NEA State Leaders Lobby Senators on NCLB Changes

By Alain Jehlen With letters and phone calls pouring in from educators around the country and visits from 15 NEA state affiliate leaders, a key Senate committee this week began consideration of a bipartisan bill to change No Child Left Behind (NCLB). However, the debate stalled after less than two hours on Tuesday when Sen. Rand [...]

Congress Makes Progress on NCLB Overhaul

By Tim Walker After countless delays, the effort to revise the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) is gaining traction on Capitol Hill this week as a key Senate committee begins markup of a bipartisan bill. The bill, introduced last week by Senators Tom Harkin  (D-Iowa) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) of the Senate Health, Education, [...]

Duncan Talks NCLB, Collective Bargaining Rights in Twitter Town Hall

By Kevin Hart Summarizing complex education policy in 140 characters is no easy task. But U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave it a shot on Wednesday, hosting a Twitter town hall that covered issues ranging from fixing the controversial No Child Left Behind Act to the role collective bargaining can play in boosting student achievement. [...]

Education Groups Call for Relief from NCLB Mandates

By Alain Jehlen Three national education organizations, including the National Education Association (NEA), petitioned the Department of Education this week to use its regulatory powers to stop further harm to the nation’s public schools due to the so-called “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) law. The law is overdue for revision and there is a growing [...]

How Do We Increase Teacher Quality in Low-Income Schools?

By Cindy Long An eighth grade math class in Oakland, California, had so many substitute teachers in one year the students couldn’t keep track of them, let alone remember all their names. They live in a high-poverty neighborhood where school funding is so low the district finds it cheaper to hire a series of substitutes [...]

Public Schools and Charter Schools: Who’s Leaving Kids Behind?

By Alain Jehlen Many political leaders and foundations are pushing charter schools as the key to closing achievement gaps. The U.S. Congress is preparing to take up changes in the so-called “No Child Left Behind” law, and turning more schools over to charter operators may be a feature of the overhaul. So let’s take a [...]

President Obama Calls for NCLB Fix, Testing to Stay Central

At an appearance at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Virginia on Monday, President Obama outlined his vision for reforming the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which he called on Congress to complete before school reconvenes in the fall. “We need to make sure we’re graduating students who are ready for college and a career,” [...]

NEA President Shares Thoughts on NCLB With Washington Post

By Dennis Van Roekel first appeared in Valerie Strauss’ The Answer Sheet Nine years ago this week President George Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act that: a. Stunted the creativity and critical thinking skills of American public school children b. Prevented teachers from tapping into the full potential of their students [...]

ESEA Blueprint Not Rooted in Research

By Amy Buffenbarger Policy experts at the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) recently reviewed the quality of research represented in the Obama administration’s ESEA Blueprint for Reform to see if the education policies contained in the blueprint are grounded in a strong research base. The short answer: no. Two months after the blueprint was released, [...]

Top Eight Challenges Teachers Face This School Year

By Mary Ellen Flannery With teacher bashing all the rage these days, we thought we’d show what teachers are actually facing when they step into the classroom each day. In no particular order, here are the top eight challenges facing educators this year: 1. All those kids!! In Georgia this May, after state funding for [...]

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