On April 29, I had the pleasure of meeting with Congressman Tim Bishop in his Patchogue office. Congressman Bishop is not only the Representative of our 1st Congressional District, but he is a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. The meeting was enlightening for me, and allowed me to have some hope that our Federal Government at least recognizes the problems surrounding our current Education Policies, particularly the result of No Child Left Behind. Congressman Bishop is a wealth of knowledge in many areas, and was able to address my concerns.
Initially I spoke about what I have witnessed in my own children since the initial years of the standardized testing policies. While my oldest daughter only took the ELA exam in 4th and 8th grade, we have seen exams piled on year after year, which has added significant stress and pressure on my younger children. I shared with him the brochure I used at the screening for Race to Nowhere which was full of information for everyone who attended.
Congressman Bishop began by explaining that there is certainly change on the horizon, although we don't know for sure when it will arrive. He told me that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) had actually expired on September 30, 2007. ESEA is the education legislation that was created in 1965. In 2002, it was updated, and coined No Child Left Behind (NCLB). We all know where that led us. So, our representatives are no longer calling it NCLB, but they reauthorized it "until a new law is written." The problem with that is that instead of working on improving the policy, we are stuck with a bad law.
According to Congressman Bishop, while for very different reasons, both the Republican and Democratic committee members are interested in backing away from the current model of NCLB. They are looking to move away from Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and toward a model of graduating students from High School "College and Career Ready". While the Republican members see it as an issue of too much Government involvement, the Democrats see flawed Education Policy. Either perspective leads to a better place: less standardized testing, less punitive measures for schools having difficulty reaching AYP. There is much to be worked out, and no set date for a start. What will eventually happen is that the Federal Government will give more local control over education and testing policy. Local control in our case would be New York State. I have many concerns about that, as New York State, and our Board of Regents in particular, have continued to add more mandated testing on top of the Federal requirements for years.
When I asked Congressman Bishop what I can do to help move the measure along and get the public involved, he said that we should start to get figures from the Education Committees in June or July for the next budget cycle. It will be important to note where funding has been decreased or increased to see where the priorities of Chaiman Kline and the Majority lie. That will give us a greater sense of their direction and goals moving forward, and give us an opportunity to speak up as caring parents and education advocates to move them in the right direction.
The following link has interesting information about the Obama Administration's goals and priorities regarding Education Policy: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/14/president-obama-calls-congress-fix-no-child-left-behind-start-next-schoo
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