U-46, Channing in compliance with NCLB

Less than a month after learning Channing Memorial Elementary School had violated parts of the No Child Left Behind Act, Elgin Area District U-46 administrators and staff took corrective action, district leaders said.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, administrators presented the district’s response to the Illinois State Board of Education’s report that found there was not sufficient parental involvement according to Title I of the federal law. Title I aims to improve the academic achievement of the disadvantaged.

The board responded to the ISBE on Sept. 29, about three weeks after it had received the initial report, the district’s chief legal officer, Miguel Rodriguez, said.

Selene Stewart, principal at Channing Elementary, said the school has made positive moves in the last few months to meet the criteria. Channing has developed a parent-school pact, implemented a parent leadership team and created a parent involvement policy, Stewart said.

“(We are in compliance) on paper and in spirit,” Stewart said.

Board member Traci O’Neal Ellis said a breakdown in communication appears to have led to the violations and that the subsequent investigation hindered instead of helped children.

“One hundred percent compliance does not impact, does not improve, learning for kids,” O’Neal Ellis said. “In my mind, it has been a huge distraction and distracted learning away from kids. So much administrative time had to be spent on this.”

Those comments echoed remarks made by Superintendent Jose Torres, who said compliance will not improve the education at Title I schools.

But parents said they strongly disagree.

“It is like they denounced everything,” said Krista Badani, a mother of three students at Channing and the school’s PTO president. “There is a reason why those rules are in place. It’s because students that have parent involvement do better.”