Low-performing schools a priority for NEA

NEA Today, Feb 2002

PRIORITY SCHOOLS

The NEA's Priority Schools Initiative is a long-range, multi-pronged campaign to close the achievement gap for students who traditionally do not succeed in school.

Some schools face serious and systemic challenges that undermine teaching and learning. In virtually all of them, the great majority of students are from low-income families, often minorities, and many are burdened with social problems. A high proportion come to school unprepared to learn. Some are immigrants not fluent in English.

On top of these daunting problems, schools in low-income neighborhoods often have fewer financial resources than those in wealthier areas, since property taxes are a major component of school spending in America.

Staff burnout is rife, and turnover is high in these schools. As a result, many classrooms in low-income schools are led by inexperienced teachers.

So, children who need more from the schools actually get less.

Public opinion polls indicate that most Americans do not blame public school educators for inequalities in educational achievement. But the public does look to educators to do something about the situation (see Inside Scoop, page 27).

NEA's efforts to help low-performing schools run the gamut from political action to organizing better mentoring programs. One critical function of the Priority Schools campaign is to spread the news on how some schools are beating the odds. These stories are based on the wealth of knowledge that NEA members have on the best practices for helping all children learn.

N For more on NEAs Priority Schools campaign, including where to get help and ways you can help, visit the NEA Web site at www.nea.org/issues/lowperf/priorityschools, or contact Linda Bacon at lbacon@nea.org.

* NEA publishes a Priority Schools kit that spells out how teachers, support professionals, student teachers, and higher education members can get involved. Copies can be obtained from the NEA Urban Initiatives office at 202/822-7376.

* To learn more about Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, E-mail David Oland at odog@kctera.net.

* For information on the American Indian Magnet School in St. Paul, Minnesota, E-mail Julie Hutcheson at jhutch1617@aol.com.