getting NCLB on the agenda

It just makes sense when you look at the mission and goals of Beacon Press that they would want to participate in and support a movement that informs the public about the effects of NCLB on the public school system...Doesn't it?

So far...I haven't heard back from them.

Here's my letter:

After reading many books published by Beacon Press and reviewing the website, I am encouraged to find your strategic goals section. I am especially interested in number 4 (cited below.)

STRATEGIC GOALS

1) To publish books that passionately and effectively advocate these principles while engaging readers with high literary quality

2) To strive to disseminate these ideals through a broadening readership for our books and diverse audience for our authors, as well as an ever-increasing outreach through print and electronic media coverage of the books and their authors

3) To set standards of excellence in the publishing community, in terms of the content and production values of our books, in terms of our business policies and practices, and in the responsible use of natural resources

4) To grow steadily more prophetic in identifying areas of need, concern, and interest and addressing them with the most progressive and effective interventions



I also write with a particular interest in the book: Many Children Left Behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act is Damaging Our Children and Our Schools, Edited by Deborah Meier and George Wood. The Beacon review of the book includes the following passage:

This is an agenda that takes the intent of "no child left behind" from a slogan to reality. An agenda that pulls together the civil rights organizations that applaud no longer hiding our schools' failure to educate poor and minority children, the educators who work for school reform, the parents and civic groups that want better schools, and the legislators who work hard for what is best for their constituents. A movement that springs not from mandates and measurement, punishment and penalties, sanctions and closures, but rather, a movement that grows from hope and wisdom—hope that we can have the public schools our democracy requires, based on the wisdom that we have gained from schools that serve our children well regardless of race, class, gender, handicaps, or geography.

The authors of this book aim to add to this movement, as they agree with the premise that no child should be left behind, yet recognize that in NCLB many children will not only be left behind, but will be damaged as well—in ways we are just now beginning to understand.

I am writing to you, in response to your unique mission and stated goals, and to inquire about your goals and intentions to help promote the philosophy and knowledge of these particular authors on such an urgent matter as NCLB and its resulting damage in our nation's public schools.

At the fourth anniversary of the NCLB, and as the damage and destruction in our school system expands, the media's coverage of dissent is virtually nonexistent. According to Kappan's most recent survey, American parents remain largely uninformed about the rapid and dramatic changes in our schools as a result of this act. The teachers, struggling with their own energy and morale, likewise, barely have had the time to be informed about the act as many choose to simply leave the profession rather than suffer the indignities of a school "reform" dedicated to a testing industry rather than an academic or educational atmosphere. The political strength and power of the act continues to pad the pockets of educational enterprises and has, according to the academic community, (largely unread in mainstream culture,) made the educational environment for minority and other compromised subgroups worse rather than better. When legislators from all 50 states released a report critical of NCLB, it was largely ignored, buried in a brief, one paragraph notation, in a nationally acclaimed and widely read newspaper and then forgotten. Newspapers with financial relationships to television networks, to national magazines, and many with ties to auxiliary educational enterprises, no longer feel compelled to cover opinion or information which might compromise their political affiliations or financial interests. But, the media continues to supply the rhetoric and politically-motivated contention that the NCLB act has grown in success and will continue to strengthen our public schools.

I am writing to you to ask if a campaign of public and community information, which would include the voices from your published books, and other notable educational researchers and writers could be arranged to balance the information offered to the parents, the teachers and administrators, and the local politicians who also need to be informed. As I read your mission and goals, I request that you understand that the authors and advocates whose words you say you support, do not have the ability, apparently, to stage such a campaign of information, without the financial and active support of organizations, such as yours, which state that their intentions are to help identify areas of urgent need and facilitate effective interventions.

I ask you to acknowledge how urgent the situation is presently in our public schools, and ask you to imagine the future without an all out effort to promote a clear understanding of NCLB and the proposed interventions and directions to take to ensure that a progressive and adequate public education remains in place-- for our future, for our students, for our teachers, for our democracy.

Thank you for your consideration.


...and the same goes for Heinemann...(sorry for the redundancy)

Dear Publishing Staff:

After reading several books published by Heinemann's Press and reviewing the website, I am encouraged to find your company mission statement section.

Heinemann's Philosophy and Company Mission Statement
Heinemann is a publisher of professional resources and a provider of educational services for teachers, kindergarten through college. We strive to give voice to those who share our respect for the professionalism and compassion of teachers and who support teachers' efforts to help children become literate, empathetic, knowledgeable citizens. Our authors are exemplary educators eager to support the practice of other teachers through books, videos, workshops, online courses, and most recently through explicit teaching materials. Our commitment to our work and customers' enthusiastic response to our offerings has made us the leading publisher in this area. Our passion for publishing works by professionals for professionals also informs our trade publishing, which includes books for theatre professionals, general books on education, and quality works of world literature.
I am most interested in your stand on the federal NCLB act and it's impact on educators, parents, students, and communities across the country. As I am sure you are aware, a reform movement is growing that springs not from mandates and measurement, punishment and penalties, sanctions and closures, but rather, a movement that grows from an interest in the survival of public schools.

Can you afford to ignore such an urgent matter as NCLB and its resulting damage in our nation's public schools?

At the fourth anniversary of the NCLB, and as the damage and destruction in our school system expands, the media's coverage of dissent is virtually nonexistent. According to Kappan's most recent survey, American parents remain largely uninformed about the rapid and dramatic changes in our schools as a result of this act. The teachers, struggling with their own energy and morale, likewise, barely have had the time to be informed about the act as many choose to simply leave the profession rather than suffer the indignities of a school "reform" dedicated to a testing industry rather than an academic or educational atmosphere. The political strength and power of the act continues to pad the pockets of educational enterprises and has, according to the academic community, (largely unread in mainstream culture,) made the educational environment for minority and other compromised subgroups worse rather than better. When legislators from all 50 states released a report critical of NCLB, it was largely ignored, buried in a brief, one paragraph notation, in a nationally acclaimed and widely read newspaper and then forgotten. Newspapers with financial relationships to television networks, to national magazines, and many with ties to auxiliary educational enterprises, no longer feel compelled to cover opinion or information which might compromise their political affiliations or financial interests. But, the media continues to supply the rhetoric and politically-motivated contention that the NCLB act has grown in success and will continue to strengthen our public schools.

