No Child Left Behind
What is the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) law?
"No Child Left Behind" is a federal legislation that is trying to bring accountability into the school system so that it addresses the issue of asking states to set standards and measure those standards of learning at each grade level. And so it is really up to the states to measure the standard but it's a way also of reporting that out so that the public then understands that this school is at this level of achieving their standards whereas the other school is at this level and this other school is at this level. "No Child Left Behind" allows parents and school administrators and every body to kind of compare schools against state standards.
How can the No Child Left Behind law help my child?
The "No Child Left Behind" legislation in the format of comparing schools to one another by looking at the same state standards provides you as a parent with an opportunity to compare your school and how your school is doing with a school down the block and a school at the northern part of the state with another school at the southern part of the state. So it's just a way of collecting information to assure better quality of instruction for your students. It's a good way for you to learn if your school on the mark? Are they meeting the state standards?
How will I know if my child's school has failed to meet the No Child Left Behind law standards?
The law requires that the school districts publish, and inform their parents. So you, as a parent, can look for a notice from your school principal, for example, showing the testing scores from the year previous. They're usually about a year behind. Also, 'State of Educations' in every state on the website, they also publish results. The results are also found in local newspapers where the press picks up on results and you can see that. The best thing to do is look at that data and then attend a meeting, because most principals or teachers will hold a meeting to explain it to the parents; to define what those numbers mean, because it really looks confusing if you look at it for the first time.
What are No Child Left Behind supplemental services?
Supplemental services are offered by the legislation to a school district. If a school gets behind, let's say, and doesn't meet the standards, there are certain supports that the school district can provide and there's monies there to provide extra training for teachers; provide money so that tutors can be brought in to provide students, who are in need of support, that extra guidance. You have to realize as a parent that these are group scores, they're not individual scores. Just because the school is scoring low as a whole, it doesn't mean that your child is scoring low. That's why its important for you to be involved at the school setting to understand what those numbers mean. Also understand that there are support services available to the school district to make sure that all kids are learning.
What should I do if my child's school fails to meet the No Child Left Behind standards?
When a parent realises that a school does not meet No Child Left Behind the standards, the question is to communicate with the school itself; with the school principal, to find out what the school is doing to meet those No Child Left Behind standards. It could have been, for example, that there's been an influx of new students coming in and now they have to reorganise some things. Well, that takes time to do; that's nothing serious. It could be that the school doesn't have qualified teachers in there; that there are emergency teachers or all the teachers are new and they don't have a lot of experience. That's something that can be done and it needs to be addressed. So, the No Child Left Behind legislation provides a format to allow that conversation to happen by publishing these scores. It's really up to the parent to go to the principal or to attend a meeting to find out how the school is going to remediate; what steps they are taking to correct the problem so that they start making progress.
Does my child still receive transportation to and from school if he chooses to switch schools under the No Child Left Behind law?
It is possible under the No Child Left Behind law to ask that the school provide transportation; that is a tenet of the law. Normally there's a process that's involved, and that would be the ultimate process. If the school, after so many years, is not making adequate progress, the parent can then ask the school principal to make a transfer and there are funding available to provide transport for those youngsters to attend another school, that is correct, but it just doesn't happen right off the bat. The schools have to follow a process first.
