The Obama administration has proposed sweeping changes to the Bush-era bill, No Child Left Behind.  Although there are many facets to their proposal, the item that caught my attention immediately was the way in which schools will be evaluated.  The bill would impose stiff consequences on the lowest performing 5% of schools in each state.  These dramatic efforts could include the firing of the principal and at least half of the teaching staff.  The school may possibly be taken over by the local government or simply closed. 

I do believe that these actions are warranted in such low performing schools, but I also wonder why elements of this idea can’t be applied to other adequately functioning schools.  As a former public school teacher, I was fortunate to have taught with many talented educators who made a huge difference in children’s lives, but I also worked with a small number of that should not have been in the classroom.  These teachers had lost all enthusiasm for teaching and rarely connected with their students.  Their behavior didn’t go unnoticed.  I was aware that parents routinely wrote letters to the principal expressing their dissatisfaction and requested that their child not be placed in these teacher’s classrooms.  Moreover, the student’s standardized test scores were below those of the other teacher’s on the same grade level.  It was obvious that these instructors were not suited for the classroom, yet they continued on, year after year.

As a parent of 12 and 8 year old boys in the excellent district of Fairfax County, Virginia, I have found the same to be true 15 years after my teaching experience.  There are a handful of educators in my boys’ elementary school that quite frankly don’t deserve to be in the classroom.  Not only are youngsters in their classrooms receiving mediocre instruction at best, but they are not getting the warmth and passion for learning that only comes from their teacher.

It’s my hope that the new revision of NCLB will have a trickle down effect to all public schools, not just the low performing institutions.  If this bill can quickly force out ineffective teachers in 5% of schools, then poor teachers in other schools should be able to be removed as well.  As it stands now, this is simply not occurring.

For the last 12 years, I’ve worked as an education consultant and own a tutoring practice that serves the metro DC area.  When it comes to private vs. public education, I get the same question over and over from parents.  Which is better in my area?  Clearly, there are many factors at play, but what I often tell parents is that a school is only as good as its teachers and administrators.  In this respect, the major difference is that in a private school, bad teachers are usually let go quickly, but this isn’t so in the public arena.  A bad teacher can languish in the classroom for years.  It is my wish that the Obama administration will take action to change this practice in all schools.  

Ann is a board member of the International Dyslexia Association and CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder) and is the author of the upcoming book Homework Made Simple: Tips, Tools and Solutions for Hassle-Free Homework.