I am writing to you to ask if a campaign of public and community information, which would include the voices from your published books, and other notable educational researchers and writers could be arranged to balance the information offered to the parents, the teachers and administrators, and the local politicians who also need to be informed. As I read your mission, I request that you understand that the authors and advocates whose words you say you support, do not have the ability, apparently, to stage such a campaign of information, without the financial and active support of organizations, such as yours, which state that their intentions are to help identify areas of urgent need and facilitate effective interventions.

At least two of the following authors are local to the Washington/Baltimore metro area. I wonder if it is likely that as activists, they would be interested in promoting their books as well as informing the public at a regional forum with your support.

I ask you to acknowledge how urgent the situation is presently in our public schools, and ask you to imagine the future without an all out effort to promote a clear understanding of NCLB and the proposed interventions and directions to take to ensure that a progressive and adequate public education remains in place-- for our future, for our students, for our teachers, for our democracy.

Thank you for your consideration.




Reading for Profit: How the Bottom Line Leaves Kids Behind
Bess Altwerger
Paperback / Grade Level: K-6

Why is reading instruction so often focused on the mechanical transmission of skills rather than on the development of meaningful literacy? To understand why, we need to know who: who decides how children will be taught, and who benefits from that decision? Reading for Profit demonstrates conclusively that the pedagogical is political.
Alfie Kohn, Author of The Case Against Standardized Testing and The Schools Our Children Deserve

Filled with teachers' voices and an eye-opening analysis, this timely book reveals the corporate assault on schools, children's reading education, and teachers' effectiveness.
Gerald Coles, Author of Reading the Naked Truth and Misreading Reading

The Manufactured Crisis and The War Against America's Public Schools were angry books. This is a furious book. The extensive evidence it mounts to describe this attempt renders it an accurate book.
Gerald W. Bracey, Author of Setting the Record Straight, Second Edition

This book documents the corporate connections and exposes their motivations, documents the fear and frustration that experienced and highly competent teachers feel, and repeatedly and thoroughly documents the failings of the programs. These are the voices the public needs to hear.
Stephen Krashen, Author of The Power of Reading, Second Edition

Kudos to Bess Altwerger for this remarkable collection.... This book arms us to fight back.
Susan Ohanian, Author of Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools? and One Size Fits Few

On the Death of Childhood and the Destruction of Public Schools: The Folly of Today's Education Policies and Practices
Gerald W. Bracey
Paperback / Grade Level: K-12

"No matter what he's called, Gerald Bracey IS public schools' best defender. And in this book, he uses his considerable writing and research skills on their behalf. With authority, sensitivity, and a good sense of humor, he dismantles the negative PR our public education system has endured and does it with hardcore data, not phony "science."

Bracey delivers the statistics and skillful analysis needed to win the numbers game that plays out daily in the popular press. Drawing on data from a variety of reputable sources, he proves that public schools are doing much better than critics claim, some indicators even showing record highs. He takes on the testing movement in numerous chapters, offers data that provide different perspectives than usually seen, and reviews the history of public schools, showing how they have included more and more students while raising achievement levels, too. He questions the so-called "failing schools," discusses the phenomenon of "summer loss," provides international comparisons, and presents data to argue that investing in universal quality preschool pays off in the long run. He even attempts to enter the mind of the father of American public education, Horace Mann, to see what he might think about the "nuttiness of today's policies."

Bracey believes that our only hope to save the public school system is for teachers, teacher educators, and administrators to help speed up the needed perspective transformation. And they can begin to do it by reading this book and resuming their rightful position in educating students.

getting NCLB on the list

January 25, 2006

Harold Meyerson
meyersonh@washpost.com

Dear Mr. Meyerson:

(Harold Myerson, “Bush the Incompetent,” [editorial], Washington Post, Jan 25,2006, A19)

In keeping with the theme of incompetence, the basis of your editorial piece (“Bush the Incompetent”), I would like to suggest that missing from your list of “screw-ups” is his co-incompetent failure at policy for educational reform. I hope you will agree that this issue belongs on the list of the “big things” he botched.


Here is a review of the key issues of the NCLB act of 2002 that are well known to state and local leaders, parents, teachers, students and educational researchers nationally:

• NCLB is an unprecedented federal intrusion into an area historically reserved to the states;
• NCLB's one-size-fits-all approach ignores the realities of good teaching and learning;
• Under NCLB, valuable class time is diverted to test preparation and away from real teaching and learning;
• NCLB is too narrow in its substantive focus because students need to master the basics such as reading and math, as well as the new basic skills of communication, creative problem solving, and collaboration in order to succeed in the 21st Century economy;
• NCLB relies too heavily on standardized testing to the exclusion of other valuable measures of mastery such as portfolio reviews and performance;
• NCLB's punitive approach distracts and undermines educators and administrators; an approach that includes incentives and technical assistance to aid struggling schools is more likely to yield positive results over the long term;
• NCLB is underfunded, placing significant financial strain on states and districts and forcing them to divert funds away from programs that they know work to help struggling students such as smaller class size, early learning and after school programs and others.
In addition to numerous academic papers and statements by education researchers and administrators reporting how severely compromised the public schools have become in attempting to comply with this mandate, there are many personal experiences from teachers and students who are struggling to comply. These in particular are horrific stories of spirits snuffed out and looming despair.

I can provide you with more about this and other information if you are interested.


But, for a handy illustration of the “mind-boggling incompetence,” take a look at another article from the Post (Nick Anderson, “The ‘No Child’ Law’s Flexible Enforcer,” Washington Post, Jan 24, 2006, A10). I will show you what catches my eye and saddens my heart about the “education” act and hope that I convince you that it too deserves to be on you’re A list (or “I” for “incompetence” list).

Early in the article, you will find that Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings says: “The department fined Texas nearly $900,000.00 for non-compliance with the law.” I ask you to consider the consequences that such a sizable penalty would have on a school system that otherwise might benefit from the use of this money. This is exceptionally mind boggling when you consider that the penalty is aimed at schools that are found to be struggling! Think about it….

A few paragraphs below that gem, Spellings says she will “not waiver on holding states to a target that many educators call virtually unattainable” (my emphasis). But, when you read that sentence, please tell me if you find any logic behind ignoring the input of the educators.

