Why Our Children Fail

Not Enough Funding . . .
by Sharon Erickson Ropes

Sharon Erickson Ropes is a registered nurse, former Winona School Board member, mother of three grown children shepherded through public schools, and current president of the Minnesota Parent Teachers Association. Her list of problems arrived studded with supporting research and statistics—which readers can access in full at pta.org.

1. Inadequate funding for education and child-related programs.
Just one example: Of ten mandated federal programs, not one is funded to meet the actual number of eligible children.

2. Not enough parental involvement.
Evidence shows that parental involvement contributes to student achievement, better school attendance, improved homework completion, less violence and substance abuse, and higher graduation rates. But active fathers seem in especially short supply. The PTA supports a program called Watch DOGS—Dads of Great Students—which sends fathers into schools to help with activities and serve as role models. Unfortunately, our culture and business world still resist giving men time off to volunteer at school.

3. Lack of Modern technology.
This is a no-brainer for long-term savings and efficiency, but expensive for local districts already struggling with rising property taxes. While state policymakers consider online testing, many schools are mired in ancient technology—some still running Apple IIs.

4. Classroom overcrowding.
Students need attention to succeed. In larger classes, maintaining discipline takes teachers’ time away from instruction and makes mainstreaming students with disabilities more difficult. Overcrowding also limits the teaching of subjects—such as the sciences, music, and art—that require space and special materials.

5. Public funds diverted to alternative schools.
Minnesota school districts and their taxpayers pay to transport private, parochial, and charter students to the schools of their choice. Tax dollars also subsidize private-school textbooks, nurses, and other resources, yet these other schools are not held to the same accountability standards as traditional public schools.

6. Inadequate before- and after-school care.
Studies show that taxpayers save approximately $3 for every $1 spent on after-school programs. Based on reduced dropout rates and remedial education costs, long-term benefits include reduced crime and welfare costs and increased tax revenues generated by graduates.

7. Underfunded preschool and kindergarten programs.
Across the country, more than 13 million children under age six are enrolled in some form of child care—all too often, unfortunately, not of the quality that encourages long-term learning. Schools can meet this need at a relatively modest cost. Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, and West Virginia are a few of the states that are far ahead of Minnesota on these issues.

8. No Child Left Behind rules on teacher quality.
NCLB requires that by the 2005–06 academic year all teachers in core subject areas be “highly qualified” according to the law’s definition. But complying with these requirements does not help teachers in the classroom or give them the resources they need to improve student learning.

9.  Need for wellness policies in school.
A raft of statistics shows that obesity and lack of exercise inhibit learning.  Childhood obesity is epidemic, as are deep cuts in school physical education programs.  Active children learn better. But where’s the school time and the local and state support?

10. Overstressed teachers.
Survey after survey confirms that parents are highly satisfied with their teachers and local schools, yet public education seems to be a whipping boy. Resulting teacher stress is further fueled by cumbersome class sizes, student social issues, shortages of textbooks and other basic resources, institutional paperwork, and layoffs due to uncertain state budget projections.