Alliance for the Education of the Whole Child

 For further information, contact:

Ruth Kaplan        (617) 566-4173
Lisa Guisbond       (617) 730-5445

for immediate release May 10, 2006

 

Whole Child Alliance Applauds New Bedford Diploma Move, Cabral Bill

 

            Actions taken by the New Bedford School Committee and Rep. Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford) yesterday to address the city’s troubling dropout rate are sensible and necessary responses to an unacceptable situation, according to the Alliance for the Education of the Whole Child. 

            "Members of the Alliance for the Education of the Whole Child enthusiastically support the New Bedford School Committee’s and Rep. Cabral’s actions," said Ruth Kaplan, chair of the Alliance, which is made up of 44 parent, education, civil rights and social justice organizations that advocate a rich, well-rounded education for every child, no matter where he or she lives. "We are encouraged to see the school committee and Rep. Cabral take on the conventional wisdom about the supposed benefits of the MCAS exit exam and confront its costs, including the tragic human costs of more high school dropouts."

            Lisa Guisbond, lead author of a report released by the Alliance in January, "The Campaign for the Education of the Whole Child," said the school committee’s move to grant diplomas regardless of MCAS scores and Cabral’s bill establishing locally determined Horace Mann diplomas are reasonable and fair responses to the negative impact of the high-stakes MCAS. "The New Bedford School Committee’s and Cabral’s moves will surely be welcome in many quarters. In the face of precious time and scarce resources spent on testing and the loss of valued subjects like social studies, art, music and physical education, many parents understand the pendulum has swung way too far toward an over reliance on testing. It’s time to push back toward a more balanced position that recognizes tests are just one of many tools to assess students and schools."

"This is not a step away from accountability but a step toward seriously addressing our state’s horrible dropout rates and toward a more multifaceted view of students and schools," said Paul Dunphy, policy analyst at Citizens for Public Schools and a parent of two public school students. "Governor Romney and others may want to react harshly in defense of the status quo, but the tide is turning against one-size-fits-all approaches and toward measures that support the education of the whole child."

 

       The "Campaign for the Education of the Whole Child" report is available at http://www.wholechildcampaign.org.