School Systems Pushing Changes in Education Law
Posted on: Monday, 5 December 2005, 18:00 CST
By Gail Smith-Arrants, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Dec. 4--A Kannapolis elementary school teacher who's been in the classroom for 29 years is considering quitting the profession because she wouldn't be considered "highly qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
She has a master's degree and National Board certification, and she has led staff development at her school.
But under the federal act, she's not considered highly qualified because she has not taken the Praxis test, Kannapolis school officials say.
With an ongoing teacher shortage, that is one of the biggest concerns about No Child Left Behind, said Kannapolis Schools spokesperson Ellen Boyd.
"This person has already vastly demonstrated her teaching ability," Boyd said Thursday.
The day before, officials from Kannapolis and five other area school systems talked about their concerns with Republican U.S. Reps. Robin Hayes of Concord and John Boehner of Ohio. Boehner, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, was an of the No Child Left Behind legislation.
Among other recommendations made to the congressmen, the Kannapolis system asked them to eliminate the test requirement for experienced teachers.
Also in the meeting were representatives from the Cabarrus, Union, Stanly and Montgomery county school systems and also Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
Hayes' office scheduled the meeting, which was closed to the news media, but reporters were invited to ask questions afterward.
No Child Left Behind requires schools to bring each student up to grade-level performance within many subgroups. If one subgroup, such as students with disabilities, doesn't make adequate academic progress, the entire school is listed as not making adequate yearly progress.
The law allows parents at such a school to request a transfer to another school that has made adequate yearly progress.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board member Louise Woods asked why all students have the option to leave a school if only one of 29 subgroups fails to meet standards, and said only students in that one subgroup should be eligible to leave.
The No Child Left Behind Act is up for reauthorization in 2007, and there will be changes, Boehner said. Ten states will be selected to start tracking individual students for year-to-year achievement gains, rather than just checking subgroups of students. He said he hoped North Carolina would among those 10.
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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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