NEA president criticizes No Child Left Behind.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

In a funny, fiery speech to nearly 600 Eugene School District employees Friday morning, Reg Weaver, leader of the nation's largest teachers union, scolded national policy-makers for creating an accountability system that sets up the nation's most vulnerable schools and children to fail.

With a delivery that was part stand-up comic, part preacher, Weaver, in his second term as president of the 3.2 million member National Education Association, implored his audience to take a unified message to elected representatives to change key elements of the controversial No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization this year.

"We have to stand up together if these folks are going to do the right thing," said Weaver, noting that "if we speak as one, we speak with power."

No Child Left Behind, which imposes sanctions on high-poverty schools that consistently fall short of performance standards on state tests, reflects a too-narrow focus on standards, assessments and accountability, Weaver said. "That's all you hear about reform," he said.

Largely absent from the discussion, he said, is the fact that too many schools lack the resources they need to help disadvantaged children succeed.

He advocates for smaller class sizes and more meaningful ways to assess student achievement, particularly when it comes to students with disabilities and those learning English as a second language.

"We believe that the future of a child should not be decided by one or two high-stakes tests," said Weaver, whose bachelor's degree was in special education for the physically challenged.

A veteran middle school science teacher from Illinois who rose through the union's leadership ranks, Weaver was the keynote speaker at Friday's annual back-to-school welcome in the South Eugene High School auditorium.

Superintendent George Russell introduced him as "a down-home brother who is still connected with schools and teachers," despite the fact that he has "walked with kings" and is respected and revered around the world.

The recipient of numerous leadership awards, Weaver travels nationally and internationally as an ambassador for public education, serving also as vice president of Education International, a 348-member organization representing more than 29 million teachers and education workers in 169 countries.

He has served on numerous other state- and national-level committees, has addressed conferences and forums all over the world and has testified before Congress on education policy.

While much of his speech Friday was a critique of such policy, Weaver also sprinkled in plenty of funny, inspirational anecdotes about his years in the classroom. He told the audience to model good behavior, teach with heart and be unafraid to "think out of the box."

"Think about the impact you can have on kids," he said. "You never know what that impact can be."

In his welcome speech, Russell reminded the audience that next month marks the beginning of the public input phase of the district's strategic planning process, an effort driven in large part by dwindling overall enrollment but increasing numbers of low-income, minority and special education students.

The process may lead to school closures, greater limitations on open school choice and changes in special education services.

Russell also gave a Power Point presentation full of startling statistics about the rising global dominance of India and China and the breakneck pace of technological innovation, making the point that today's students need to graduate with high-level skills and knowledge.

Other speakers included Jill Simmons, chapter president of the Oregon School Employees Association; Paul Duchin and Merri Steele, co-presidents of the Eugene Education Association; Kelly McIver and Jeralynn Beghetto, co-presidents of the Eugene Administrators Association; Randy Bernstein, principal at South Eugene; and Beth Gerot, vice chairwoman of the school board.

"Think about the impact you can have on kids. You never know what that impact can be."

- REG WEAVER, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT