closing the gap

New York Teacher NYSUT REPRESENTS MORE THAN 585,000 PROFESSIONALS IN EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE NOVEMBER 15, 2007

New York Teacher

At the NYSUT symposium:

AN URGENT CALL TO ACTIONDiverse participants seek common ground

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The Iannuzzi challenge‘Do one thing every day that scares you’

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What’s next?A

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Activist stirs the potDonna Brazile underscores urgency

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Charting progress Statistics show gains, work ahead

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From all anglesBreaking down Gap issues

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What is accountability?Skeptics look at NCLB debate

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New York Teacher

‘Do one thingevery day thatscares you’

‘We challenge thegap together’

Borrowing some advice fromEleanor Roosevelt, NYSUTPresident Dick Iannuzzichallenged parents, educa-

tors, policymakers and otherstakeholders in the future of allchildren to “do one thing everyday that scares you.”

“It may be as simple as askinga question that might make youvulnerable or entering a dialoguefrom the position of what mightwork instead of what doesn’twork,” Iannuzzi suggested at theopening session of the statewideunion’s forum — “Every ChildCounts: A symposium dedicatedto ending the gap.”

With the symposium, “NYSUThopes to deepen the understand-ing of all of the issues,” saidNYSUT Vice President KathleenDonahue, who oversaw the event.“We are here to stimulate a dia-logue that many have alreadybeen trying to have in our com-munities for several years.”

She noted Iannuzzi has madeending the gap an organizationalpriority of the union. He calledon the diverse group of stake-holders to use the gathering asan opportunity to “ask questionsand reflect in ways that webelieve will lead to actionsaddressed at meeting the needsof our nation, our state and, mostimportantly, our children.”

A former fourth-grade teacher,Iannuzzi reflected on some of his

students — those who surveysand research deem will be on the“safe” side of the gap and thosewho end up at risk, includingthree of his former students: Jose,Billy and Tyneisha.

“Jose was perhaps one of thebrightest boys ever to enter myfourth grade ... but health andpsychological issues eventuallyled to a drug addiction. Billyfound his place in a gang-infestedneighborhood and is now inprison where he will likely spendthe rest of his life,” Iannuzzi said.

He remembered 9-year-oldTyneisha as the personification ofyoung, black and gifted. “She hadeverything to offer and every hur-dle to overcome.” Tyneisha wasfound dead in a trash bin beforeher 25th birthday.

Those three students andcountless others like them aregrim reminders of the many fac-tors contributing to the gap,

Iannuzzi said. Income, quality ofhealth care and skin color —“with all the discrimination it hasbrought” — are a few contrastsbetween the haves and the have-nots. And though “no one factorhas exclusive claim to the gap,poverty is certainly present mostconsistently.”

While much time may be spentreflecting on causes of the gap,Iannuzzi implored those in atten-dance to take Roosevelt’s advice.

“If we all continue to do onething each day that scares us —not because we fear the action,but rather because we can onlyimagine the benefits to all in soci-ety — that, in fact, may lead toending the gap,” Iannuzzi said. “Ifwe do that, then our symposiumwill have been successful. Andthat scares me for all the rightreasons.”

— Clarisse Butler Banks

Next steps

Official Publication of New York State United Teachers u www.nysut.org November 15, 2007 u Page 1A

Education CommissionerRichard Mills praised NYSUTfor its courageous commit-ment to closing the achieve-

ment gap and pledged to worktogether on solutions. Millsthanked NYSUT President DickIannuzzi for making good on hispledge at the Regents EducationSummit nearly two years ago. “Iremember vividly your words, thatyou would make closing the gapa top priority of your organiza-tion,” Mills said. “You followedthrough beyond your promise.”

Mills said he was encouragedto see so many leaders from theeducation, business and politicalworld in the large audience. “Wechallenge the gap together from aposition of strength,” he said.“This is not about improving testscores. It’s about preventing lostopportunities.”

Days before the symposium,Mills said, the Board of Regentsapproved some bold initiatives aspart of its budget proposal with amulti-pronged approach to clos-ing the gap. They include: $20million for regional educationalliances and literacy zones “toprovide the glue” linking schooldistricts with other communityorganizations. He mentioned theRegents’ Smart Scholars initiative,designed to help at least 12,000disadvantaged students earn col-lege credit while they are in highschool. The result should beincreased high school graduationrates, Mills said.

