Cover story: Is too much being left behind? Cover story: Is too much being left behind? (February 23, 2005)

'No Child Left Behind' puts resentful teachers at the business end of the stick being used to raise test scores in the Sequoia high school district

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Resentment is brewing among teachers in the Sequoia Union High School District -- including at Woodside and Menlo-Atherton high schools -- as they face the burdens of adjusting their teaching practices to comply with sanctions from the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Come September, required remedial reading and math support classes will significantly change the school days of some 45 percent of the district's 7,959 students -- about 3,500 students -- many of whom are in danger of not scoring high enough on standardized tests to meet No Child targets. Advanced

Students who scored in the bottom three categories of a five-category scale will have their work cut out for them, but the teachers -- many of whom are facing significant changes to their routines -- will be the people doing the cutting out.

Every occupation has its disagreeable aspects. In some, confronting that disagreeability can become a defining moment. Such moments may be ahead for a number of teachers at Woodside and Menlo-Atherton as the Sequoia district gets more serious than ever about raising the test scores of poorly performing students while not losing its grip on its mission to educate all students.

By 2014, the No Child act requires all students to be achieving above-average scores on standardized tests in English and math.

"I really understand the ideals behind No Child Left Behind," said M-A biology teacher Patrick Roisen. "It's a great theory. It's like communism. It's a great idea: everybody shares. It just doesn't work."

The No Child goals are "absolutely unreal," said Woodside social studies teacher Greg Gruszynski.

"Can you move these different socio-economic groups up? Of course. But can you move heaven and earth? I don't think so," said Mr. Gruszynski. "Something's got to give. I don't hear a lot of voice-of-reason speaking out. I hear a lot of freaking out."

To minimize the impact on students not in need of remedial help, the district plans to proceed carefully, school board president Gordon Lewin has said. While the sanctions require ending all preliminary algebra classes and reassigning those students to mainstream algebra classes, the unprepared students may not end up in class with students who are ready for mainstream work, he said.
A defining test

The No Child sanctions were triggered when 40 sophomores failed to show up for the high school exit exam last spring. But with the federal law's test score targets rising yearly in a steep climb toward 100 percent proficiency in reading and math by the year 2014, the Sequoia district is biting the bullet and trying to put an end to low scores that would have invoked sanctions in any case.

Currently, most Sequoia district students attend six classes a day: English, math, science, social studies and physical education, and an elective, usually a foreign language. Students not ready for algebra have been taking slower-going preliminary classes; many students needing reading help have been taking support classes.

Starting in September, the 3,500 students affected will have to take mainstream algebra, extend their school days by one period, and forgo their elective or one to two core classes to allow room for required remedial reading and algebra support.

"These are huge changes for everybody," said Mary Camezon, a former English teacher who heads an evaluation team of education consultants guiding the district through the sanctions. "It depends on the willingness of everybody to step up to the challenge. With good leadership, people will decide to make the important changes."

Challenge is the operative word. "I've heard the analogy (from teachers) of trying to fix a plane while it's flying," said Steve Lippi, the instructional vice principal at M-A.

"This (No Child) legislation, I think, was designed for mainstream students," said Margaret Williams, Mr. Lippi's counterpart at Woodside High, where 70 percent of freshman classes tend to read below grade level. "Part of the problem is the huge amount of change that they're asking us to do in a very short time."

Sequoia district Superintendent Pat Gemma sounded an unflappable note on the opportunities afforded by an infusion of $100,000 in federal money to pay for the evaluation team's guidance. "I'm very comfortable that we are having these discussions," he said in an interview.

Sequoia district schools offer a host of long-standing academic support programs, including the close attention given in school-within-school programs, after-school tutoring, personal counseling, and guided peer-group support.
Student impacts

Opinion is split on how affected students will respond to intensive remedial classes that crowd their schedules and force them to give up classes in drama or foreign language or even history.

Harvey Becker, the math department chair at Woodside High, said he worries about the side effects of putting under-prepared students in mainstream algebra classes, even though district officials have said they may not be mixed in with prepared students.

"They claim that research shows that (mainstreaming) works," he said. "There's going to be so many kids failing and they'll take it again and they'll take the support class. ... These students will need to do tons of work to catch up. The other side is that the tons of work they need to do is going to drive them crazy."

Maybe, maybe not. Evaluation team members have said that students tend to respond well to the extra attention and to the possibility of catching up with their peers. Superintendent Gemma said he will wait and see.

Sequoia district trustee Olivia Martinez said she was disappointed after visiting current remedial classes: "I am concerned about (student) motivation. However, I am more concerned about their motivation to date. Frankly, in some cases, I didn't see a commitment on the part of the students."
Staffing up

More classes usually mean more teachers. Where is the district going to find them? "We don't know," said Mr. Gemma. "We do know we're going to need more, so we're already out attending recruiting fairs."

The No Child law has a higher standard for math teachers, who must be credentialed, so finding them will be "especially challenging," he added.

Credentialed math teachers are a rare commodity, said Gregg Whitnah, M-A's math department chair. "The district is going to need many more math teachers and I don't know where they're going to come from," he said.

For reading support, Mr. Gemma said he and his staff are looking into using elective teachers and are in conversation with universities on developing courses that would add a formal reading component to a core-class teacher's repertoire.
Rumbling and grumbling

All district teachers will have to take a 40-hour course in helping students with reading difficulties. Such added responsibilities don't always sit well with professionals who prepared for a career in a specific subject area.

"We should not be doing third-grade remedial reading," said M-A senior economics teacher Jim MacKenzie. The under-performing kids should be brought up to grade level before entering high school and should not be pushed through, he said. "We're expected to fix whatever problems that have occurred. It's ridiculous."

The problem, said Mr. MacKenzie, is the assumption that all students must be ready for college. There will always be a need for plumbers, carpenters and electricians, and insufficient attention is being paid to students thinking about such careers.

The education system needs reorganizing to give kids viable choices, perhaps returning to college and vocational tracks, Mr. MacKenzie added.

"You want to get these kids energized. You want to get them involved. I think we're going to drive them away," he said. "Equality is a great thing and I'm very supportive of it, but what you can be successful at is a reflection of your own interests."

Another involuntary change for the district will be new math and English textbooks, geared for a range of students and costing some $562,000. David Reilly, an advanced placement English literature teacher at Woodside, said he is outraged by an expenditure that could have been used to buy novels. He minces no words about the new book.

"I am being forced to use a textbook for my advanced students, that, in my opinion, is below them," he said in an e-mailed comment. "I would prefer to read Dickens and Dostoevsky; instead, I am going to use this ridiculous anthology loaded with moronic questions. I suppose the No Child mandates assume teachers are not doing their jobs and that we need to be rescued with the proper materials."

"No Child is going to drive many teachers out of the profession," he added.

Teachers upping and leaving is a common myth, said Ms. Camezon. "Most teachers go to schools that have a range of academic performance because they care about those students," she said. "Once people get over the shock, it looks like an opportunity to get the students motivated to do a good job."

Taking reading training may well be shocking for teachers with specialized training in science or social studies, said Mr. Gemma. To a greater degree, they're going to have to incorporate lessons in math, reading, writing, speaking and listening into their classes, he said.

"I feel for them," said Mr. Gemma. "They're going to have to make some decisions. It's a tough position for them to be in, but that's what we owe the student population of today."

The school board is awaiting an overview on the plan's impact. "My particular concern is that we be very careful not to do anything that would affect the large number of students who are doing well," said Trustee Martinez. "That's a tough kind of challenge, but we're got to live up to it. We've got to meet it. The teachers are worried. We're all worried."

E-mail a friend a link to this story.