THE

SM
ACHIEVER www.ed.gov • December 1, 2004 • Vol. 3, No. 18

New York Education Leaders, Parent Groups Discuss NCLB Options

not met state-set achievement goals for two consecutive years

F
ederal, New York state and New York City education offi-
cials met on Nov. 13 with parent advocacy groups to dis-
cuss how to better inform parents of the education options
available to their children under the No Child Left Behind Act.
The daylong conference, hosted by Every Person Influences
Children, offered workshops on options for children who
attend Title I schools (schools with students from low-income
families) and on the accountability responsibilities of states and
local education agencies under the law. Topics covered included
how school performance is measured; how intervention strate-
gies are used to improve schools; public school choice; supple-
mental services, such as free tutoring; and opportunities for
homeless students and their families.
Under No Child Left Behind, students in schools that have
are eligible to transfer to other public schools in their district
that have met the state’s goals, or may be eligible to receive sup-
plemental educational services, such as tutoring, after-school
programs or remedial classes.
The conference was sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement, which
leads the Department’s efforts to provide more information to
parents about the choices that the No Child Left Behind Act
affords them for their children’s education.
For more information about No Child Left Behind, visit
www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=ln.
As part of his efforts to get to know every student at William Thomas
Middle School, each week Principal Randy Jensen treats four students
to a pizza lunch. “I have gained 30 pounds,” he said, “but those 540

Developing the Whole Child

lunches have been the best hour I’ve spent each week.”

in Middle School
Falls, Idaho
By Randy Jensen, American

t over 75 per-
hen it was announced this year tha

W cent of our eighth-grade students wer

both reading and math, it was tim
tion at William Thomas Middle Sch
e proficient in
e for a celebra-
ool (WTMS). That was
ring that when this same
quite an accomplishment, conside
as fifth-graders, only
group of students entered the school
Currently, almost 70 per-
about 30 percent were proficient.
are economically disadvan-
cent of the students at our school
lish language learners.
taged and over 30 percent are Eng
ent performance at
One of the greatest influences on stud
our middle school philos-
WTMS has been a commitment to
ed on the developmental
ophy; that is, everything must be bas
ng adolescents. Current
readiness, needs and interests of you
cept is effectively imple-
research shows that when this con
t result. My experience as
mented, higher levels of achievemen
.
principal at WTMS bears this out
ng people, we have
To focus on the growth of our you
students stuck in the
eliminated a tracking system that left
performance. We also
rut of seemingly inescapable poor
t focused on school
made a shift from being a school tha 2
continued on page
Photo by Cory Myers
 The Achiever is published semi- instructional efforts. Science and tech- As a principal, I work hard to know
monthly during the school year nology teachers know they play a key and have a personal relationship with
for parents and community leaders
by the Office of Intergovernmental role in students learning and applying every student in my school. Each week I
and Interagency Affairs, U.S. math skills. All content-area teachers interview four students and take them
Department of Education (ED). Rod Paige, Secretary.
know that they play a key role in teach- out for a pizza lunch. At some point dur-
For questions and comments, contact:
Nicole Ashby, Editor, U.S. Department of Education, ing reading and writing. ing their tenure, nearly every student
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 5E217, This past year we made literacy a goes with me to Pizza Hut. I have gained
Washington, DC 20202, 202-205-0676 (fax),
NoChildLeftBehind@ed.gov. school-wide effort. With the help of a 30 pounds, but those 540 lunches have
For address changes and subscriptions, grant, we added a literacy coach to our been the best hour I’ve spent each week.
contact: ED Pubs, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD team and provided ongoing, extensive Also, every day during advisory peri-
20794, 1-877-4ED-PUBS (1-877-433-7827),
edpubs@inet.ed.gov. training to every staff member. This od, I meet with students from different
For information on ED programs, resources training was done once a week during grade levels in what I call Principal Town
and events, contact: Information Resource Center, team collaboration time. In addition, we Meetings. This time allows me to meet
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20202, developed school-wide goals with team with every student in my school once a
1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327), and individual action plans. As a result, week to share important information on
usa_learn@ed.gov.
we saw a 27 percent increase in reading the operations of the school. If there is a
Disclaimer: The Achiever contains news and
information about public and private organizations proficiency rates. problem at the school, I can address it
for the reader’s information. Inclusion does not All parents are invited to attend par- with every student. If students need an
constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department
of Education of any products or services offered or ent advisory committee meetings. Twice inspirational speech on putting forth
views expressed. a year, over 90 percent of our parents their best efforts, I can give it.
attend student-led parent-teacher confer- Developing the whole child is also a
page 1
continued from ences. Parents frequently look to the top priority at our school. Young adoles-
discipline and the nega-
school for help, and we must be there to cents need to explore different activities,
tive behaviors of students to one that
support them. At this critical time in a develop their skills in the fine arts, and
looks at the positive strengths of each
child’s life, we need to educate parents on be introduced to the variety of careers
student and builds on those strengths.
issues pertaining to adolescence and from which they can choose.
In addition, we have implemented
encourage them to stay involved with the Working with young adolescents is
teacher teaming, a teacher advisory pro-
school and maintain a healthy, commu- one of the most demanding and complex
gram, a flexible block schedule and a par-
nicative relation- jobs in education. Because this is such a
ent advisory committee, Our teacher
ship with their tumultuous time in their lives, those of
advisory program has changed over the
child. us who know and love them must be
last 15 years, but the primary focus of
having an adult advocate for every stu- their greatest advocates.
dent has remained constant. Each advisor Randy Jensen has been the principal
teacher has a “watch list” that is made up of William Thomas Middle School in
American Falls, Idaho, for the past 15
of four or five non-proficient students.
years. Jensen is the recipient of the 2005
They make sure that each of
Middle Level Principal
their students receives all
of the Year award
the help possible to
from the National
improve his or her
Association of
learning.
Secondary
Teams of teachers
School
work together to inte-
Principals.
grate and coordinate

