From: "Suzanne Heath" To: Subject: Fw: Question re NCLB Date: Saturday, March 20, 2004 2:52 PM Dear Marcy, All states accepted the supplemental money provided by NCLB and agreed to implement it. The situation you are talking about is not happening in a Title I school. It is however, happening in a state and district that accepted Title I funds under NCLB. NCLB defines qualified teacher, qualified paraprofessional, screening reading assessment, diagnostic reading assessment, reading, essential components of reading instruction, and scientifically based reading research. It requires that all teachers meet new highly qualified requirements by 2005. The school district would need to notify the parents of a child in a Title I school when the child had been taught for more than four weeks by a teacher who did not meet the federal quality standard. This is not the case in a non-Title I school. However, this does not change the fact that the current federal standard of adequate 1 to 1 instruction is instruction by either a certified teacher, or by a paraprofessional (who meets certain education standards and is under the direct supervision of a teacher) who provides the 1 to 1 instruction at a time when a teacher would not otherwise be available. The district is providing these children with a lower standard of instruction than what the district is providing to children in the majority of its other (Title I) schools. In the majority of its schools the district is providing certified teachers to provide 1 to 1 instruction, or they are using qualified paraprofessionals, under the direct supervision of a teacher, to do 1 to 1 tutoring at times when a teacher would not otherwise be available. (I assume this is what the other school are doing because this is what Title I schools are required to do.) The children in the school you write about are getting instruction from an individual who is not certified, not a teacher, and at a time when a teacher would otherwise be available. The federal legal definition of a qualified elementary school teacher is one that is certified in elementary education, or has majored in it, or who has passed a state test in it. The art teacher and technology teacher may or may not hold certifications that qualify them to teach reading. Contact the Georgia Department of Education and ask what certifications are held by these 2 teachers. These are some of the federal legal definitions provided in NCLB. When you use any of these terms in connection with a public school education in the United States you need to be using these words as they are defined here. Reading is a complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires all of the following: a.. skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes or speech sounds are connected to print, b.. the ability to decode unfamiliar words, c.. the ability to read fluently, d.. sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension, e.. the development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print, and f.. the development and maintenance of a motivation to read. (20 U. S. C. § 6368(5)) The essential components of reading instruction are defined as explicit and systematic instruction in a.. phonemic awareness; b.. phonics; c.. vocabulary development; d.. reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and e.. reading comprehension strategies. (20 U. S. C. § 6368(3)) Scientifically based reading research applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties; and includes research that a.. employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment; b.. involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn; c.. relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations; and d.. has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review. (20 U. S. C. § 6368(6)) A screening reading assessment is a · "brief procedure designed as a first step" · to identify children "at high risk for delayed development or academic failure and · in need of further diagnosis . . ." A diagnostic reading assessment (the "further diagnosis") · is based on research and · is used for the purposes of "identifying a child's specific areas of strengths and weaknesses · so that the child has learned to read by the end of grade 3; · determining any difficulties that a child may have in learning to read and the potential cause of such difficulties; and · helping to determine possible reading intervention strategies and related special needs." Note: Diagnostic reading assessments should be given as soon as the child starts to fall behind his peers. This would usually be a few months into first grade. The children you ask about have all been selected by their teachers as falling behind. They should all have had a diagnostic reading assessment at that time. The diagnostic reading assessment should have met all the components of the federal definition. A classroom-based instructional reading assessment consists of classroom-based observations of the child performing academic tasks. (20 U. S. C. § 6368(7)) A highly qualified teacher has obtained full State certification as a teacher, or passed the State teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in such State. For a teacher in public charter schools, the term means the teacher meets the requirements set out in the State's public charter school law and has not had certification waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis. A new [hired after 1-8-2002] elementary school teacher must have a bachelor's degree and demonstrate, "by passing a rigorous State test, subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum . . ." A new middle or secondary school teacher must have a bachelor's degree and must demonstrate "a high level of competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches by either passing a rigorous State academic subject test in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches . . . or successful completion . . ." of specific academic coursework such as an undergraduate major or graduate degree in that academic field. An elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher who is not new to the profession, must have a bachelor's degree and must meet the requirements of a new teacher or demonstrate "competence in all the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches based on a high objective uniform State standard of evaluation." (20 U. S. C. § 7801(23)) [The standard exists today regardless of the enforcement timeline.] All paraprofessionals, regardless of hiring date, must have a high school diploma. If hired after January 8, 2002, the paraprofessional who works in a Title I program must have completed two years of college, obtained an associates degree, or passed an assessment test. If the paraprofessional was hired before January 8, 2002, the person must meet the above criteria within four years. (20 U. S. C. § 6319(c) and (d)) [The requirement applies to Title I schools. The standard applies nationally.] Paraprofessionals who do not provide instructional support (i.e., work as a playground monitor, in parent involvement activities or as translators), must have a high school diploma, but are not required to meet the new educational requirements. An "instructional support" paraprofessional may provide one-on-one tutoring if the tutoring is scheduled at a time when a student would not otherwise receive instruction from a teacher. (20 U. S. C. § 6319) [The requirement applies to Title I schools. The standard applies nationally.] If a school district receives Title I funds, the district is required to submit a plan to the state that describes assessments that will be used "to effectively identify students who may be at risk for