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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.
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.
posted by annie | 10:40 PM
1 Comments:
Dear Annie,
I just read your most recent post on Susan Ohanian's web site.
It's the clearest, most succinct expression of the horrors of NCLB that I have read.
I taught in a gifted magnet school in Houston for the duration of Rod Paige's tenure as superintendent. I experienced from the inside the corruption of good education practices wrought by NCLB. There is no doubt in my mind that the true driving force behind NCLB is an oddly lethal blend of corporate greed, ignorance of how children learn, and a punitive, possibly mysogynistic, attitude towards teachers.
Since leaving Houston in 2002, I have worked for schools in Maine and now Virginia. It is so disheartening to see how NCLB has affected schools everywhere.
I always tell parents who are unhappy with testing and its effects on the curriculum to be as loud and clear as possible in expressing their concerns to the school district and to the legislature. Certainly, no one listens to teachers.
One of the sad legacies left behind by Rod Paige is the total contempt he routinely expressed towards teachers while he worked in Houston. NCLB was the national platform on which he was allowed to trash all teachers.
Please continue to advocate for good educational practices. Parents and teachers are on the same side in this fight, but parents are taken more seriously.
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