Swift & Change Able

More than a bit of ugliness in Bristol, Virginia last week.

Here’s the link: “Meeting with Bristol, Va., school officials about NCLB letter went well, a representative for upset parents says.”

Prior to NCLB, Virginia’s SOL system did not require a breakout of subgroups let alone set a goal of gap-closing for its acccountability and school rating system. Virginia (led by former Senator George Allen) tried to exempt itself from the NCLB accountability system back in 2005, but on this one the U.S. Department of Education held firm.

Apparently, down in Virginia, NCLB is still chafing some backsides.

Hopefully, folks in Bristol have learned from this experience. Painting a target on the backs of minority children and those with disabilities, and then mailing parents a high-powered scope and sniper rifle, is really an inexcusable way to run a school system.