Meet the challenges of the ESEA with mission-critical solutions from Pearson Education Technologies. The new requirements of the 2001 Elementary and Secondary Education Act—also known as "No Child Left Behind"—pose both challenges and opportunities. Schools and districts, teachers and administrators, students and parents all must learn about the implications of this legislation, and what they need to do to achieve success. With products and services fully prepared to help you meet these requirements, Pearson Education Technologies is ready to partner with you every step of the way.

The school media specialist can play a vital role in keeping the school district informed about the new federal education legislation and funding opportunities. Below are seven steps that media specialists can take today to become familiar with the law and its provisions; access, organize, and disseminate information to school and district staff, students, and parents; and become a key advisor in helping the school district understand the ramifications of the new law.

Step 1: Get into the Act

Delving in the world of federal education legislation and funding can mean delving into a whole new vocabulary. Here are a few key acronyms and terms to remember:

• NCLB—No Child Left Behind
• ESEA—Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• ED—U.S. Department of Education
• SEA—State education agency
• LEA—Local education agency (school district)

The NCLB Act is organized by "titles" and "parts." Most NCLB programs are a combination of "formula grants" and "discretionary grants."

A formula (entitlement) grant consists of funds distributed to LEAs based almost entirely on census counts of children in poverty. Title I Part A is an example of a program with this type of grant. Unlike formula grants, a discretionary grant comprises funds awarded on the basis of a competitive process. Title V, for example, contains many discretionary grants.

The chart "No Child Left Behind" provides an overview of the NCLB Act's titles, selected parts and programs, and the type of funding available for each. (See chart on p. 7.)

Step 2: Get Acquainted with Key Issues

Following is a brief introduction to key provisions of the NCLB Act. It is important to note that the new law makes many significant changes that are not detailed here. The complete law is available at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02.

The NCLB Act:

• Focuses on stronger accountability for student achievement among states, districts, and schools. It does this through a number of new requirements, including annual assessments in key subjects; disaggregated test scores; benchmarks for adequate yearly progress; state and district report cards; and corrective actions for schools that fail to make adequate progress.
   
• Provides states and school districts with increased flexibility and control in how to use federal funds.
   
• Provides expanded options for parents. If a school fails to make adequate progress for a specific period of time, parents may request that their children be transferred to a non-failing school within the district or be provided with supplemental educational services.
   
• Emphasizes educator quality and teaching methods that have been proven to work. The law defines new accountability provisions for qualified teachers and paraprofessionals and offers grant programs that target increasing the number of highly qualified teachers, principals, and vice principals.

The NCLB Act is accompanied by the largest dollar increase ever in federal education aid. The ED's overall budget increased by $6.7 billion in fiscal year 2002 to over $54 billion. There is new funding for programs, including those described below.

• Reading First (Title I, Part B). The Reading First program provides funds to help states and school districts implement comprehensive programs to improve reading instruction in kindergarten through third grade. Reading First increases federal funding for reading programs from nearly $300 million in 2001-2002 to more than $900 million in 2002-2003 and ties funding to the use of scientifically proven methods of reading instruction. Funds for this program will be provided by SEAs to LEAs on a poverty-based formula.

• Enhancing Learning Through Technology (EdTech) (Title II, Part D). The Ed Tech program consolidates the current Technology Literacy Challenge Fund and the Technology Innovative Challenge Grant programs. The primary objective of Ed Tech, funded at over $700 million for the current year, is toincrease access to technology, especially for high-need schools and low-achieving students. This is a combination formula and competitive grant program.

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV, Part B). This program provides funds to before-school, after-school, and summer programs that offer academic enrichment and activities for students, particularly those attending low-achieving schools. It also offers literacy and educational development opportunities to students' families.The ED will allocate funds to each state and LEAs will apply to their state for grants. This program is funded at $1.25 billion for 2002 and adds $250 million each year through 2007.

Step 3: Take the Lead

As described above, the NCLB Act presents challenges to school districts in terms of new requirements and the shift of the administration for many programs from the ED to the SEA. However, it also offers new opportunities for funding and communications within the district.

Media specialists can take a lead role in gathering, organizing, and disseminating relevant NCLB information. Using their vast knowledge and skills as information specialists, they can create a central resource for up-to-date information on the NCLB Act and serve as advisors within the school district. In addition, media specialists can use their expertise to participate as members of district grant-writing teams that apply for grants available through the NCLB Act and other funding organizations.

Step 4: Tap Resources and Gather Information

The ED is, of course, a first stop for resources on the NCLB Act. The department's Web site, http://www.ed.gov, offers comprehensive information as well as a direct link to a separate NCLB Web site at http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/index.html (see the screen shot). Key areas to explore on the NCLB Web site include daily News Stories (which can be incorporated into a school district's intranet or Internet site), the Basics Overview, and Policies and Regulations.

The Basics Overview section features links to:

• Frequently asked questions and glossary
• Facts (reproducible fact sheets on 15 different NCLB topics)
• Key dates and newsletter (free subscription)
• Resources, statistics, and graphs

The Policies and Regulations section provides:

• Statutory requirements of the NCLB Act
• A link to 2002-03 discretionary grant programs from the ED, including those that are part of NCLB
• Guidance on the legislation, regulations, and policies for programs still being implemented under Improving America's Schools Act, the 1994 ESEA.

