Officials laud No Child Left Behind waiverDate: 2/13/2012 Feb. 13, 2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.com
GREATER SPRINGFIELD — Area school superintendents expressed their pleasure with President Barack Obama's decision to grant a waiver to Massachusetts that gives school districts in the Commonwealth the flexibility from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law requiring all students reach assessment proficiency by 2014.
Massachusetts was one of 10 states to receive the waiver and the only one in New England. Other states that qualified were Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
To qualify for the waiver, a state must demonstrate that it has college- and career-ready expectations for all students; develop and have a high-quality plan to implement a system of differentiated recognition, accountability, and support for all districts; commit to develop, adopt, pilot, and implement teacher and principal evaluation and support systems that meet certain specified requirements; and assure that it will evaluate and, based on that evaluation, revise its administrative requirements to reduce duplication and unnecessary burden on districts and schools.
East Longmeadow Superintendent Gordon Smith told Reminder Publications that the waiver speaks to the state's commitment to education.
"Massachusetts has consistently been first or second in the nation in National Assessment of Educational Progress tests and I think the Massachusetts MCAS [Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System] is one of the top assessment systems in the country," he said.
While the 2014 stipulation is no longer a requirement, the performance accountability for school districts in the state will still be very high, Smith added.
"My understanding is the reason why Massachusetts received the waiver is because the state meets requirements involving support and accountability," he said. "The idea that everybody is going to be perfect by 2014 is off the table, but schools in Massachusetts need to be showing consistent progress so that students are reaching the pinnacle of their abilities by graduation."
Longmeadow Superintendent Marie Doyle lauded the move, citing her district's dedication to educational excellence that exists even without federal laws.
"We welcome the news that Massachusetts is one of the states that has been allowed to pursue our academic goals without mandates from the federal government," she said. "Ninety-six percent of Longmeadow's students go on to college, and our SAT and ACT test scores are among the highest in the state. Like other high achieving districts, we set our own challenging standards and expectations for our students. This freedom from binding legislation allows us to continue to improve our curriculum and instruction as Longmeadow's teams of educators deem best for our students."
Sen. John Kerry also praised the Obama Administration for granting Massachusetts amnesty from the 10-year-old law.
"We've pushed for this waiver a long time so we can continue to out-innovate other states in education reform," he said. "I asked Secretary [of Education Arne] Duncan to come to Massachusetts earlier this week to talk about the pioneering steps we must take to give all our students a world class education and help our colleges graduate students who can out-compete our global rivals. I'm grateful to Secretary Duncan and President Obama for this flexibility so Massachusetts can continue to lead the way."
Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District Superintendent M. Martin O'Shea did not return a request for comment as of press time.
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