On My Son’s First Day of Kindergarten: OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org organizes communities to defend their schools from NCLB
Today is the first day of school in Seattle. I have never been more excited and 
nervous for the first day because, not only do I start teaching, but my 5-year-old starts kindergarten! My son is so thrilled for his first day of school and our family feels so fortunate to have such a wonderful public school to send him to.
Unfortunately, the irreparably flawed No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has cast a shadow on what should be a joyous start to the year. As explained below, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan revoked the NCLB waiver for Washington state because our legislature would not tie teacher evaluations to test scores. Revoking the NCLB waiver then labelednearly every school in the state a failure and mandated that districts notify parents that their child attends a failing school.
My son’s school is not a failure. The school where I teach is not a failure. It is the test-and-punish policy of NCLB that is failing.
Thankfully, a new initiative from parents, students, educators, and community members has formed to stand up to Arne Duncan’s bullying of our schools called OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org. Be sure tosign the petition in support Washington state’s schools, share your story on the website about the great work that occurs in your school, and read the following statement from theOurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org website:
Our Schools Are Not Failing: NCLB is Failing Us
This year, most school districts across Washington state were forced by Secretary Arne Duncan’s On My Son’s First Day of Kindergarten: OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org organizes communities to defend their schools from NCLB | I AM AN EDUCATOR: