Principal Nootenboom goes to Washington
October 2, 2008
By Laura Geggel
The No Child Left Behind legislation is awaiting congressional modification and educators and politicians are brainstorming ways to enhance the American school system. With this in mind, Cascade View Elementary Principal Tim Nootenboom visited Arlington, Va. and Washington, D.C. Sept. 14-16 to attend the 2008 conference at the Leadership for Effective Advocacy and Practice Institute.
Nootenboom serves as a board member for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), a worldwide, non-partisan organization of educational leaders. Four other Washington state board members, including Mercer Island School District Superintendent Gary Plano, visited the capital with him.
“We left the hill feeling really positive that our voices were heard,” Nootenboom said.
The board members met with the offices of senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. In addition, Nootenboom and Plano met with Representative Dave Reichert and Senator Murray’s legislative assistant.
Legislation regarding No Child Left Behind dominated the conversation. No Child Left Behind expired in 2007, but it will most likely not be looked at until the next president and the 111th congress are in office in 2009.
The current law uses student performance on the WASL to determine if schools have met Adequate Yearly Progress. If a school fails a specific category two years in a row, it is listed as failing — for instance, both Chief Kanim and Snoqualmie middle schools did not make AYP among their special-education students in math in 2007 and 2008.
If a school or district does not make AYP, school improvement sanctions go into effect, requiring the school to form a two-year improvement plan, increase professional development opportunities and allow families the option of transferring their students to higher-performing schools in the district.
Yet, many educators view AYP expectations as unreasonable.
“Relying on one high-stakes indicator (the WASL) is not reflective of what children really know,” said Plano. “We encouraged them to look more broadly at indicators, instead of just one high-stakes test.”
Plano suggested other indicators No Child Left Behind could monitor in addition to the WASL — a portfolio of student work charting progress over time, for example.
All students, even those with disabilities, are required to take the WASL. Nootenboom seconded Plano, saying the WASL should not be the sole indicator for how students improve.
“The story I told the legislature is we have a child who has a learning disability. In the four years I’ve known this child, he’s made more growth than most children in this school,” Nootenboom said. “This child has to sit down and take the WASL and it’s not developmentally indicative of this child.”
Despite the child’s improvement, he failed the WASL.
“Other factors indicate growth instead of a one-shot test,” Nootenboom said.
They may have a chance to influence the next No Child Left Behind bill. Both Reichert and Murray’s offices asked Nootenboom and Plano to partner with them in crafting policy language to help address legislation issues.
Nootenboom and Plano also discussed how to attract and retain teachers, which circulated around better salaries and benefits. One area crying for funding relates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. The federal government once said it would pay 40 percent of services related to educating students with specific special needs, but as of now, they are only funding about 17 percent, Plano said.
“To make up for the shortfall in funding, local school districts have to use more of their local resources to pay for children with special needs,” Plano said. “That limits resources to hire more teachers, lower class size and pay teachers a higher salary with an increased benefits package.”
The last major issue the duo discussed with elected officials dealt with the structure of American schools. In one potential step forward, Senator Murray is working on an act that would allow students to earn credits outside of the classroom through an internship or apprenticeship.
Overall, Nootenboom said the trip, which was paid for by the ASCD, reminded him to focus on the issues and help education legislation bypass party politics. As the jobs in the workforce evolve, education and support from families and the community need to shift accordingly, he said.
“We are educating children for jobs that have not yet been created,” Nootenboom said. “We must keep the child in mind.”
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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