Luke Laurie wants to stop the runaway train that is quickly phasing science, history and art out of public school classrooms.

That's why the El Camino Junior High School science teacher is packing up his family and moving to Washington, D.C., for 10 months next school year - with the hope of stopping national education policymakers from focusing on test scores in math and English.

“In my specialty, science, No Child Left Behind has produced a move across the nation to downplay, reduce science education,” Laurie said about President Bush's hallmark education reform effort passed in 2001.

In elementary school, Laurie said science has been pushed out of daily curriculum, something he and his colleagues are noticing when the students get to junior high school. And even junior highs and high schools are offering less science classes, meaning students arrive at college and the work world with little or no preparation in science.

“A significant amount of public policy is related to the understanding of science - energy, the environment,” Laurie said. “Without the proper background, a lot of it is just jargon. It's essentially meaningless.”

Laurie, 32, is one of 14 science, math and technology teachers across America who will live in Washington, D.C., next year to meet with politicians and education policymakers, lending insight from the classroom - the “front line” - as it relates to what is best for public school students.

Teachers such as Laurie are being celebrated today as part of California's Day of the Teacher.

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Although participating in the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program will take Laurie away from his students and cost him and his family financially, he said they couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Laurie has taught science at El Camino for nine years. He's served as the science department chair and heads up the school's successful Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program. He also directs the RoboChallenge program, which will probably be cut for the year Laurie is on the East Coast.

El Camino Principal Mark Muller recommended Laurie for the fellowship, praising the teacher's knowledge, strength and persuasiveness.

“He reaches his kids,” Muller said. “Luke's making a sacrifice so he can have an impact on education policy. He's helping students in a different venue - it's not as direct as it is now.”

While Laurie's impact on education won't be as direct as teaching in the classroom, he hopes to make positive change on a larger scale. But he's not yet sure how he'll accomplish that.

Usually, fellows are paired with politicians or administrators who make education policy - such as employees at NASA or the National Science Foundation. Laurie's placement is on Capitol Hill, so he hopes to be placed with a California politician.

“The how is completely unknown. I have to get placed with someone who is willing to have me work in their office,” he said. “It depends on what they need - that will determine what I will do.”

While in the nation's capitol, Laurie will focus on the No Child Left Behind Act's negative impact on science classes, as well as teaching to standardized tests and segregation in public schools.

“We're over-testing and under-teaching our children. School has gone from enrichment to a series of hurdles,” Laurie said about the amount of standardized testing in today's schools.

Because of the way public schools are funded federally and locally, schools that do better on tests or are located in highly affluent neighborhoods are getting a larger pot of taxpayer money, Laurie argues.

“The public school system is more segregated than it was 30 years ago - racially, socioeconomically and even linguistically,” he said.

Since portions of the No Child Left Behind Act is up for reauthorization this year, Laurie wants to be paired with a senator or representative who sits on the education committee so he can throw in his 2 cents, especially since many people who wrote the act were younger non-educators, he said.

Laurie and his wife, a stay-home mom, are still looking for housing in Washington, D.C. Their children are ages 2 and 6.

Although he'll get a stipend from the fellowship, it's much lower than his teaching salary. Laurie will be on an unpaid leave of absence from his school, but administrators will hold his spot at El Camino. During the leave, Laurie will have to pay for his family's health insurance out of pocket - it won't be covered by his school district.

Because the Lauries will pay their living expenses in Washington as well as keep their bills going in Santa Maria, Laurie estimates they'll lose $20,000 next school year.

The Santa Maria-Bonita School District does not offer sabbaticals, more common at the college level, said Joanne Cameron, assistant superintendent of human resources. A sabbatical guarantees a teacher or professor full pay while a leave of absence does not - something that is not financially feasible for Santa Maria-Bonita, Cameron said.

Two teachers out of 700 will be on leaves of absence for fellowship-type programs next school year.

“A lot of our teachers have done fellowships, just not in the public arena,” Cameron said. “It'll be good to know how the system works and how Luke can best exercise his ability to change (policy).”

After nine years of teaching, Laurie is looking for a break to re-energize him.

“I'm not tired of teaching. It's an ongoing experience for me, but I've become very comfortable,” he said. “I'm at the point now with my career and with my family, I think we're OK to try something different, something new.”

For more information on the Einstein Fellows program, visit www.scied.science.doe.gov.

Michelle Hatfield can be reached at 739-2216 or mhatfield@santamariatimes.com.

May 10, 2006