ARN Main List <arn-l@interversity.org>,  arn2-strategy 
> <arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>, rethinkaccountdc@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [arn2-strategy] NEA Members Voe to Challenge NCLB
> Reply-To: arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com
>
> NEA TO CHALLENGE "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND"
>
> Associated Press -- July 3, 2006
> by Phil Davis
>
> An overwhelming majority of delegates from the nation's largest
> education union approved a plan Monday to aggressively lobby Congress
> for reform of the No Child Left Behind Act.
>
> The National Education Association has fought to change the measure
> since its beginnings in 2001, but this is the union's most organized
> effort to date, said Joel Packer, the NEA's policy manager on the act.
>
> "We're moving from just being critics to saying this is our own 
> vision,"
> Packer said. "It is very powerful because it's the voices of classroom
> teachers."
>
> In an hourlong discussion, only three of the 9,000 members of the
> union's Representative Assembly argued against the lobbying effort. 
> They
> said the law was too flawed to fix and wanted the union to focus on
> repealing it.
>
> A significant number of delegates shouted "No" during the vote, but not
> enough to swing the outcome.
>
> Union leaders say the basic intentions of No Child Left Behind — 
> quality
> schools and skilled teachers — are good. But the government's
> "obsessive" focus on testing student skills and punishing failing
> schools undermines education, said Becky Pringle, a member of the NEA
> Executive Committee that drafted the new policy.
>
> The plan approved Monday calls for increases in the $23.5 billion 
> budget
> currently authorized by Congress and a decrease in the number of
> students in each classroom. The union also is calling for a national
> minimum wage of $40,000 a year for teachers.
>
> The NEA will push the government to move away from testing as the sole
> benchmark for success or failure. The teachers favor a series of
> benchmarks that reflect students' differing demographics and abilities.
>
> NEA President Reg Weaver said the union is securing support from
> lawmakers and other education organizations.
>
> "The substance of our changes, everybody knows they are good," Weaver
> said. "We have all kinds of organizations that want this law changed.
> It's just a matter of the political climate. It's good. We're on the
> road to success."
>
> The No Child Left Behind Act, passed by Congress in 2001, was 
> championed
> by President Bush as a way to hold schools accountable. It is up for
> reauthorization in 2007, but Weaver said he expects debate on reform
> will come after the 2008 presidential election.
>
> The law requires schools to test students in math and reading and 
> report
> their scores by group, such as race, disability, English language
> ability or economic situation. If one group of students fails, an 
> entire
> school can face penalties.
>
> "It expects every child to progress at the same level and they don't.
> One size doesn't fit all," said Marilyn Petersen, a Houston-area
> delegate who has taught special education for 55 years. "We're putting
> politics in the classroom."
>
> The law initially enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress, but financial
> support has declined as the war in Iraq and other priorities have made
> increasing demands on the federal budget. About $1 billion was trimmed
> from the program's budget this year, and the NEA expects $500 million
> more will be cut in 2007.
>
> Packer said Monday's vote reflects a recent NEA member attitude survey
> of 1,000 NEA members, which found a majority dislikes the No Child Left
> Behind Act but would rather modify it than repeal it.
>
> About 30 percent of NEA members approve of the law, the survey found.
>
>
>
>
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