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    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    June 9, 1999

    News Release

    NEA Urges Continuation of Title I Program

    Standards-based reforms are working, Chase tells House Committee

    Washington, D.C. -- The $8.2 billion Title I program -- the centerpiece of federal education spending -- is "on the correct path," and should not be restructured, says Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association (NEA).

    Testifying this morning before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Chase said "Title I plays an integral role in making sure that all students reach the highest levels of academic success." The entire Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is up for reauthorization this year, and Chase urged the Committee to allow reforms enacted during the 1994 reauthorization to continue to evolve.

    "The 1994 reforms set Title I on the correct path toward strengthening standards-based curriculum and assessments," Chase said. "NEA strongly urges that this year's ESEA reauthorization sustain this direction while strengthening Title I to build on its successes."

    Chase recommended four specific areas for improving Title I:

    1. Improve training and professional development for teachers and paraeducators.

      "Teacher quality is the single greatest in-school factor in determining student success," Chase said. "NEA strongly supports providing incentives, including through Title I, for school districts to hire fully licensed teachers, assign them to classes in their area of licensure, and provide comprehensive school-based professional development." He added that "appropriately trained and supervised paraeducators [aides] play a critical role in the success of Title I programs. Under the proper supervision, paraprofessionals can help in the classroom as well by allowing for small group learning and enabling the teacher to spend more individualized time with students in need." On the other hand, Chase told the committee, "NEA opposes assigning unqualified, unsupervised paraprofessionals to classroom duties." Accordingly, he recommended "federal support for paraprofessional training and professional development.

    2. Continue the standards-based direction of Title I, with assessments linked to curriculum.

      "Although the 1994 law clearly states that standards and assessments must be in alignment, this is not yet happening in practice," Chase said. "NEA members have expressed increasing frustration at the continued disconnection between what we must teach and what we must test. As a result, teachers, students, and parents face test scores that do not accurately reflect students' skills or knowledge." He added that "evaluation of program effectiveness is a critical component of any accountability system, including Title I. An evaluation system is meaningless, however, if it does not measure student success in learning those skills and knowledge addressed in the curriculum."

    3. Focus on preparing young children to enter school ready to learn.

      "Children's learning begins well before they enter school," Chase said. "With the emphasis on high standards and ending social promotion, it is critical that students' transition to school be founded on strong school readiness." He noted that while the Title I program serves some 260,000 preschool-age children, "little data exist on the quality of preschool services funded under the program, or on program performance. Congress should clarify the objectives of Title I preschool programs by helping to define school readiness. Just as accountability is an integral part of elementary and secondary school Title I programs, preschool programs must be accountable for meeting defined school readiness objectives," Chase said.

    4. Strengthen Title I to meet the needs of rural schools.

      "Rural education is best viewed as a system of promise with unique needs," Chase said, citing the many creative and forward-thinking strategies those districts have formulated to address their educational needs. "Among them are cooperative learning, site-based management, multi-grade classrooms, resource consolidation, regional consortia, distance learning, community involvement, and cross-disciplinary coursework and teaching." He noted that 41 percent of teachers work in rural communities, and 49 percent of the nation's public schools -- teaching 40 percent of the nation's students -- are in rural areas or small towns. "Yet, despite these numbers, only 22 percent of total federal, state, and local spending on public education goes to these schools" Chase said. He suggested recruitment incentives and improved training for rural teacher candidates and expanded use of technology for instruction and professional development.

      Chase said NEA opposes proposals to make Title I a "portable" benefit, since they would shift the focus of the program from the needs of low-income students in poor schools and communities. He also urged the committee to oppose efforts to block-grant Title I, which "would serve merely to undermine the standards, accountability, and targeting of funds that have proven successful. Title I already offers states and school districts substantial flexibility in program implementation," Chase said. He concluded by urging that Congress oppose efforts to reauthorize Title I separately from other ESEA programs. "The effectiveness of ESEA programs lies in the interconnection between the various titles," he said, adding they "are organized around national priorities of equity and quality."

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