It's often said that when the government enacts policies, there is no thought given to the possible outcomes.
Well, this is one that people stated would happen.
"People are calling constantly who want to take their kids out of [nearby elementary schools] to come to Anne Beers," Fears said. "They say, 'You have to take me because of No Child Left Behind.' I say, 'Yes, but tell me what this child is going to bring to the table.' Because we got this infusion of NCLB students, and it drastically changed the climate in our school."
"With No Child Left Behind, we have students coming here who don't necessarily fit in because they don't have the same kind of parents," said Beers guidance counselor Kaye Henson. "That has worked to our detriment. We see a lot of parents now who have problems themselves, who are not educated."
The transfer into Beers of children who are fleeing schools tagged as failures threatens his achievements, Fears said. So Fears -- like other principals in the same boat -- tries to screen those students. "Let me see the report cards, the SAT-9 scores," he tells parents of those who want in. "What do you do with your child at home? If you aren't reading to your child, you can't come to Anne Beers."
Fears is required to accept students who live in his school's home area, but he has leeway in selecting children from outside those boundaries. One result is a sad new game in which principals who have worked hard to get a handle on discipline problems and build up academic expectations find themselves fending off transfers generated by No Child Left Behind.