Carolyn
08-30-2007, 09:58 PM
Results in: Meriden school district still in need of improvement
By Amanda Falcone, Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN - Meriden is one of 12 school districts that the state Department of Education will take under its wing this year.
Granted the power to intervene by a new state law, education officials have already met with struggling districts, labeled in need of improvement for three or more years under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan met with Meriden administrators Aug. 3. "It's hard work, and it is going to take some time," McQuillan said Thursday.
Meriden's 2007 standardized test scores landed the school district on the state's in need of improvement list for the fourth consecutive year. Meriden's scores on the Connecticut Mastery Test, taken by students in grades three through eight, improved this year but still fell below the state average. Scores on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, released Thursday, decreased in all four areas tested: math, science, reading and writing. The CAPT is administered to high school sophomores.
"It's hard to assess these things," said Meriden Board of Education President Frank J. Kogut, referring to student achievement in general.
Kogut's comment reflects the opinion of many, but federal law demands that states use standardized test scores to evaluate academic progress. Failing to meet the federal benchmarks has consequences.
In addition to sanctions under No Child Left Behind, McQuillan has directed a dozen school districts in the state, including Meriden, to assess their instructional programs. He has also asked them to conduct a financial audit.
The districts will work with Cambridge Education Associates, a Massachusetts consulting company. Once data is collected and compiled, the districts will rewrite their district improvement plans, outlining changes that should be made.
Meriden's school administration already has some improvements in mind.
"I think we are working very hard on the right things," said Meriden Superintendent Mary Noonan Cortright. "I feel we are going to get out of this."
Jeffrey A. Villar, associate superintendent for instruction, said he wants assistant principals for Casimir Pulaski and John Barry schools. Cortright has also periodically asked the city's Board of Education for assistant principals at elementary schools.
Villar also wants additional reading support staff at Hanover School for the school's English as a Second Language program. Hanover houses the district's bilingual program for grades three through five.
Another language arts supervisor for the secondary schools and a district-wide math supervisor are also important, Villar said. This is another change that Cortright has been pushing for.
"Math is really taking a big hit," Villar said. "We need to change that."
Finally, Villar is calling for a comprehensive district-wide tutoring program.
"You can't give them more of the same and expect different results," he said of Meriden's students. Villar said that the ideas for improvement are there, but the school district needs resources to implement them. He said he intends to present his requests to the Board of Education.
"The thing is that it's going to cost money," said Kogut.
In addition to federal sanctions and any changes the district adopts on its own, Meriden may also be forced by the state Department of Education to pour money into other programs like full-day kindergarten.
Statewide, McQuillan said 32 school districts did not meet established standards under No Child Left Behind. One-third of Connecticut's schools, 315, did not meet expectations as individual schools. Those numbers are only expected to rise as the standards increase. The goal is 100 percent proficiency in reading and math by 2014.
"Regrettably that bar is accelerating faster than our schools," McQuillan said.
Despite the labels and the statistics, there is a bright spot for Meriden. Benjamin Franklin School made adequate yearly progress, the goal for schools and districts under No Child Left Behind, for two consecutive years. The school was one of eight that are no longer listed as in need of improvement.
"We're very happy," Villar said. "It's a huge accomplishment."
Casimir Pulaski and Thomas ****** schools also made adequate yearly progress this year. If Casimir Pulaski meets goals in 2008, the school will also no longer be labeled in need of improvement.
Signaling out Benjamin Franklin, Villar said he is looking to see other schools improve.
"Our schools are capable of that," he said.
Also feeling the effect of No Child Left Behind is Southington High School and Edison Middle School, an Area Cooperative Educational Services' science and technology magnet school located in Meriden. Both schools are in their first year of being labeled in need of improvement.
By Amanda Falcone, Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN - Meriden is one of 12 school districts that the state Department of Education will take under its wing this year.
Granted the power to intervene by a new state law, education officials have already met with struggling districts, labeled in need of improvement for three or more years under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan met with Meriden administrators Aug. 3. "It's hard work, and it is going to take some time," McQuillan said Thursday.
Meriden's 2007 standardized test scores landed the school district on the state's in need of improvement list for the fourth consecutive year. Meriden's scores on the Connecticut Mastery Test, taken by students in grades three through eight, improved this year but still fell below the state average. Scores on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, released Thursday, decreased in all four areas tested: math, science, reading and writing. The CAPT is administered to high school sophomores.
"It's hard to assess these things," said Meriden Board of Education President Frank J. Kogut, referring to student achievement in general.
Kogut's comment reflects the opinion of many, but federal law demands that states use standardized test scores to evaluate academic progress. Failing to meet the federal benchmarks has consequences.
In addition to sanctions under No Child Left Behind, McQuillan has directed a dozen school districts in the state, including Meriden, to assess their instructional programs. He has also asked them to conduct a financial audit.
The districts will work with Cambridge Education Associates, a Massachusetts consulting company. Once data is collected and compiled, the districts will rewrite their district improvement plans, outlining changes that should be made.
Meriden's school administration already has some improvements in mind.
"I think we are working very hard on the right things," said Meriden Superintendent Mary Noonan Cortright. "I feel we are going to get out of this."
Jeffrey A. Villar, associate superintendent for instruction, said he wants assistant principals for Casimir Pulaski and John Barry schools. Cortright has also periodically asked the city's Board of Education for assistant principals at elementary schools.
Villar also wants additional reading support staff at Hanover School for the school's English as a Second Language program. Hanover houses the district's bilingual program for grades three through five.
Another language arts supervisor for the secondary schools and a district-wide math supervisor are also important, Villar said. This is another change that Cortright has been pushing for.
"Math is really taking a big hit," Villar said. "We need to change that."
Finally, Villar is calling for a comprehensive district-wide tutoring program.
"You can't give them more of the same and expect different results," he said of Meriden's students. Villar said that the ideas for improvement are there, but the school district needs resources to implement them. He said he intends to present his requests to the Board of Education.
"The thing is that it's going to cost money," said Kogut.
In addition to federal sanctions and any changes the district adopts on its own, Meriden may also be forced by the state Department of Education to pour money into other programs like full-day kindergarten.
Statewide, McQuillan said 32 school districts did not meet established standards under No Child Left Behind. One-third of Connecticut's schools, 315, did not meet expectations as individual schools. Those numbers are only expected to rise as the standards increase. The goal is 100 percent proficiency in reading and math by 2014.
"Regrettably that bar is accelerating faster than our schools," McQuillan said.
Despite the labels and the statistics, there is a bright spot for Meriden. Benjamin Franklin School made adequate yearly progress, the goal for schools and districts under No Child Left Behind, for two consecutive years. The school was one of eight that are no longer listed as in need of improvement.
"We're very happy," Villar said. "It's a huge accomplishment."
Casimir Pulaski and Thomas ****** schools also made adequate yearly progress this year. If Casimir Pulaski meets goals in 2008, the school will also no longer be labeled in need of improvement.
Signaling out Benjamin Franklin, Villar said he is looking to see other schools improve.
"Our schools are capable of that," he said.
Also feeling the effect of No Child Left Behind is Southington High School and Edison Middle School, an Area Cooperative Educational Services' science and technology magnet school located in Meriden. Both schools are in their first year of being labeled in need of improvement.