President’s Column:

Bridge and No Child threaten communications programs

by Gary Clites

Originally published in the Maryland-DC Scholastic Press Association's The Adviser, Spring 2004

On Monday, February 9, 10,000 teachers, administrators, parents and students rallied in front of the State House in Annapolis in support of full funding for the Maryland state educational budget.  The portion of the funding in question was that earmarked to pay for elements of the Bridge to Excellence Act, better known as the Thornton Commission funding.

The Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act was passed in 2002 with the intention of improving schools across the state and of bringing Maryland into compliance with the larger federal No Child Left Behind initiatives.  Issues regarding funding of the act are endemic of difficulties not only in Maryland, but across the nation created by these well-intentioned, but problematic educational reform movements.  Problems that will hit teachers of higher-level elective classes in journalism and communications particularly hard.

No Child Left Behind mandates standards for all schools and students across the nation and threatens severe penalties to schools that fail to comply.  Here in Maryland, Bridge to Excellence established the Maryland State Assessments as a requirement for graduation, refocussed all schools on an “essential curriculum,” and set up a series of requirements reported on an annual state report card.  Schools which fail to reach state goals risk loss of funding and, ultimately, state takeover.

The idea of establishing and upholding standards for public schools is admirable, but the focus of these initiatives on testing and standardization has created unintended consequences in the schools.  Foremost, they have created strains on local school system budgets far beyond even that which can be covered by the Thornton monies which were recently funded, at least for the coming year.  In my own county (tiny Calvert, with only three high schools) installation of the computer system needed for tracking the data required by No Child Left Behind is expected to cost over $5 million.  That’s for just the data processing system alone, with the actual cost of implementing No Child and Bridge to Excellence massively higher, all at a time of school overcrowding and shrinking state and county tax revenues. 

Where will these funds come from?  From the budgets that pay for our classrooms, teachers and textbooks.  Already, several counties in Maryland have announced projected layoffs as state and local funding dry up under pressure from the larger economy and requirements of the two mandated reform programs.  How do these problems effect journalism teachers?  As programs that fall outside the accepted elements of the “essential curriculum,” and without the public support that accrues to athletics, student publications and broadcasts are easy targets for cuts.

Another consequence of Bridge and No Child is that by creating a top-down approach to education, both remove control of education from local hands and transfer leadership to the state and federal government.  Though much has been made of creating “ownership” through county and school plans for implementing the programs, when it comes down to it, the acts’ requirements force all schools to react in ways the government identifies.  Control now rests solely above the local district.

A major effect of this shift in control is a new focus in the school on teaching the basics - hewing all classroom effort toward the mandated “essential curriculum.”  School systems are extending the time some students must spend in testable classes like math and English; creating freshman “academies” designed to add extra time on testable items for incoming ninth graders; and eliminating the slots in student schedules that were previously filled by higher-level classes like theater, music and, you guessed it, journalism. 

While mastering core courses like geometry, English and civics is important, school should never be handled as a one-size-fits-all institution.  Students in high school and middle school journalism programs develop powerful communications skills that help them to achieve highly both in public school and on into their college and professional careers.  I would happily bet the average journalism student’s test scores against those of the rest of the school population any day.  Wounding our programs, which go far beyond the basics, to concentrate on more elementary programs is shortsighted and will hurt students working to write, broadcast and publish to their school communities.

According to The New York Times, these issues have led 12 states to pass resolutions that Congress repeal or seriously amend No Child Left Behind so far.  According to USA Today, lawmakers in 20 states have asked the federal government for changes in the law or for more money if they are to continue pursuing under-funded federal requirements. 

Maryland and D.C. seem firmly committed to complying with No Child Left Behind, and despite funding issues, there has been little serious discussion as yet of abandoning the Bridge to Excellence.  Therefore, communications teachers statewide need to work to protect our programs from the changes that are sweeping through schools. 

What can you do?  Several years ago, MSPA worked to allow journalism production classes to qualify as technology education classes, making them much easier to support in the school schedule.  Still, in many counties in Maryland these classes are still offered as pure electives, easy to cut or crowd out of student plans.  Teachers need to work to have their courses rated as tech-ed credits within their local communities.

Beyond that, we need to work to make our voices heard as school and community-based planning goes forward.  Teachers need to work with students, parents and administrators to see that slots for higher-level courses like journalism are protected.  We also need to work together in MSPA.  As a group, we have much more power than any of us can exercise individually.  Today, as our courses and programs are seriously threatened by misguided educational reform plans, we need to come together to exercise that power in our own defense.

© Gary Clites, 2004