By NEIL H. SIMON, Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON -- Richmond School Superintendent Deborah Jewell-Sherman wants Congress to renew the No Child Left Behind law with provisions to make it more fair to schools with diverse student populations.
“We need to balance flexibility with accountability,” she said Thursday at a forum on reauthorizing the law. “To do less after we have come so far would be a travesty.”
One of five community leaders selected to give a local perspective on education policy, Jewell-Sherman said any new version of No Child Left Behind should start by changing how the federal government calculates graduation rates.
Students who leave high school and earn General Education Development degrees should be counted as graduates, she said. Schools also should be allowed to delay testing of students who do not speak English.
“We’re not trying to skirt accountability, we just want to be fair,” Jewell-Sherman said at the meeting sponsored by the Commission on No Child Left Behind.
Gary Mabrey III, president of the Johnson City (Tenn.) Chamber of Commerce reminded educators and congressional staff that businesses expect improved performance in local schools.
“Businesses now want more than the three R’s,” Mabrey said. “They also want students with reasoning, responsibility and rigor.”
The No Child Left Behind law expired Sept. 30 but continues as long as it is funded. President Bush’s 2007 budget included $24 billion for programs related to the law. Congress had authorized $39 billion.
President Bush vetoed a 2008 education funding bill late last year. The Democratic-controlled House plans to increase education funding, but Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., has said No Child Left Behind is unlikely to be renewed this year.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., House education committee chairman, said, “The president has one last chance to demonstrate a real commitment to strengthening schools by providing a long overdue education funding increase.”
The education committee has not set a date to begin considering a new No Child Left Behind bill.
The No Child Left Behind Commission has recommended that the new law fund local parent information centers to involve families in education, include professional development for teachers and require states to adopt a standard method for measuring graduation rates.
“We need to balance flexibility with accountability,” she said Thursday at a forum on reauthorizing the law. “To do less after we have come so far would be a travesty.”
One of five community leaders selected to give a local perspective on education policy, Jewell-Sherman said any new version of No Child Left Behind should start by changing how the federal government calculates graduation rates.
Students who leave high school and earn General Education Development degrees should be counted as graduates, she said. Schools also should be allowed to delay testing of students who do not speak English.
“We’re not trying to skirt accountability, we just want to be fair,” Jewell-Sherman said at the meeting sponsored by the Commission on No Child Left Behind.
Gary Mabrey III, president of the Johnson City (Tenn.) Chamber of Commerce reminded educators and congressional staff that businesses expect improved performance in local schools.
“Businesses now want more than the three R’s,” Mabrey said. “They also want students with reasoning, responsibility and rigor.”
The No Child Left Behind law expired Sept. 30 but continues as long as it is funded. President Bush’s 2007 budget included $24 billion for programs related to the law. Congress had authorized $39 billion.
President Bush vetoed a 2008 education funding bill late last year. The Democratic-controlled House plans to increase education funding, but Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., has said No Child Left Behind is unlikely to be renewed this year.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., House education committee chairman, said, “The president has one last chance to demonstrate a real commitment to strengthening schools by providing a long overdue education funding increase.”
The education committee has not set a date to begin considering a new No Child Left Behind bill.
The No Child Left Behind Commission has recommended that the new law fund local parent information centers to involve families in education, include professional development for teachers and require states to adopt a standard method for measuring graduation rates.