NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND:
Supplemental Services
By Dr. Mary Elizabeth Beach
The
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is in its second full year of implementation.
Consequently, the “supplemental services” provision of NCLB has taken a front
row seat. Supplemental services are available in reading and mathematics, and
may be offered by tutors, teachers, or through computers, either one-to-one or
in very small groups.
How has this provision of NCLB affected
the Springfield public? Are NCLB supplemental services meaningful to the
families whose children are eligible for the services?
The Springfield school district has sent
more than 8,000 letters to families of low-income children attending schools
identified as in need of improvement. Families were invited to make one of
three choices. They could (1) request a change in school assignment or (2)
request supplemental services. They could also (3) state satisfaction with
their current school and make no request for supplemental services.
Only 11% of the 8,431 letters sent out
were returned (around 900). Fewer than 200 families asked to change schools or
requested supplemental services. These numbers indicate that there is neither
an outcry of requests for supplemental services, nor is there a mass flight to
other schools. Some degree of satisfaction with the school, or at least a sense
that the school in need of improvement is moving in the right direction, could
account for the small number of requests. Or maybe the families in receipt of
these 8,431 letters do not care about their children’s achievement, or do not
think that supplemental services will help their children improve their
academic performance.
The low number of responses and requests
in Springfield is mirrored throughout the nation. In the first year of
implementing NCLB, the percent of families exercising their NCLB options was
even lower than it is now. Some
officials believed that school districts were essentially hiding these options
from parents, and so the federal Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, hired three
national non-profit organizations to spread the word about supplemental
services. Incidentally, there was no
evidence of the communications work of any of these three non-profit
organizations in Springfield. However, one for-profit vendor of services in the Springfield
community paid for radio ads with a message to families to check the
supplemental services box on the letters sent home.
It is worth noting that supplemental
services are offered only to children in low-income families. Eligibility is
limited to students who are entitled to receive federally subsidized free or
reduced-price lunches. The school district has received some negative
communication about this from families of both eligible and ineligible
students. Higher-income families felt discriminated against because their
low-performing children who needed academic help were denied, not because they
did not have academic needs, but because the family’s income was too high.
Families of eligible students felt that their children were labeled in double
negative ways, once for being academically low performing and again for being
low income.
It would be unfortunate if the funds
intended to target low-income students are not taken advantage of more
fully.
The Springfield Public Schools have set
aside the required amount of the year’s Title I allocation for choice and
supplemental services; however, due to the limited number of requests for
services, the district will spend only 15% on service providers.
Despite the rhetoric heard in the mainstream press, NCLB and supplemental services will be around for a number of years. If there is evidence that these additional services are an effective intervention to help poor children reach academic success, then more families should exercise their options. So, Point of View readers—what do you think makes families not take advantage of this resource for so many of the city’s children? Maybe you have an idea to share that may help get the world out next round. Let’s get a community dialogue going. Public concern cannot hurt student achievement. Please send us a letter or an email with your Point of View.n