"I used to work in an at-risk, low socioeconomic school in North Las Vegas . The school, McCall Elementary, had not made adequate yearly progress under NCLB for three years. I transferred to a school closer to my house, Sue Morrow Elementary, which was not at risk and was in a middle-class neighborhood in Henderson. This school did well this year as far as AYP. In fact, the school made the high achieving list in the state of Nevada.

"As a teacher, I know that I worked harder at the at-risk school in North Las Vegas than I did at the Henderson school. At both schools I had the same number of students in my classroom, and I mention this because class size makes a big difference in at-risk schools. I also know that my fellow teachers at the North Las Vegas school were highly qualified professionals who also worked hard.

"NCLB punishes the teachers working at these at-risk schools for things over which they have no control. Children cannot learn if they have no health care, no food to eat, and lack a stable home with responsible parents. These are the aspects of a student's life that cannot be controlled by the teacher. Also, the amount of recourses available at Sue Morrow were far more than I had at McCall. One example: I did not have enough math books at McCall to send my students home with homework, while I had more than enough at Sue Morrow. Yet both schools were in the same district, using the same textbook.

 "Please consider changing the law when the ESEA is up for reauthorization next year, so that all students can achieve and all teachers can be successful on behalf of their students. NCLB in its present state is leaving more children behind than before-and causing highly qualified teachers to leave the profession."

< Previous | Next >