Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
all students deserve the same opportunity to learn and to write
no matter their socioeconomic status backgrounds or special needs
too often though poverty and circumstance have held students back
from reaching their full potential as schools attend to meet the needs of
their most vulnerable learners
to empower states districts and schools to develop and implement education
reforms that benefit every student
in september two thousand eleven the u_s_ department of education and she did
a clean and to offer states the flexibility to develop a locally taylor
strategies to adjust their most pressing education challenges
the plan provides a crude states with flexibility from a hearing to some
outdated and overly prescriptive aspects of the federal elementary and secondary
education act
which most people now by its reauthorize name the no child left behind act or
anzio b
in exchange for flexibility stated may bring new commitments to maintain a high
bar pristine success
close it even caps and increase equity by better targeting support univ
resources to schools based on need
the s_ e_ a_ flexibility is sometimes referred to as waivers
the department of education has granted waivers to states since february two
thousand twelve
so far thirty four states and the district of columbia have been approved
for yes the flexibility
and the department is currently reviewing applications from eleven more
states into territories
this is actually and effort
to com
head of the federal government play i think it's significantly more helpful an
appropriate role
walter balding
decisionmaking authority to onto states into the authorities underneath them i
think that point
use is dismissed sometimes uh... infact it's it's highly ironic that some of the
critiques that have come up in the
left behind today
uh... focuses on the objects or the overbearing role the federal government
it's exactly the opposite actually it is that basically
a statement that there is on trust that the closer you get to the ground the
more likely it is you'll be able to develop and execute strategies to make a
difference for kids i think about the opportunity to reward success does
wonders as we actually applied for the waiver because under her child left
behind
ninety-eight percent of our schools on average this year would
now we've got a lot of room for improvement statements that i can tell
you something
not all our schools are funneling detailing your children they're headed
in the right direction at this point in time if there had been the right
direction were able to acknowledge that
talk about it and we've been able to actually glean best practices from our
schools who are making unbelievable strides
that last year they were called a failure
this year that make him most growth and progress in our entire state so what
what one and one year ago we were to call the school failing
had no way to describe this sets
today welter literally through data and objective information
say no the school is not a failure
here's the code and achievement gap they've closed in the last three years
the last two years in the last year
mean i believe really that the states ever put a lot of work in an effort
into ensuring that their plans are robust admit they're focused on meeting
the needs of the most vulnerable students in their populations
into that and we have um... implemented a very solid monitoring plan as well as
a technical assistance plan to assist states
as they proceed forward with the robust plans this is ninety eight
and the following authority without expectation that accountability i'd feel
that dot the accountability standards in new jersey
or constructive are higher
more realistic
and drive change much more so than under n c l_ page so it's this
lovleen burgeoning of that
to incredibly important principles fervent element and and and state
control
and accountability had high expectations and when i think that the bell
opportunity to partner for with the u_s_ department of education i c number one
that we have the opportunity to
uh... keep raising the bar
on as we look at the waiver and expectations that we have for our kids
number two to champion successes as we go through so when it comes to
flexibility
did make a difference i with the answer's going to be yes
and we're gonna be able to champion the successes and these these successes
should inform
reauthorization of yesenia
on that these these waivers that we have right now
should be the blueprint that the winds that we we see for our kids to be the
blueprint for
u_s_d_a_ tomorrow
so i think what's really interesting for us right now is to identify ways to call
all that information to share it cross the country
being sure that you'd status learning one from the other cousins pretty easy
to become isolated misstating feel like you're the only one who has this problem
or you may be the only one who's from great success in a particular area so
that cohesiveness of states coming together around certain ideals if you
will a general principles is just starting to about what i think that's
really promising for the field