Telegraph, The (NH)
May 5, 2011
HEADLINE: Nashua parents pass on choice

By Michael Brindley

The school choice provision of the federal No Child Left Behind act was supposed to break the shackles placed on families trapped at failing schools simply because of where they live, giving them a ticket to a better school across town.

But as it turns out, history has shown, at least in Nashua, the vast majority of parents would rather stay put in their neighborhood schools, regardless of performance on standardized tests or labels placed on them.

This school year, 94 students at four Nashua elementary schools took advantage of the school choice option required under federal law.

Title I schools, or those with a high proportion of low-income students, labeled "in need of improvement" must offer parents the chance to switch to a non-Title I school in the district. The district must use its Title I federal funding to provide free transportation to families who switch.

In reality, the 94 students make up only a fraction - 6 percent - of the roughly 1,500 students who were eligible for school choice heading into the school year. Brian Cochrane, the Nashua School District's director of assessment and accountability, doesn't know why so few parents take advantage of school choice, but those who do are aware of the option. Cochrane said he has seen more families moving into neighborhoods of choice schools who are contacting the district about changing schools shortly after moving in.

"Those who are interested in it seem very much on top of it," Cochrane said.

This year, Dr. Crisp, Ledge Street, Fairgrounds and Mount Pleasant elementary schools were required to offer choice. Those schools will have to offer choice again next year, along with Amherst Street Elementary School, which returned to "in need of improvement" status this year after managing to get off the list two years ago.

Cochrane said letters will go out to parents at the five elementary schools later this month, informing them of their right to change to a different school. The deadline by which parents will have to choose hasn't been decided yet, but it's expected to be sometime in mid-June, Cochrane said.

Typically, the deadline has been later in the summer, but Cochrane said the earlier parents can make a decision, the better it is for the children and for the receiving schools, which have to accommodate the new students. This year, New Searles Elementary School has 52 choice students who would otherwise be going to school somewhere else.

Other schools offered as a choice are Birch Hill, Broad Street, Charlotte Avenue and Sunset Heights.

Fairgrounds Elementary had 45 of its students opt for choice this year, more than any other school. Many of those students have been at their choice school for several years.

The district requires parents to meet with their neighborhood school principal before changing. Fairgrounds principal Chuck Healey said he will talk with parents about what they might be losing out on by changing schools. For example, Title I schools can offer things other schools can't, such as free after-school tutoring and other supplemental services.

Ultimately, it's up to the parents, Healey said.

"I don't try to talk them out of it. I just want to put the cards on the table," Healey said.

This year, the district is spending $158,200 in federal funding to bus the students to their schools of choice, according to Pat Burns, the district's Title I director.

There's a question as to just how much of a difference it makes educationally for children to switch schools.

Eleven of the city's 12 elementary schools have now been labeled "in need of improvement," following the results of the state testing administered in October. Bicentennial Elementary School is the only school in the city that has managed to avoid the designation. But as states move toward No Child Left Behind's oft-criticized mandate of 100 percent proficiency by 2014, it's expected all schools will be given the label eventually.

It's likely not a coincidence that the elementary school with the smallest proportion of low-income students is the last to avoid "in need of improvement" status. Studies have repeatedly shown a strong correlation between high poverty levels and poor performance on standardized testing.

When it comes to school choice, Cochrane said the district has no official position on what is in the best interest of the students. There's been no tracking to see whether students who changed schools have performed better, but few of the students who have switched have come back.

Cochrane said the district thinks students will get a quality education at all of the city's schools.

With No Child Left Behind overdue for reauthorization, where school choice will fit in a redesign authored by President Barack Obama's administration is unclear. Obama's blueprint for reauthorization released in 2009 did not keep the school choice provision.