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The union’s commitment to ending the achievement gap gains momentum from the symposium and continueswith action steps. NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi promised participants he will personally continue to keep theissue front and center on the union’s political agenda. The statewide union will:

Publish a white paper in the spring thatdocuments the full symposium and rec-ommended action. Materials and tapesof sessions at the symposium are beingmade available at www.nysut.org.

Continue coverage in New YorkTeacher, highlighting the issue andsharing success stories of schoolsthat are narrowing the achievementgap.

Follow up with an “Ending theGap” initiative at NYSUT’s policy-making Representative Assemblyin early April.

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Continue a traveling dialogue withstakeholders, including educationadvocates, business leaders, lawmak-ers, parents and community groups.Iannuzzi will convene coalition-build-ing breakfast forums across the state.

Press forward with NYSUT’s Legislat-ive Program highlighting gap-closinginitiatives such as early-childhoodeducation, appropriate class size andsupport for novice teachers.

Highlight the issue at upcomingevents, including the “Celebrationof Teaching” in New York City,which draws thousands of educa-tors in March.

President Iannuzzi urges participants to act

From left, NYSUT officers Maria Neira, Dick Iannuzzi and Kathleen Donahue,greet Education Commissioner Richard Mills.

Every Child Counts: A symposium dedicated to ending the gap

A u November 15, 2007 www.nysut.org u NEW YORK TEACHER

We can’t afford not to end the gap

L ast month, I describedmy pride in escortingSen. Hillary Clinton into

a room of union leaders afterthe American Federation ofTeachers Executive Councilendorsed her candidacy for theDemocratic nomination forpresident.

Well, shortly after thatClinton event, I experiencedanother proud NYSUT momentwhen I stood before more than400 educators, elected officials,researchers, and business andcommunity leaders to kick off“Every Child Counts: A sympo-sium dedicated to ending thegap.”

It was exciting and encour-aging to see the hall packedwith women and men who, bytheir participation in ourremarkable three-day confer-ence, were stepping forwardand committing to do their partin defining and carrying outwhat we need to do to helpstudents succeed.

My welcome to the sympo-sium participants centered —as you might expect — on chil-dren. After all, the achievementgap is about children.

I talked a little bit about mythree grandsons and howresearch tells us that thesethree little boys, because oftheir environment and opportu-nities, are likely to be on the“safe side” — as opposed tothe “risk side” — of the gap.

When Mark, Ethan andHarrison enter school, they willhave had experiences very dif-ferent from those of three ofmy former fourth-grade stu-dents — Jose, Billy andTyneisha.

Jose was perhaps one of thebrightest students ever to enter

my class, but healthand psychologicalissues as a child ledto a serious battlewith drug addictionand a detour fromacademics. Billyfound his place —the wrong place — ina gang-infested neigh-borhood. Now inprison, he is likely tospend the rest of hislife there.

And then there is Tyneisha.

Tyneisha’s storyTyneisha’s is the saddest

story of them all. Through themaze of numbers and theoriesthat often define the achieve-ment gap, I’m reminded —haunted, really — by thoughtsof this 9-year-old young girl,perhaps the personification ofthat phrase, “young, gifted andblack.” She had everything tooffer and every hurdle to over-come.

Tyneisha was already strug-gling when she entered ele-mentary school. She came froma low-income, one-parentextended family living in sub-standard rental housing.

She started life under thewatchful eye of a hard-work-ing, dedicated mother who losther own battle to illness, nodoubt because of the lack ofaccess to quality health care.

Her mom’s death camewhile Tyneisha was still in ele-mentary school and added theburden of greater responsibilityfor raising her siblings. As aresult, there was even less timefor her studies.

The next I heard fromTyneisha was years later whenshe reached out to a formerteacher, as she desperatelytried to make contact with asocial worker I had connectedher to in elementary school.

Tyneisha was in an abusiverelationship and was seekinghelp. Tragically, before shecould get that help — before

her 25th birthday —Tyneisha’s life wastaken away from herin a cruel and violentmanner.

There are manycontrasts between mythree grandsons andJose, Billy andTyneisha: adequateincome and resourcesand all that they pro-

vide; access to qualityhealth care; skin color — andall the discrimination it hasbrought and still brings — arecertainly some important ones.But, while no one factor hasexclusive claim to the achieve-ment gap, poverty is certainlypresent most consistently.

Conference focusNot unexpectedly, that was a

constant theme throughout oursymposium: housing, nutrition,prenatal care, child care, pre-school and early childhoodeducation, access to health careand so many other criticalsocial and economic factors allimpact a child’s ability to per-form in school and contributeto creating, sustaining — and,at times, widening — theachievement gap.

