The districts, which educate tens of thousands of children in Laredo, Texas; Pontiac, Michigan; and a rural area of Vermont, contend that federal officials are ignoring the intent of Congress and forcing costly changes that hurt kids.

“It is taking away from my child’s classroom subjects like music, art, foreign languages, social studies, and sports,” said Texas parent Jose Zuniga. “Those activities are being replaced with high-stakes, high-stress tests that don’t help my child learn.”

One in Six

That’s how many kids live in poverty in America—the same now as 30 years ago, according to the 2004 Kids Count report put out by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Is that adequate yearly progress?

The lawsuit, which NEA’s attorneys are handling, argues that the U.S. Department of Education is violating a provision of the law that prevents the feds from “mandat[ing] a state or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act.” Studies show NCLB actually comes with a hefty price tag. In Ohio and Texas, state taxpayers could be forced to ante up $1.5 and $1.2 billion respectively.

In June, the Education Department asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming NEA doesn’t have the legal “standing” to bring this lawsuit. Also, they argue the law doesn’t prevent unfunded mandates—it just prohibits federal employees from adding extra requirements to those in NCLB itself without providing extra money. That same week, the House of Representatives voted to cut funding for NCLB below the level set three years ago.

A court hearing is set for October 19. Read more about the suit and sign a petition in support at NEA's That girl sitting in English 1, crossing her Lucky legs and searching through her Aéropostale bag for the perfect shade of lipstick—do you ever wonder how much thought she puts into her look? As opposed to how little she expends on the textbook!

The answer: Maybe not much.
When school starts this year, some of your students will have had a professional hand in putting together their back-to-school wardrobe. Instead of relying on Mom to take them to the mall and offer gentle advice—“Not on your life!”—they’ve hired image consultants to do the sartorial thinking. “I can take the heat off parents,” says Denver’s Debra Lindquist, who’s starting to see school-aged clients who understand image affects outcome. “You don’t want to look like a runaway when you’re trying to get a scholarship.”

Photo: Stockdisc

 

2.6

[STATISTIC]
The average number of months of student learning that go to waste over the summer

 

Hip-Hip-Hooray

Good News for Workers!

On this Labor Day, let’s give three cheers for workers and a rousing hip, hip, hooray for unions. They do make a difference—where it counts—in the classroom.

As if you needed proof...
In states where most teachers are represented by unions, high-school students score about 50 points higher on the SAT, according to the Harvard Educational Review, and fourth-graders perform better on reading tests, the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future found.

Maybe it’s because unions boost salaries and fight for class-size limits and planning time. Or maybe it’s because they provide dignity and security to professionals. Whatever the reason, unions represent a “research-based” approach to increasing student achievement—so let’s see that in the No Child Left Behind law!

Photo: Digital Vision

No Bargain Here

Think you just got a deal on those rolled-back prices? Think again. You may have just helped to break unions and dismantle public schools.

That’s the word from a new national campaign aimed at educating the public about Wal-Mart’s labor practices. Wake-Up Wal-Mart (Looking to beat the test this year?

Keep this in mind: Winners wear RED.

In a study of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, British anthropologists found that winning competitors were more likely to wear red uniforms or body armor. Scientists don’t know exactly why scarlet means success, but it’s something to consider when you want students to go, go, go!

Photo: Photolink

Virtual Wilderness

Before visiting the Oregon Cascades last year, Teena Staller and her fifth-graders took a virtual walk in the woods. While their fingers hiked across a computer keyboard, they examined lichen, listened to forest sounds, learned hiking safety, and took notes on bark rubbing—all without leaving their classroom seats.

A lot of great stuff lies in wait on the Internet, but it takes time to find it and check for accuracy and grade-level appropriateness. With the help of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), you don’t have t