A Letter to Scott Garrett

Dear Representative Garrett,

My name is Tom Montuori and I am a teacher at Dumont High School in Bergen County. I am writing to share my perspective with you on the NCLB Act. As an educator, I feel I have a valid, but marginalized viewpoint on the active role the federal government can take in improving public education on the local level. I should preface my words by saying that I am not “anti-standards”, as many of my colleagues appear to be. Any realistic proposal for federal education policy must rely on a set of standards. If utilized properly I believe that standards do not have to be regarded by reasonable teachers as a counter to what we are trying to accomplish in the classroom. Rather, standards need to be address the specific needs of a area.

The ramifications of the NCLB Act are far-reaching and almost entirely negative on the quality of education in public schools, particularly those in under-funded districts. There seems to be a disconnect between the needs of schools and the perceptions and attitudes of our lawmakers. How could the national government ever hope to satisfy the needs of 50 diverse states with a blanket law to govern them all? A nation that prides itself on diversity must also do more to recognize and accommodate the cultural and socioeconomic diversity that exists within its 300 million-person population. The challenges of educating children in New Jersey or Massachusetts are profoundly different from those faced in Kansas or Nebraska.

I am fortunate to teach in a school district where local taxes fund the vast majority of the school budget. The socioeconomic status of our residents indicates that the standards outlined by the national government will not be a challenge to satisfy. Coupled with the fact that our district does not rely on federal dollars, it is plainly obvious that the NCLB Act influences the instruction in our district to a far less degree than many nearby districts.

These facts lie at the heart of what is inherently wrong with the NCLB Act. The districts where student achievement is lowest, where local funding is minimal, where the quality of facilities and resources is most lacking are the very districts that the NCLB Act have affected. Under-funded schools are placed in a position where they must decide what is most important. Invariably, local administrators and teachers must take the necessary measures to insure that their federal funding will not be cut off. Teaching to the test is the immediate consequence in the classroom. However, how can a single set of standards adequately cover what children need to know in Charleston, West Virginia and East Los Angeles, California?

I would respectfully submit what the representatives such as you need to remember is what our Founding Fathers intended in the Constitution. The states were delegated the power to control education within their borders. The NCLB Act is a thinly veiled attempt to circumnavigate that ideal, by dangling federal dollars before schools like a carrot on a stick.

Sincerely yours,

Tom Montuori