The ED Web site features an array of other resources on the NCLB Act, as well as information and research resources on the ED itself. Plus, the ED's Grants and Contracts section identifies other federal education competitive grants, application requirements, and grant management information.

In addition to the ED, a number of other organizations offer online resources for monitoring NCLB. (See the Additional Resources box on page 10.)

Step 5: Organize and Disseminate Information

After gathering information on the NCLB Act, there are a number of ways that media specialists can organize and disseminate the information to school and district staff, parents, and the community.

• Create a "No Child Left Behind" Resource Center. To raise the awareness of the NCLB Act, media specialists can create a "No Child Left Behind" Resource Center within a designated area of the media center or school library. Here, staff can answer questions and direct people to other relevant resources.
   
• Distribute a funding newsletter. Another possibility is for the school media center to develop and distribute an electronic funding newsletter to alert people within the district to funding opportunities, requirements, and deadlines. Media specialists can also contribute funding news items to other school or district newsletters that are sent to parents.
   
• Create a funding section on the district intranet or Web site. To provide 24-hour access to NCLB information, media specialists can develop a special NCLB section on the school or district intranet or Web site. The following outline offers a suggestion for organizing NCLB information on an intranet or Web site.

Sample Outline

Funding News & Updates

• Latest news from the ED and SEA
• Funding newsletter (developed by the media center staff)

U.S. Educational Funding Programs

• Federal funding allocations by program name or by state (link to http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget03/03StateTables/index.html)
• NCLB programs
• Other federal education programs

State Educational Funding Programs

Private and Corporate Funding Programs

It's important to note that ease of use and timeliness are key components of a successful intranet or Internet site. A good way to ensure that the funding section is user-friendly and delivers timely information is to link directly with the ED and state Web sites.

• Develop a funding database. To help district staff keep track of the many funding opportunities available, media specialists can create a simple database of NCLB and other funding programs. A database offers a quick way to stay on top of funding programs and deadlines throughout the year. It also provides an easy way to see at a glance if the school district meets program qualifications.

Step 6: Become an Advisor

With all that information at their fingertips, media specialists can play an important role in advising administrators and managers within the school district on key provisions of the NCLB Act, upcoming deadlines, and what to expect from the SEA. In addition, they can conduct briefings for various audiences, from small, informal meetings with parents to formal presentations for teachers or administrators.

To prepare for this role, media specialists can become conversant on key issues by:

• Keeping informed through contacts, newsletters, conferences, and workshops
• Offering to participate on committees within the school district that will address issues at the school or district level
• Learning how the state will set up procedures for grant programs and distribute requests for proposals
• Gathering intelligence on state agencies' budgets, planning, and priorities

Step 7: Join the Grant-Writing Team

Media specialists can also assist with efforts related to the NCLB Act by volunteering to be a member of the school district's grant-writing team. They can use their finely honed skills to conduct research on grant opportunities, statistics, data, and trends. They can also help qualify potential grant opportunities and review and edit grant proposal drafts.

A Valuable and Vital Role in the District

Thanks to their skills and expertise, media specialists are ideally suited to research and advise their school district on the No Child Left Behind Act. They can develop centralized resource centers, programs, and tools to share important information about the act, its provisions, and funding opportunities among all stakeholders. Looking at the big picture, this is one more way media specialists will prove to be a vital and valuable asset to their school districts in the coming years.
 

Additional Resources The Following is a sampling of resources for gathering information on and monitoring the NCLB Act. American Association of School Administrators http://www.aasa.org/government_relations/esea Resources and best practices for implementing NCLB. Center on Education Policy http://www.ctredpol.org/fededprograms Series of reports on federal education programs including NCLB and special education. Education Commission of the States http://www.ecs.org Series of reports examining the impact of NCLB; state overviews. Education Week http://www.edweek.com Hot topics page includes overview of NCLB, plus links to archived stories and resources. eSchool News online http://www.eschoolnews.com/news Technology components of NCLB. Learning First Alliance http://www.learningfirst.org Summary of NCLB's key provisions concerning assessments, accountability, educator quality, reading, and flexibility; additional changes to prior law; funding information. White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/education/edmap.html State-by-state breakdown of NCLB's impact (dollar-wise). ED—Education Budget Summary http://www.ed/gov/offices/OUS/Budget02/Summary ED—State-by-State Analysis of FY 2002 Education Budget http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/04-2001/states.html ED—Guidance on the Enhancing Education Through Technology (Ed Tech) Program http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SST/edtech.html Information on formula and competitive state grants ($700.5 million) to increase access to technology, especially for high-need schools and low-achieving students.

Merna Smith is senior industry research manager for NCS Learn. Communications to the author may be addressed to Merna Smith, NCS Learn, 5451 E. Williams Blvd., Ste. 151, Tucson, AZ 85711; e-mail: merna.smith@ncslearn.com.
 

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