Vol. 6, No. 19
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August 1, 2009
Nevada's Online State News Journal-- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003
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Top News Story:
Nevada’s Failing
Education System
Children Are The Real
Losers, Businesses Too
by Johnny Gunn
As back to school time rapidly approaches, several studies have been released indicating that Nevada’s education system is in a turmoil that is difficult to explain and understand. The state has laws that preclude teachers being judged adequate, laws that will not allow federal stimulus dollars from coming into the system, and schools failing the No Child Left Behind program continually. The children of course are the losers in this predicament, but the overall business and economic stability of the state are also at risk.
It’s been discussed in these pages before that about the only way a teacher in Nevada can progress within the education industry is to advance into the levels of administration. Now, it seems, that teachers cannot be evaluated by standards such as student achievement. In other words, the best teachers are probably kicked upstairs into administrative jobs, leaving behind teachers that may not be fully qualified but cannot be evaluated. One official at the state Department of Education said only, “It’s a shame.” It’s possible that the word should have been crime.
What brought all this about is a section of President Obama’s stimulus package that would allocate some $5 billion to education in this country. According to a statement from the White House, Mr. Obama is looking to toughen academic standards, and part of the toughening is teacher evaluation. Because Nevada law precludes such evaluation, the Nevada education system is not eligible for any of the education stimulus money. It’s been noted in several national publications recently that teacher evaluation is one of the few ways to determine whether or not systems actually work.
The Nevada education system says teacher evaluation “protects” the teachers. There was an opportunity recently to address teacher evaluation, but it failed to carry in the last legislative session. If Senator Steven Horsford’s education reform act had passed, the stimulus funds being handed out currently would be available to Nevada. In almost any industry, a means of progressing in one’s profession is through annual evaluations. Bonuses and wages are often based on evaluation. It would be a logical step for teachers to be evaluated, but the Nevada teachers’ union is absolutely against such a practice.
One of the ways that schools and their respective systems are evaluated is through the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and Nevada’s education system has shown time and again that it is not up to national standards. This is often blamed on a lack of education funding. The Nevada state teachers’ union has been adamant in their refusal to accept the concept of teacher evaluation. Some of the schools in the state that are not part of state school districts do reward their teachers based on classroom results. The only reason for a school is student learning and performance, and President Obama’s plan to toughen those academic standards includes teacher evaluation. Nevada simply cannot afford to remain in the 19th century when it comes to educating our children.
The more urban school districts in Clark and Washoe County have not had a good time of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and the 2008-09 school year continued the situation. Most of the time in the Silver State, poor performance is blamed on those doing the evaluating rather than on what appears to be the real problem, a lack of fully endorsing what is proving to be right in a majority of the states. Most agree that students should not be taught into simply passing a test, but should have as a background the full understanding of the subject being taught. To blame poor test scores on the fact that the family might be classed as poor should not play a part in the program. Abraham Lincoln did not come from what might be called a wealthy family.
Children, just as their teachers, have classroom obligations, and those obligations must also be passed onto parents. If a child fights the learning process, teachers and parents must step up to the plate. Too often, either because of apathy or economics, the parental obligations are missing, and if teachers too are lacking in their desire to teach, then that child will be forced into menial and minimum wage jobs for the rest of his or her life. One may not be able to force the parents to perform their obligations, but we can rewrite the laws to allow for the finest teachers to remain in the classrooms.
Across the county it is estimated that about 30 percent of students entering school drop out of high school. That figure in Nevada is considerably higher, and to blame that on the fact that this is a tourist state doesn’t address the problem at all. It’s time to stop hiding behind paper walls and face the reality of problems in education in Nevada. Students in Nevada are not receiving a full education, and it’s time to recognize that.
More and more high tech companies are moving to the Silver State, because of the tax structure, because of the life style, because of opportunities that might not exist in other areas of the country. Companies like International Game Technology (IGT), Microsoft, Mariah Power, and Ormat Technologies need highly educated employees, and for the most part, they have found they must recruit from out of state. Nevada’s high school graduates are not prepared for higher education meaning there are fewer well educated people coming out of the university system. Fewer going in, fewer coming out.
It also means that those holding high school diplomas may not be qualified for positions other than minimum wage jobs. In the long run this will have a devastating affect on business in general in the state. We see so often young people working in retail that can’t count change back, and don’t understand shipping and receiving, can’t follow instructions dealing with simple warehousing procedures. They are undereducated, yet have a high school diploma.
Much emphasis is put on childrens’ earliest learning as contributing to a full educational experience, and, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, using President Barack Obama’s plans to improve and strengthen early learning programs, announced what is called a challenge to invest some $10 billion in early learning in the states. Congress has accepted the challenge, according to Ms Sebelius, with the House of Representatives already looking at at least one bill, and the Senate preparing a bill to be introduced following the August recess. Whether or not Nevada will be able to participate in these programs won’t be known until actual legislation is passed.
There is one bright spot in the current education spectrum in Nevada, called the federal Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program that at least 13 Nevada colleges and universities are taking part in. The program is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educations Assistance Act of 2008, passed during the Bush administration. Institutions of higher learning may enter into an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs to fund tuition expenses that exceed the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate.
When a veteran applies for the Yellow Ribbon Program, the institution can contribute up to 50 percent of the tuition expenses with the VA matching the amount. The Yellow Ribbon Program is being looked on as similar to the GI Bill that helped so many returning veterans following WW II and Korea. For a list of Nevada schools, go to http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/CH33/YRP/states/nv.htm.
Thirteen colleges, universities and schools across Nevada have entered into Yellow Ribbon Program agreements with the Department of Veterans Affairs, while more than 3,400 agreements were received from the 1,100 schools participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program nationally. “This is a strong response to a new benefit,” said Keith Wilson, Director of VA’s Education Service. “We are pleased so many institutions are supporting our Veterans.”
The Yellow Ribbon Program is reserved for those Veterans eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill at the 100 percent benefit level. This includes those who served at least 36 months on active duty or served at least 30 continuous days and were discharged due to a service-related injury. The maximum benefit allows every eligible Veteran, service member, reservist, and National Guard member an opportunity to receive an in-state, undergraduate education at a public institution at no cost.
Nevada must face up to the reality that the economic benefits from a highly educated work force can be translated into dollars in the state’s tax collections. Men and women with strong educational backgrounds usually make more money than those without, they would then spend more money at the retail level, at the mortgage company, and in their pursuit of relaxation and entertainment. If the best we can do is provide workers unable to make more than the minimum wage, then the state’s coffers will be empty most of the time.
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