Superintendent’s Corner

I recently saw a cartoon that sought to capture a picture of a family dinner in this age of electronics. Mom and Dad were seated at the table with their two teenagers. The kids were wearing ear-pieces for their iPods and Mom and Dad both had Blue-tooth attachments in place. The adults were scrolling through E-mail on their Blackberrys and the kids were lip-synching songs. The first caption was in all capital letters and read, “SON, DON’T YELL AT THE TABLE.” The second caption responded, “But Dad, I ‘texted’ you to pass the potatoes.”

While this snapshot of the electronic age causes most of us to shudder, it rings true, in part, for some. The issue of communication has always been at the center of effective relationships, regardless of whether we are talking of personal ones or institutional ones. Actually, I believe that effective communication in a personal relationship is much easier to achieve than it is in institutional settings. With this thought in mind, I want to share some of the communication avenues that have been put in place to assist the community in its understanding of our School District.

First and foremost, each of the South Brunswick Schools has an active outreach through the Principal’s office. Frequent communications are sent home to parents through an electronic Friday Folder E-mail, hand-carried memos, PTO/PTA/Site Council flyers and First-class postal mailings. In addition, each school maintains an active Web site that provides news about building events and contact information regarding staff. The Principal’s newsletters provide another avenue for gleaning school news.

Most recently, the District has successfully completed a pilot and begun a project called Family Connect. This initiative provides parents of middle school and high school students with direct electronic access to their youngster’s academic progress (individual class grades) and attendance. As we monitor the use of this system, we have noted “high traffic” and tremendously positive parental feedback.

Another recently deployed communication tool is the District’s new Auto Dialer system. Through the use of this technology, we are able to contact parents at up to six different telephone numbers to advise them of school delays and emergency closings. This high-speed electronic tool can make thousands of calls in a matter of minutes. The expandable nature of this system will allow for many building-based uses. This system is in addition to our use of radio, television, and emergency E-mail to notify parents of emergency situations.

From a Board of Education level, two public meetings are conducted each month (except for July) that provide for public comment. These public comment opportunities allow for either immediate Board response or a promise to research the issue and provide a future answer. To enhance access to the larger community, Board meetings are televised on the locally-provided cable station (Channel 28). The District also uses it as an electronic bulletin board of upcoming events and as a means of re-broadcasting special school events. These special events are created by the District’s Viking Television Network (VTN), giving students valuable hands-on productionexperience while linking school activities to our community.

The Board of Education has sought to express the importance of community connection through the creation of several activities. Every August, the Board of Education receives recommendations for Goals in order to chart the District’s direction and focus of resources. Likewise, each June, the Board examines the outcomes of the Goal work to determine District progress. Both of these sessions occur at public meetings and are televised throughout the community.

The Education Summit is a Board-created event that is publicly held each February for the purpose of examining the State-of-the-District. The information that is presented at the Summit is posted on the District’s Web site so that the public can peruse the information with convenience. The program is designed to note District strengths and acknowledge District challenges.

Each year, the District adopts a budget after conducting several budget meetings and a hearing for Board approval. These forums are open to public participation.

Presently, the District is operating under the regulations developed around the Quality Assurance Annual Report (QAAR). This requirement is met at a public meeting each October, wherein the District shares testing results in response to Federal and State mandates. This presentation is provided to the community on VTN.

Obviously, this column is not exhaustive of the many ways the District communicates. The very forum for conveying this article,Spotlight on Schools, is published five times per year and mailed to the homes of all of our community members. We annually provide parent-teacher conferences, Back-to-School nights and special open house events. In addition, we participate in South Brunswick Township’s Community Unity Day and the South Brunswick Township Police Department’s “National Night Out” event.

I hope you find new avenues for communicating with the District that allow you to be more informed and to participate more fully in District initiatives. You can contact me by phone, mail, or E-mail.

Each year, during the month of October, public schools in New Jersey share important information about performance with community members. This accountability practice is part of a New Jersey requirement known as the Quality Assurance Annual Report (QAAR). The Report is comprised of multiple areas, but for the focus of this column, I will limit my commentary to achievement measures.

