No Child Left Behind State Hearing: A Forum for All Voices

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 , 4:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Old South Meeting House
Boston, Massachusetts

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Hearing Officers
Wendy D. Puriefoy, President, Public Education Network
S. Paul Reville, Executive Director, Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy at MassINC
Jamie Blair, Vice Chair, Massachusetts State Student Advisory Council
William L. Dandridge, Vice President for Urban Initiatives, Lesley University
Gladys Rodriguez-Parker, District Director, Office of Congressman James McGovern
Robert Schwartz, Director, Administration, Planning, & Social Policy Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Summary Transcript
The following is a summary of the main points of the forum. It is not an exact transcript and should not be relied upon. This summary was prepared by State House News Service and is reprinted here with their kind permission.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH AND POLICY: This is the state hearing on No Child Left Behind. Ronald Cowell of the Education Policy and Leadership Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania will pinch hit for Wendy Puriefoy, who has been slowed in her travel here.

RONALD COWELL, PRESIDENT, EDUCATION POLICY AND LEADERSHIP CENTER: I want to be faithful to Wendy Puriefoy’s message. This is the second of nine state hearings hosted by Public Education Network, a national organization of local education funds and individuals working to improve public schools. The Massachusetts forum is jointly sponsored by the Rennie Center at MassINC.

Quality public schools begin with active public participation. Thanks for joining us in this historic meetinghouse. Today you will hear from an often-overlooked group, you the public. This is one of the most important pieces of education legislation to be passed by the federal government in four decades. Tell us what is working, what is not and what needs to be changed. These hearings ensure the public voice will be heard in the debate. In addition to the panels, we want to hear from the audience and take that information back to Congress. Please keep testimony to two minutes. You can give testimony online at www.givekidsgoodschools.com. We are fortunate to have distinguished leaders on our state hearing panel.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH AND POLICY: This is an important moment in the development of education reform. The legislation is a couple of years old and is having an impact in the field. We offer here an opportunity for parents to come forward and talk to us about the impact of this law. Our commitment is the building of a public agenda that will lead to quality schools for each and every child in the Commonwealth. The purpose is to gather the voices of parents and the community, voices that typically are not organized in a fashion that has an impact. We have panels of people to provide testimony. We chose the panels to get geographic and other forms of diversity, to represent different points of view. Each panel will give testimony and then we will have a few moments for interaction with hearing officers. In between panels we will recognize people from the floor. We will express a bias toward the parenting community. We’re interested in what’s working with this law as it affects you and your children, what isn’t working and what you would like to change and how would you change it. We are going to try to keep the comments on the federal legislation and the way it interacts with our own state reform program.

The education commissioner is with us today.

On No Child Left Behind, it reauthorizes the elementary and secondary education act. It passed in 2001, with implementation beginning in 2002.The US Department of Education describes four major areas of impact. The first is increased accountability, with testing in grades 3-8 and a commitment to obtain proficiency and steady progress. They tout the disaggregation of results. The results are transparent for all children. There is the average yearly progress designation. The second section offers more choices for parents and students. Parents in schools in need of improvement have the option of school choice. A third category is greater flexibility in use of funds. This is more bureaucratic in nature as it applies to categories that apply to school districts. Finally, reading for young children to really focus on scientifically-based reading programs. Greater transparency in reporting is part of the legislation. There is a provision for having a high quality teacher in front of every child. And there are provisions for parent involvement in school planning. That’s a quick overview of the act.

ROBIN FOLEY, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROJECTS, FEDERATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: I want to thank you for inviting me. I am a parent of three children. My high school daughter is qualified for special education due to a disability. Education reform raised the bar in Massachusetts for all children ten years ago. The 25-year-old law supported inclusion for my daughter but was not a possibility until education reform. She has had access to the curriculum frameworks. NCLB is wonderfully written, however, the devil is in the details. It is all about providing the appropriate levels of supports. We are just beginning to see the importance of collaboration.

