No Child Left Behind: An Open Letter from NAfME (formerly MENC)

Dear colleagues,

 

We are writing today regarding recent federal education policy developments of interest to the music education community.  In a brief speech this morning at the White House, President Obama, flanked by education administrators and students from across the country, outlined his new plan for providing states with relief from the ongoing pressures of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law’s AYP requirements and deadlines.  Citing the failure of Congress to act in what he has deemed to be an appropriate period of time, the President stated that he is now taking matters into his own hands in order to reform education, and offered a broad overview of the newly developed requirements that states will be asked to meet in order to receive NCLB waivers, as well as to garner federal support for their new efforts.  

 

More specifically, President Obama stated that serious state-led campaigns to close achievement gaps, promote rigorous standards, and ensure that all students are on track to graduate college- and career-ready, would be the priorities to be considered by states wishing to opt-out of NCLB and pursue alternative paths to achieving accountability.  It is particularly noteworthy that while the President spoke of the importance of maintaining a “well-rounded” curriculum and of providing America’s students with the resources necessary to succeed in an evolving workforce (comments that bode well for those of us advocating for non-STEM subjects), this emerging plan also emphasizes a strong prioritization of STEM-focused teacher assessment and on support for charter school growth; two issue areas of particular relevance to our cause.  

 

At the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), we have been working internally, with our friends at ASTA, and with many of you, to develop an advocacy plan of action and draft position statement on music teacher evaluation (attached), and with the Department of Education in order to stress the importance of providing guidance to charters on the value of offering a balanced curriculum that includes music.  We are pursuing these goals diligently and slowly making headway.  

 

Accountability is not an issue that should be glossed over without close consideration.  The Washington Post recently reported that the administration would like to see teacher accountability connected directly with student outcomes, and we understand that this linkage will be one of the “strings” tied to the granting of state waivers from NCLB requirements.  We believe that we must speak out now, telling the administration that music educators and other non-STEM subject teaching professionals have a right to be evaluated on their particular areas of expertise. 

 

We are also seeking a letter of non-regulatory guidance from the Department, articulating the need for charter curricular guidance.  With the administration now pushing for charters, the charter track can no longer be presumed to be experimental in nature, and we feel strongly that the music education community should be a part of the dialogue concerning its future. We believe that the education of every child must be conducted by qualified teachers offering qualified instruction.  This standard should apply to all public schools, including public charters. 

 

In principle, we appreciate everything that the President is now saying publically regarding accountability, fairness and balance.  We remain concerned, however, regarding the apparent lack of detail as to how this waiver system will work, in actuality, and as to what measures will be established so as avoid falling back into the same STEM-centric traps and pitfalls that educators have been hampered by as a result of the original NCLB, for the past decade.  

 

At this time, we ask that those of you representing organizations with similar concerns and interests please step forward and inform us of your desire to be involved in ongoing discussions about the issues of fairness in teacher evaluation and balanced curriculum development for charter schools.  At your convenience, please share your thoughts with us and let us know if you would be interested in convening a more formal dialogue in the near future. 

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Christopher Woodside
Assistant Executive Director in the Center for Advocacy and Public Affairs
National Association for Music Education 1806 Robert Fulton DriveReston, VA 20191