Later in the article, we find her joking that many of the questions she received were about educational law, issues unknowable to anyone but “a wonk.” I suppose I can appreciate the macabre humor of an educational insider getting down and wonky, but I have to add that I find this state of the public’s lack of information devastating and even more insidious because certain newspapers are doing the community a grave disservice by selectively excluding the information. (More on that if you want it…)

Further along, Spellings refers to the state of Maryland, about which she happens to have cozy feelings, since our State superintendent, Nancy Grasmick, is in avid compliance with NCLB and “moved rapidly” into testing requirements. Personally, I am prepared to speak long and thoroughly about what this rapid change has done to my children and their teachers’ morale (let me know if you want to hear the results…). It has been an awful experience for the students and teachers in our Maryland county, as a result of our State Superintendent’s adherence to NCLB policy on testing (standards and measurements.)

Next, Secretary Spellings says she learns about the quality of her own child’s school from the test results. I am extremely well-prepared to disagree with that counter-intuitive thought, but, many people have written eloquently and at length about the idiocy of such a statement.

Then Spellings addresses the “success” of accelerated math programs. Look at recent results in neighboring Prince Georges county for evidence of the poor results of this policy. The same thing happened in our county several years ago—the kids were pushed into Algebra earlier, and the results of this push in our county schools was enough to simultaneously kill our students’ interest in math and in school, and it also moved an enthusiastic, veteran teacher to walk out of the school…forever.

Ms. Spellings describes Ms. Grasmick like this: “She is very experienced and builds consensus around tough things.” Mind you, I have no idea what “tough things” are but, I can tell you that Ms. Grasmick has never answered a single piece of e-mail I have sent to her, and I know of no one whom she has answered, particularly if the message was critical of the changes in our schools over the last four years. Recall that several years ago, when Baltimore City found itself in an urgent budget situation of millions of dollars in over expenditure and staff members repeatedly pleaded for help, Ms. Grasmick’s response was one of complete disinterest; she ignored them. You can read about this situation in the Baltimore Sun newspaper, but I would have to say her idea of consensus building and mine is vastly different.

Next comes my all-time favorite quote. I will refrain from any comment and hope that you too will see the absurdity of Spellings’ words: “When you’ve got conservative Republicans and the PTA working together in the same direction about how to best involve parents, that’s a win.” (This is comedy of the absurd, is it not?)

Then there is Spellings describing the D.C. schools: “They have a ton of work to do on curriculum reform, especially in reading.” Again, I am almost ready to laugh but for the damages done by such a statement. Would toilet paper and hand-soap in the bathrooms help? Would taking an active stand on the numerous suffocating, crucial social and medical and economic issues, needs that are primary and urgent above and before a school curriculum for many of the city’s children, come to mind for consideration?

And if that’s not enough, she tells us that the District schools, along with schools in the state of Virginia and Prince Georges and Baltimore counties in Maryland, are all getting ready to face “corrective action” or “restructuring.” Yeah—that’s the ticket. If they don’t measure up, let’s destroy them! But let’s look at her words for this: “Having schools called out, spotlighted, tended to when they are not working is what this law is about.” Wait a minute, I forgot whether I was reading about schools or jails…

There are several last comments about expanding the AP program with NCLB funds, which has been discussed thoroughly by the National Research Council as an inferior and flawed approach and which has been identified as a policy that interferes with the development of real academic benefit. But why beleaguer a well-made point.

I end this discussion of the NCLB according to the Secretary with her own summary, which closes the article by describing why raising the bar is what our public schools need to make progress: “[T]his is what real grown ups do; real college students do this, and this is what matters.” I can’t even bear to give this ridiculous thought any more words.

Learning, as most people know, cannot be fabricated by a political mandate; it is an art, an opportunity, a challenge graced by the dedication, talent, and ingenuity that a teacher brings to the classroom. It is individual and it is unpredictable. Measured by tests that dole out punishment for failure, NCLB invites desperate measures to comply with its standards; it places blame where blame is not productive. Learning that is reinforced by positive reward, practiced with proven methods, and informed by appropriate assessment is the practical dispersal of hope and opportunity for a generation of students who are growing up in a rapidly changing, increasingly demanding, and complicated world. Learning that is attached to realistic, individual goals and allowed the freedom to vary and expand in depth and breadth and that is dependent on the expertise of the teacher, as well as the accurately evaluated potential of the student encourages creativity and enthusiasm; it promotes a life-long desire to learn.

We can do better for our teachers and our students than to standardize away attention to the variety of styles, interests, and abilities of both. We can design a better vision than one that holds a minority child or group accountable for the failure of a school. We can create a better plan than to have our brightest students in a program of study that is geared for minimal "proficiency" and memorization on standardized tests, which excludes the expansive spontaneity of creative debate and discovery. And, we can do much better than to spend hours training our least able children to bubble answer sheets to cheat the system as well as the child. We can use new and creative methods to help stimulate a joyful quest for knowledge and resist the boring, rote, and meaningless learning that is geared toward a limited and small-minded outcome that substitute for real learning. Yes, our students need to learn basic skills, but more importantly, they need to learn to think independently, to reason, to be honest and thoughtful, and to decipher and apply the principles and values of our democracy. These are the skills they will need to become informed citizens in a society that will require their participation.

With the imposition of and adherence to the NCLB act, neither the rhetorical nor statistical manipulation can recover the many losses suffered by our students, our teachers, and our system of public education.

Anne E. Levin Garrison

the faux community-based selection process

CLOSED “QUALITY” SELECTION PROCESS FOR SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT

How it works in Maryland

While I wait with growing dread for the selection committee (hired by our BOE) to pre-screen their choices, I am most perplexed that the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) staged a series of community-based forums to determine just the characteristics that would qualify our next superintendent of schools and fit the needs of our county. The results of this charade are just what you would expect: the responses given at the forum were “rehabilitated” into a list of ideals that are the voice of a partisan agenda.

Reading over the selection requirements for two very different counties, Dorchester and Anne Arundel, both seeking to fill the position of superintendent (which can be found at www.mabe.org), I am struck by the similarities in answers to each community’s questions. Let's ignore for discussion purposes the crucial cultural differences between each region and focus on the given information.

Having charted and rearranged the selection traits, I find that, although they were heralded as the collective results from community discussions, the nearly identical ideas could not possibly have been generated independently by the two vastly different communities. From my experiences at public forums, such a consensus, even with a small group is nearly impossible. These results, a consensus that is reached twice and identically, are ridiculous to consider.

