The AFT's biennial QuEST (Quality Educational Standards in Teaching) conference, held in Washington, D.C., July 12-15, brought together more than 2,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, school officials, parents and others to learn about the latest research on school improvement and to share professional development ideas. The theme was "Strengthening Public Schools: Our Union's Work." workshops and general sessions covered a range of topics, including NCLB, early childhood education, literacy, safe and orderly schools, and English language learners.

A longer school year for struggling students
AFT president's proposal would help K-3 students

It’s no secret that during the summer break, many kids forget a fair amount of what they learned during the school year. This well-documented and aptly named “summer drop-off” is particularly severe for disadvantaged students.

In his keynote address to the opening session of QuEST, AFT president Edward J. McElroy, proposed extending the school year into the summer and using the extra time to provide the nation’s most vulnerable K-3 students with intensive instruction and out-of-classroom enrichment activities.
“We are simply losing too many children during the long summer months,” McElroy said. “Struggling students need additional instruction, enrichment and more time.”

Although the program would be developed in each state according to its needs, McElroy proposed that the summer extension last at least 20 days. The time would be used not only to provide struggling students with additional academic instruction but also with enrichment experiences, such as museum visits, educational field trips and other summer activities.

McElroy called for a program in which teachers and other school personnel would screen students—beginning in prekindergarten and continuing through third grade—to determine which kids would benefit from an extended year.

“We need to do a better job of identifying young children, from pre-K to grade 3, who start out behind—and continue to fall further behind. Teachers are already identifying these children, but we need to build the intervention system into our schools,” McElroy said. A strong body of research confirms that academic problems are much easier to address when detected early.

McElroy has asked AFT state affiliates to work with their legislative leaders to develop state-by-state legislation to enact his proposal.

Strong schools make strong communities

“If you don’t have great schools in a community, people won’t live there,” Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told attendees during a QuEST plenary session titled, “Partnerships That Support Public Schools.”

The best dollars spent in economic development are spent on education, said Sebelius, who is also chair of the Democratic Governors Association. “The key to a prosperous economy is an educated workforce.”

AFT president Edward J. McElroy, who posed questions to Sebelius and Douglas Palmer, mayor of Trenton, N.J., during the session, noted that the link between education and economic prosperity is often overlooked. The governor and mayor agreed.

Failing school systems are everyone’s problem, noted Palmer, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Not having an educated workforce directly affects us all.”
When it comes to education, “We have to find ways to reject the status quo. We have to stop teaching to the test and start really educating our youngsters,” said Palmer, referring to the No Child Left Behind Act. “You can’t use a cookie-cutter approach when it comes to education.”

Noting that NCLB has caused tensions at various levels of government, McElroy asked Palmer and Sebelius how they view the restrictions placed on them by NCLB.

“Something is fundamentally wrong with the NCLB format. The test is designed for failure,” explained Sebelius. A recent Kansas survey revealed that half of the state’s students are not ready for school. Despite those findings, the federal government is cutting state funding for early childhood education, said Sebelius. “It’s like building a house without the foundation,” she added. “The conversation around NCLB is really disappointing because it seems we’ve already left kids behind.”

As the 2008 election approaches, noted Palmer, “We must push presidential candidates to talk about NCLB and about breaking down barriers to educating youngsters.”

Sebelius agreed with the mayor. “We must insist that candidates talk about the future of education, not just in a roomful of teachers, but to the American public.”