My feelings are mixed on NCLB. Educators are working to figure out the details but the clock is ticking and the scoring and comparisons have begun. Will leadership in a higher performing school honor a school choice request from an underperforming school where a child has a disability? Will teachers really welcome students with disabilities? The attitudes are such a critical factor. The law was not well thought out as far as students with disabilities. I have worked to celebrate some amazing educators. NCLB put so much pressure on educators that doors will now be closed. My daughter deserves more.

ROXANNE HOKE CHANDLER, PARENT, FEDERATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: I am the mother of two school children. In my position I talk to families from the Boston area looking for support services for their children. Many are confused and not informed or ill informed. The big fear for me is what happens when my daughter leaves her school. Under NCLB I do not feel she is included. It does not include children of different languages and income levels. What middle school will she go to? Not every parent knows the laws. Luckily we have the Federation for Children with Special Needs. Schools in areas other than Boston have more resources. I dare not even mention the MCAS. I am not happy. It is hard enough being a parent in the Boston public schools. I am just thinking about how to advocate after the fifth grade so my daughter is not left behind.

HAROLD CLINTON, PARENT, NEW LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL, SPRINGFIELD: I am before you as a parent and a student. I do academic coaching. I have two children in Springfield charter schools. Schools are not being given enough money. They are trying to cut down on charter schools in Massachusetts. The standard testing does allow teachers to improve their ability to teach. It does help. There is a gap in test scores between white and black students. At public schools in urban and minority areas, sometimes the parents can’t even read. Parent involvement is important.

RASHAD FARDAN , PARENT, NEW LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL, SPRINGFIELD: I am a parent and an advocate for my child. I believe in the philosophy of developing the total person, which I think NCLB should think about. We must address the whole. That is where we are lacking. We have to have clearer standards. You should be able to ask each student where he/she stands. They learn a lot of different skills. Our attitude needs to come up. We talk about sanctions and rewards. Students leaving one school and going to another does not guarantee their success. We need to know what is wrong in schools that are failing. My son is doing better because of extra effort. They started home tutoring. Are students really comprehending, or are we teaching them the test? Are we trying to give them an education or is this instruction? We need more funding and to think about what we do when we do it. Don’t punish the school system. Find out what’s wrong.

ANN WALSH, LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, MASSACHUSETTS PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION: I am a parent of three children and represent the Massachusetts PTA at the state level. I have strong feelings about NCLB. I would like the government to look at and examine this law, which may be $30 billion underfunded. I am for accountability but you cannot have it without funding. Massachusetts should join other states and call for full funding. Penalties for not meeting adequate yearly progress are swift and really detrimental to children. We are not celebrating what we do well in education. We are getting caught up in negative rhetoric. Under NCLB, we have set the bar at 240. Kids at 220 under MCAS will not be making adequate yearly progress in 2016. We are all part of improving public education. The discourse between schools and parents needs to get better and stronger. We need to take a look at the national law and making it better.

JAMIE BLAIR, VICE CHAIR, MASSACHUSETTS STATE STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL: It was mentioned that clear information is needed. Do you know of pamphlets that do this?

ROXANNE HOKE CHANDLER, PARENT, FEDERATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: It is an easy question for me. But there are lots of parents that are not part of the federation. I have a lot of resources and information that people need to get. There are more families with children with special learning needs. It is difficult to reach everyone.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH AND POLICY: One feature of this law is it disaggregates data. Is it available to parents?

ROBIN FOLEY, DIRECTOR, FEDERATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: It is a mixed bag. Some folks say let us get the data out and others say no, the schools will use it in not making adequate yearly progress. It is an ongoing conversation. The data has not been made readily available.

WILLIAM DANDRIDGE, VICE PRESIDENT, LESLEY UNIVERSITY: What data would you like to see? What would be most helpful?

ANN WALSH, LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, MASSACHUSETTS PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION: We need to be on the same page and not trying to figure out where my child falls. It is very confusing. None of the terms are the same. What is proficient in Massachusetts is different in other states. There has to be some aligning of the verbiage.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH AND POLICY: Are student performance report cards worth investing in?