I attended one of three of these forums and can recall no such mention, even by a stretch of imagination, of any of these stated “ideas from the community.” I would say that, in fact, not a single comment voiced at the community forum I attended is included in any shape that resembles the comments on this list. And in hearing accounts from others who attended the second and third forum, I have seen nothing on the list that is at all representative of their experiences.

Accountable only for my own input, I know that I said that the ideal candidate would have, as a priority, a devoted and solid, positive relationship with the teachers. BUT, as he struggled to document my idea using his laptop, the MABE selection committee member spoke aloud as he typed:

“Holds teachers accountable,” he said as he typed, “excellent point…”

“NO!” I corrected: “Gives teachers back their professional volition; develops rapport, a relationship, includes them in the educational process…” I repeated.

“Yes, teachers do need to be held accountable for the progress of the students on state standards and measurements…”

(…sound of footsteps as several people promptly left the room in frustration and disgust.)

Now, let me point to a few coincidences. Take a look at the following chart for comparison purposes. Clearly, the same points are made in the selection requirements for both counties. In the original format of job specifications, the qualities appeared to have been shuffled a bit. I have re-ordered them to demonstrate how precisely they match up.


Anne Arundel County: Pre K-12 District -- 73,992 Students, Minimum Salary -- $200,000

Dorchester County:Pre K-12 District -- 4,788 Students, Salary minimum -- $115,000

A visionary who is passionate about public education; holds student achievement as the top priority; and makes decisions based on the best interests of the children of Anne Arundel County.
A visionary who will include stakeholders in the development and implementation of a focused strategic plan, in which all children learn at high levels.

An open and inclusive communicator who values input from all stakeholders; is visible and active in the schools and community; and is effective building strong relationships with and among the board, staff, students, and community.
A consensus builder who works with and balances the needs of diverse groups; involves all segments of the community; has excellent communication skills and can foster trust in the system.

A skilled educator who understands curriculum development, instruction, and assessment; can accept and build on current successes; is experienced meeting the requirements of NCLB and current educational trends; and has been successful addressing the needs of diverse student populations and closing the achievement gap.
A proven instructional leader with a thorough understanding of curriculum development and delivery; who is able to analyze data and implement needed instructional changes that will ensure a rigorous instructional program for all children; has success addressing NCLB; and can create a positive climate throughout the school system.

A politically savvy advocate who can work effectively with state and local officials; understands state funding; is not afraid to make changes to benefit the system; and is able to build support for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
An experienced advocate who is passionate about public education, possesses excellent political skills, and builds positive working relationships with local government, the board, staff and the community.

An ethical leader who holds high standards of integrity, honesty, compassion, courage, and flexibility and expects those traits in staff and students.A decisive administrator who has system-wide experience with budget, finance, technology, and school construction; is successful working with and supporting central and school based staff; and has collective bargaining experience:
An excellent manager with strong administrative, budget and financial experience and growth and facilities management who respects all staff and can support and motivate employees; and is an effective negotiator with excellent collective bargaining skills.Must hold or qualify for Maryland superintendent license and have a minimum of 3-5 years experience in a senior administrative position.
Candidates MUST qualify for Maryland Superintendent License. It is the responsibility of applicants to provide proof of qualifications from the Maryland State Department of Education prior to interviews.


The preferred candidate will have knowledge of the Maryland education system, law, funding, and curriculum and assessment; and will become an active member of the Dorchester County community.





The only prerequisites that don’t seem to match up, really, and I guess this accounts for the 100k difference in salary, are that while in Anne Arundel county, the community preferred “A politically savvy advocate” and one who is “An ethical leader,” evidently, all they really needed in Dorchester county was an “experienced advocate,” one who has “collective bargaining experience,” and this was repeated twice for emphasis.

Now, I am truly struck by the sophistication of the community in Dorchester County, because in all of the years that I have attended meetings and forums and community discussions, I have NEVER heard ANYONE, let alone a parent speak like that.

For instance, I would be baffled to hear the following statement at a school-oriented meeting:

“As parents, we believe that, in our children’s best interest, the candidate will certainly NEED to have “collective bargaining experience…”

And, now for emphasis, we hear from parent number two.

“Yes, and by way of underscoring our commitment to this cherished ideal, I would repeat our desire for the next superintendent to ABSOLUTELY have collective bargaining experience.”

(NO way, I am NOT buying it…)

Let me say that while I sort of see the connection of politics to Anne Arundel county, it being the State capital, actually, I was hoping that the position of Superintendent would, at least in print, have been held true to a loftier ideal than that of a politically savvy advocate---but let’s give the selection committee the benefit of the doubt on this call. Maybe someone’s Mom or Dad works for the comptroller or something….

Unfortunately for Dorchester County, the community apparently disqualified the traits of “high standards of integrity, honesty, compassion, courage, and flexibility” and did not see the merit of these ideal for their next superintendent, nor did they want to encourage “those traits in staff and students.”
Well, I might question whether the Dorchester community would agree on these omissions---but you never know. They may have made a timely point about the lack of need for these qualities when you have a strong contingency for collective bargaining.

Also, in Dorchester County, perhaps what sets them apart or what makes the chosen candidate cheaper is: “The preferred candidate will have knowledge of the Maryland education system, law, funding, and curriculum and assessment; and will become an active member of the Dorchester County community.” So, if you do happen to know much about the Maryland school system or Maryland law, perhaps in Anne Arundel county you would be at once disqualified, or worse, asked to apply somewhere where that kind of knowledge places you in the lower salary range….

“Oops, this candidate knows too much, dock his salary…”

Finally, the candidate in Anne Arundel County need not be an “active community member.” Goodness, I certainly wouldn’t want my ideal candidate to be discouraged from residing in our county of inflated real estate and expensive, luxury-oriented, select interest, or politically based group participation; our teachers, with their bottom-end salary ranges, are already excluded from making the county their home.

Oh, and about the endorsement for NCLB, here was my set of ideals for the right candidate:

Q: What are the characteristics, qualities, and skills you would like to see in a new superintendent?

Thinks independently and creatively about public school education.

Does not buy into the NCLB act or it's insistence on participation in the standards and testing industry.

Endorses a curriculum that is sensitive to the needs of the individual child.

Solicits the professional input of teaching staff.

