Schools' Responsibility to Teach All Students: The 1970s and ASCD
“All children can learn.” Today, educators and the general public universally accept this philosophy.
Thirty years ago, however, public schools were not held responsible for serving children with physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities, and millions of children were excluded or underserved. Nor were educators really expected to close the achievement gap between low-income children and their wealthier peers; after all, major research studies (Coleman et al., 1966; Jensen, 1969) had shown that schools could do little to overcome the disadvantages of family background.
- In 1975, Congress passed P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, for the first time requiring all states and local school districts to provide a “free and appropriate public education” to all children, regardless of the nature or severity of their disabilities.
- Throughout the decade, a growing body of literature known as the Effective Schools research established that some schools were succeeding in educating low-income students—and that these schools shared a number of replicable characteristics.
Educational Leadership reported and celebrated these two movements to make high-quality education available to every student.
In the February 1979 issue, then-U.S. Commissioner of Education Ernest L. Boyer contributed an article titled “Public Law 94-142: A Promising Start?” Although the law's provisions had only been in effect since the beginning of the school year, Boyer reported that P.L. 94-142 was “creating fewer problems than school administrators and teachers expected.” He added,Now, with early fears eased, our schools can move rapidly—at last!—to give handicapped children the same opportunity to reach their potential that they give other children. That, in my judgment, is what our quest for equity and quality is all about. (p. 298)
The October 1979 issue of Educational Leadership included an article by Ron Edmonds, one of the founders of the Effective Schools movement. In “Effective Schools for the Urban Poor,” Edmonds challenged the prevailing wisdom of the time and declared,We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. (p. 23)
Schools that do so, he wrote, share the following: strong instructional leadership by the principal; an emphasis on teaching basic math and reading skills; high expectations for students; an orderly, safe climate; and regular measures of pupil achievement as the basis for program evaluation.
Since the 1970s, educators have built on the legacy of such pioneers as Boyer and Edmonds, and ASCD members have been at the forefront of the effort to ensure excellence in education for all students. Happy anniversary, ASCD!
<BIBLIST><HEAD>References</HEAD>Boyer, E. L. (1979). Public law 94-142: A promising start? Educational Leadership, 36 (5), 298–301.Coleman, J. S., Campbell, E. Q., Hobson, C. J., McPartland, J., Mood, A. M., Weinfeld, F. D., & York, R. L. (1966). Equality of educational opportunity. Washington, DC: U.S. Office of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.Edmonds, R. (1979). Effective schools for the urban poor. Educational Leadership, 37 (2), 15–23.Jensen, A. (1969). How much can we boost IQ and scholastic achievement? Harvard Educational Review, 39 (1), 1–123.</BIBLIST>
—Information compiled by Deborah Perkins-Gough, David Snyder, and Ben Licciardi
A Resource for Responding to No Child Left Behind
ASCD joined other leading education organizations to publish the Practical Guide to Talking with Your Community About No Child Left Behind and Schools in Need of Improvement. The free, Web-based guide was developed by the Learning First Alliance (LFA), a partnership of ASCD and 11 other education organizations representing parents, teachers, principals, administrators, local and state boards of education, and schools of education.
The guide explains the No Child Left Behind legislation, its requirements, and its implications for local schools and districts. The materials, which give special attention to those schools that will be labeled “in need of improvement,” are intended to assist local efforts to rally community support for school improvement—not to advocate for or against specific provisions in NCLB. You can download the materials fromwww.learningfirst.org/publications/nclbguide/index.html.
ASCD's Winning Publications
ASCD's publications recently received honors from three different organizations.
Educational Leadership received a Grand Award from APEX (Awards for Publication Excellence) for its October 2002 issue, “The World in the Classroom,” in the magazines and journals category. The Grand Award is the highest honor bestowed by this competition. APEX also honored ASCD with Awards of Excellence for The 2002 Executive Director's Annual Report; the ASCD action tool Reading Strategies for the Content Areas, by Sue Beers and Lou Howell; and ASCD's upgraded Web site (www.ascd.org).
The Association of Education Publishers (EdPress) honored Educational Leadership with a Distinguished Achievement Award for a Learned Article, “Small Class Size and Its Effects,” a research synthesis by Bruce Biddle and David Berliner (February 2002). ASCD also received Finalist recognition for EL Editor in Chief Marge Scherer's article, “Do Students Care About Learning? A Conversation with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi” (September 2002) in the interview category; and for Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed, by Carl Glickman, in the books/adult nonfiction category.
The Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) awarded ASCD a Bronze Excel Award for Finding Your Leadership Style, by Jeffrey Glanz, in the special book publications category.
Education and Public Health
Current research suggests that engaging students in community change has far-reaching benefits. In 1998, ASCD and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation formed the ASCD Health in Education Initiative, a program for supporting school-community partnerships using public health as a focus for student learning and community involvement.
The 10 participating schools represented a broad spectrum of education environments across the United States—urban and rural, racially diverse and homogeneous, large and small, and high-poverty and more economically balanced. The ways in which schools developed their public health curriculums varied greatly. Some schools fit the model into an existing school-to-work program. Others developed a new curriculum. Some schools focused on their top students, whereas others targeted students at all levels. Class sizes varied from 7 to more than 50 students, and each school addressed different public health issues.
ASCD's new book, Education and Public Health: Natural Partners in Learning for Life, describes what ASCD learned from the initiative, provides insights into the role that community public health agencies can play in schools, and discusses successful projects and how to connect health issues to the curriculum. The book will be mailed out to ASCD's premium and comprehensive members this month. Stock No. 103380. Members: $5.95; nonmembers: $7.95.
Get Involved!
ASCD has created new opportunities for members and constituents to participate in the ASCD community. Visitwww.ascd.org/direct/getinvolved.html to find out more about ways to get involved, including indicating interest in being considered for future polling panels on topics of special interest to you; ASCD committees that support the new ASCD governance structure and other future Association work; and nominations for ASCD elected office.
As a member, you may review and update your records at www.ascd.org/direct/letusknow.html, which also provides links to help those who have lost their password and for nonmembers interested in joining ASCD.