Jensen reviews
an assignment
with eighth-
graders Juan
Rico and Rosie Photo by
Trevino. Cory Myers
2
 Horizon
en an d w om en doing their best to e
ft of m l her-

On th
“Education is a gi

:
m an d civi liz at ion of our intellectua
pass along the wis
do human
fect en terp ris e. Education is a very e.
itage. It is not a p
er
m is ta ke s, fa lseh oods, or ignoranc
ght with impor-
activity, often frau less on s to te ac h us, such as the
man pas-
And it has very hu e ne ed fo r fo rgiveness and com
th
tance of each per
son,
se rv ic e an d altruism, and the des- January 8, 2005
l calling of
sion, the powerfu m an d good judgment.”
Third anniversary of the No Child Left
fo r w isdo Behind Act of 2001.
perate demand 25th
ks at the
Ro d Pa ige in his remar the
U.S. Secretary of
Educ at ion litan College at
ion Celebr ation of Metropo

?????
oc at
Anniversary Conv , 2004.
Catholic University of America, Oct. 28
Did
Up: No Child You
-
Left Behind Know
Close

A Guide to Education
The number of alternative schools
continues to grow as a response to

T
he landscape of the American education system
and how the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) the demand for more choices.
seeks to improve it is the focus of a reader-friend- Private schools total 27,223 and
ly publication released recently by the U.S. Department of charter schools, 2,996. In fact, from
Education. 2000 to 2004, more than 1,000
A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind is a compact handout designed new charter schools opened—
for the general public—ideal for use by schools and communities to help support a 50 percent growth rate.
their outreach efforts. The guide provides a statistical snapshot of the U.S. education Source: A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind,
U.S. Department of Education, 2004.
system with interesting factoids about public schools and school districts, private and
charter schools, English language learners, educators, and high school and college
graduates. Also included are facts about national expenditures and academic achievement, which are illustrated with bar charts.
The second part of the guide, highlighting the No Child Left Behind Act, offers a short account of how key federal
education legislation has evolved from the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education mandate to the 2001 law. This section outlines
initiatives under NCLB along with President Bush’s plans and 2005 budget requests for strengthening each of the following:
improving the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students; preparing, training and recruiting highly quali-
fied teachers and principals; instructing limited English proficient and immigrant students; giving parents choices and creating
innovative education programs; making the education system accountable; making the education system responsive to local
needs; helping all children learn to read; and helping children with disabilities receive a high-quality education.
The guide also provides a glossary of frequently used terms, such as “adequate yearly progress,” “disaggregation,”
and “highly qualified teacher.” It concludes with a footnoted bibliography of references for the statistics it includes.
To download a copy, visit www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/guide/index.html.
For the paper version, while supplies last, contact the education, special education, vocation-
Department’s publication center at 1-877-433-7827, al and adult education, educational
with identification number EAT0261P. technology, teacher exchange options,
visas for educational and cultural visits,
U.S., Mexico Meet on ED VIII to a and development of bicultural study
Memorandum programs.

I
mproving education for Hispanic stu-
dents was the focus of an interna-
tional meeting Nov. 8-9 in Mexico
City, Mexico, co-chaired by U.S.
Secretary of Education Rod Paige and
Mexico’s Secretary of Public Education
Reyes Tamez Guerra.
Secretaries Paige and Tamez
Guerra renewed formal bilateral coop-
eration through the signing of Annex
of Under-
standing
between Mexico
and the United States.
The agreement outlines the activities in
which the United States and Mexico
will work together to strengthen educa-
tional opportunities for Hispanic stu-
dents in the following areas: migrant
education, language acquisition, higher
The main purposes of the agree-
ment are to foster dialogue between
policy-makers on education issues of
mutual concern, and to facilitate links
between educators, policy-makers and
researchers in both countries. The
agreement is renewed every two years
through the signing of a new Annex,
giving both countries an opportunity to
modify existing plans for cooperation. 3
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
ED PUBS THE POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
P.O. Box 1398
JESSUP, MD 20794-1398

OFFICIAL BUSINESS
ACHIEVER EDUCATION
Permit NO. G-17

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300 SM December 1, 2004 • Vol. 3, No. 18 FIRST CLASS

“When it comes to
the education of our
children ... failure is
not an option.”
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

JUST ADDEDo!ost FREE Web Site

New Features B
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de d to ww w. ed .gov/free, the Web sit
been ad find. With
wo new features have in g resources easier to

T ch in g an d lea rn
1,300 federally supp
orted tea ral Resources for
ca tio na l education, the Fede
resources ranging fro
m ar ts to vo at helps to alleviate
no w includes a new link th
e (FRE E) W eb sit e ts. The “Special
Educational Excellenc ke y hi sto rical and cultural even
ching for m ate rial on Month, the
extensive online sear sh op fo r re so ur ces on Black History
ovides a one-s to p pedition,
Collections” option pr jaz z ap pr ec iat io n, th e Lewis and Clark ex
of Education case, eady provides
1954 Brown v. Board ’s H ist ory Month. FREE alr
ans Day an d W om en d social studies) with
Presidents Day, Veter clu di ng lan gu ag e arts, math, science an
t areas (in
resources in 10 subjec ch em ist ry, U.S. history and othe
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pr ov members, and sta te law
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includes popu lar vote totals by sta
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