ANN WALSH, LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, MASSACHUSETTS PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION: Parents are asking for accountability but there should be some flexibility to reflect the strengths of the whole child, not just the child who tests well. If there is a card that has the same language, we can have a dialogue as a community.

HAROLD CLINTON, PARENT, NEW LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL, SPRINGFIELD : The whole community should be responsible for a school, not just the school itself. Schools that are punished are stigmatized. Should we penalize the school district or superintendent? Assessments must be done to know what’s wrong.

GLADYS RODRIGUEZ-PARKER, DISTRICT DIRECTOR, US REP. MCGOVERN : How has Question 2 impacted this, and where we are at now?

ROBIN FOLEY, FEDERATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: In the suburbs, students with limited English proficiency, their scores have been lower than students with disabilities. It has been very, very confusing for the families and will be that way until we get some stronger messages out.

RASHAD FARDAN, PARENT, NEW LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL, SPRINGFIELD: Parents have to have ownership in it. I have reports every week of how my son is doing. Parents have to ask. I can go online and look at the homework. I receive in the mail my son’s progress every week. I know what he’s doing and what he is not doing but I am a different type of parent. I am invested in my child. We are raising the bar and asking students to use the same tools but to jump higher. You need more tutoring and after-school sessions to help them make the grade.

GLADYS RODRIGUEZ-PARKER, DISTRICT DIRECTOR, US REP. MCGOVERN: What happens if a child comes to school for three months in Boston, and then the test is offered?

ANN WALSH, LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, MASSACHUSETTS PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION: In as little as nine months, they are required to take the test in English.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: The goal of every student reaching proficient is a good one, but is proficient sufficient? Major newspapers have all been writing about the gifted as the students left behind and the loss of services for the gifted. These students will not do just fine no matter what. Underachieving is very common. They deserve more appropriately challenging education. They are children from all walks of life. We do not do the same for students with high potential as we do for star athletes. Can we afford to ignore the development of our extraordinary young minds? No Child Left Behind fails to balance our national goals. It imposes no penalties on schools where top students slack off as long as they are proficient. We can change this to promote excellence. We must ensure that no child is left behind and no child is held back.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: I teach in Framingham. Massachusetts is one of the worst in the country when it comes to gifted services. Andrea is one of my top math students. Her teacher used to ask why she said she was a terrible student. I could not understand it. Yet she was getting her answers wrong. When she took her achievement test, her math score was very low. Her teacher said see, see. I asked if we could we test her on a high school level. We did. She broke all the records. She was shutting down for whatever reason. Andrea dropped out. I would like to tell you about all of these students. I have so much more to say.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: Listening to the first panel was very encouraging to me. As a teacher for 18 years in Brookline, I have seen things that work and that do not work. I have seen portfolios and parents as part of teams working for their children. Parents can see whether their child is doing their best, and where they are in terms of other children in the classroom. And they get feedback. My statement to students is your best is good enough. No Child Left Behind does not bring that out. High stakes MCAS does not do that. It is one size fits all. The teachers are appalled by what these demands are doing to children in classrooms. I beg you to call your state representatives and tell them the DOE and the NCLB are doing us no favors.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER: Our second panel features parents and community members and was put together by the Mary Lyon Foundation, a local education fund from Shelburne Falls,

SUE SILVESTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MARY LYON FOUNDATION: Our panel represents nine rural western Massachusetts towns. The intent of NCLB is to raise student achievement, yet it is problematic for small rural districts for several reasons. It is not adequately funded. We are struggling to maintain reasonable class sizes and have eliminated 17 courses in the high school in response to the state’s fiscal crisis. This makes it extremely difficult to comply with NCLB. There is not enough money to help pay for professional development. Salaries leave less money for supplies. Rural school districts have small student populations. One student can represent 7 percent of the student population. NCLB requires 95 percent student participation. This jeopardizes the ability to meet adequate yearly progress.