“We can’t pretend we’regoing to compete with otherwealthy nations unless we’redoing what they do,” urbansociologist Pedro Noguera ofNew York University told con-ference participants, referringto countries that have beenmore aggressive than theUnited States about providinguniversal health care and quali-ty nutrition programs to low-income populations.

Richard Rothstein, an educa-tion researcher, also put thefocus on health care accessibili-ty as it relates to the gap.

He suggested that establish-ing full-service clinics inschools — including medical,dental and optometric care —would ultimately be both morecost-efficient and effective than

remedial programs and othereducation initiatives.

Our friend, Kati Haycock ofthe Education Trust (which hasbeen at the forefront of theachievement gap discussion)presented some encouragingstatistics and sobering realities.

While some point toprogress in New York and else-where, like other speakers andpanelists throughout the con-ference she stressed that theproblem remains and muchwork still needs to be done.

“We take kids who come toschool with less and what dowe do? We turn around andgive them less in school, too,”Kati told us.

(In addition to this specialsection in this New YorkTeacher, complete coverage ofthe “Every Child Counts” sym-posium can be found atwww.nysut.org.)

Next stepsYes, “Every Child Counts”

was a remarkable gatheringthat raised tough, often uncom-fortable, questions and offereda diversity of views. It alsoforged new partnerships andhighlighted the need for strong,ongoing coalitions in address-ing the societal issues, alongwith the academic issues, thatare imbedded in the achieve-ment gap.

My commitment is the sameas it was two years ago: endingthe achievement gap is aNYSUT priority that will remaincentral to this union’s politicaland social justice agenda.

As was demonstrated forthree days in Albany, theachievement gap isn’t aboutnumbers that go up and downand that lead us to charts,graphs and conclusions weoften cannot explain.

No, the achievement gap,and all that leads to it, is aboutchildren — children like Jose,Billy and Tyneisha — who wesimply cannot afford to lose.

Dick Iannuzzi

OPINION/President’s Perspective

It’s not chartsand numbers;it’s children



Political activist makes the connectionsBrazile: ‘Stir up some pots and find your Bill Gates’

The need to end the achieve-ment gap is now at an“urgent hour.”

Having said so, DonnaBrazile — educator, politicalactivist and commentator, andamong the country’s first HeadStart participants as a young girl— spelled out ways for people tobegin fixing problems that causethe gap. In her keynote address atNYSUT’s “Every Child Counts”symposium, she said people needto press the government for morefunding, involve the businesscommunity, bring successful peo-ple from the neighborhood intoschools and make connections.

Here’s how such a connectionmight work. Brazile told of howshe was asked for help by some-one from a high school near herhome in Washington, D.C.

The school needed computers.Brazile called a former colleaguewho now works for Bill Gates’Microsoft, which has a programfor schools. Her former colleaguehad a co-worker who needed tomeet the mayor, whom Brazileknows. A connection was made.

“If we’re going to lead theworld, we need to call upon thebusiness community to help ourschools,” she said. “We cannotclose the achievement gap by

relying on government alone.”She urged teachers to “go to

where the parents are” andencourage them to turn off thetelevision for an hour eachevening and read to their chil-dren. Some of Brazile’s eight sib-lings who still live in Louisianasuffered losses from HurricaneKatrina and must work severaljobs now, she said, but they stillfind time to come home for anhour and read to the children.

Those invested in ending thegap must also reach out to laborleaders and politicians and createmore partnerships.

“We need to bring more peopleto the table,” she said. “Schoolsalone cannot inoculate studentsagainst poverty.”

The poverty effectPoverty affects learning, which

in turn affects futures. It affectspeople, families, their health andthe economy. Brazile pegged thecost of dropouts at $169 millionper school year in lost tax rev-enue, increased Medicaid costsand increased prison costs.

“The dropout rates we’re see-ing make the case for the countryitself to wake up to this chal-lenge,” said Brazile, who is theauthor of Cooking with Grease:

Stirring the Pots in AmericanPolitics.

She railed against PresidentBush’s threatened veto of what hetermed an “irresponsible” budgetrequest for an additional $11 bil-lion for health, human services,labor and education.

“What’s $11 billion when we’respending $10 billion a month inIraq?” she asked.

Brazile said she was profound-ly changed by teachers early on— from the Head Start teacherswho gave the kids crayons, color-ing books and notepads, to herelementary teachers who loanedher books to bring home eachnight, then asked her about themthe next day.

