Coalition Press Releases
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Kirk Monroe John Reid
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BUSINESS LEADERS JOIN EDUCATORS AND CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
TO CALL FOR REAUTHORIZING THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT
WASHINGTON, DC—The Business Coalition for Student Achievement (BCSA), representing business leaders from every sector of the economy, today reaffirmed its commitment to reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act by co-sponsoring an event on Capitol Hill, “Improving No Child Left Behind Now: The Cost of Waiting.” The event, organized by the Commission on No Child Left Behind at the Aspen Institute, brought together Congressional and administration leaders, along with local educators and community groups to highlight the importance of reauthorizing NCLB and the detrimental cost to U.S. education if the law is not reauthorized.
“No Child Left Behind has focused our nation’s education system on improving academic achievement for all students, and we must not allow that to fade,” said Susan Traiman, Director of Education and Workforce Policy for Business Roundtable and spokesperson for BCSA. “As business leaders, we know that strong accountability and standards will help our students to receive the best education to prepare them to work in the competitive international economy.”
The Coalition views the No Child Left Behind Act as one of the critical tools needed to transform U.S. education to ensuring that all students graduate academically prepared for college, citizenship and the 21st century workplace.
"Education must be a foremost priority today, because it is the issue that will determine the future of our nation in the 21st century. As members of tomorrow’s workforce, our students deserve and need high expectations and the resources to succeed," said Arthur Rothkopf, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President and BCSA spokesperson. “We are obligated to provide the education that will ensure the future success of our students and our nation.”
BCSA firmly supports efforts to maintain and strengthen the fundamental principles and goals of NCLB, specifically:
- EXPECTATIONS. All students have the ability to learn and to reach grade-level proficiency in core academic subjects.
- STATE STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS. States must retain their flexibility to develop standards in math, reading and science and to create and use statewide annual assessments to measure the extent to which students are proficient in these subjects.
- HIGH SCHOOLS. States should be given incentives to set more rigorous standards – particularly at the middle and high school levels – to ensure that high school graduates have the skills necessary to continue their education or move into today's competitive workforce.
- ACCOUNTABILITY. Schools and school districts must be held accountable for helping all students to reach proficiency in math and reading by 2014.
- ACHIEVEMENT GAP. Schools and school districts must also be held accountable for reducing academic achievement gaps between all groups of students – major ethnic and racial groups, students with disabilities, limited English proficient and economically disadvantaged students.
- RESOURCES AND RESTRUCTURING. Schools unable to reach annual student proficiency targets must be provided with additional support and resources; schools persistently unable to improve must be dramatically restructured.
- PARENT OPTIONS. Parents with students in struggling schools must not be forced to wait years for improvement, but instead be given the opportunity to transfer their children to higher -performing public schools or to select a tutor to provide additional academic assistance for their children.
- TEACHERS. Teachers should have the skills, knowledge and support necessary to help all students reach proficiency. Minority and economically disadvantaged students should not be taught more frequently than other students by novice and under-qualified teachers.
BCSA was a co-sponsor of the event, together with the Commission on No Child Left Behind, Alliance for Excellent Education, the Campaign for High School Equity, the Center for American Progress, the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights, the Commission on No Child Left Behind, The Education Trust, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Council of La Raza.
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The Business Coalition for Student Achievement – representing business leaders from every sector of the economy – is committed to supporting policies that improve the performance of the K-12 education system in the United States. The Coalition is co-chaired by Craig R. Barrett, Chairman of Intel; Arthur F. Ryan, Chairman of Prudential Financial, Inc.; and Edward B. Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO of State Farm, and is coordinated by Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
