08/04/09 Redmond
The goal of No Child Left Behind signed by President George Bush in 2002 is to have all students at grade level reading and math by 2014. This year about 60% of students need to be at grade level for reading and math.
Two out of every three Oregon schools meet federal academic standards set by No Child Left Behind. Central Oregon is fairing well, the Redmond School District has all it's elementary schools at grade level requirements; especially important for Evergreen Elementary that was on probation last year and Lynch Elementary that was on the improvement list for three years. A title one school, accepting federal dollars for poorer students it must meet requirements or face sanctions like notifying parents and funding transportation for students to go to other schools or complete restructuring. Principal of Lynch Elementary at the time John Hartford worked hard with his teachers to get the school finally off the list. "Developed some programs, developed some after school interventions, reading programs for them and tried to focus on the areas that needed improvement give them a lot of energy," said Hartford.
Now Principal at Elton Gregory Middle School which doesn't meet No Child Left Behind standards, he says he'll focus on getting his new school up to par. "What it's really caused us to do is become more deliberate, more focused on specific needs," said Hartford.
Other Title One schools on the list, La Pine Middle School, Buff Elementary, Jefferson County Middle School and Warm Springs Elementary School. In Central Oregon the majority of schools struggling to meet the requirements are middle and high schools. Hartford says it's harder to get those grade levels to the standards if the students fall behind at the elementary level. Sisters School District schools all meet the requirements. In Bend, Bend High and Cascade Middle School have now met the standards after failing to do so last year. They weren't on the list since they do not receive federal funding.
Standards will only get tougher, next year 70% of students need to be at grade level.
To see where your school lines up, here's links to the State Department of Education.
http://www.ode.state.or.us/news/releases/default.aspx?yr=0000&kw=&rid=70...