Polka dots and stripes“They never looked down at

my brothers or sisters or all thekids in the neighborhood. WhenI skipped along in my polka dotsand stripes, no one told me theydidn’t match,” she said.

Looking out at a room wheremany seats were filled by teach-ers, she said: “You taught me Icould overcome anything. Youerased all those self-doubts.”

Despite the efforts of the besteducators, she said, school iswhere disparities among students

often first come to light. “I grewup at the intersection of race andpoverty,” Brazile said. “I didn’tknow just how poor my familywas ... but the only time it hit usin the face was at school.”

Today, Brazile visits an elemen-tary school near her home twice ayear, inviting a host of friends,professionals and leaders along totalk to the students. She saidthose students used to talk aboutwanting to grow up to be a clerkor to work at a fast-food restau-rant. Now, they talk about want-ing to be a dentist or a scientist.

“It’s time we took the shamelabel off poverty,” she said. “It’sjust a condition, and we canchange it.”

Brazile speaks as the firstAfrican-American to direct a majorpresidential campaign, that of AlGore in 2000. She teaches at theUniversity of Maryland andGeorgetown University and is aprofessor at Harvard University’sInstitute of Politics.

“Sometimes, you have to gobeyond what they tell you thatyou can do,” she said. “You’regoing to have to rattle some peo-ple, stir up some pots and findyour Bill Gates.”

— Liza Frenette

Above: Keynote speaker DonnaBrazile recalls how education provided her the foundation sheneeded for her own life. Right: Carolyn Dodd, presidentof the Amityville TA local onLong Island, listens to the dis-cussion.

Barbara Smith, an Albany Common Council member, listens during the packedsession for the keynote address. At rear is Candy Stroud of the BinghamtonTeachers Association, a NYSUT Board member.



Statistics show progress — and challenges

Sociologist: Gap debate needs infusion of honesty

The first step toward ending the achieve-ment gap is for stakeholders to have amore honest discussion of its causes andimplications, an urban sociologist told the

NYSUT symposium.Pedro Noguera, a professor at the Steinhardt

School of Education at New York University,said educators and policymakers need to bet-ter appreciate how issues such as poverty,health care, social pressures and flaws in theeducation system are contributing to theachievement gap.

“We can’t pretend we’re going to competewith other wealthy nations unless we’re goingto do what they do,” Noguera said, pointingout that other countries have been moreaggressive about providing universal healthcare and better nutrition programs to low-income populations.

One issue not being adequately addressedis how special ed practices contribute to thegap, Noguera said. He claimed that too manyschools are using special ed programs asdumping grounds for English language learn-ers and students who are behind academically.

“Not being taught will result in a learningdisability over time — it sure will,” Noguerasaid. “Educators need to call it out when theysee kids not being taught.”

Schools need to accept that educating high-

risk students is going to take innovation.Noguera urged schools to move away from the“cemetery method” of teaching, where stu-dents are placed in neat rows and told to keepstill while a teacher talks at them.

Instead, he promoted the successes ofhands-on learning and helping students under-stand relevance. He discussed a student sci-ence team from the Bronx that worked nightsand weekends to complete their project.

Hands-on, relevant learning, he said, helps

alleviate the No. 1 complaint that studentshave about school — it’s too boring.

Schools need to better appreciate socialconditions that high-risk students face,Noguera said. Students may join gangs, forexample, because of legitimate concerns aboutsafety. They may not clearly see the path tocollege because parents, relatives and peershave never had the experience.

The secret, Noguera said, is to present stu-dents with relevant solutions. You can’t just tellstudents not to join gangs — help them under-stand how to deal with real safety issues intheir communities. Show low-income parentshow to help their kids succeed.

Unfortunately, many policy solutions forstruggling schools have been “gimmicks” withadverse effects. “Embarrassing and humiliatingschools does not make them better,” Noguerasaid, referring to the listing process created byNo Child Left Behind.

Noguera said calls to make schools functionmore like businesses and to put business lead-ers in charge of education may make for goodheadlines — but experienced educators areneeded to lead schools through change.

“Education can break the cycle (of povertyand inequality),” Noguera said, “but only if weapproach it in a different way than we do.”

— Kevin Hart

All kids can succeed, but sig-nificant change is needed tohelp make it happen.

That was the messagefrom Kati Haycock, director of theEducation Trust, a national policygroup, to a packed crowd atNYSUT’s “Every Child Counts: ASymposium Dedicated to Endingthe Gap.”

