Imperial Valley Press (Imperial Valley, CA)
August 11, 2011
Headline: No Child Left Behind waiver leaves educators in Imperial County wanting to know more

By Roman Flores

Local educators are wary of what strings might be attached to the yet-to-be-announced education reforms by the U.S. Department of Education regarding No Child Left Behind Act waivers.

Former President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act is a federal measure drafted to close achievement gaps between high- and low-performing students, especially in minorities, and improve and strengthen accountability and teaching in English-language arts and mathematics, according to the Web site ed.gov

Through the law, schools, local and state educational agencies have been expected to meet the federal bar in all subgroups of both school subjects while the bar has been steadily increasing by percentages; with 100 percent of students expected to be proficient or advanced by 2014.

In response to congressional inaction, the Obama administration announced Monday that waivers for the current law would become available as 82 percent of U.S. schools could be labeled failures next year if the law is not changed, according to an article by The Associated Press.

"However, states must agree to a host of education reforms the White House favors," according to the article.

While the waiver is a welcome one to the 31 schools and five districts in the Imperial County currently in "program improvement" status, the unknowns about the waivers do not sit well with some educators.

"It's just a lot of frustration on the parts of the districts as the bar goes up every year," Elena Castro, assistant superintendent of educational services through the Imperial County Office of Education, said Wednesday.

Castro said as the bar continues to be set higher every year, fewer districts are being able to meet the requirement "so eventually all school districts would not be reaching the bar."

"Next year you have to have 75 percent proficient or advanced. We still have schools right now in the Valley that are at 30 to 36 percent proficient or advanced," she said.

"What's happening right now statewide and in Imperial County is that they're not even looking at the (adequate yearly progress) right now, they're looking at (the state's Academic Performance Index) because it reflects that they are growing," she said.

She said schools that have jumped 300 or more state API points over the years are still marked as failures under federal AYP.

Some superintendents feel the same way about the federal measure.

"That measure isn't very valid because the vast majority falls under one end of the continuum," C. Thomas Budde, Central Union High School District superintendent, said.

"We're taking a yardstick and we're trying to use something that needs a micrometer," Budde said.

"There's no detail with it so A, we don't really know what it means and B, knowing the federal government it's going to come with strings attached," he said.

"It was just a matter of time before the feds came by and said they were going to be flexible," said Calipatria Unified Superintendent Douglas Kline.

"It's a noble goal, it really is, but I don't know how realistic it is," Kline said of the current law. "It's getting to the point now where we're all being set up for failure."

Staff Writer Roman Flores can be reached at 760-337-3439 or rflores@ivpressonline.com