Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed
Speaking at the National Urban League Conference on Thursday, Arne Duncan said education isn’t a partisan issue and that it was barely mentioned in previous presidential debates
Arne Duncan, United States Secretary of Education, took on another sub-theme of the National Urban League Conference Thursday in Fort Lauderdale.
Duncan said the education program “No Child Left Behind” was not working, and had not been working for some time.
“No Child Left Behind” was signed into law Jan. 8, 2002 by then President George W. Bush, under the premise that federal funding for education would be given to schools based on performance. It also expected by 2014 that all students pass math and reading.
The law has been re-written and renamed Every Child Achieves Act. It has received bipartisan support and passed mid-July in the Senate and a version of the bill passed earlier in the House. The new law gives states more flexibility to hold schools accountable for students' test scores.
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, on July 22 issued a statement expressing disappointment with the rewrite of the bill.
“Over the last two days we have borne witness to one of the most critical debates to touch the Senate floor -- the future of civil rights protections in education. Today the National Urban League is deeply disappointed that the Senate passed the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA) in its current form. This law does not include key civil rights protections and will leave children behind.”
President Barack Obama is unlikely to sign the bill as written when it comes out of committee.
Still Duncan said it’s good that both Republicans and Democrats have wrapped their arms around the fact that education is not a partisan issue and it is important to educate the children in our country.
Duncan also said that children in poorer communities seemed to get less money than children in more affluent communities, and pointed to his home state of Chicago as an example. His teachers made less money, class sizes were larger and extra curricula activities were not always present. All three would have an impact on the children's inability to learn. The same held true for technology. Poorer children didn't always have the ability to access it.
"Our kids who need it the most get it the least," said Duncan. "That's unfair and un-American."
Concerning the amount of time that children spent in school, Duncan said some kids needed more attention from teachers, so he was supportive of longer hours and days for children who needed it. If a child was able to spend some extra hours at school, he said, that child might decide to take debate, robotics or chess, classes he or she might not ordinarily take. Duncan also said that schools needed to become gathering places for things other than education.
"They belong to the community," said Duncan. "They need to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. They could bring in nonprofits and families. They serve children and their families."
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, asked Duncan what voters should expect and demand from people running for the highest office in the land. Duncan, a self-admitted Democrat, said the candidates coming Friday had to walk the walk, and do more than talk Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed | The Miami Times | Serving South Florida's African American Community since 1923:
