[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 28163]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. OBAMA (for himself and Mr. Reed):
  S. 2227. A bill to provide grants to States to ensure that all 
students in the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous 
curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle 
grades prepared for success in high school and postsecondary endeavors, 
to improve State and district policies and programs relating to the 
academic achievement of students in the middle grades, to develop and 
implement effective middle school models for struggling students, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I introduced the Success in the Middle Act 
to help raise student achievement, support teachers, and improve 
schools that serve students in the middle grades.
  During these grades, schools begin steering students towards success 
in the upper grades and adult life, rather than just consolidating 
elementary learning. It is a time when academic achievement for 
students falls, especially among minority and low-income students. 
International math and science comparisons indicate that students in 
the United States do not start out behind students in other countries, 
but they do lag by the end of the middle grades.
  Recently, I read an article about struggling urban schools and the 
story of a mother of three who was frustrated with the schools 
available for her children. When her son started falling behind in the 
seventh grade, he never got the support he needed, and when she called 
the school to complain, nothing changed. This mother said that maybe 
the system is not designed for people like her and her children. It is 
disheartening for us to hear that, and yet we all know this is true for 
too many students and for too many families in America.
  Our neglect of these students is reflected in a rising dropout rate. 
In Chicago, of every 100 students who enter the ninth grade, only 54 
graduate from high school by the age of 19. The numbers are equally 
dismal in other large cities and in impoverished rural districts as 
well. And we know that without a high school diploma, it is hard to get 
a job and even harder to find one that pays well.
  The dropout problem starts well before high school. We now know that 
troubling indicators can be identified for students in the middle 
grades. Early adolescence is the age at which our children often begin 
experimenting with risky behaviors and also a time when the 
consequences increase for bad choices. Many sixth grade students in 
urban, high-poverty schools might attend school sporadically, be 
suspended, or fail classes. Research shows that sixth graders with 
these indicators can account for 40 to 50 percent of eventual high 
school dropouts and two-thirds of the students who will be moved out of 
their homes and into the juvenile justice system. If we can identify 
these problems, we can address them, and that is what the Success in 
the Middle Act is designed to do.
  The Success in the Middle Act would authorize grants to States and 
school districts to improve low-performing middle schools. States would 
use research findings and promising practices and work with community 
partners, such as universities and non-profits, to develop plans to 
improve middle school student achievement. Schools would use early 
identification data systems to focus on those students most at risk and 
to determine how best to teach and support them. Funds would also be 
authorized to perform research on effective practices to support 
student learning and on effective instruction for the middle grades.
  This proposal is similar to legislation introduced in the House by 
Congressman Grijalva. I appreciate the support of Senator Reed, my 
colleague on the HELP Committee, and I urge others to join us in this 
effort.
  As the Senate moves to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act, I hope we consider the importance of middle schools, 
recognizing that students in these grades face challenges different 
from those they faced earlier in elementary school and those they will 
face later in high school. If we are serious about the issue of high 
school success, we cannot continue to ignore the challenges students 
face in those few years before high school.

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