U-46 says No Child law is a work in progress

It's not perfect, but it's working.

That's the mantra of U.S. Department of Education officials as they push for reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

And it's the same refrain heard Wednesday as a top official in the department's regional office spoke with parents, staff and community members in Elgin Area School District U-46.

"No Child Left Behind is not a perfect law," regional representative Todd Zoellick said of the federal legislation, designed to have all students reading and doing math at or above grade level by 2014. "However, No Child Left Behind is a good law that has been made better.

"We have test scores rising and achievement gaps narrowing," Zoellick said. "And that's what we set out to do."

In U-46, all but one of the district's 40 elementary schools met state standards this year as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.

However, three of eight district middle schools, and all five high schools, failed to meet state standards, according to U-46 data.

As part of the law's reauthorization, Zoellick said, department officials want to funnel more money to under-performing high schools.

Officials also hope to offer tutoring services a year earlier for schools that fail to meet the standards, he said.

"No Child Left Behind has helped generate some progress," Zoellick said. "But clearly there is still much work to be done."

Wednesday's forum in U-46 followed a back-to-school speech earlier in the day by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

The forum was one of the first in the nation, outside of Washington, D.C., to focus on reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.

"We see U-46 community really as a microcosm of America," Zoellick said. "This is a community that faces a vast range of educational challenges every day."

While much of Wednesday's forum was spent touting the No Child Left Behind Act, participants also were given an opportunity to point out what they see as deficiencies in the legislation.

For instance, one person asked whether lawmakers would place more emphasis on gifted education -- which has taken a back seat as districts use up resources to meet minimum standards of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Gifted education may receive more consideration in the future, Zoellick said, but for now the goal is simply to get all students up to speed.

"Our federal dollars go first and foremost … to help our neediest students," he said.