PEGGY HART, PARENT, SCHOOL COMMITTEE CHAIR, MOHAWK TRAIL REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: I am the parent of three children in the Mohawk District. It is the largest district in the state and serves nine towns. Our school transportation expense is $1.25 million. Five percent of funding comes from the federal government. We have to create a budget and figure out how to fund it. We have gone to towns for huge increases in assessments while cutting the budget and reducing what we offer students. We are scrambling to cover costs with more uncertainty all the time. More is required with no commensurate funding. We have cut 22 positions at the high schools. No wood shop, child development or accounting courses. Our students need these classes to prepare for careers. They are not required for MCAS. I do not consider Mohawk offering adequate education even though we are making progress.

MEREDITH CARTER, GRADUATING STUDENT, MOHAWK TRAIL REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: I graduated as class president. I was ranked among the top 5 percent of students in my class. The state has been facing a difficult situation for quite a while. My high school has cut 20 full-time positions. Special courses are no longer available. Extra courses are just as important. Hobbies and special interests can turn into career opportunities like being a mechanic or a chef. We must re-adjust our focus from standardized tests to the actual classroom. Divorce is on the rise, parents are too busy working, and we must focus on social issues. We need to support community organizations. Let us encourage family schools and wellness at the same time. I feel money is being wrongly directed toward MCAS. Could it not have been used for something else? Let us redirect the money to classrooms and communities.

BONNIE GRAVES, PARENT AND COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Our panel is from way out in western Massachusetts. I am a parent of two and an educational community activist. We had severe cuts. My daughter was in a class of 35 for advanced geometry. She had to arrive early because her teacher said she would not address questions because of the class size. She had difficulty arranging a class schedule with the cuts. She worries she will not be able to take the core classes needed for college. Mohawk will not send students to the regional or state science fairs for the first time. Most other schools were able to provide expensive supplies. My family had to pay for the chemicals for her experiment. My daughter says she is lucky not to be in a class where students sit on the teacher’s desk or on top of cabinets. Sometimes 100 students are in study halls because there are no courses to take. We need to attract young new teachers but there is no job security.

NINA COLER, PARENT: I am a community representative on the local education council at Mohawk. As part of education reform, councils were created to foster greater communication. It is our charge to create a school improvement plan. If NCLB is not adequately funded, it is another drain on our situation. Other things that were cut were middle school, languages and child development. Our failure rate in algebra and geometry doubled. That is leaving 20 students behind. Basically the school is hanging on by its fingernails. The funding is not there and we have another unfunded mandate in the form of NCLB. We believe in educating the whole child but we are not doing it because we don’t have enough money. We will have trouble implementing recommendations that came with accreditation. Highly motivated families will go elsewhere for education and we will see the death of public education.

SUSAN TODD, PRINCIPAL, HEALTH ELEMENTARY, MOHAWK DISTRICT: I am a resident of Ashfield and chair of the select board. We live in a sparsely populated and poor area. We are encouraged to be sparsely populated. It will not suffice if we cannot support our schools. It is a true Catch 22. Young families hesitate to move to an isolated region and enrollment drives funding. Basic expenses – heat, custodial care – are the same whether you have 100 or 400 students. Title 1 is an important program borne of Johnson’s war on poverty. We have multi-age classrooms. It can be wonderful. Or it can be heartbreaking for teachers without the background to cover all of the curricula. After years of roller coasters, we have to decide if public education is essential for democracy. Do we want children to have an opportunity for greatness? We need to commit to education, not to reforming or lamenting education. I see language in the federal constitution that stabilizes funding as the answer for all of the trials people all over the country are enduring.

JAMIE BLAIR, VICE CHAIR, MASSACHUSETTS STATE STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL: Is your regional high school a comprehensive high school?

PANELISTS: Yes.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER: What would be the top changes, apart from funding?

