By Scott Brinton
Clinton, however, had come to Woodland for more than a photo-op. She was there to tour the East Meadow District's Saturday English Language Arts Program, which provides remedial help for eighth-graders who will take the state's ELA exam March 5-6.
She also stopped off at the East Meadow Teacher's Center, where 10 educators are working toward the new National Teacher Certification, which requires a year of study.
New York Comptroller Carl McCall and Alan Lubin, executive vice president of United Teachers, the statewide union, joined Clinton. Roellyn Armstrong, who directs the teacher's center and sits on the United Teachers board, arranged for Clinton's visit.
Both Clinton and McCall offered high praise for East Meadow's Saturday program, saying it served as a model for other districts.
During a news conference after the tour, Clinton said the two would "talk about [the Saturday program] all over the state."
Clinton also said the federal and state governments must continue providing funding for schools so that initiatives like East Meadow's Saturday program can continue.
The country must focus on recovery after Sept. 11, as well as national security, Clinton said. She noted, however, "Even in tough times, we cannot walk away from our obligation to education."
During her tour through the Saturday program, Clinton stopped in classes to meet with students, moving from desk to desk, asking the young people questions about their work, chatting casually.
"I think you're so smart to do this [the Saturday program]. I'm really impressed," she told students in Rebecca Blohm's class.
Participation in East Meadow's Saturday program is voluntary. The district also provides Thursday sessions. Between the two days, some 300 students take part in the program at Woodland and Clarke middle schools. This is the first year it has been offered, in addition to the district's regular before- and after-school help sessions.
Eighth-graders now face a dizzying battery of state tests, including English language arts, math, science, social studies and Languages other than English (formerly known as foreign languages), among others.
Many educators believe the state's emphasis on test taking in the eighth grade is placing too much pressure on students whom, as middle-schoolers about to enter high school, fall at a critical, even fragile, stage in their social-emotional development.
Dr. Kathleen Gooding, East Meadow's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said, "The eighth-grade tests are without doubt too much pressure," adding, "These children are a wreck."
That is in large part why district officials decided to offer the four-session Saturday program -- the more students are prepared for the state tests, the better they will understand them, and the less anxiety they will feel.
Gooding added that the state tests provide little helpful information for the district because results aren't received until the next school year, so guidance counselors and teachers cannot use them to place students in classes during ninth grade.
At the same time, preparing students for the growing number of state exams costs school districts hundreds of thousands of dollars and often detracts from more creative learning activities, Gooding said. In 2001-2002, the East Meadow district is spending upward of $250,000 to help students in grades kindergarten through 12 with new tests, she said.
Lynne Manouvrier, East Meadow's director of language arts, reading, social studies, ESL and funded programs, said the Saturday program provides students with the discrete test-taking skills they will need to succeed on the state's ELA exam.
Teachers who run the Saturday program were required to receive instruction in test taking from Kaplan, the national test-preparation company. In fact, East Meadow's program follows a course of study outlined by Kaplan.
Because teachers needn't provide an enormous amount of new material for the Saturday program (Kaplan provides most of it), they aren't distracted from their regular teaching, said Blohm, who teaches eighth-graders on Saturday and sixth-graders during the week.
Amy MacArthur, an eighth-grade teacher at Woodland Middle School, said that in addition to the Saturday program, teachers strive for the "integration of test skills into the normal curriculum."
For example, the English language arts exam requires students to compare and contrast two reading passages. In the normal course of her classes, MacArthur has students look at two novels or short stories and draw similarities and differences between them.
The ELA exam, now in its third year, includes reading and writing exercises and requires multiple-choice and written responses to questions.
Whether the Saturday program will improve student performance on the ELA exam remains to be seen. However, it already is paying dividends in relieving students' fears of the exam.
Tommy See, 13, said he doesn't feel anxious about the test. The Saturday program "is helping me a lot," he said.
Suraj Kavthekar, 13, said confidently, "We're prepared" for the test.
The Saturday program "is giving us practice with questions, questions just like the test is going to be."
Without the program, Suraj said, "I'd be pretty nervous."
East Meadow also plans to offer a Saturday Math Program for eighth-graders after the ELA exam. The math test will be given for the first time this May.
