State
reviewers set visit to area school
Team to assess P'burg's
Andover-Morris.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 • By LINDA LISANTI •
The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG -- A team of educators will
visit Andover-Morris School next week as part of a state
review of struggling schools.
The elementary school off South Main
Street is one of more than 70 schools slated to undergo a
Collaborative Assessment and Planning for Achievement Review
-- CAPA, for short -- by the New Jersey Department of
Education.
The reviews are aimed at low-performing
Abbott schools, as well as schools identified for
"corrective action" under the No Child Left Behind Act,
according to the DOE.
Andover-Morris fits both criteria. Since
2002, the school has been on the state's "in need of
improvement" list for failing to make its annual yearly
progress under the federal law. This school year is its
first in corrective action, according to district
officials.
Under No Child Left Behind, schools whose
test scores fail to improve must provide ways to help
underachieving students. The law's ultimate goal is for
every student to be proficient in language arts and math by
2014.
Superintendent Gordon Pethick said he's
looking forward to Phillipsburg's upcoming state review. He
said the district has been working hard to boost its test
scores.
"The state is going to see the practices
that have been implemented are sound," he said. "I believe
scores are going to improve."
Among the initiatives introduced at
Andover-Morris are walkthroughs by principals, peer
observations, family nights focusing on literacy and math
concepts, and the use of faculty meetings for professional
development.
Director of Elementary Education Pat
Cawley said that during the visit the team will interview
administrators, teachers and special services staff
throughout the district. Teachers and students at
Andover-Morris will also take separate online surveys, he
said.
Based on its review, the team will report
its findings to district officials, identifying which
programs are effective and which need to be either improved
or eliminated.
Cawley said the team could recommend the
district continue what it's doing now.
"We may be in the right lane at the right
time or we may not be," he explained.
Either way, he said, the review will be
beneficial for the special-needs district.
"Anytime you can have someone come in
from the outside and look at your school, it can only be
considered positive," Cawley said.
Reporter Linda Lisanti can be reached at 610-258-7171 or
by e-mail at llisanti@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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