Education Week - July 20, 2016 - 30

LETTERS to
the EDITOR

Open-Access Ed Tech Should Be
Aligned to State Standards
To the Editor:
Amazon recently followed its competitors
Apple, Google, and others into the
education technology space with the
launch of its Inspire platform, an open
education resource ("Will Amazon Change
the Way Teachers Find Lesson Plans?,"
Curriculum Matters blog, www.edweek.org,
June 27, 2016). But, so far, there is little
evidence that such online portals delivering
mountains of lesson materials have done
much to improve teachers' instruction.
Most do spend a lot of time looking for
classroom lesson materials. In a recent
RAND Corp. study, my colleagues and I
found that almost all mathematics and
English/language arts teachers select or
develop their own instructional materials
for classroom lessons, and almost half
reported spending four hours a week or
more doing so. According to the study,
almost 90 percent of elementary teachers
and half of secondary teachers seek
out instructional materials from online
sources, including both targeted sites
like TeachersPayTeachers.com and more
general-interest ones, such as Pinterest.
Indeed, teachers can and should have
the freedom to select and develop at least
some of their own instructional resources.

WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
Write a letter
to the editor!

Send to:
ewletter@epe.org

To improve their instruction, teachers need
high-quality instructional materials that
are organized into coherent units, and
lessons that are sequenced and include
material that meets the needs of both
struggling students and more advanced
students over time and through a logical
progression of skills.
Teachers also need to understand how
those materials align with state and district
standards and assessment requirements.
State and local officials could help with this
step by rigorously evaluating materials
from a number of online sources and
using what is available to build coherent
curricula for teachers that align with state
standards and assessments.
Policymakers and educators should be
seeking ways for educational technology to
add coherence to teachers' worlds, instead
of just more information.
Julia Kaufman
Policy Researcher
RAND Corp.
Arlington, Va.

Educator Sexual Misconduct
Targeted by Provision in ESSA
To the Editor:
Thank you for your coverage of the new
federal K-12 law, the Every Student Succeeds
Act. Your introduction to the article series,
"Inside the Every Student Succeeds Act"
(Jan. 6, 2016), is absolutely correct in stating
that "Now comes the really hard part:
implementation." Topics that you covered
included "accountability and testing, teacher
quality, research, regulation, funding,
early-childhood education, and thorny
issues involving student groups that often
lag behind their peers," as the introduction
states.
As vice president of S.E.S.A.M.E. (Stop
Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct, and
Exploitation), a 45-year veteran classroom
teacher, a parent, and grandparent, I would
encourage all educators to take special note
of one "thorny" issue in particular. The issue
is found in ESSA's Section 8038, titled "The
prohibition on aiding and abetting sexual
abuse in schools."
Incidents of educator sexual misconduct
seemingly are either increasing at an alarming
rate or the reporting of such incidents has
increased dramatically. In 2014, our research
shows, at least 458 school employees were
arrested across America for sexual misconduct
with students-more than one per day of the
year. In 2015, our research shows that number
jumped to at least 496 arrests.
One study by the U.S. Government
Accountability Office reported that the
average pedophile who is a school employee
molests 73 children over a lifetime. Regardless,
for decades, the practice of allowing offending
teachers to simply leave their current districts
and find teaching positions in other districts
has persisted. This practice must stop.
Section 8038 will help hold those people
accountable who continually put children
at risk. Teacher sexual misconduct and
abuse is indeed a thorny subject that must
be addressed in every school district in this
nation.
Encouraging districts to pay special
attention to Section 8038 of ESSA will go
far in protecting our students and stopping
educator sexual misconduct. Section 8038's
importance deserves a deep look in Education
Week's "Inside the Every Student Succeeds
Act."

Letters should be as brief as possible,
with a maximum length of 300 words.
30 | EDUCATION WEEK | July 20, 2016 | www.edweek.org/go/commentary

