AFT joins effort to combat failing school smear

ailing school. It's a misleading phrase that many people latched onto in the wake of No Child Left Behind legislation--even though the words appear nowhere in the law. The term surfaced last year when states released their first federally mandated lists of schools that, at least according to one questionable formula, had not made enough progress on state assessments to guarantee that all children would reach proficiency in key academic areas by 2012. Schools could make the list if all of their students, or subgroups of students, failed to meet targeted, ambitious growth rates called "adequate yearly progress." Or they could make the list if less than 95 percent of students in these groups were tested.

Strictly speaking, these schools are classified by states as "schools in need of improvement" or "schools not making adequate progress." And that's hardly the same as tarring a building with a "failing school" label--a term that shortchanges schools which frequently have made progress, even eye-opening gains, under the most challenging of conditions.

"We want to meet NCLB targets, but the fact that a school hasn't met them this year doesn't mean that it's a 'failing school.' It just means that it has a way to go," says Judy Wurtzel, executive director of the Learning First Alliance. The AFT is part of this coalition of education groups that is working to change the tone of the debate--to end fuzzy terms like "failing schools," to talk concretely about areas of improvement and to recognize that many schools on state lists have made, and continue to make, tremendous strides. This fall, the coalition will be distributing a broad range of information, talking points and suggested activities to help communities across America gain a greater understanding of the benchmarks and accountability provisions behind NCLB.

Although the materials are aimed primarily at superintendents and principals, they are also useful reference tools for teachers, local PTAs and other groups involved in education. The Learning First materials were not developed to argue for or against the current law, Wurtzel emphasizes. They are to help educators, parents and communities understand and discuss NCLB, its requirements and its implications for schools and districts. "As results are released, it's important that parents and community members look hard at the role everyone has to play in helping to meet these goals."

Deborah Tully was one of several AFT activists to review the Learning First materials, and she came away encouraged. "It's a good first step," says the professional issues coordinator for the Ohio Federation of Teachers. The information "is very understandable and will help in communicating with parents."

Materials are free and can be downloaded from the Learning First Alliance Web site. Visit www.learningfirst.org.
 

• Back to feature story

Copyright by the American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO. All rights reserved. Photographs
and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFT.