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The No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2001, has shaken up public school systems. It exerts real pressure on them to educate all children, and that is a tall order. The act sets benchmarks that can be difficult to meet, and worrying about results is stressful for principals and teachers. After all, they cannot control many of the factors they are asked to overcome. But look at what is happening at J.E. Robins Elementary School on Charleston's West Side. It is evidence of the healthful effects of the No Child initiative. The act requires schools to show "adequate yearly progress" on measures of achievement agreed upon by the state and federal governments. Schools that don't show such progress two years in a row must allow children to transfer at the school system's expense. Robins is one of 18 schools in the state that made this unenviable list. The families of Robins children have been notified of their right to opt out. But rather than being the end of the story at Robins, it has brought a new beginning. The central office staff of the Kanawha County Board of Education is giving Robins additional help with staff development. The school staff has taken steps to reduce tardiness and absences. Robins Principal Henry Nearman and the teaching staff have also gone to extra lengths to encourage parents to be involved with the school. That is one of the most reliable predictors of student achievement. Rome wasn't built in a day, but these efforts are getting a response. Nearman, who has been principal at Robins for three years, had never seen more than 44 people at a parent-teacher organization meeting until this year, when 300 showed up at one such night. And 130 parents and students turned out for a family math night. The school is also using formal and informal methods to track how much kids are learning, and is seeing improvement on those measures. Trying to equip vulnerable students with the skills they need to lead rewarding lives is a minute-by-minute, day-by-day, year-by-year challenge. It's not for sissies. It takes smart people with big hearts. Members of the Robins staff must at times be discouraged, but they are waging a worthy war. That's something to be proud of. |
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