John M. Seryak,
Vice President
S.E.S.A.M.E.
Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Less Rigorous 'False' Diplomas
Hurt Students With Disabilities
To the Editor:
In his Commentary "Making Sense of High
School Graduation Rates" (May 18, 2016),
John Gomperts, the chief executive officer
of America's Promise Alliance, correctly
points out that "giving false diplomas or
passing students who aren't ready helps no
one." Unfortunately, that is exactly what is
happening to students with disabilities in
most states.
Several recent reports have established the
fact that students with disabilities-i.e., those
eligible for special education services and
supports-are routinely awarded a regular
high school diploma by satisfying graduation
requirements that are both substantially
different and less rigorous than those for their
peers without disabilities. A special education
designation appears to be a license for schools,
districts, and states to expect far less of these
students, despite no evidence that they are
incapable of meeting the same standards.
Consider this: While the four-year adjusted
cohort graduation rate for students with
disabilities in the 2013-14 school year was
reported to be 63 percent, the 2015 National
Assessment of Educational Progress in
mathematics and reading in 12th grade
found only 8 percent of public school special
education students reached the "proficient"
level in reading, and only 3 percent reached
that level in math.
This disparity strongly suggests that many
students with disabilities are being given
diplomas that really have no meaning with
regard to how prepared they are to go forward
in life, whether in higher education or a career.
As states look to increase graduation rates for
groups of students lagging significantly behind
America's Promise Alliance's GradNation
goal of a 90 percent high school graduation
rate-which includes those students with
disabilities-let's hope states will also begin
to report as graduates only those students
earning a "regular" high school diploma. That
is, the standard high school diploma awarded
to the preponderance of students in the state.
Candace Cortiella
Director
The Advocacy Institute
Marshall, Va.

Correct Name Pronunciation Aids
Classroom Management
To the Editor:
Regarding the article "Bungling Student
Names-: A Slight That Stings" (May 11, 2016),
I spent 11 years of my life as a daily full-time
substitute, known as an occasional teacher,
in a school district just north of Toronto,
Canada, with a large and very ethnically
diverse student population. China (mainland
and Hong Kong), India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Japan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Russia, and
many other countries were represented in the
student population.
When I take attendance in a new classroom,
I have learned the importance of pronouncing
each name correctly. I have heard the class
laughter and witnessed the embarrassment
of the student whose name I have
mispronounced. I have also seen the relief
when I have said a student's name correctly.
I read the attendance aloud to myself, alone,
before class to make sure I am comfortable
with the names and know how to pronounce
them. If I find a particularly difficult name,
I ask a neighboring teacher, or one of the
other students as the class enters the class.
I do this quietly and unobtrusively. I then
take attendance reading the names slowly
and clearly, and if there is a chance that the

pronunciation is ambiguous (to me), I give
alternative ways to the student and politely
ask which one is right. If there is confusion, I
ask the student to say his or her name.
I am touched by the look of relief in students'
faces when their names are said correctly and
often I hear the comment "You're the first OT
[substitute teacher] to get my name right!"
When I really stumble over a name, I apologize
immediately and make sure all laughter
stops. In doing all this, I let the students see
and know that I care about them because I
have learned to say their names correctly. The
bonus is that classroom-management issues
are severely reduced.
Dirk Mast
Covenant Global School
Toronto, Canada

Transgender Restroom Debate
Draws Readers' Reactions
To the Editor:
I have been a teacher or administrator in
public and higher education for 53 years. As
I retire from my current position as the dean
of the college of education at the University
of North Texas, I have a few (admittedly
biased) observations about the role of
government in education.
For one, both federal and state
governments have taken an increasingly
directive role over this time period in how
education should be done, rather than just
providing funding for education. Currently,
the big topic they are addressing is who
should use which bathroom-what a trivial
topic and one that is being handled well by
the schools themselves without government
intervention ("Transgender Debate: What's
Next?," June 1, 2016).
Educators and educational leaders are
well prepared to run schools; many have
spent years in the learning and practice of
those skills. For goodness' sake, leave them
alone, and let them do it.
Jerry R. Thomas
Dean and Professor
College of Education
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas

To the Editor:
One simple solution to the bathroom wars
is to make more single-occupancy bathrooms.
We had one bathroom at home when I was
a child. It was used by everyone. Later, we
added another bathroom. Both were singleoccupancy and open to anyone. It is a simple
solution and probably much cheaper than all
the arguing and posturing over the matter.
Single-occupancy bathrooms would also
help with other problems, such as bullying in
the bathrooms or smoking in the bathrooms.
Multiple-occupancy bathrooms have
sometimes provided supervision-free zones,
and that can lead to problems.
No new technology is needed, just a few
smoke detectors.
Herbert de Launay
Natchitoches, La.

COMMENTARY POLICY
Education Week takes no editorial positions,
but publishes opinion essays and letters
from outside contributors in its Commentary
section. For information about submitting an
essay or letter for review, visit

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Education Week - July 20, 2016

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