Statewide testing of students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 in both literacy and mathematics occurs annually. Tied tightly to New Jersey’s Federally-approved No Child Left Behind (NCLB) State Plan, student results are analyzed by State-hired testing companies for adherence to the State regulations that support Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). It is at this point that the first draft of the performance reports is released to school districts.

As you can imagine, especially if you have a very creative imagination, the reports are fairly complex and require a great deal of insight about some unusual facets of statistical analysis. Just so that you don’t think I am overstating the case, a comprehensive understanding of the report requires insight regarding “bundling” of scores, reportable “N” or group sizes, the mixing of multiple elements for individual students and the qualification provisions of “safe harbor” to name but a few.

Armed with these understandings, we are able to report that seven (7) of our ten (10) schools met each of the forty-one (41) required elements. By doing so, each of these schools are regarded as having met AYP. Our three (3) remaining schools each met forty (40) of the forty-one (41) Stateestablished elements. Greenbrook Elementary School fell short of meeting the literacy element for “students with disabilities.” Crossroads North Middle School fell short of meeting the mathematics element for “students with disabilities.” South Brunswick High School fell short of meeting the mathematics element for “students with disabilities.” In each of these instances, the schools in question met 97.5% of the State-required elements. Unfortunately, under the guidelines of NCLB, these three schools have failed to meet AYP.

Moving from the “look” at each school, the data on the correlating charts illustrates the District’s spring 2007 results by grade level. Chart #1 reveals the percent of all our third, fourth and fifth grade students that were recognized as “proficient” or “advanced proficient” in literacy and mathematics. The State minimum expected level of performance for 2007 for literacy was 75% (and will be 82% for 2008). The State minimum expected level of performance for 2007 for mathematics was 62% (and will be 73% for 2008). In the aggregate, the number of South Brunswick third, fourth and fifth grade students scoring in the proficient and advanced proficient category far exceeded the minimum State performance level.

As illustrated on Chart #2, the performance data of our sixth, seventh and eighth grade students in the content areas of literacy and mathematics for 2007 also exceeds State minimum expected levels of performance (literacy expected level 66%; math expected level 49%). In similar fashion, our grade 11 results (see Chart #3), when compared to State minimum expected levels of performance (literacy expected level 79%; math expected level 64%) reveal results well beyond State expectations.

By way of comparison to State expectations, South Brunswick students, in the aggregate, perform very effectively on State-created exams. It needs to be noted here that the expectation/requirement of NCLB’s dictate that by 2014 all public schools must have all students (100%) performing at the proficient or advanced proficient level is completely unrealistic Presently, Congress is entertaining proposals for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that drives the No Child Left Behind initiative. Much attention is being focused on the issues that have been created by the law. As is so typical of the political process, those who created the law are offering a staunch defense for maintaining the status quo.

To be more specific, members of Congress need to balance several concerns. First of all, accountability is central to assisting organizations and individuals in the attainment of high levels of achievement. But it is important to understand that the “end all and be all” of accountability is far more than a standardized test score. If we are to truly prepare our students for success in a global society, we need to develop their sense of creativity and instill a curious nature that seeks to understand the unknown.

Our least able students, those who struggle with disabilities, are expected to perform to the same levels of achievement on the same paper and pencil tests in the same time frame as their non-disabled peers. To even the casual onlooker, this is an obvious flaw in the law. Making it all the more obvious to educators is the reality that federal legislators have created laws (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]) that serve to protect the individual educational interests of disabled students but then, seemingly forget these “special needs” in the construction of NCLB.

While there is a laundry list of issues that have been raised with legislators about the reauthorization of NCLB and its continuing punitive treatment of public schools, it is important for the South Brunswick community to know that we welcome accountability but hope that it is fairly designed and implemented in a positive manner that truly assists students and schools in achieving at the highest levels possible.

As always, your support is greatly appreciated. Should you wish to discuss this issue or any other, please contact me.

To the casual observer, the beginning of a new school year conjures up memories of students renewing old acquaintances and establishing new ones. We all remember the anticipation of “seeing” who was in your class and wondering if the teachers would be “nice.” Moving to the middle or high school always added some anxiety to that night before the first day. As I write this column, the indelible impressions are etched in my mind so much that I still remember my high school locker combination!