Endorses an awareness of and dedication to current knowledge about learning.
Believes that smaller classrooms, varied assessment tools, creative curriculum and competitive salaries for teachers belong on a priority agenda.

Dedicates resources, not only to minority and special needs students, but also to real and varied academic opportunities for the entire range of students.

Is willing to research and consider other avenues for students advancement besides AP, IB or other overused, academically disputed recipes.

Will hope to foster community and parental interest, input, and support for our schools, our teachers, and our students.

Has no financial claims or interest in contributing to the growing financial returns of academic test, textbook or tutoring industries.

With no particular political agenda, still believes that our public schools present an opportunity to prepare and educate our students for a better future.

Is an honest, intelligent person who thinks like an educator, a human who still values and develops relationships with teachers, students, and parents.


Q: What issues will a new superintendent need to know about in order to be successful in the County?

The block schedules do not work for many reasons.

Neither does standardization of curriculum, pacing guides, an onslaught of county tests, state tests, federal tests, generic "advanced" or accelerated plans to boost statistics, treatment of children without attention to their own individual strengths, lack of true accelerated learning opportunities, overuse of exams, worksheets, programs not open to the judgment or volition of teacher.

The students are alternately bored, stressed with impossible loads of homework and their opportunity to learn useful information at an appropriate measure has been extinguished.


The teachers felt so oppressed by the resigning superintendent that they organized to express their outrage with a vote of "NO CONFIDENCE" even after he decided to leave.

Of utmost importance in consideration of this position and out of a sincere desire to make our schools better in every way for our students, this candidate has to have the intelligence, the passion and the heart to work at a good professional relationship of mutual respect with our teachers. That is of primary and most critical importance.


So, maybe it’s me, but I am worried every single time I think about this selection process. Is it good policy to maintain the selection as a closed process? Is it fair or accurate that the newspapers refer to the selection process as anchored in the community voice? I’d have a hard time with that piece of “balanced reporting.”

And back to that mention of NCLB. I have never once, with the exception of me and my spouse, heard the act mentioned by a parent at a school-related meeting. As a point of great discouragement for me and to anyone who tries in earnest to encourage an advocacy on the issues of importance in our public schools, PARENTS, as Kappan intimates in its annual surveys, do NOT talk about NCLB.

educationGATE...and other mysteries

Interesting idea--too bad the Post didn't take the issue to an interesting depth...BUT-- I am still intigued by the continued interest of McGraw-Hill company in Eric Smith. I like the second paragraph where, instead of Smith being remembered for the "miracle in A.A. county," he is simply identified for his "magical senior staff incentives program"...and associated with the likes of another good friend of educational buisiness...

Searches for Superintendents Hang on a Pivotal Decision, Officials Weigh Effects of Going Public or Staying Private
By Ian Shapira
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 22, 2006; Page C07

(an excerpt)

"Public searches, Domenech said, often burn very good superintendents. "Take a guy like Eric Smith. When he was superintendent of Anne Arundel County and applied for the Miami job and didn't get it, it was public knowledge," said Domenech, a senior vice president at McGraw-Hill Education. "And then bad feelings emerged."

Ultimately, however, no search guarantees a successful superintendent. Smith, the Anne Arundel schools chief from 2002 to 2005, was forced out after an internal audit alleged that he awarded senior staff members exorbitant pay raises and bonuses. In Prince George's, Andre J. Hornsby was hired as schools chief after a round of public forums. But he quit halfway into a four-year contract amid an ethics controversy and a federal probe of school system purchases and other management issues."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012101196.html


SO--I wrote to the guy....

Interesting article on the issue of open vs closed school superintendent selection process--In Anne Arundel County, although a skillful charade was staged to "obtain community feedback" for the M.A.B.E selection team, the ultimate description of the forum results did not match the feedback I heard and delivered at one of three ( moderately attended) such forums.

A thorough, interesting, investigative report would be timely right now to enlighten the public about the reality of the selection process and ask the question of how a school board, appointed by a governor, as is the case in Anne Arundel County, with obvious ties to special interest groups ( the business community, the military community, partisan political affiliations,) has the power to make a decision which will have such a huge impact on our schools' future, with absolutely no community input, and by way of a volunteer panel (the school board members) who have probably as little time invested in research about the outcomes of NCLB and it's effects in our classrooms as the community overall.

Another interesting question: Why does McGraw-Hill educational co. have a stake in the selection process?

Thanks for your time,

SO--he wrote back....

Hi Annie -- Thanks for your email. McGraw Hill doesn't have a stake in the
process. It's just the place where a former Fairfax superintendent works. I
thought it would be useful for the story to have interviewed a former
superintendent who went through these various searches and get his
perspective.

Your story idea sounds good. I'll check into it and see what I come up
with...
Ian

SO--I replied....

Thanks for your quick response...I tend to differ with your opinion...With millions of dollars of school budgets going directly to the McGraw-Hill company, I am sure they do maintain a close interest in the selection of the folks who control those budgets. For example, your guy in Fairax who was given a job there--he must have done a great job when he was superintendent ( especially in terms of budget for testing and educational materials purchased from McGraw-Hill) ...and Eric Smith, he did such a "great job," McGraw-Hill became his publicity manager after he left AA county, (for questionable hiring and raise practices, and other serious results of an audit)--when a video on his pro-NCLB tactics in N.C. came out on PBS.

No, I don't agree at all that the connections are coincidental--and I do believe that there could possibly be a relationship of interest.

Thank you for your interest in the selection process. Anything that helps the community to understand the process is helpful...

ANYHOW--I am SURE that a POST investigation will quickly follow, about the relationship between Educational Testing and Textbook, Curriculum and other supplimental educational service Companies AND the Superintendents (or CEO's) of high profile, BIG BUCKS, BIG STAKES school systems...


what? you don't think so??? (me either....)

my thanks to Sue Allison at MAHST for her endless energy and intelligence

...And from Massachusetts http://www.citizensforpublicschools.org./

44 GROUPS LAUNCH "CAMPAIGN FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE WHOLE CHILD;"
Seek Overhaul of Outmoded Mass. "School Reform" Policies; Replacement of State Board of Education

Charging that current state policies have led to an increase in dropouts, narrow drilling for the MCAS tests and a failure to provide high-quality learning for low-income children, a coalition of more than 40 organizations today launched the "Campaign for the Education of the Whole Child." (The list of signers is attached.)

