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By Sue Loughlin TERRE HAUTE — The federal No Child Left Behind law must be changed to level the playing field for certain subgroups of children who have trouble meeting its expectations, said Dan Tanoos, Vigo County School Corp. superintendent, on Tuesday. Tanoos and other Vigo County educators had an opportunity to express those views Monday during a telephone “town hall” conference hosted by 8th District Congressman Rep. Brad Ellsworth. The 8th District educators, including several from Vigo County, heard from and asked questions of Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. The topic was reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. The session with Miller lasted about 30 minutes. He gave an overview of proposed changes in the law and took questions from educators. When Miller left, Ellsworth listened to the educators comments for about an additional 20 minutes, said his spokeswoman, Liz Farrar. Ellsworth’s office issued a news release on the “tele-town hall” conference Tuesday. Tanoos stressed that Vigo County educators “support No Child Left Behind, but not in its entirety. We feel it does leave some kids behind.” The law is not fair when it comes to subgroups that include special education students, students who are still learning English as a second language and low-income children on free and reduced lunch. Those students are often at a disadvantage when it comes to passing the testing requirements of No Child Left Behind, Tanoos said. In Indiana, the test is ISTEP-Plus, and it is more rigorous then tests administered by some other states. It’s not practical to expect a child who has special needs and difficulty learning to pass the same test required of non-special education peers, Tanoos said. “We need to give them a test at their ability level and continue working with those students” through remediation and enrichment, Tanoos said. Also, referring to the ISTEP-plus test, he said that Indiana prides itself on having some of the toughest academic standards in the country. “That’s where the playing field also needs to be leveled,” the Vigo County superintendent said. “We are almost penalized. Not every state has the same requirements and standards.” Testing is not as rigorous in some states, so their students will have a better chance of passing, he said. “Congress needs to enact a law that makes the playing field more level … and to have the same requirements in math, reading and language arts,” he said. Another concern relates to supplemental services, or tutoring, for Title 1 schools that fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress for three years. Parents at those schools must be given the opportunity to use outside, state-approved providers for the tutoring. But the school district must set aside part of its federal Title 1 funding to pay for the outside tutoring services. That means the Title 1 program has less funding for direct services to students to assist them with their reading and language arts skills. Also, Tanoos said he’s concerned about the quality of some of the private tutoring services approved by the state. Tanoos believes it makes more sense to let school-district teachers do the tutoring because they know the students, the curriculum and the areas where students need assistance. The issue of merit-based pay for teachers also is part of the current debate, Tanoos said. It’s a business model some would like to see used in a public school setting. Congress is considering adding funding bonuses for teachers who raise student achievement as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is up for review this year. The proposal raises many questions, Tanoos said. “We take every child every day,” Tanoos said. “Obviously, different demographics and different settings have different challenges.” Other Vigo County officials participating were School Board members Paul Lockhart and Alpa Patel; Karen Goeller, deputy superintendent; Karen Andrews, president of the Vigo County School Corp. Administrators Association; and Mick Newport, principal of Terre Haute North Vigo High School. Ellsworth will be collecting additional comments and concerns from 8th District teachers, administrators and parents to forward for the committee’s consideration. Constituents interested in expressing their view on NCLB should visit www.ellsworth.house.gov. The Education and Labor Committee is currently considering a discussion draft of the NCLB reauthorization bill. Ellsworth said that 8th District teachers and administrators live daily with the policies No Child Left Behind put in place, and they understand the challenges Hoosier students face. “It’s important for people in Washington to hear directly from Hoosiers about what policies work and what we need to improve in order to provide the best education to Indiana students,” Ellsworth said in a prepared statement. Ellsworth expressed his support for adequately funding NCLB. “Congress must keep the promises it made to schools, teachers, parents, and children, by providing local school districts with the funds they need to meet the standards we set,” Ellsworth said. He also said Congress must broaden the measures used to assess students’ progress and ensure accountability. |
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