“People say we’re not gettinganywhere,” Haycock said. “That’sabsolutely wrong.”

Haycock, who served as execu-tive vice president of theChildren’s Defense Fund beforesigning on to lead the EducationTrust, focused on the “ugly facts”of the achievement gap beforeshowing how steps are beingtaken in New York and across thenation to facilitate progress.

Haycock pointed to researchdemonstrating progress in closingthe achievement gap among cer-tain age groups. Reading andmath gaps nationally betweenwhite fourth-grade students andstudents of color have beensteadily closing, as are eighth-grade math gaps.

New York is tied for third in

the country for improvementamong fourth-grade math scoresfor African-American students andsecond in the nation for improve-ment among Latino students.

But the news, Haycock added,is not all good. There are still farfewer students of color enrolledin college-track curriculum andAfrican-American and Latino highschool students are often severalyears behind in math proficiency.

Dropout rates also continue tobe unacceptable, Haycock said.Research shows that, of 100 whitestudents who enter kindergarten,94 will graduate from highschool. Yet, only 89 African-American students, 62 Latino stu-dents and 71 American Indian/Alaskan students will graduate.Further, while 75 percent of chil-dren from high-income familiesgraduate from college by the timethey are 24, only 9 percent ofchildren from low-income familiesgraduate.

She said schools where trans-formational success has occurredchallenge the popular notion thatthere is not much that can bedone about the achievement gap.

Haycock referenced Elmont Jr.-Sr. High on Long Island, whichserves primarily poor students ofcolor. Through aggressive staffdevelopment and curriculum sup-port, the school is in the top 6percent of all high schools in thestate.

Haycock said she sees manyencouraging signs in New York.She praised a plan passed by the

state Legislature to expand pre-Kaccess. She pointed out that moreNew York special ed studentsthan ever are getting Regentsdiplomas and going to college.

With the right support that rec-ognizes the challenges of high-needs schools, Haycock said, stu-dents “absolutely, in fact, canachieve.”

— Kevin Hart

Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski talks with KatiHaycock after her presentation.

Pedro Noguera signs a copy of his book for NicoleWilliams of the United Federation of Teachers.



Wealth of knowledge

Attendees at NYSUT’s sympo-sium dedicated to endingthe gap had a choice of 10concurrent educational ses-

sions featuring national expertson topics ranging from earlychildhood education to the rolefacilities play in learning.

The benefits of pre-KStudies show that low-income

students with access to pre-Kwere less likely to require socialassistance and more likely to earngood salaries, according to DebraAckerman, an assistant researchprofessor at the National Institutefor Early Education Research.

While all New York school dis-tricts this year were funded forpre-K programs, many failed tolaunch them, said Karen Schimke,co-convener of WinningBeginning, an early educationadvocacy group.

The reasons given for not tak-ing part? — inadequate funding,lack of planning time, concernsabout long-term support andtransportation issues.

Research-based decisionsSchools that have improved

performance often use test resultsto deploy the right resources andstaff to the classrooms that needthem most, said Allan Odden, co-director of the Wisconsin-basedConsortium for Policy Research inEducation.

According to Odden, class-sizereductions have the greatest posi-tive effect in grades K-3.

Odden urged struggling dis-tricts to set higher goals, considernew curricula, invite outsideexpertise and provide ongoingprofessional development.

Group-based activitiesAhmes Askia, project director

of the secondary project for theNational Urban Alliance, showedways to get students to worktogether.

One K-12 exercise asks stu-dents to quickly make a list ofwords from A to Z associatedwith a particular word or topic.

In this way, students withsmaller vocabularies can con-tribute and learn from those withlarger vocabularies.

Bilingual educationLuis Reyes, who grew up in the

South Bronx, discussed the meritsof bilingual education thatemphasizes developing literacy ina child’s home language as essen-tial to acquiring literacy in thesecond language.

A visiting fellow at the BronxInstitute at the City University ofNew York’s Lehman College,Reyes cited a study comparingdual-language programs thatfound those most successful atclosing the gap offer more enrich-ment and a commitment to fulldevelopment of literacy in bothlanguages.

Teacher retentionUnless policy makers create

targeted retention policies, low-scoring schools with the needieststudents will keep losing the bestteachers, said Hamilton Lankford,a professor at the State Universityof New York at Albany.

He said it may be time to con-sider differential pay.

Asked why they leave, 38 per-cent of teachers cite the opportu-nity for a better teaching job; 37percent blame lack of supportfrom administration; and nearlyone-third cite dissatisfaction withworkplace conditions.

