As attention in the presidential contest shifts to states like Wisconsin, it's time for school communities to demand that candidates listen to our concerns about federal education policy. Of particular concern is the failure of Congress to address the many problems and contradictions in No Child Left Behind.
Far from being the president's shining domestic accomplishment, NCLB has proven to be a costly distraction for Wisconsin school districts - urban, rural and suburban. The Department of Education hasn't provided the funds it promised states to implement the law and also has refused to listen to teachers, parents and school leaders about the negative impact it's had on schools.
NCLB forces districts to spend taxpayers' money on the products and services of unaccountable vendors and private educational organizations. In Milwaukee, we've been forced to provide millions of dollars to private tutoring services - money we need for summer school classes for children who have fallen behind. Just last month, the owner of one of these tutoring companies was charged with embezzling $300,000 of public education funds.
Milwaukee's not alone in struggling with this failed law. School districts across Wisconsin soon will begin failing to reach the arbitrary test levels set by NCLB, levels that already were identified as mathematically impossible to achieve when the law was passed. The presidential primary season provides us a rare opportunity to focus the candidates' attention on the need for major structural and financial changes in this central education policy.
Far from being the president's shining domestic accomplishment, NCLB has proven to be a costly distraction for Wisconsin school districts - urban, rural and suburban. The Department of Education hasn't provided the funds it promised states to implement the law and also has refused to listen to teachers, parents and school leaders about the negative impact it's had on schools.
NCLB forces districts to spend taxpayers' money on the products and services of unaccountable vendors and private educational organizations. In Milwaukee, we've been forced to provide millions of dollars to private tutoring services - money we need for summer school classes for children who have fallen behind. Just last month, the owner of one of these tutoring companies was charged with embezzling $300,000 of public education funds.
Milwaukee's not alone in struggling with this failed law. School districts across Wisconsin soon will begin failing to reach the arbitrary test levels set by NCLB, levels that already were identified as mathematically impossible to achieve when the law was passed. The presidential primary season provides us a rare opportunity to focus the candidates' attention on the need for major structural and financial changes in this central education policy.
