One School's Experiences with NCLB

My name is Toomhai Chagrin, Principal of Struggling Elementary School in Penniless School District No. 1, in Nowhere State, USA. I created this blog to share my own school’s story about how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has affected our district and school. It is my hope that other Principals and educators read this blog and comment or share their own stories so that we can all begin a dialogue about how to rectify the inadequacies of NCLB.
Current Principals are well informed about NCLB works. For those who do not work directly with NCLB finances or are not in education, however, let me give you a general overview.



NCLB Crash-Course

NCLB is intended to close the gap between high and low achieving students and give all students equitable opportunity to receive a high-quality education. It attempts to do so through a standards-based reform ideology and program where students take rigorous tests to see if they have mastered the material; teachers, students and administrators are held accountable for results; and those schools not performing adequately are required to make improvements, or “corrective action” (sometimes even requiring the entire school to restructure) to ensure students are moving toward proficiency levels.
Although there are numerous NCLB funding streams, over half the funds come from the Title I, “Local Educational Agencies” program intended to improve education for disadvantaged students generally. Because Title I has the greatest impact, we will examine it closer. Title 1 funds are distributed according to four different formulas: Basic, Concentration, Targeted and Educational Finance Incentive grants.
The Basic Grant Formula is distributed to any school with a minimum of 10 students, and 2 percent of its student population, in poverty (as such, nearly all schools get some portion of this grant). The Concentration Grant Formula provides funding to schools with a minimum of 15%, or 6,500, students in poverty, whichever is less. For these funds, once the minimum threshold is met, the same amount of money per child is given regardless of the number of poor children they serve. Targeted Formulas, on the other hand, distribute more money per child as a district’s poverty rate increases. Lastly, the Education Finance Incentive Grant Formula awards states that allocate greater per capita income percentages to public education and those that distribute the funds equitably.