PEGGY HART, PARENT, SCHOOL COMMITTEE CHAIR, MOHAWK TRAIL REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: Grants are great by they are so competitive that most of the schools that need them are not getting them.

MEREDITH CARTER, GRADUATING STUDENT, MOHAWK DISTRICT: Perhaps we should look more at the classroom in particular, going to the classroom and watching the teachers and making sure they are really good and not just certified. Who knows what that means? MCAS money can be used to hire people to look at schools.

ROBERT SCHWARTZ, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: Only about 5 percent of the cost of education comes from the federal government. There has been a 50 percent increase in funding since the Bush administration. In the last two years there have been cutbacks. It is hard to see that the federal government should be blamed for the cutbacks. We heard an argument for a constitutional amendment to make education a federal issue. What would come of that would be a federal department or an increase in the federal share?

SUSAN TODD, PRINCIPAL, HEALTH ELEMENTARY, MOHAWK DISTRICT: I thought a lot about social change through the women’s movement and civil rights. As much as people fought for change, it was not until words were written guaranteeing change at the federal level that change actually happened.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: I want to talk about English language learners. There is a huge change in the tone of the policy. Our kids are caught in between the pro and anti-bilingual forces. Programs like two-way bilingual allow kids to learn English at a slower rate while retaining the other language. By the time they get up to speed, they often outperform other students. With MCAS, is the language being tested appropriate for the kids. By simplifying language, limited English proficient kids score higher.

AAUDIENCE STATEMENT: I am focused on children with learning disorders. I help them and their parents deal with schools. They are struggling. I am a parent and a pediatrician as well. I see it from both sides. The standards and focus on NCLB have caused problems. I tend to deal with those with disabilities and those who are gifted. The gifted children are not given the resources to grow. I cannot get testing and accommodation because there is not much concern that he is going to be left behind. I worry about children being kept behind and waiting for failure.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: I work for Rep. Karen Spilka. She has filed a bill reported favorably by the Education Committee and included in the budget as an outside section. A special commission would study the impact of NCLB. The commission would look at fiscal impacts and federal unfunded mandates, impacts of data collection and the impacts of testing mandates. We can hopefully lobby the federal government for more funding.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: I am the mother of two public school children and the daughter of a public school teacher. I share the fear about this law. NCLB undermines quality in education. It could be the most controversial and most hated federal education law in history. The word fraud is often used. That is not to say there is nothing good in the law. Scores are disaggregated and we can keep track of underserved populations. It is likely to harm rather than help those most in need though. Opposition to the law rises when respondents learn more about the law. Our report is available at www.fairtest.org.

WENDY PURIEFOY, PRESIDENT, PUBLIC EDUCATION NETWORK: I only had a chance to hear the latter panel. I apologize for being late. Airplanes do not always coordinate on schedule. It is important for people to comment about what is good about NCLB and things they would like to have changed. Educators speak through their associations. The public often does not have the avenue to speak about the law. The purpose of the hearing is to provide an opportunity for the public. There will be seven more hearings in other parts of the country. We have had one in Pennsylvania. We will sort through the testimony and create a document to release to the public, public officials and to members of Congress.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER: We have two more panels with us. The questions we are most interested in are what is working about this law, what is not working, and what would you change and how would you change it? We want to present a summary or commentary to Congress. We recognize the importance of funding. We really need help in that regard.

JESSICA ALMEIDA, JUNIOR, BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL: I am a high school student, a junior, at Brighton High. I did pass the MCAS. I am kind of for and against it. It should not be a graduation requirement. Scores should be based on what they do and their grades. We need more outreach to families and parents need to understand what their children are doing. MCAS should be for looking at student levels and to improve education. We need to emphasize other courses students are taking.

OWEN TONY, PARENT ORGANIZER, ACORN BOSTON: I am from Boston ACORN. We are looking at the funding requirements school districts have to face. School departments will focus on teaching to the test if funds remain as is. Our other concern is around getting highly qualified teachers in the classroom. Increasing professional development has to be put together. Districts have to come up with some additional funding. If teachers have mentors, it will help them improve their skills.