The Alliance for the Education of the Whole Child kicked off its drive with the release of a 47-page report calling for a change in the direction of Massachusetts school reform efforts.

"We propose a comprehensive plan for high-quality education for every girl and boy in Massachusetts public schools," explained Ruth Kaplan, Chair of the Alliance. "Schools must meet each child’s individual needs and must provide a full range of academic, artistic and vocational opportunities in an environment that is both challenging and supportive. Unfortunately, current policies are pressuring educators into teaching the test instead of educating the whole child."

"We think we have a vision, a master plan based on collaboration among educators, parents and community. It addresses real educational needs based on better information than just test scores," added Marilyn Segal, of Citizens for Public Schools. "The Board of Education needs to be responsive to the public, not to privatizing corporations, test companies and those who would profiteer from education reform."

Among other recommendations, the report proposes:

- implementing improvement efforts cooperatively with schools, districts and educators;

- using multiple measures for evaluating students and schools, instead of just MCAS tests;

- passing already filed legislation that would strengthen schooling for English language learners, students with disabilities, and vocational students

- repairing the child social services safety net; reversing the trend toward increased racial segregation; and adequately funding needed school improvements.

"Ten thousand students a year are dropping out of our schools; a rate that has increased due to MCAS," said Jean McGuire, Executive Director of METCO, Inc. "If education policy doesn’t work for all of the children, it doesn’t work for any of them. The students we fail are not going to live on Mars, they will live in our own communities, alongside those with whom we succeed. The future of democracy depends upon protecting the legacy of public school education in America while guarding its birthplace in Massachusetts."

"The status-quo approach to school reform has failed to close the achievement gaps between the Dover-Sherborns and the Lawrences," said Lisa Guisbond, the report’s lead author. "Evidence from across the nation as well as Massachusetts demonstrates we cannot test our way to equity. Instead of high-quality teaching tied to strong standards, our kids are getting standardized, one-size-fits-all test prep."

"Governor Romney and Mass Insight's so-called reform proposals will only make things worse," explained Paul Phillips, a Quincy educator. "They have no program to actually improve schools that serve our most needy children, only plans to attack the teachers who work every day with children who are homeless, hungry, have disabilities, and do not yet speak English. Our educators need real support, not schemes for so-called 'merit pay' and more knee-jerk decisions made almost entirely on the basis of test scores. The legislature should reject Romney and Mass Insight's proposals, and as a first step toward real improvement, pass the legislation recommended in the Alliance report."



- The full report, The Campaign for the Education of the Whole Child, and an executive summary will be is available online at www.citizensforpublicschools.org.



TAKE A LOOK AT THIS LIST

The Report has been endorsed by the following organizations:

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, American Jewish Committee, Black Educators' Alliance of Massachusetts (BEAM), Boston Teachers Union (BTU), Brookline Educators Union, Brookline School Committee, MassCARE (Massachusetts Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education), Center for Collaborative Education, Chicopee Education Association, Citizens for Public Schools (CPS), Council for Fair School Finance, Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR), FairTest (National Center for Fair & Open Testing), Global Institute for Student Aspirations at Endicott College, Greater Boston Civil Rights Coalition (GBCRC), Harvard Progressive Advocacy Group (HPAG), Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA), Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association, Lexington Education Association, Mass Association for Bilingual Education , Mass Association of School Superintendents (MASS), Mass Jobs with Justice, Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE), Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), Massachusetts Association of Special Education Parent Advisory Councils (MASSPAC), Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (MATSOL), Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA), Massachusetts Coalition for Equitable Education (MCEE), Mass English Plus Coalition, Massachusetts Federation of Teachers (MFT), Mass Parents for Education not MCAS, Massachusetts Teachers Association, Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO), Multicultural Education, Training, and Advocacy (META), NAACP, Boston Chapter, NAACP, New Bedford Branch, NAACP, South Middlesex Branch, National Catholic Center for Student Aspirations at Assumption College, New England Association of College Admission Counseling, Quincy Education Association, Springfield Education Association, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, Work-4-Quality/Fight-4-Equity, Yesodot

absolutely amazing stuff...

Colorado Coalition for Better Education Press Release
http://www.thecbe.org/


On behalf of the Coalition for Better Education, its founder Don Perl, its hundreds of members from around the state, and the tens of thousands of students, teachers, parents, and average citizens all over the country who are rising up in spontaneous and democratic opposition to high stakes standardized testing, I would like to bring to your attention the CBE's latest educational effort.

Beginning on January 16th, the CBE will be unveiling bus bench ads around the metro area and Greeley (locations enclosed below). The ads will be highlighted by our increasingly recognizable logo of a slash through CSAP and will say, "Parents: We CAN do something about this injustice. Opt out letters available at www.thecbe.org."

The January 16th rollout of our ads, and their location on bus benches, is particularly appropriate given that that is the date for this year's celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Opposition to high stakes standardized testing, with its well documented biases in the areas of ethnicity, gender, and especially socioeconomic status, is a civil rights issue. High stakes standardized testing is one of the primary factors in the ongoing resegregation of America's schools, with some studies showing that our schools are now more segregated, i.e. have more nonwhite children attending majority nonwhite schools, than in the era before Brown vs. Board of Education.

Parallels to the civil rights struggle also exist in terms of the responses of authority to those who are challenging their policies. Just as governments all across the nation instituted the most draconian punishments against students who protested segregation in the nineteen fifities and sixties, so are they now punishing those who would now stand up in opposition to the resegregation of our schools. The Bennett School District has threatened to fail those students who exercise their legal right to opt out of the test, while the Wiggins School District has threatened to exclude them from extracurricular activities and field trips.

Despite these abuses of power, more than three thousand students, including my daughter, "Just Said No to CSAP" last year ("Denver Post", 3/30/05). They honor the memories of Dr. King and Rosa Parks with their courage and set a shining example that we urge all of the people of Colorado, students, teachers, parents, and the citizenry in general to follow.

Tim Babbidge
Treasurer, CBE
Aurora

Please visit the website at: http://www.thecbe.org/ and look at the editorial statements of Don Perl and the teacher's letters of resignation.

