New Jersey school districts show improvement under 'No Child' grading

More New Jersey school districts are meeting the requirements of the federal "No Child Left Behind" law, according to data released yesterday by the state Department of Education.

Some 39 New Jersey districts were designated "Districts in Need of Improvement" this year, down from 53 in 2008. While 20 districts were taken off the list, six districts were added for the first time.

Districts in need of improvement are those where schools are not making "adequate yearly progress" in the number of students passing standardized tests in reading and math.

"This is good news," said state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. "That's a sign that districts are doing better. More of them have more students meeting the standards."

Many officials in the 20 districts taken off the list this year, after showing progress for two consecutive years, were thrilled.

"We're elated," said Perth Amboy Superintendent John Rodecker. The district implemented new materials and teaching strategies for math in the elementary schools, as well as new literacy and writing initiatives, he said. Officials there began seeing improvement in elementary test scores a few years ago, then scores in middle schools rose. Officials have targeted high schools next.

"We know we can do better and we'll keep trying, but this illustrates the kind of progress we've been striving for," Rodecker said.

No Child Left Behind requires state education departments to report on "adequate yearly progress" by districts. Failing to make progress for a number of years can result in serious consequences -- such as requiring districts to implement new curriculum or replace personnel -- but for the first several years, steps require less-steps things such as notifying parents and writing an improvement plan.

Some of the districts on the list include urban districts such as Newark, Trenton and Camden.

There is also a list of "Schools in Need of Improvement," which was released in December, according to the state. Of about 2,400 schools in New Jersey, 442 are on that list.

In several districts, school officials complained they were labeled "in need of improvement" because of a handful of test scores. Districts must pass in all subgroups, including bilingual and special education students.

"You do the best you can, and unfortunately it's a very skewed test," said Rich Kelly, vice principal at the Lakeland Regional High School District in Wanaque, which was placed on the "Districts in Need of Improvement" list for the first time because of 11th-grade test scores in the special education subgroup. He said about nine students are in that subgroup.

Kelly said the district has run after-school courses to help students increase math and English skills.

"The large population of our school is above the state average, unfortunately they pick a subgroup that can't help having academic difficulties. Your reputation is based on that," Kelly said.

West Orange landed on the improvement-needed list last year because of special-needs test scores. But new superintendent Anthony Cavanna, who started his job in the district yesterday, came into office to good news: The district is off the list.

He said West Orange focused on special needs students, bringing in new programs and focusing on instruction and what's happening in the classroom.

"I think because of the hard work of the staff and administration, this is good news. It shows our efforts are paying off," he said.

The districts removed from the "Districts in Need of Improvement" list are Atlantic City, Northern Valley Regional, Pennsauken, Middle Township, Belleville, South Orange-Maplewood, West Orange, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Neptune Township, Berkeley Township, Lakewood, North Plainfield, Plainfield, Roselle, Phillipsburg, Warren Hills Regional, Camden Academy Charter High School, the International Charter School of Trenton and the New Horizons Community Charter School in Newark.

Those placed on the list for the first time are Lenape Regional, Eastern Camden County Regional, Sterling High School District, Lakeland Regional, Passaic Valley Regional and High Point Regional.

The No Child Left Behind report is available at http://education.state.nj.us/rc/nclb08/.

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