no child left behind ? since when!!

Well it's hard to tell according to the statistics as long as the numbers are going up the higher ups seem to be pleased but you can enter School matters in your browser and see the reported information for your area. No matter what new program/act is instituted there are always casualties and I hope you can contact your local representatives to make sure your daughter is not one of them. I suggest you gather the parents of children with similar problems in your area and go above their heads to the gov. of your state. Remember Presidential elections will be taking place in a bit and everyone is campaigning, if ever there was a time to fix a serious problem it is now. One of those candidates will gladly pick up this fight with you.

I don't think that it is helping our children at all, my son isn't in school yet however. When he does if they don't teach him right i'll be up there in they're face teaching them how to go to the hospital, its really getting annoying how our school system is going.

Ya know..it was a great idea..but honesly it has just got worse bu far,.there is so much pressure on teachers to make sure theer kids make the grade point average..that they are just shipping them off to another teacher whether they know what they shoudl or not and its ticks me off..,My niece is having serious probs in school and shes in 2nd grade..and her teacher is such an a$$..he doesnt care for anything but himself..he makes fun of her in class and makes sure everyone knows she doesnt get it..and he isnt the only one,i have heard so many stories it rediculous..orrr..if a child cant count to 100..know some math,read..i mean really read..and this is for kindergarten! If they dont then they are sent for tudoring..well il tel u what..if they didnt expect so much from children and quit comparing us to other countries..we woulnt have all these problems..why do we really need kids in kindy in tudoring and first grade? if the teacher did there job like they are supposed to..and really help those in need insyead of pawning them off to someone else..we wouldnt be having all these freakin probs!! argghhh!!....

I wish you the best of luck with this T. I really do. I understand your frustrations and will do what ever I can to help you through this. As you know I tend to shake things up in the district. I wish you had the resources you need. Keep your head up. Things will work out somehow.

I agree this program dose not work , I had to fight with the school almost all year to get help for my daughter so that put her behind farther than she already was, than when the new school year started it was a fight to get it going again.I dont think the schools have the proper people to run these programs for special needs children mostly due to funding cuts.There are a lot of programs that the school could cut to save money but it seems like the important things get shoved aside in place of sports, chess and other programs.

If you don't live in a city with a school for the blind, please don't send your child to one of them. I am blind myself and I went to one of those schools. I spend 16 hours on the buss, when it was on time. Eight hours on Sunday and the other eight on Friday. I got a decent education, but I missed a lot of my family, most of growing up I was at school. I absolutely hated it and I would never recommend sending any child to one of those hell holes. One reason it is so hard to get funding for some of the equipment is the price. Screen readers cost from $800.00 on up and upgrades which happen quite often cost from $150.00 on up and the prices just keep going up. Just recently though, there has been a screen reader created that is both free and open source. It is called Nonvisual Desktop Access or NVDA for short. You can find it at: http://www.nvda-project.org/ It is the one I am using now actually. I am trying to completely get away from the over priced products we were forced to use for so long. I think half the reason these things are so expensive is that government agencies are usually the ones who purchase them, and they know they will pay it. I personally am hoping to home school my children. I don't have much faith in the public school system at all, all the violence, lack of education, etc. I read a statistic somewhere that says children only get about 15 minutes of real education in the public school system per day anyway, I am sure I can do a better job than that. But please don't send your daughter to a school for the blind. Some of those summer camps at the schools can be quite deceptive, that's how I got suckered into it. Oh, and on the NVDA website, there is a link to an email list where NVDA users can discuss topics concerning the screen reader.

"this is supposed to help underaheived and disadvantanged children have a fair chance in learning" ah the keyword there being "supposed to"..in all reality (and I have seen this being the case with a few kids unfortunately) it gives the schools an excuse to just push kids through to the next grade with a less than guilty conscience....I thnk the No Child Left Behind policy is a big fat joke and a load of serious crap actually and I honestly think its causing more damage than it is good which is not only a shame but also a really scary thought if you really think about it! The future of these kids that are getting pushed through without the proper help they need is goin to be a rough one...the higher up in grades they get the more intense the work is (beyond whats necessary here in NY at least and alot more intense then when I was a teen in Canada), the more pressure there is on the student, the more chance of depression, the more chance of being picked on which increases the depression and when all is said and done and they try to get into university or college they STILL dont have the education to pull it off!! And lets not even get into how hard findign a good paying job will be... I have ZERO faith in the No Child Left Behind and havent since the beginning..

There are grants that schools can get. Contact the Board of Education of your state and file a complaint, hire a lawyer if you would like to sue the school. They are not providing appropriate education for your daughter. Have them set up an IEP for your daughter or a 504 for your daughter. There is no question in my mind that someone isn't doing the job. You may want to enroll her in a special blind school that can specialize and meet her needs since the schools aren't doing if for you. Basically "You exclude and you'll get sued" Due to these Educational Acts it provides money (in grants and money from the federal government), have the school set up an IEP or 504 plan for your daughter. If they refuse contact the board of Education and a lawyer. Have a nice day. Pablo

It is a great theory but it doesn't really work. I know the schools my daughter has been in are just awful. No child left behind? Where is the funding to support this? It is unfortunate that you have gone through this first hand! But your case is one of thousands if not millions in this country of how this "no child left behind" theory doesn't work. School funding is at it's lowest if you ask me. When I was in school we were allowed to take our books home with us. In three schools, the kids aren't allowed to take their books out of the classroom because they are afraid they will lose them or steal them. How are the kids supposed to study???? I asked the teacher if she could make copies of the chapters so she can get ahead because she was behind in her grades and she said no. Not to mention that I have made it clear I wanted teacher conferences after school and was told that it has to be in the morning because the teachers are in a union and aren't able to see me after school hours. So basically the teachers only give a damn between the hours of 8 and 3p after 3:01 they could care less. I was so infuriated because I have to work in the mornings and my husband is in the army and he is a platoon sgt. we have a very difficult time scheduling morning appts. We did schedule one and she never showed up. So much for that! I feel your pain cook!

The primary problem with this act is twofold; the first is the excessive amount of state testing that has quadrupled since the act went into effect. It supposedly is supposed pinpoint schools that are at risk and allow them to get more aid to help failing students. Two things are not happening here: the first is that the testing is falible which means that tests scores can be manipulated one way or another and; there is no extra funding for education because of all the money the government is spending on the war in Iraq.