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- NCLB: Worth the Fight To Get It Right
- New AFT Communicators Network Set for Launch
- Film Explores Community's Struggle with Controversy
NCLB: Worth the Fight To Get It Right
Jack Jennings: NCLB is not going away—nor should it.
One of the key architects behind the Elementary and Secondary Education Act urged a July 9 QuEST general session audience to ask the hard questions, make the necessary adjustments and build the key political alliances needed to keep the 40-year-old federal law true to its mission of helping the nation forge a more just society and helping millions of disadvantaged children find opportunity in public education.
Jack Jennings, president and founder of the Center on Education Policy, told the audience that ESEA, now known as the No Child Left Behind Act, still has at its core a fundamental federal commitment to promote quality education for disadvantaged children—a commitment born of the war on poverty under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. That fact should never be forgotten even as public schools struggle with such thorny issues as funding and accountability under NCLB, said Jennings, who from 1967 to 1994 served as subcommittee staff director and then as general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor.
"Despite all the problems with No Child Left Behind, NCLB is not going away—and it should not go away," said Jennings. The law, which includes Title I, was a linchpin of domestic legislation forged under the belief "that if the federal government could help poor and disadvantaged Americans, they would do better and the country would do better."
It's still a worthy ideal, Jennings said, and "I think the past will show us the future" when it comes to fixing many serious problems tied to NCLB.
He reported on the latest findings of a detailed study of NCLB conducted by the center, a Washington, D.C., organization dedicated to promoting public school excellence. The study reveals many problems that must be tackled to fix the law and improve regulation: Educators say there is too much emphasis on testing, for example, and not enough support for schools. They also cite the law's poor definition of what constitutes a "highly qualified teacher" and express concern that school accountability measures are "too blunt" and don't give schools credit where it's due. Many of these concerns are valid, and they often reflect political impatience for results or even efforts by enemies of public education to promote privatization, he acknowledged. And Jennings warned that NCLB is being asked to navigate a political climate that puts a premium on tax cuts, privatization and the imposition of "moral values" by narrow groups across society—a far cry from the national liberal agenda of the mid-1960s that focused on the equity-based role of laws such as ESEA.
Problems and dangers notwithstanding, it's also important to recognize that there remain some fundamental areas of agreement that underpin NCLB. People believe that schools should be held accountable for raising student achievement and that children have a right to instruction by qualified teachers. And NCLB has given additional impetus to help change schools and promote equity and higher achievement. "Controversies should not distract us from the great national agreement that schools must improve if their students aren't doing well."
Jennings hailed the AFT's rich history in courageously promoting the goals behind true standards-based reform. That kind of spirit, he said, can make the union a key force behind efforts to improve NCLB. Jennings then outlined two steps toward this goal. First, the nation must ask and answer some hard and honest questions surrounding NCLB: How can testing be used to improve instruction rather than simply to penalize schools? How can poorly performing schools effectively be turned around? What exactly is a "highly qualified teacher," and what resources and supports do schools need if we're serious about having all children reach their learning potential? "Educators must show a better way," an alternative that helps policymakers go beyond sanctions and penalties.
The AFT, organized labor and other concerned groups also must build broad coalitions to fight for the ideals underlying ESEA, and their efforts must "include electing people to Congress who agree" with the equity mission.
It's a fight "in the spirit of Al Shanker," he said, referring to the late AFT president, and, he added, in the best traditions of the AFT.
AFT Communicators Network Set To Launch
AFTCA president Leo Canty greets participants at the conference awards banquet on July 6.
The AFT this week announced the launch of the AFT Communicators Network (AFTCN), a new membership organization designed to work with local affiliates to more effectively coordinate their communications strategy; better support their communications needs; and deliver the AFT's message to state and local members, the media and the general public. This new organization replaces the AFT Communications Association (AFTCA), which held its 50th anniversary annual conference prior to the QuEST conference.
Working in coordination with AFTCA, the AFT has merged its public affairs advisory council with the membership of AFTCA to establish a nucleus for this new organization. The network will provide AFTCN members with media and PR resources, including articles, news, hints and other support to help in written and electronic communications. It will continue favorite AFTCA activities such as the annual conference, the journalism contest and the Catalyst newsletter.
Any AFT local or state communications specialist who works on developing and delivering the union message to members, the media or the general public may join AFTCN, at no expense to the affiliate or to the member. The network will be supported by the AFT public affairs, editorial, and organizing and field services departments.
The AFT will establish an advisory committee of AFTCN members, who will coordinate with AFT staff to lead the activities of the organization and to balance the communications needs of the entire spectrum of AFT affiliates.
Film Explores Community's Struggle with Controversy
Hundreds of attendees at the AFT QuEST conference on July 8 watched an advance viewing of the PBS documentary The Fire Next Time, then discussed using it as a teaching resource with producer/director Patrice O'Neill.
The documentary examines how citizens in Flathead Valley, Mont., struggled to deal with economic growth. The hourlong film, airing on the PBS series "P.O.V.", shows how a conflict unfolded over commercial development and its impact on the environment, setting off a dangerous cycle of invective and threats of violence among a conservative radio host and local environmentalists, loggers, mill workers and the police. In this tense atmosphere—which even spawned a terror group—the role of teachers and students emerges in promoting civic discourse.
For a synopsis of the film, go to http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/thefirenexttime/
about.html. To see the teacher's guide, click on http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/
thefirenexttime/resources_guide.php. The documentary will air on PBS stations this month; check local listings for dates and times.
A co-founder of the Working Group in Oakland, Calif., O'Neill has produced national PBS programs for 15 years. Not in Our Town, her 1995 story of how Billings, Mont., responded to a hate crime epidemic, won national acclaim.
AFT Online coverage of the QuEST 2005 conference is prepared by the AFT editorial department. Photographs are by Michael Campbell.
