NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND…REALLY?

Since the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Act, signed by President George W. Bush, just 2 years ago, over twenty-three (36) Bay Area schools have closed or have been scheduled for closure and on top of all of that, 9.4 billion dollars still has not been received.  I urge you to support full funding for Title I schools in the FY05 budget.

Our schools deserve the level of funding promised them when the so-called No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law.   I urge you to fulfill the promise made with such elaboration as in 2001 when the NCLB was passed.

One part the NCLB focused on was making schools more accountable for their quality of teaching and their students’ performance.  The other part involved is providing the necessary additional resources to help schools meet those goals such as; peer educators providing one-on-one tutoring while inside the classroom, in conjunction with secular learning after-school programs.  By providing the additional classroom assistance, the result, reduction in the teacher/student ratio from 35:1 to 10:1’ thus providing a balanced format of instruction and sound base for learning for the students in their critical years of learning.

It is up to us, the community to hold the governor and president accountable and responsible for “Equal Facilities, Learning Materials and School Supplies” for all children.

Invest in Schools, Invest in Kids: Demand Full Funding for No Child Left Behind

In the FY05 budget, President Bush and the Republican Congressional leadership are insisting on a funding level that is $9.4 billion short of the amount that the President promised when he signed No Child Left Behind into law. At a time when our country faces serious domestic challenges, President Bush and Congress are choosing to make tax cuts to millionaires permanent while rolling back the federal government¹s commitment to education, health, and the financial stability of working families. Our children can succeed if teachers get more support in their work, if parents are kept better informed about their schools and become more involved, if there is funding for textbooks, new/renovated schools and for computers for all students. Nevertheless, we are setting up our schools ­ and our children ­ for failure if we expect them to improve their performance without providing them the needed resources.

Please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to fulfill the promises they made to our children and our schools by supporting full funding of the No Child Left Behind Act as a down payment on the national commitment to invest in our schools and our children.