Administrators in Kansas weigh in on No Child Left Behind reform

Ten years after its inception, schools nationwide have a pretty good idea how the No Child Left Behind Act works, and as a result, many have been seeking a more flexible system, including local school administrators.

On Sept. 23, President Barack Obama commented on the need to reform NCLB, signed into law by then-President George W. Bush in 2001, saying the goals behind the program were "admirable," however, implementation of the program was flawed. To help reach NCLB's stringent standards, the U.S. Department of Education is giving individual states a chance to seek relief from certain requirements of the law through the recent renewal of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which provides more flexibility to states and schools.

"The goals of NCLB are quite admirable, but reforms are necessary if we truly are to reach those goals," USD 234 Superintendent Rick Werling said in an e-mail. "I look forward to the changes that will be recommended by the Kansas State Department of Education."

Before NCLB was put in place, Kansas had a system in place that some administrators felt was working just fine. USD 235 Super-intendent Randy Rockhold in Uniontown said the state system was more successful than NCLB and Kansas has taken a step backward in education.

"No Child Left Behind has been something, in my opinion, that has forced Kansas to take a step backward," Rockhold said. "We had such a quality improvement process in place, other states were trying to model it ... "We do not need No Child Left Behind to be successful in schools in Kansas. We'd be a lot better off if we could use the integrated school improvement process that Kansas is using now."

Rockhold added that the expectation of having all children learn at the same speed at the same time was not realistic and can have a negative impact on students.

"To label a kid as failing based upon where they are at that moment in time is a pretty unfair category to put kids in," he said. "It sets a lot of kids up for failure.

"If we would have been allowed to have a continual improvement model and just take every child where they're at and lead them to where they could (be), then we could put children in a lot better learning environment; a lot more realistic goals could be established and we could actually meet those individual needs rather than trying to have everyone learn at the same time at the same speed."

One key component Obama addressed to promote the success of students, regardless of the plan in place, is through support at home. "It begins by turning off the TV and helping with homework, and encouraging a love of learning from the very start of our children's lives ... Michelle and I know that our first job, our first responsibility, is instilling a sense of learning, a sense of a love of learning in our kids. And so there are no shortcuts there; we have to do that job. And we can't just blame teachers and schools if we're not instilling that commitment, that dedication to learning, in our kids."

Werling said education is at its best when there is solid support at home and teamwork between teachers and parents. He encourages parents to get involved by volunteering in the classroom or attending parent-teacher conferences.

"Children benefit from a stable home life and a home where learning and a love of learning are highly valued," Werling said. "Parents give their children huge educational advantages when they insist that homework is completed fully, accurately and on time. Children who experience this at home learn that their parents and teachers are working together as a team."

To help promote new ways of achieving success, the Race to the Top program was created as a way to supply federal funding to states for showing new innovative ways to advance learning. Unfortunately, Kansas was not allowed to participate in the competition, according to Rockhold, because it used stimulus money to address budget shortfalls rather than expand learning opportunities. He said the state had a plan ready that would focus on early childhood development and intervention to prevent young children from doubting their own abilities and giving up on themselves.

"Kansas has been a leader in education," Rockhold said. "I think we've had a legislature and a governor, until recently, that has really supported it financially, as well as the process as a whole ... I live in Kansas so my kids can go to school here."

According to NCLB, 100 percent of students must be proficient in reading and math by 2014. As a whole, the state of Kansas did not meet its Annual Yearly Progress for 2011, but all schools in USD 235 achieved AYP and all schools in USD 234, with the exception of Fort Scott Middle School, met AYP.