“Those last two reasons we canchange through policy,” said TriciaCoulter, director of the TeachingQuality and Leadership Instituteat the Education Commission ofthe States.

The union and the gapUnion work must be part of

making sure teachers are pre-pared to teach, said AdamUrbanski, president of theRochester Teachers Association.Urbanski led a session with SusanGoodwin, director of theRochester Teacher Center, on theunion’s role in providing profes-sional development.

In contrast to critics who claimunions are obstructionists whoprotect incompetent teachers,unions have a vested interest inmaking sure every teacher isgood, Urbanski stressed.

CTE’s roleCareer and Technical Education

has a key role to play in eliminat-ing the achievement gap, said

James Stone III, who directs theLouisville, Ky.-based NationalResearch Center for Career andTechnical Education.

Stone said the students whoare statistically best poised forsuccess — either in college or theworkplace — are those who takeboth academic and CTE coursesin high school. However, onlyabout 30 percent actually do, henoted.

Remediation programsCity College of New York pro-

fessor William Crain noted moti-vational gains from combiningremedial writing with contentcourses — in his case, with psy-chology and sociology.

LaGuardia Community Collegewriting professor Lenore Beakysaid her students receive assign-ments on topical issues, such asbusiness and health studies.

Still, testing writing skills istricky, particularly because of theincreased popularity of standard-ized tests, warned AnneFriedman, a professor at theBorough of ManhattanCommunity College.

Learning environmentsMolly Hunter, director of the

National Access Network, saidcash-strapped schools may defermaintenance, which can cause

cleanliness and health issues thataffect morale.

Fred Koelbel, president of theNew York State Association ofSuperintendents of Buildings andGrounds, said 112 out of 120 dis-tricts reported more area to main-tain but less maintenance fundingand a loss of staff.

Parental involvementMaria DeWald, president of the

New York State Congress ofParents, and co-presenter PennyLeask, immediate past state PTApresident, stressed the studentbenefits of parental involvement— higher grades, better testscores, improved attendance andcompleted homework.

“If all the parents are at thelaundromat Saturday or at churchon Sunday, we need to have themeetings where they are,” Leasksaid.

DeWald suggested offeringGED or parenting classes at night.

Look for in-depthcoverage ofworkshops inupcoming issuesof New YorkTeacher.

Above: Luis Reyes of New York Cityleads a workshop on raising achieve-ment for English language learners.Right: Long Islanders Louise Gravina ofCopiague TA and Pamela Furline ofHempstead Classroom TA get togetherat a workshop.



NCLB leaves most vulnerable students behind

While critics and propo-nents of the much-debated No Child LeftBehind Act differ on the

law’s effectiveness at closing theachievement gap, one thing is cer-tain: The law is having its mostnegative effect on those it wassupposed to help — students ofcolor and English language learn-ers.

Speaking at NYSUT’s sympo-sium, James Crawford, presidentof the Institute for Language andEducation Policy, called NCLB adiminished vision of civil rights.

“This whole approach toaccountability has no scientificlegitimacy,” Crawford said.

In fact, while there is plenty ofevidence that the “test-and-pun-ish” approach of NCLB has actual-ly increased dropouts, “push-outs”and teaching to the test, civilrights leaders in support of thelaw say the attention on low-achieving students — albeit nega-tive — is better than no attentionat all.

“It’s actually perpetuating a

two-tier education system,” saidCrawford, noting that the educ-tion of struggling students is morelikely to stress preparation formath and reading tests at theexpense of other subjects.

Supporters, meanwhile, say thelaw no longer allows schools toignore English language learnersby excluding their test scores orusing overall averages to masklow achievement by some.

“The framework for the law isbased on the assumption thatschools are responsible for thegap and, as a result, there is noneed to look elsewhere,” saidCrawford.

Factors including poverty, inad-equate resources, fundinginequities between schools andracial segregation are ignored, hesaid.

Address obstaclesCrawford said authentic

accountabilty needs to address allobstacles to ELL achievement,including a shortage of bilingualeducators and a profound lack of

professional development.“Forty percent of teachers

report having ELLs in their class-rooms and on average theyreceive four hours of professionaldevelopment,” Crawford said.

The NCLB testing approachalso ignores the unique needs ofELLs, he said.

“To give kids equal opportuni-ty, sometimes you have to treat

them differently — especiallyELLs.”

Most academic assessments forELLs are neither valid nor reliable.“Tests are normed for proficientEnglish speakers,” Crawfordexplained. ELLs are a diverse pop-ulation, making it difficult to setreasonable targets for AdequateYearly Progress.

