Posted on 10/21/2004 3:37:25 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
A new tutoring program for 37,000 students by Chicago public school teachers should never have started because it will likely have teachers in failing schools tutoring kids, a federal official said.
"If a district has failed to raise student achievement during the regular school day, then what confidence should a parent have that they could raise student achievement after school?" said Nina Rees, assistant deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Education.
The $11 million program, funded by the federal No Child Left Behind law, must be dismantled or funded locally if the Chicago school district fails to meet federal testing standards this year, Rees said. Chicago will learn its status in the next month or two. The program began Monday.
Schools CEO Arne Duncan responded angrily, vowing to carry on with the program as is. The feds want him to shift the nearly 37,000 students to private tutors, who are more expensive. If Duncan did that, only about 9,000 of the 37,000 could be served.
"We're not going to let 30,000 kids lose desperately needed programming," Duncan said Wednesday. "If this is what federal bureaucrats want, that shows how far out of touch they are with reality.... I can't believe that's the intent of the law."
The Illinois State Board of Education appears to be backing Duncan. It plans to ask the feds for a one-year exemption for Chicago and 10 other districts also at risk of failing to meet federal standards, including Cicero, Elgin and Springfield.
"We're about making sure kids get the service they need," said Becky Watts, the state board spokeswoman. "And disrupting that in the middle of the year is going to be harmful."
The No Child Left Behind law requires districts to offer tutoring for schools that don't meet federal testing goals. If a district as a whole meets the testing goals, it can run its own tutoring program. If it fails to meet the goals two years in a row, a district must use private tutors, Rees said.
Chicago landed on a "needs improvement," or failing, list in 2003. Like all Illinois districts, Chicago must wait into well into the school year to learn its 2004 results. Most observers expect it to fail again.
"It's not difficult to figure out it'll be on the 'needs improvement' list," Rees said, adding that she has talked with CPS and state officials about the issue. "To say they didn't know is a little disingenuous."
Duncan rejected Rees' claims, saying it's not a given CPS will fail to meet testing goals, noting improved scores this year. Duncan said the feds have known about Chicago's program for months. U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige praised CPS in April for recruiting parents early.
"The feds supported us in doing this," Duncan said. "They knew the whole program."
If Chicago lands on the failing list, it has two options, Rees said. It could shift as many of the 37,000 CPS-tutored students as it can afford to private tutors. CPS has $45 million to spend. Private tutoring averages $1,200 per student. CPS tutoring costs $300 per student.
Alternatively, it could continue the $11 million CPS tutoring program, but pay for it with other money: "If they don't have the money, they can't run it, but most districts find a way to subsidize the program," Rees said.
Better yet, we need educated teachers.
Better 9000 be served than none!
Illinois officials obviously see part of the problem but don't see that hiring better teachers might solve it. The real problem is nation-wide, though. The AFT-NEA prohibits firing of dead-beat teachers. So, it's a no-win situation for administrators, trying to meet the standards, but not being able to get the good teachers on board. The last figures I saw for the pay for the Union leader was 2-3 times the pay for president Bush. The extra perks made it about 10xs greater. You'd think the union could use some of that money to help deficient teachers get some help...but then they'd have to admit that there was a problem. Don't look for them to admit that.
I'll go one farther. These teachers are paid a salary. They should have to do the tutoring for free.
Around here, non-qualified teachers are allowed to do lots of tutoring (even for the for-profit learning centers). They get less money, the person placing them gets money for doing the managing, and there is no interest in getting higher-salaried qualifed tutors.
Pretty much all they're doing is "teaching" these students how to fill in the correct choice on an answer sheet. That and how to just answer questions as expected and not to think independently.
And how many unqualified teachers do you think became administrators?
(hint...lots of people who don't do very well teaching their subject get an advanced degree in something else, like administration or guidance)
Bush should know that throwing money at education is a waste. Course his "good friend" Sot Kennedy helped a tad also.
The money for "No Child Left Behind" has served us well.
It was tied to accountability and now everyone know what rotten teaching is being done and how much it is costing to get such ignorant graduates.
$600 BILLION is spent from all sources EACH YEAR on education.
50% or more, of each state budget goes to education.
It's for the NEA not for the children.
Bump!
37,000 - 9,000 = 30,000 ???????
Must have been educated in a public school.
Yes! I know!
First off, this is the Chicago Board of Ed's doing - in English that's Mayor Daley, or as he's 'affectionately known' (mocking) as 'Da Mare'. His sock puppets ALSO control the Illinois State Board of Education.
Anyway, when the No Child Left Behind Act became law, Daley and his other hand picked sock puppet, current Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan, told the Feds - 'pound sand' on independent tutors.
On Daley's orders (for votes), the Chi Board of Ed caved to the Chicago Teachers union that only they would be hired as tutors. And this was with the full knowledge that those same teachers where THE reason that all the schools were failing and why little Lakisha and Juan couldn't read, write or add (note, there are no Tom's or Mary's in the system anymore). They also knew that there would be a cash shortage as a result, again they told the Feds - 'pound sand'. We'll spend money we don't have.
And this Arne Duncan is a real winner, he was picked by Daley solely because he was zero political threat to him. Duncan's predecessor, Paul Vallas, actually did INCREASE test scores and ... (gasp) FIRE BAD TEACHERS & PRINCIPALS.
This was unacceptable to Daley & the unions - but Vallas was a huge hit with the public and parents and started to gain independent political clout. Daley would have none of that and fired Vallas a few years ago on the spot. Vallas subsequently made a run for Governor but was crushed by the Daley Machine in the primaries. Vallas now runs the school system in Philadelphia. (all the gains made by Vallas have now disappeared under Duncan)
In short, the full time 'teachers' currently in the Chicago Public School system are as dumb as a sack of hair.
an aside, currently there's a power struggle over control of the IL State Board of Ed between 'Da Mare' and our idiot boy governor, 'Blogo' - Daley will win.
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