reading failures or are having difficulty reading." The district's plan must describe how the district "will provide additional educational assistance to individual students assessed as needing help" to meet state academic standards. (20 U. S. C. § 6312(b)) Ask the school district superintendent for a copy of the school district NCLB plan. I doubt that the school district plan for teaching reading to at risk students calls for uncertified volunteers to replace teachers. The parents of these children should ask - · Has the school administered a screening reading assessment? If so, what were the findings? · Has the school administered a diagnostic reading test? If so, what were the findings? (Is the child proficient in auditory processing? Does the child have phonemic awareness? The diagnostic reading assessment should determine this.) · What reading program is the school using to teach the child to read? · Is this program a research-based reading program? Does this reading program include the "essential components" listed in 20 U. S. C. § 6368(3)? · What research supports the use of this program? · What assessments does the district use to identify children who may be at risk for reading failure or difficulty learning to read? Has the district used such an assessment with this child? What were the findings? · Is the child's reading teacher qualified to teach reading? In this particular school, this is not so much a question of compliance with NCLB as it is meeting the federal and district quality standards. The district is providing sub-standard instruction and most likely a sub-standard "reading program" to certain selected children in the district. All the taxpayers in the district are paying to fund these schools. Why are some of their children getting better instruction than others? Why are their taxpaying parents accepting this lower standard for the children in that school? Children who are behind in reading need direct instruction using a research based reading program from a teacher trained in teaching reading. Surrounding the child with busy people is not a replacement for that. Lastly, while this has nothing to do with NCLB, have these volunteers had the same background checks as the district requires of its employees? Anytime you have someone in a 1 to 1 situation with a child, or anywhere in a school at all, you need to know about the person's background. The outlines of Pete and Pam's training programs are here http://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/index.htm . If you send a blank e-mail this address conferences@wrightslaw.com you will get an automatic response telling you how to schedule a training workshop. To contact Pete about a type of training he and Pam do not already offer write to Pete at pwright@wrightslaw.com . Resources Georgia Department of Education - Call or write and ask what state certifications are held by the art teacher and technology teacher. You will need their full names and possibly the name of the town in which they live. Georgia Department of Education 2054 Twin Towers East Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Tel (404) 656-2800 | (800) 311-3627 (GA) FAX (404) 651-6867 Guidance for the Early Reading First Program - This 21 page document provides non-regulatory program guidance for the Early Reading First program. (Updated March 17, 2003) This defines the standard for a quality reading program. Title I Paraprofessionals, Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance - This 14 page publication includes general information about paraprofessionals, answers questions about educational requirements for paraprofessionals, assessment, related issues, and funding. (revised March 1, 2004) Improving Teacher Quality, Revised Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance. This 43 page document provides non-regulatory guidance for Title II programs about preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers and principals; requires states to develop plans with annual measurable objectives to ensure that all teachers teaching in core academic subjects are highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. (Revised January 16, 2004) International Dyslexia Association website http://www.interdys.org/index.jsp Contact the IDA for a list of reading tutors and independent evaluators in Georgia who are members of the International Dyslexia Association http://www.interdys.org/jsp/bottom/contact-us.jsp Georgia Branch of the International Dyslexia Association http://www.idaga.org/ Get ready to read screening test for 4 year olds http://www.readingrockets.org/getready/ National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities http://www.nichcy.org/ The center is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). It serves as a central source of information on: a.. IDEA, the nation's special education law, b.. No Child Left Behind (as it relates to children with disabilities), and c.. Research-based information on effective educational practices. Links to all NCLB requirements and resources www.wrightslaw.com/nclb Information on research based reading instruction http://www.wrightslaw.com/nclb/rbi.htm Resources for school districts http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/teach.index.htm Georgia state curriculum standards - what the state of Georgia has determined that Georgia public schools need to teach children in each grade http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ Article by Scott F. Johnson, Esq. about current federal education standards http://www.harborhouselaw.com/articles/rowley.reexamine.johnson.htm I hope this information helps. Children who do not learn to read by grade 3 have a very small chance of ever becoming fluent readers. Children who fall behind in first grade need to have a diagnostic reading assessment [definition]. This will tell the parents and school what type and intensity of instruction is necessary to teach the child to read by grade three. The instruction must be delivered by someone trained to teach reading. If the child does not immediately begin learning at a pace that will lead to becoming a fluent reader by grade three then the program or the instruction is inadequate and an appropriate program needs to be implemented. Sue Heath ----- Original Message ----- From: Marcymccall@aol.com To: sueheath@charter.net Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 3:48 PM Subject: Question re NCLB Sue, I am a COPAA member, and I attended your session on NCLB at the conference in San Francisco. I found it to be very beneficial. Thank you. I have a couple questions. 1. My local elementary school uses parents to "tutor" students who are not testing on grade level in reading. These students are identified by the school (not parents) and pulled out of their regular education class during the school day for this "service." The tutoring program is administered by the counselor and the principal. While I commend parents for volunteering their time to a worthy endeavor, I feel it is a cheap way for the school to remediate students. Does NCLB require that a certified teacher (at least) be teaching reading? 2. For the next "tier" of intervention (supposedly more intensive), the principal uses a certified art teacher and a certified technology teacher who are full time staff members of the school. Again, how does this sit with NCLB? 3. Finally, I know that Pete Wright does advocacy and IDEA training. Is there any chance that he might do NCLB training for parents? (I don't have his email, so I thought I'd ask you if you know.) This is Atlanta Public Schools (88 out of 96 schools are Title I). This particular school, however, is not Title I. Thank you! Marcy McCall Advocate Atlanta