— Clarisse Butler Banks

James Crawford is president of the Institute for Language and Education Policy.

Researcher details how NCLB widens the gap“No Child Left Behind is dead.”

That was the bold statement of educationresearcher Richard Rothstein, who arguedthe federal law has actually widened theachievement gap and cannot be fixed.

Rothstein, a former education columnist forthe New York Times, said the law is doomed.

“NCLB is having the effect of widening theachievement gap,” Rothstein told symposiumparticipants. He said the law’s unrelentingfocus on test scores has forced educators tooverwhelmingly concentrate on reading andmath skills. Numerous studies have document-ed that this comes at the expense of socialstudies, science, music, art, physical education,character education and many other interests.

“There’s much more of a shift in focus inschools serving disadvantaged students,” hesaid, noting that “a different kind of gap” isemerging.

“Rich kids will study philosophy and art,”he said, “while their poor peers fill in bubbleson test sheets.”

Rothstein said educators say the testingcraze has forced them to concentrate on “bub-ble kids,” those just below proficiency points.“By focusing on them, you make AdequateYearly Progress,” he said. “But this diminishesthe attention for the high-scoring child andthose at the bottom.”

Rothstein suggested policymakers focus on

the socio-economic reasons for the achieve-ment gap: health care issues, housing, eco-nomic stability for families and different par-enting skills by social class.

He cited studies showing the achievementgap exists as early as age 3, arguing that a lackof early childhood education can lead todeficits in vocabulary, hand-eye coordinationand higher-level thinking skills.

By the fourth birthday, the middle-classchild’s vocabulary is twice as large, Rothsteinsaid. “Can teachers, schools and curriculum, nomatter how good, make up the difference andclose the gap for these children?” he asked.

Social class differences go far beyond child-rearing practices, Rothstein said. Some aremore easily fixed, such as improving healthcare. He cited studies showing children fromlow-income families have six times the rate ofasthma. Other health-related issues includepoor dental health, vision care and exposureto lead and other toxins.

Establishing school-based full-service clinics,including medical, dental and optometric care,would be “relatively inexpensive compared towhat we spend on other education reform ini-tiatives,” Rothstein said.

American Federation of Teachers ExecutiveVice President Antonia Cortese said unions areconcerned about early-childhood educationand highlighting schools that are makingamazing progress in educating disadvantagedstudents. “School improvement is our job,” shesaid. “It’s union work.”

— Sylvia Saunders

Above: RichardRothstein, right, withNorm Fruchter of theAnnenberg Institute.Right: Ron Ferguson,an urban educationexpert, listens.



Left: Jeff Lovell, secretaryto the Senate FinanceCommittee, applauds theintroduction of AlbanyMayor Jerry Jennings.

Right: Ahmes Askia of theNational Urban Alliancetalks over achievementissues with Tom Rogers,executive director of thestate Council of SchoolSuperintendents.

Keynote speaker Donna Brazile meets a delegation from theSyracuse TA. From left: Vanessa Ryder, Megan Brody, STAPresident Kate McKenna, Brazile and Karen Blue.

Above: Lee Cutler of NYSUT’s Board ofDirectors with Angelo Dorta, right, presi-dent of the Vermont-NEA.

Below: John Reilly, chairman of theboard of Albany’s KIPP Tech ValleyCharter School, was impressed by thequality of the symposium’s speakers.

Regent Joseph Bowman was amongthose representing the state’s education policy-making board.

Above: The Business Council’s Margarita Mayo, a member of theboard of Brighter Choice Charter Schools in Albany, talks withAntonia Cortese, executive vice president of the AmericanFederation of Teachers.

Left: NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer Ivan Tiger, left, chats with KarenFox and John Spadafora of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamberof Commerce.

Photographs in this special section by Jon RichardFlemming, El-Wise Noisette and Andrew Watson.



What does and doesn’t work to close gaps

Incentive pay. More mentoringand peer review. Fewer puni-tive lists and less of an “end-all, be-all” emphasis on test

scores.Those ideas were kicked

around by a symposium panelfeaturing an urban educationresearcher and representatives ofbusiness, education and state gov-ernment. Instead of dwelling onthe punitive aspects of No ChildLeft Behind, panelists agreed it’stime to put energy into positivethings to raise achievement.