"How did we stray so far from nurturing our children to requiring their slavish surrender to a contrived testing regimen? The trail starts with McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Their profits have gone from $49,000,000 in 1993 before the advent of high-stakes standardized testing to a staggering $321,500,000 in 2003. They manufacture not only CSAP and similar high-stakes programs, but also the preparatory material. Which do you think is more important to them, the needs, talents and interests of our children, or corporate profits? Do you think that CEO's at McGraw-Hill have read and digested the literature that educators know about the myriad abilities children possess? And who suffers more in this greed motivated scheme - schools like Christa McAuliffe or schools like Billie Martinez? Billie Martinez recently lost much of its effective bilingual education program at the CSAP altar.
An educational agenda founded on corporate greed is shameful! WE THE PEOPLE not only need to prepare our children for the world, but we also need to prepare the world for our children."--Don Perl

Also the statement links. From: Exposing the myths:

"Ironically it is not just standardized tests and the CSAP that is at issue here; performance standards, and evaluating schools based entirely on test scores have all hindered educational improvement. The problem lies in the fact that we have transferred the crucial responsibility of informing, guiding, and monitoring the educational system to test publishers who have no accountability. Business leaders and policy makers, distantly removed from the students, have superseded the role of the professional educators in making vital school and classroom decisions that impact our children.

Parents are evaluating the quality of schools on “data points” instead of doing the necessary work of observing, asking questions, and participating in the efforts of our schools to instill wisdom, integrity, and courage in our growing future. Teachers and administrators have too willingly signed away both their rights and responsibilities in promoting learning that is personalized, rigorous, and meaningful and now have all of the liability and none of the authority.

Instead of educational improvement today’s current reform system has reduced opportunities for disadvantaged children, demoralized our schools, narrowed the range of thought, paralyzed the imagination of a generation, and impeded our children’s intrinsic motivation and the natural will to learn. Our educational institutions are the best hope for our future; when we as a nation ignore individualism and restrain intellectual freedom, we have diminished our capacity for greatness and limited our potential for the extraordinary."--Angela Engel, 2005

here's a real live crock of b.s.

This CRACKS me up!!! Saluting Open Court and Eric Smith for this miracle!!!!! WOW!!!
Who buys this stuff?

President Bush salutes Glen Burnie school on No Child anniversary
By RYAN BAGWELL Staff Writer

With an entourage that filled five Marine helicopters, President Bush roared into Glen Burnie this morning to celebrate the fourth anniversary of his No Child Left Behind education initiative.

The backdrop was a county elementary school that has closed the gap in test scores between African American and white students -- one of the major goals of the president's education plan.

Flanked by first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, the president lauded the 100 students and teachers gathered in North Glen Elementary's multi-purpose room,

"This is a school that believes any child can learn, not just certain children," Mr. Bush said.

The school last year significantly narrowed its achievement gap, the disparity on state test scores between African American and white students.

Before his remarks, the president met briefly with Laneie Taylor's fifth-grade class after stepping off his helicopter, which landed behind the school just after 10 a.m.

"Is anyone reading more than they're watching TV?" Mr. Bush asked students, followed by a few hands raised high into the air.

Closing the achievement gap is a cornerstone of No Child Left Behind, which requires states to make all students proficient in math and reading by 2014. Mr. Bush signed the bill into law in 2002.

The change in North Glen's achievement gap was dramatic. In 2003, 30 percent more white third-graders scored proficiently on state tests than their African-American peers. Last year, more African-American third-graders reached proficiency than whites.

For the school's progress, Maurine Larkin, North Glen's former principal who now heads Odenton Elementary, credited the district's Open Court reading curriculum and math curriculum put in place by former superintendent Eric J. Smith in 2003.

But in the end, hard work was the key."Programs are programs, but people make that program, and we really looked at each child, and the teachers made an instructional decision on a daily basis about what that child needed," Ms. Larkin said.

The gap between third-graders across the county also has improved. In 2003, 24 percent more white students were reading at proficient levels than African Americans. Last year the gap was 19 percent.

Across the nation, the achievement gap has improved only marginally. On the National Assessment for Education Progress, the annual test billed as the "nation's report card," the disparity in reading scores between African American and white fourth-graders has decreased only 3 points since 1992. In math, the disparity between scores for African American and white fourth-graders only improved 8 points.

In his remarks, Mr. Bush defended his law against critics who said it is too heavy on accountability and results in too much testing.

"They said it was discriminatory to test," he said. "I said it was discriminatory not to test."

Not everyone supports Mr. Bush's education initiatives. In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, 10 states and the National Education Association filed a lawsuit against Ms. Spellings last year, alleging No Child Left Behind created an unfunded mandate on local schools districts. Maryland was not among them.

U.S. Rep. Benjamin Cardin, D-Baltimore, said No Child Left Behind was intended to make the federal government a partner in improving education.

Instead, it has become an unfunded mandate and created more problems than it has solved, said Mr. Cardin, who is running for Senate.

"It was a promise made and not kept," he said. "It's disappointing that the federal government has not stepped up to the plate to make education a priority."

But Mr. Bush defended the initiative.

"I don't think you want the federal government funding all public schools," Mr. Bush said. "But I do think you want the federal government focusing money on certain aspects of public education."

Security in and around North Glen was tight all morning. Students passed through metal detectors to get to class; parents were not allowed to enter. Music lessons were canceled. Satellite trucks for television reporters lined up next to the school.

County police surrounded the school, and men and women wearing dark suits with ear pieces roamed the hallways throughout the president's visit

A few curious onlookers made their way to the school, only to be stopped on the quiet street corner by police.

"I never in the world would have thought a president of the United States would have come within 20 feet of me," said Jan Suite, a Glen Burnie resident who lives in a townhouse adjacent to the school. "I think it's great."

The five Marine helicopters landed behind the school, carrying White House staff, reporters and the president himself.

White House staff considered several schools for the president to visit today. For weeks, presidential aides visited North Glen and checked up on administrators while only telling them a "domestic policy" official was interested in visiting.

"It's a boost for morale - for our school staff throughout the system, that we have made that kind of progress that we would have a visit from the president," interim Superintendent Nancy M. Mann said.

The students were mostly excited to meet the nation's leader.

"It was very exciting, because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the president," fourth-grader Corey Martin said.


http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/01_09-27/TOP


Published January 09, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

recovering from the holidays...

