School Improvement & No Child Left Behind
School Improvement & No Child Left Behind: Highlights
Click here for ELC's current e-Newsletter.
Graduation tests
On January 16 (Wednesday) and 17 (Thursday), the Pennsylvania State Board of Education will vote on draft regulations creating new high stakes graduation tests for all Pennsylvania public school students. THERE IS STILL TIME TO COMMENT. Click here for more information; you may also want to review ELC's testimony on the proposals.
For additional background, you may wish to read our high stakes testing fact sheet, our research summary about graduation tests, and an op-ed by Monty Neill of FairTest.
Contact state legislators now about proposed changes to Chapter 49 regulations
Your help is needed to contact state legislators about Chapter 49. The House and Senate Education Committees are expected to review the final regulations for improving teacher quality within a few weeks. The proposed changes to Chapter 49 will give all teachers more ability to teach children with disabilities and English Language Learners in regular classrooms. In addition, special education teachers will know more about the subjects they teach at the appropriate grade level. We want the legislators to speak out in support of the Chapter 49 proposals.
For a model letter that you can send to the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees, click here.
For details on bringing this to the attention of your legislator, click here.
For a summary of the proposed changes to Chapter 49, click here.
ELC files complaint with USDOE on teacher quality issues in Pennsylvania
On October 24, 2006, ELC filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education encouraging them to reject Pennsylvania's recently revised state plan for increasing the number of highly qualified teachers and ensuring equitable distribution of these teachers across high-needs districts. The complaint argues that the plan is not sufficient to bring about necessary change because it does not target strategies to specifically identified high-needs districts or provide concrete timelines for action. For a copy of PDE's revised plan, submitted to USDOE on September 29th, click here.
A step forward for Chester-Upland
On October 16, 2006, Judge James Gardner Colins of PA Commonwealth Court issued an order appointing the PA Secretary of Education as a "receiver" for the Chester-Upland School District. Citing serious mismanagement by Chester-Upland's Special Board of Control, Judge Colins gave the Secretary of Education broad power to oversee the district's finances. The judge also ordered the Board to comply with laws on parent involvement, public disclosure of information, and open meetings. ELC is representing a Chester-Upland community group (Chester-Upland Community, Parents, and Students On the Move) as "friend of the court" in this case. For more information, contact Baruch Kintisch.
Teacher quality
June 2006 was a good month for improving the quality of teachers for students with disabilities, English language learners, and other diverse learners. On June 1, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved final changes to the state regulations for teacher certification and training (Chapter 49 Round #1). Click here for more information on Round #1. On June 29, the State Board of Education approved the initial draft of additional changes to these regulations (Chapter 49 Round #2). Click here for more information on Round #2. When combined, these new regulations will require dual certification of special education teachers and will require all teachers to take undergraduate classes and ongoing training about the needs of diverse learners. There will be a public comment period in September, so stay tuned for more information. To join ELC’s Teacher Quality Coalition, contact Baruch Kintisch.
ELC files complaint alleging that the Philadelphia School District does not do enough to allow parents to participate in developing plans for "failing" schools
According to the complaint, which was filed with the PA Department of Education, parents have a legal right to participate in school restructuring plans. Too often, however, these plans are made with no opportunity for input from parents or other members of the school community. Among the examples cited are decisions to transfer schools to private managers, to convert schools to charters, and to reconfigure schools. For newspaper coverage, click here.
Collaborations with community groups
ELC is working on school improvement projects with local organizations around the state, such as the Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project, the Philadelphia Student Union, the Pittsburgh Parent Involvement Coalition, Youth United for Change, and the Washington County Community Partnership for NCLB Issues. Our work focuses on such issues as the use of Title I funds; students' access to highly qualified teachers; small schools; and parent involvement. For more information on what we and these groups are doing, click here. For more information, or to talk about how we could help your local organization, contact Baruch Kintisch (for eastern PA) or Sandy Zelno (western PA).
Making sense of No Child Left Behind
See our publications page for fact sheets on what the law says, and how you can use it to push for school improvement.
