Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 13, 2007 NCLB...ACROSS THE RIVER

Paducah City Schools Not Meeting No Child Left Behind Requirements

Mary Bleier, NewsChannel 6

The latest report card on education says 283 schools in Kentucky don't meet minimum standards under the federal "No Child Left Behind" program.

Among the districts that are struggling, is Paducah City Schools. And they are feeling the pressure of this federal mandate.

For the fourth year in a row, the district didn't meet all of the requirements for No Child Left Behind. This puts the district on a Tier 3 level, which means it faces corrective action by the state.

"The state department at this tier will come in and provide assistance for us and we have asked for a voluntary assistance team from the state department to come in and review what we're doing," said Vicky Maley, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Programs for Paducah City School District.

Maley says the district has struggled with helping to improve the reading and math scores for kids with learning disabilities. The district is working on making changes - they've added extra reading and math coaches and more training for administrators to make sure each child is getting the help they need.

McCracken county schools are just the opposite. The district, all 12 schools, met all of the No Child Left Behind requirements.

Lone Oak Elementary teacher Myra Flood says it's a lot of pressure to meet those goals but that's what teaching is about.

"I feel stressed to make sure I'm meeting my children's needs but I don't feel stressed I have to meet these state goals," said Flood.

While the district is celebrating its accomplishment, Lone Oak Elementary principal Dan Pope says the pressure to succeed never stops.

"We have a new school mission, we want parent involvement, we want stakeholder involvement,” said Pope.