Monroe Elementary School in Chicago has been on the Illinois AYP list since 2004. Not long ago, someone flipped a switch in the school, and, indeed, there was a fire. But the fire department failed to mention Monroe’s AYP status on its report. Investigators seemed more concerned with water damage that shorted out electrical wiring in the 100-year-old public school.

At a time when private industry spends billions on productivity-enhancing office space, one of the cruelest ironies of the No Child Left Behind Act is how policymakers ignore the connection between achievement and the learning environment. The conditions of teaching and learning do affect prospects for student success, says kindergarten teacher Linda Valentine, who has worked in Monroe for more than 20 years. Teachers have always known it, and now it’s time to end policymakers’ blissful ignorance, she says.  When it comes to maintaining buildings like Monroe, there is “a breakdown at every level—federal, state and city,” Valentine warns.

Monroe has made progress toward AYP in recent years, Valentine says, thanks in large measure to a dedicated staff. It was kindergarten teacher David Zarzoza who grabbed a fire extinguisher and served as “first responder” in the classroom fire, she notes. And building engineer Edward Lewandowski has done a “brilliant job” managing meager resources for school maintenance. The entire staff has somehow managed to keep students focused and learning—even when repairs force them to leave their regular classrooms and set up shop in the auditorium and other common areas. “It sends a terrible message when students come in and see paint peeling, discolored walls and toilets leaking,” Valentine explains. “There are many times when we have things that go wrong and we have to leave the room [to] set up another good learning environment, But we find a way.”

Yet she wonders how much more could be accomplished under the right conditions. A real accountability system would work in two directions, she says, and decision-makers would take seriously their responsibility for providing the conditions of good learning. It’s a big reason why she supports the AFT’s proposal that Congress include a new “learning environment index” when NCLB comes up for reauthorization (see box).  It would be an important step to make sure “the basics” are there: buildings that are up to code, air vents that aren’t blowing dust through classrooms, and teachers who aren’t forced to bring their own toilet paper and paper towels to work every day. But the index proposal goes beyond facilities concerns: It would help ensure that such widely recognized factors as overwhelming class size, poor discipline and safety policies, and a dearth of professional supports aren’t overlooked when a school falls short of AYP.

 “We recognize—as do all other professionals—that the conditions under which we do our work are critical to how effectively we meet our job-related goals,” stresses Marilyn Stewart, president of the Chicago Teachers Union and an AFT vice president.

Maybe it’s time for Congress to recognize this fact, too.

McElroy stressed that the AFT’s support for high academic standards predates enactment of NCLB. He told the panel that the union stands ready to work with any individual or group that seeks positive, constructive change in the law. And he said the union would continue to focus attention on NCLB’s flawed accountability system—a system that falls short of disclosing how students are really doing because it relies on tests that aren’t aligned with the curricula.

The AFT president also made the point that unions are often the subject of unfair finger-pointing in the education debate. Gov. Richardson agreed, saying the AFT has been a strong partner in education reform not only in New Mexico but around the nation.

All panelists at the retreat agreed that NCLB reauthorization was not an opportunity for “quick fixes” but a chance for focused, consistent attention on real issues in public education.