WENDELL THOMAS, PARENT, ACORN BOSTON: I am a concerned parent and member of ACORN. I have a letter of acceptance for my daughter, to Boston College. She has been a member of METCO for 13 years. She attended Lincoln Sudbury High School. Look at what METCO has done for my child. I have a letter for my son. He did not pass MCAS and did not receive a diploma. Johnson and Wales thought my son’s needs would be better met at a community college. Forty million dollars was taken from the budget. What kind of move was that? My son attended Dorchester High. Resources were promised to him, yet there were none. We were sent on a wild goose chase for two weeks. What happens to students who did not have anyone to advocate for them, as my son did? In the city, people cannot supplement the budget as they do in wealthier districts. It is an ethnic and discriminatory issue. No one knows where the funds are going to come from but we need more funds.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER : Talk more about what needed to be in place to give your son an adequate opportunity to learn?

WENDELL THOMAS, PARENT, ACORN BOSTON: One of the things that was detrimental was in his senior year, they had the regular curriculum classrooms combined and one teacher preparing for that and MCAS. It seemed as though that was not enough. After school, there was only one class for them to go to prepare. It was overcrowded and still the resources were not there. If there were programs separate from the regular curriculum classroom, students would be better prepared?

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER : How do you feel about parents having choice if schools are not performing?

WENDELL THOMAS, PARENT, ACORN BOSTON: I probably would have if there was another choice. I feel it is the school’s responsibility, and it should be handled in the school without my son going to another community.

WENDY PURIEFOY, PRESIDENT, PUBLIC EDUCATION NETWORK : So you would rather see the school where the child is assigned be a better school?

WENDELL THOMAS, PARENT, ACORN BOSTON:Yes. My daughter going to Lincoln was a sacrifice. METCO is a good program and needs to exist. But there is a price for that. Her school day was ten hours long. She would get up at 5 o’clock in the morning and come home at 5 in the evening. She had no time for recreation or social activities. That is a high cost. We ought to be able to send our children to schools in our communities and get the same quality education that children get in suburban schools.

GLADYS RODRIGUEZ-PARKER, DISTRICT DIRECTOR, US REP. MCGOVERN : We have heard all about funding. What are the specific things we can look at? I hear about a lack of planning. Who needs to be at the table? Members of Congress and educators are talking to each other. I do not see a lot of policy makers in this room.

JESSICA ALMEIDA, JUNIOR, BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL : We need more involvement with the parents. They are your supporters. MCAS was just stress. My teachers were just great. I stayed at the school until 6 o’clock.

WILLIAM DANDRIDGE, VICE PRESIDENT, LESLEY UNIVERSITY : You mentioned parental involvement. What could you recommend specifically? What’s it going to take to get parents more involved?

JESSICA ALMEIDA, JUNIOR, BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL : If they know what they are getting involved with – my mother didn’t know about MCAS.

WILLIAM DANDRIDGE, VICE PRESIDENT, LESLEY UNIVERSITY : What were you told about MCAS as a parent?

WENDELL THOMAS, PARENT, ACORN BOSTON : I was told it was being brought in to gauge children’s performance. Long after, I learned it was going to be a graduation requirement. I think it is good to have something to gauge how teachers are teaching and students are learning. I feel it was thrown at us so quickly and not enough resources and time was given to the class of 2003 to prepare for that. I found out about MCAS from my child. I did not get a notice from the school.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER : If you could mandate something, what would you do?

OWEN TONY, PARENT ORGANIZER, ACORN BOSTON : You have to convince parents that their participation will actually mean something. It would probably take a major campaign.

JESSICA ALMEIDA, JUNIOR, BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL : We need to have parents know that your kids really need you in schools.

JAMIE BLAIR, VICE CHAIR, MASSACHUSETTS STATE STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL : What would be most effective to get parents to that stage?

JESSICA ALMEIDA, JUNIOR, BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL : I think the schools actually reaching out person to person.

