Teachers
narrowly favor Kerry in mock election
No Child Left Behind dominates convention
Sunday, October 24, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
Competing against space-age school designs and vendor
giveaways, the booth at the east end of the Atlantic City
Convention Center was drawing a good crowd.
One after the another, school board members and
administrators who run New Jersey's GRADING THE CANDIDATES
schools paused during their annual convention this week and
stepped behind the curtain to cast their ballots for
president.
In the end, Sen. John Kerry came from behind and
narrowly topped President Bush in the mock election put on
by the Passaic County Technical Institute of Wayne.
But when it came to education, even those traditionally
in the Democratic camp weren't cutting Kerry much
slack.
"We seem to have more the ear of the Democrats, and I'll
vote for Kerry," said Willa Taylor, a member of the Paterson
school board. "But that doesn't mean I won't push his
behind, too."
Among those who lead New Jersey's public schools,
education remains a passionate national issue. But as the
Iraq War, terrorism and the economy have dominated the
presidential campaign, the topic has drawn little attention
and left many in the business guessing what the next
president will do.
Emotions stir most around Bush's controversial No Child
Left Behind act, the 2002 law that mandates annual tests for
all schools and sets the ambitious goal that all students be
able to read and do math at grade level within the decade.
The rules already have labeled nearly a quarter of New
Jersey's schools as under-performing by the new
standards.
William Federico, a school board member in Florence,
Burlington County, has two local schools on the "early
warning" list for possible sanctions in the future. But he
said Bush's law has rightfully raised the stakes for
schools, and he pointed out that Kerry voted for it,
too.
"It's still at its beginning stages, but I feel it's the
right direction," Federico said, outside the voting booth.
"It's guaranteeing all the children the same rights to an
education."
But his Florence colleague Newell Kehr stepped in, "They
need to fine-tune it."
Kehr cited the penalties for schools with special
education students, for example, who face longer odds in
meeting the goals. Whoever is elected, he said, will need to
make some mid-course corrections.
"I think both Republicans and Democrats realize that the
way No Child Left Behind is now, it isn't ready. They need
to do better," Kehr said.
Kerry has since vowed to loosen some of those rules,
saying the current version of the law has created a
"one-size-fits-all testing factory" in schools. He has
especially pressed for full funding of the law, especially
in its aid to lower performing schools.
Bush has been steadfast in his defense of No Child Left
Behind, his first legislative accomplishment. But his
administration in the last year has freed states in what
they can exempt from the requirements, and he boasts record
levels of federal funding for public schools, including
those in New Jersey.
Other issues within education have received little
notice at all in the election. Bush continues to support
public vouchers for students to attend private schools,
while Kerry does not.
Both men have vowed programs to help draw teachers into
urban and other high-need schools. Kerry also proposed to
streamline the process to fire ineffective teachers.
Yet none of these issues came up much this week at the
convention of the state school boards association. The
climate among school leaders remained not only focused on
test scores but almost obsessed with them.
At a luncheon for urban school boards, the recitation of
rising scores in Trenton and Newark drew "oohs" and
applause. The exhibit floor was sprinkled with vendors
advertising test score products, from test-preparation books
to private tutoring services.
"I think No Child Left Behind is going to be around in
some form for a while," said Kevin Ciak, a board member from
Sayreville and vice president of the state association. "And
we support its intent. It's just a matter of fine-tuning it
and making it stronger."
John Mooney covers education. He can be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
|