Raising the bar, but not the funds

It's the same old story for some, but some educators are getting increasingly nervous about more No Child Left Behind mandates to provide additional resources for schools without additional funds.

Diane Dannemiller, Hernando County School District supervisor of federal programs, said for years teachers and administrators have been told about increasing federal demands to help all children reach NCLB testing requirements - whether it be additional teachers or programs.

Now NCLB requirements are calling on schools to match assistance being given to children at Title 1 schools - only without the additional funds that those schools receive to cover costs for those resources.

According to the Florida Department of Education Web site, Title 1 schools receive additional funds and resources, such as teachers, extra time for teaching, professional development and other activities.

Joe Vitalo, president of the Hernando Classroom Teachers' Association, said those requirements and others aren't helping to calm fears that educators could eventually be fired for not meeting requirements he said put unfair requirements on teachers. He equates it to forcing educators to teach with a gun to their heads.

He said Hernando and Central high schools already have had to hire math and writing coaches - not for students, but for teachers - to help prepare students for Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test. The cost to hire these educators, he said, comes at a cost to other programs throughout the district.

"That's why people complain that teachers are teaching to the test," Vitalo said. "Right now we have rules being made by people who aren't taking into account what the consequences are."

In a report to school board members earlier this week, Dannemiller showed that changes, called "Differentiated Accountability," are streamlining two models of accountability - school grades and NCLB.

It would also require school districts to target the lowest performing schools and possibly move students to higher performing ones. Some higher performing teachers might also be moved to lower performing schools.

However, those types of changes would likely be made only if the schools were chronically falling behind NCLB standards.

Dannemiller emphasized that changes like these are nothing new, as are the reactions to them.

Vitalo counters that the guidelines leave the door open for the state to come into school districts and make changes, either removing teachers or administrators. That fear, he added, is making it harder for district employees already on edge.

Vitalo said that and other contentious issues are also on the horizon, such as tying teacher pay to how students score on standardized tests - a move that both he and Dannemiller oppose.

One problem, Vitalo said, is there is no clear definition of what a successful teacher is.

If you compare a teacher who helps one high school freshman read from the ninth- to 10th-grade level, versus a teacher who helps a struggling freshman read from a third- to seventh-grade level, the second teacher shouldn't be penalized for his student not making the reading level requirement, he said.

"One grade level versus four, who's more successful?" Vitalo said. "It's a debate we're still working on."