Saturday, March 1, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
ASSEMBLYWOMAN Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, traveled to Pahrump last summer to address the state Board of Education. Her message, home-woven and honest, is a story that would ring true for most of us. It was a simple tale about the kids, their needs and aspirations.
She spoke about how little kids want to learn, try new stuff and how they want to be included. As their older brothers or sisters ready themselves for an activity, the little one often cries out, "Me too!"
Chowning's message was to be careful that the unintended consequence of policy decisions doesn't exclude kids from activities they should experience. Her concern is that not all children come to public education with the same knowledge and experiences. She wanted to make sure that not-so-advantaged children were given the opportunity to be included, to say, "me too!"
That is a problem in a state that fails to evaluate unintended consequences of well-intentioned, but failed, policy.
Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, has requested a bill draft that, in many ways, addresses Chowning's concerns. Giunchigliani wants to see an end to kids passing through middle school, doing little to nothing, without consequences. Her bill draft would require students to pass their classes before going on to high school. She's suggesting they earn credits, very much like in high school. I don't care if proficiency is earned by passing a class and earning credit or by testing. Moving kids along without the prerequisite knowledge is dumb.
Giunchigliani is also requesting that the number of credits needed for high school graduation be limited to 20 1/2. Her understanding is that student achievement is not solely based on credits (seat time), but on the strength of the coursework taken. She also understands that not all students can succeed on the first try. The system needs flexibility so those students can try again to reach the standard.
This attitude is similar to Chowning's concern that we provide experiences to the less-advantaged, that we have the same standards for kids coming from poorer environments, that kids are included. For some kids, it might take three or four courses of math preparation to be successful. Those students should be able to reach the same goal and say, "Me too!"
Since Giunchigliani and Chowning happen to be Democrats, Giunchigliani's bill might be seen as a partisan bill. But, Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, long an advocate for public school accountability, has a bill draft reserved for a similar purpose. It would limit the number of credits the state can require for graduation and evaluate student achievement based upon coursework taken by students and the results of tests. Do other Republicans agree? After speaking with Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, a member of the Assembly Education Committee, I believe these are truly bipartisan measures -- as they should be.
I find great pleasure in knowing that O'Connell and Giunchigliani, representing different houses and different parties, are on the same page when it comes to increasing educational standards, providing students an opportunity to learn and accountability.
The state's current policy on graduation is, and has been, widely misunderstood. They both have seen the results of a policy decision that was never evaluated. They both understand, as Chowning does, the need for "opportunities to learn, to be included." The need for a student to say I can do that too. That can't happen when a state policy actually results in penalizing those who would like to attain higher goals and are willing to endure setbacks or failures in their quest.
Gov. Bob Miller, while dismissing offhand the need for state involvement in building schools, has requested more than $1 million to study the condition and needs of schools. Remember the tune, "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights." The governor wants to add wasted bucks to that title.
Sen. Jon Porter's interim committee studied such issues as deconsolidation and how to fund new school construction and rehabilitation. It was recommended that funding should come by the way of a state, local and business partnership. Just visiting school sites and watching bond issues fail throughout the state, while the population explodes, would indicate that this problem can't continue to be ignored. The governor and Legislature can't continue to bury their collective heads in the sand hoping that when they take the next look the problem has gone away. It just gets worse. There are clear facility inequities and classroom shortages. There is a problem that needs to be addressed this session.
Again, Chris Giunchigliani is pressing to address this problem before the state gets hit with lawsuits as a result of these inequities. Jon Porter, a Republican is also readying bill drafts that are sure to address his committee's findings.
Last session, too many legislators were able to avoid work by attacking personalities or voting along party lines, so little was accomplished. This session, most legislators are addressing tough issues, which means they have to work long hours and study evenings. This work ethic and bipartisanship could bode well for the state of Nevada.
archive