WENDELL THOMAS, PARENT, ACORN BOSTON : METCO holds meetings that are required in order for their child to be kept in the program. There should be some kind of mandatory parental involvement. It will send out a message from our leaders that they want parents involved.

WENDY PURIEFOY, PRESIDENT, PUBLIC EDUCATION NETWORK: Parental participation is an issue we have been working at for many years. The challenge we face is how do we build a deep enough knowledge of schools in communities so the threat is not just individual but collective?

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: This referendum with doing away with bilingual, thousands of children who are limited English speakers arrived here recently. Their parents are legal and pay taxes. The people that voted for this Question 2, which denies equal access to many children, were voters who did not have children in need of this service. The families who in fact needed the service were not able to vote. I feel there are constitutional questions.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER: We will have someone more qualified than us respond to you.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: I am an advocate for students with disabilities. I really love this law. There are so many good things to it. That is not to say that I love every provision. The law says we are accountable to all students and I think that is good. I love the idea of scientifically-based research. Information is key. We are working really hard to get information out to parents.

AUDIENCE STATEMENT: I am a mother of a fourth grader. I do not know enough about the law. I know about being a parent and community organizer. How do we measure high expectations? We should pop the myth of white supremacy. We need to figure out a way to hold teachers accountable. We need to create a relationship with the family. Funding and resources are critical. We have phenomenal parent participation. We need to come together and look at best practices and replicate.

PAUL REVILLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RENNIE CENTER : We have our fourth group here.

KAREN WONTAN, PARENT, BOSTON PARENT ORGANIZING NETWORK: I am parent of a son in third grade. I have been involved in parent meetings and councils and whatever I can do. At the school he attended last year, it was a school without adequate yearly progress. He was eligible to transfer to a more academically successful school. I got on the phone to the parents’ center and was told there were not any more slots available. It was a great opportunity but I was told there were not any options available. So the next option was supplemental services. I called everyone on the list. I was told they did not believe Boston public schools were part of the program. Then I was told only students eligible for free and reduced lunch were eligible. My son was not eligible. He was forced to stay in a school without adequate yearly progress. NCLB did not benefit my son.

CAPRICE TAYLOR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BOSTON PARENT ORGANIZING NETWORK: We have two big community forums, one at the State House and one in the community looking at MCAS and the lack of support. NCLB and MCAS are two different issues but when you live in Boston they are one in the same. Parental support and lack of information is a big barrier. Parents are not aware of what MCAS is. Community-based organizations want to support free services but they have to bang on the door. They have to negotiate with teachers to offer free after-school tutoring. Many students speak many different languages and there are many issues not addressed and until we do, students will be left behind. The dropout rate is not being assessed adequately? There needs to be a systemic way to look at dropout rates.

WENDY KELLY, PARENT, BOSTON PARENT ORGANIZING NETWORK/ACORN BOSTON : The NCLB Act always leaves a child behind. One of the issues I have is when I came back to Boston, my daughter came to eighth grade. She always got D’s and F’s on the report card but was the highest ranking on English and math on MCAS in the whole school. No one knew what the progress report was. She got B’s and A’s on the progress report.

MELISSA COLON, COORDINATOR, INICIATIVA : I work for a statewide agency committed to increasing Latino achievement. We offered NCLB training because parents did not know what it was. We decided to create training so parents could ask the right questions. We found there is a huge gap between the information schools and parents and communities have. Many of our parents are not against testing. They are against the fact that their children attend schools that lack resources to make their children successful on these tests. The other major finding is that parents may be receiving report cards and announcements but they do not know what they mean. Schools say we send them out mailings and have open houses. That does not mean that parents understand the implications. We also found parents were shocked when we told them that teachers now under NCLB had to be qualified. They said my child’s teacher may not be qualified. It was very disturbing to them. Latino families are more likely to go to a church, an organization or a neighbor’s house to talk about schools. We are pushing for full funding of family information centers.

JOHN LOZADA , DIRECTOR