True to form, my youngest daughter, class of 2009 if she makes it, the class that holds the honor of the first to be fully oppressed by our county educational factory, came to our holiday "break" armed with a thick wad of worksheets and homework to be completed in the week they had "off."

The two of them, her senior sister replete with the requisite school-induced viral invasion, a complimentary feature of every vacation we have known, dissappeared into their bedrooms for hour after hour of lost and deprived sleep and emerged regularly to eat and hammer away at the academic prison walls...

I am resigned to the way the senior will finish off her year; nothing is going to change soon enough for her situation to improve before she is on to bigger and better, and DEFINITLY PRIVATE--an institution of higher learning...

Perhaps I can convince her to skip the exams (for the FIVE AP classes she is taking) once she is accepted at a school she is happy with and the "senior fever" takes over her rigorous devotions to her studies.

It's her sister's situation that has me preoccupied because she has the burden of these next years to contend with and for her sake, I am worried. I can already see the effects on her psyche as she struggles to remain an ambitious student while she is buried in deadlines and tension.

She just turned 14. She is quite bright, quite ambitious, and like her sister, has quite an array of interests she would like to pursue. But, because of her homework, and the relentless schedule of tests and worksheets demanded perpetually, she has barely enough time to sleep and no time for anything else but schoolwork.

Both girls participate in Band, since it is still an option as an elective, but the extra rehersals, competitions and concerts really strain their limits. And although both would gratefully accept offers to participate in more music programs, they fell that they can not afford the time. Neither has time to practise their instrument as it is and both feel guilty about that.

Both interested in Art, I have them in classes outside of school but both feel the pressure and it weighs on them heavily when they are so burdened by schoolwork facing them on days when an hour or two is subtracted from homework time. And the younger worries about finding the time to train for her fitness aspirations; time just doesn't exist for the many plans she has for her 14 year old life.

Friends are fit in combined with homework and sleep deprivation often cancels out the best made social and extra-curricular plans.

Maybe it is partially because her sister is so excited about the fact that her "childhood is ending" as she continually levels that fact on our dinner table discussions, but I look at my younger daughter's tension and fatigue and agony and feel so very sad about the quality of her life as we face more of the same, and worse, in the next few years for her at school.

I can not understand how any parent is missing the results of the changes in our schools over the last several years and the toll it takes on their children. And I can not understand how our school leadership intends to continue to comply as this horrid act grows more invasive.

I am driven to whittle away at the misinformed and uninformed and I do not intend to hand another child over without a fight.

Here's another nightmare...


Jo Rupert Behm: Exit exams unfair to students

Jo Rupert Behm
Marin Independent Journal

THE JOY and excitement high school seniors normally share over their last major holiday has been marred for many by the worst example of failed public education policy to ever befall the state of California and metastasizing over the nation.
The California High School Exit Exam legislation, written and passed at warp speed in 1999 as last-ditch, school reform to meet former Gov. Gray Davis' campaign promises.

Backfiring, high-stakes testing usually reserved for graduate school or law/medical school admissions or professional licensing exams, has now been adopted to keep high school students from ever graduating, beginning with the class of 2006. Even though they will meet or exceed all other requirements amassed over 12,000 hours, 2,000 days, and 13 years in K-12 classrooms, students who fail the exam will not receive high school diplomas.

Even undergraduate colleges, graduate and professional schools do not base graduation entirely on a single test. Diplomas in higher education never rely on one antiquated pencil/paper multiple choice test and a cold-turkey, surprise topic essay written longhand under stress, without any modern technology, drafts, edits, or reference materials.

Such a set-up is grossly unjust and intolerable public policy that works to sabotage life prospects for post-secondary education, lucrative trades, public sector jobs, scholarships, financial aid, and access to sustainable living wages for students of color and with disabilities.

With our affluence, Marin County is in better shape than most, but still 256 Marin seniors in the class of 2006 started this senior year needing to pass one or both sections of the exam.

Eighty-four of these students are seniors with disabilities (mild disabilities, enabling them to be on track to graduate) and 130 are socio-economically disadvantaged, overlapping with 114 English-language learners.

Students who returned for senior year are persevering - some taking the exit exam the fourth, fifth or sixth time this year so the 220 to 230 credits they acquire of English, math, science, social studies, economics, geography, history, performing/visual arts, computers, and electives will not be in vain.

Ironically, required courses include passing about 14 semesters of math and English courses based on the identical rigorous academic standards as the exam. Furthermore, these courses have distinct and preferred advantage over snap-shot tests because courses employ multiple measures, such as projects, presentations, research, reports, and exams, to measure academic achievement. Multiple measures also provide evidence of vital non-testable virtues (i.e., work ethic, determination, public speaking, teamwork, task management, computer skills) that are far more essential and more reliable for predicting success in the real world.

Statewide, 116,496 seniors started this school year still needing to pass the math exam and 113,038 needing to pass the English language arts. A staggering 139,104 seniors (if they bothered to return senior year) still need to pass one or both sections to receive a diploma in June. Between drop-outs and anticipated low pass rates for seniors repeating the exam only about half of the original 522,116 freshmen who started high school together in 2002-03 will walk across graduation stages in California next June and be handed a real diploma.

Many districts are warning seniors who have not passed the exam that they are not welcome at graduation or any senior events. They won't even be allowed to pretend to graduate in front of camera-toting parents, grandparents and younger siblings.

With just 22 weeks of school left, this looming graduation crisis and 11th-hour funding is a public policy spectacle. This month, $44.7 million will be distributed to all 120 special education programs throughout the state with priority to help seniors with disabilities pass the exam.

Three pieces of legislation that would have helped disadvantaged subgroups work around the punitive exit exam requirement and restore confidence in the integrity of teachers and local school officials who know their seniors best got all the way to the governor's desk. But the state ssuperintendent, as author and unrelenting owner of the exit exam legislation, persuaded the governor to veto all three bills.

This supremacist testing policy illustrates woeful disregard for the diversity of California students and callous willingness of education top brass to punish students with life-limiting, irreparable consequences. This, in spite of California's rock-bottom educational infrastructure over which individual students have no control.

There should be no California courtroom left behind if this cruel testing policy is not overturned. Email jobehm@behmer.us for information on two class-action lawsuits now underway.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jo Rupert Behm of Novato is a consulant on state and federal health and education policy and is a past president of the Learning Disabilities Association of California.

http://www.marinij.com/marinvoice/ci_3373835