A tale of two schools
By Staff
Herndon Middle School and McNair Elementary School, both in the Herndon area, face similar challenges. Both have diverse student populations with a large number of students who are new to the English language, and both have failed to meet federal testing benchmarks for several years running.
As a result of its failure to meet the federal goals for a fourth school year, McNair has had to again offer parents in the district a choice to move their students to another school. School officials have also had to implement additional tutoring and other special services, and now, after failing to meet the benchmarks again, will have to take a more drastic action, such as replacing staff or implementing a new curriculum.
At Herndon Middle School, there are no federal requirements to meet or steps to follow. Administrators do not have to offer school choice and may address, or not address, their testing shortfalls as they see fit.
The difference? McNair has enough students receiving free or reduced-price meals that it qualifies for federal Title I funding. Herndon Middle School receives no Title I funding.
This situation highlights how ineffective No Child Left Behind is in a county like Fairfax. Most of our schools do not receive Title I funds, and therefore do not have to go through the step-by-step sanction regimen when they fail to meet federal benchmarks.
While we assume, and we hope, are correct, that all county schools are held accountable and administrators are working to ensure that all of their students are successful, the federal policy focuses attention and resources on a select few schools, while test results highlight potential problems in many more schools.
If this law is to live up to its promise – leaving NO child behind – then state and county education officials must remain vigilant to ensure that one school does not succeed at the expense of two others.