Secretary’s Column
by Dr. Rick Melmer, Secretary
South Dakota
Department of Education
IS
SHAQ FAILING?
I had
the opportunity to travel to
Washington
DC in late March to attend a legislative conference for K – 12 schools. During
my trip, I had an opportunity to listen to the people that are setting the
educational agenda for our country.
The
Chief State School Officers attended an educational briefing in the White
House hosted by the Department of Education. President Bush was a special
guest during our visit. He emphasized his resolve to support the basic
principles contained in the NCLB act and encouraged our support of the
concept. He acknowledged that there will be bumps in the road but maintained
the need to keep high expectations for all students. He pledged his support
to listen to options for improving the act but at no time does he plan to
endorse the removal of the current law.
Later in the day we met with Secretary Rod Paige. When he
heard the statement that NCLB was perceived as a “negative” approach to school
improvement – he shared an interesting story. He asked our group to evaluate
Shaquille O’Neal as a basketball player. We all agreed that he was an
excellent scorer, a strong defensive player and an outstanding rebounder.
When Secretary Paige asked about Shaq’s free throw shooting, we all agreed
that it was “in need of improvement.” The Secretary then asked if Shaq was a
failing basketball player – you can predict our response.
His point was that schools should not be labeled as failing.
He recognizes that it is difficult to have no areas “in need of
improvement.” He acknowledged that there have been some rough spots in the
implementation of NCLB but also offered that the Department of Education has
responded with proposed changes in special education, limited English
proficient and highly qualified teachers. He also indicated that further
modifications would be announced in the participation rate standard for each
state. Meanwhile, our department will be reviewing the state’s options
within each area of flexibility and will prepare
South Dakota’s response to
the U. S. Department.
I left our conference encouraged that the U.S. Department of
Education is prepared to listen to states as we attempt to strike the balance
between high standards and realistic expectations for all students. In
South Dakota, we need to
complete “round two” of testing to see the impact of the interventions that
have been implemented in many districts. I am confident that we will see
positive gains in many schools and districts across our state. We as a
department will also acknowledge the hard work that is occurring across our
state and support Secretary Paige’s assertion that no school is failing.
