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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

John Affeldt: Congress Lowering Standards for Teachers; Hiding Truth from Poor, Minority Parents

John Affeldt: Congress Lowering Standards for Teachers; Hiding Truth from Poor, Minority Parents

As I reported on this blog last Thursday and updated since, Congress seems ready to lower the standard of teacher owed every child in the country--particularly impacting children in poor and minority communities--and to hide that fact while they're at it.

Slipped at the 11th hour into the Continuing Resolution to fund the government, the provision at issue proposes to call novice teachers still learning how to teach in alternative preparation programs on nights and weekends "highly qualified" under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). That designation relieves districts of having to tell parents of the teachers' sub-par preparation and allows their continued concentration in poor and minority schools.

Pushed by Teach for America so that they can continue to operate business as usual, it appear