In a lively dialogue moderatedby veteran TV newsman EdDague, panelists included UnitedFederation of Teachers PresidentRandi Weingarten; JohannaDuncan-Poitier, senior deputycommissioner of the State EdDepartment; David Shaffer of theBusiness Council of New YorkState; Harvard professor RonaldFerguson; and Eva Joseph, Albanyschools superintendent.

Though representing diverseinterests, panelists agreed that inorder to change the learning envi-

ronment for students, it’s crucialto encourage collaboration andimprove working conditions.

They agreed it’s time to takechances. “In the ocean, you can’tstop the wave. You can ride thewave,” Weingarten said. She saidthat thinking is what led her tonegotiate a schoolwide bonusplan that attracted national head-lines last month.

“In schools it really does take avillage,” Weingarten said. “It’s notabout one individual teacher.”

Joseph said collaboration wascrucial in getting Arbor HillElementary School off the state’scorrective action list. “We did itwith empowerment of teachers,”the Albany superintendent said.

Another positive step is men-toring. “Mentoring works but it’s

an unfunded mandate,” Duncan-Pointier noted. “Unfunded man-dates don’t work.”

Duncan-Poitier said SED is pro-posing initiatives to improveteacher recruitment and retention,including legislation that wouldallow retired educators to teachin high-need areas without affect-ing their pension.

When asked if he was advocat-ing for tax cuts or less spendingon schools, the Business Council’sShaffer said the business commu-nity fully supports investment ineducation. “Of course, investorsexpect a return on their invest-ment,” Shaffer said. “In this case,we’re talking about taxpayers.”

Ferguson, an expert on urbaneducation, challenged participantsto “create a social movement” thatpushes “at all the margins.”

He noted it’s not realistic forNCLB to require 100 percent pro-ficiency for all students by 2014.“It’s not the kids that can’t changequickly. It’s the grownups.”

— Sylvia Saunders

From left, Ed Dague, David Shaffer, Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Eva Joseph, RonFerguson and Randi Weingarten.

Panel: Success takes a caring community

The session on “The Community’s Role inRaising Achievement” tied together manythemes brought out during NYSUT’sthree-day symposium and followed an

admonition from plenary speaker RichardRothstein to “light a fire and be vocal aboutthe things you know.”

Norm Fruchter, director of the CommunityInvolvement program at the AnnenbergInstitute for School Reform, spoke from hisexperiences as a community activist and leaderin New York City. “When the schools that needthe most get the least,” he said, “the communi-ty needs to raise demands about fundamentalchange.” He praised the United Federation ofTeachers as an active partner in the fight forgood schools.

Karen Scharff, executive director of CitizenAction of New York, stressed similar themesbased on her organization’s relationships withpoliticians and school districts. “For communi-ties to change, we organize on the grass-rootslevel so that elected officials have no choicebut to respond,” Scharff said. “Whether it’sabout schools, smaller class size, pre-K orafter-school programs, parents have to have avoice.”

Debbie Benson is executive director of NewYork State Children and Family Services, whichworks with state agencies to coordinate servic-

es for children. “The governorrecognizes the vital linkbetween health care and qualityeducation for children,” Bensonsaid. She stressed the Spitzeradministration’s interest in pro-grams for toddlers and 3-year-olds, as well as its support forparent ed programs that shesaid stagnated under the previ-ous administration.

Maria DeWald, president ofthe state Congress of Parentsand Teachers, drew applausewhen she said, “Educating chil-dren is the mission of ournation, not just our schools,” asshe addressed those critics whoplay the “blame game” with public schools.

Gene Rodriguez, coordinator of the CapitalDistrict Worker Center, spoke about the impor-tance of making available good jobs at a livingwage to keep communities economicallyvibrant for their youngest members. Heapplauded the work of several retired Albanyteachers who are providing free remedial read-ing and math lessons to job applicants seekingto enter union programs in the constructionindustry.

The Rev. Edward B. Smart, pastor of

Albany’s historic Israel A.M.E. Church, spokeabout the church’s role: “In the black commu-nity, education isn’t just the role of the par-ents,” he said. “We know that children needmentors.”

Smart said many clergy believe “the educa-tion system has failed children and we have todo a better job.” While advocating coalition-building and community involvement toaddress the problems, he added that “the high-est-paid people in the community should beeducators” for the vital role they play.

— Bernie Mulligan

From left, Debbie Benson, Karen Scharff and Gene Rodriguez.


closing the gap

Documents

gap president iannuzzi

nysut symposium

gap issuespage

achievement gap

nysut president dick

iannuzzi challengedo

nysut ment

symposium dedicatedsafe