With the 2007 – 2008 school year fully engaged, I want to share a view of the South Brunswick School District that extends beyond that available to the casual observer. The simplistic glimpse of a new school year, while quite nostalgic, belies the incredible efforts that are put in place to begin anew. First and foremost, as a “student first,” goal-driven School District, much planning has occurred to prepare for this new school year. This planning has manifested itself into the District’s Goals and Objectives for 2007 – 2008.

Our first goal area deals with curriculum and instruction. We feel strongly that the heart and soul of a quality program needs to be reflected in this goal area and to that end much work is planned. Consistent with our South Brunswick Curriculum and Review Cycle, we will be finalizing our Mathematics implementations and working to refine those efforts through additional professional development with teachers and supervisors.

In the area of Health Education, we will be adding a Cyber safety unit in Fifth Grade, a harassment unit, also in Fifth Grade, and a research task for Twelfth Grade. We are revising our Social Studies curriculum with an in-depth review of our concepts and standards. A revision of our World Language areas of Spanish and French is just being finished and Latin will just begin. In addition, we are reviewing and revising our Library-Media Program, as well as working to update our High School Special Education course outlines.

We are entering our second year review of our K-8 Science courses, our Art curriculum, and we are looking to create a first draft of our English Language Learners (ELL) curriculum (for non-English speaking students).

A “first” year review of Language Arts, Music, Character Education and Business Education will be started. As with all of the other areas previously mentioned, this work will extend and be refined over the next several years.

A second goal area involves Professional Development. This area supports the curriculum by providing training opportunities for all staff so that they can become more effective in carrying out their job responsibilities. In addition to providing professional development opportunities in all of the curricular areas previously mentioned, this goal area will support training in National- and State-mandated areas such as preventing sexual harassment and bullying, Individualized Education Plans, Section 504 Plans and many others.

A third goal area deals with Information Technology. In this area, we will be emphasizing a new system for online grades, assignments and student attendance. Through this initiative, parents and students will be better able to track student progress and have closer contact with staff members. We will also be implementing our recently completed Three-Year Technology Plan that drives every use of technology in the District.

A fourth goal area deals with Facilities and reflects our Comprehensive Facility Plan. We will complete our referendum projects (December 2003 Referendum) this year with our concluding work at Crossroads North and South. In addition, we are exploring energy-saving sources that will allow for cost reductions. Another goal area deals with Cost Effectiveness and Cost Containment. We are studying a multitude of areas that have savings potential in order to reduce taxpayer increases.

School Safety represents the sixth goal area. We continue to work closely with the South Brunswick Police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office in designing practices that represent state-of-the-art safety behaviors. The final goal area includes a variety of important areas such as the revision of school policy, the creation of an Education Foundation and the conversion from the State-mandated Quality Assurance Annual Report to the new requirement, known as New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum.

While this column is limited to providing a sampling of our ambitious goal areas and the supporting objectives, I hope you will review a complete listing of this initiative on our District Web site, www.sbschools.org.

As you read about our work, feel free to call me should you have any questions about South Brunswick School District. I welcome your inquiries.

My column is always written with the intention of informing the readership of “happenings, issues or procedures” specific to South Brunswick Township Public Schools. Occasionally, my topic strikes a chord with an individual or two and a dialog ensues. For the most part though, I write and you read and the exercises remain apart.

This edition may change the norm. I want to reference a recently published study entitled, “Tough Choices or Tough Times,” with the hope that I might spark a reaction. To that end, I am including a Web site address that will provide access to an executive summary of the report and its supporting documentation: www.skillscommission.org.

The “Tough Choices or Tough Times” summary is a report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce and was funded by the combined support of the Annie Casey Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation and the Lumina Foundation.

Necessarily connecting the U.S. economy and our public school systems, the report states:
“The core problem is that our education and training systems were built for another era…It is not possible to get where we have to go by patching that system: We can get where we must go only by changing the system itself.”

For those of you who have read, “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, you will sense a de ja vu with this report. The economic condition of our Nation is reported in the same language Friedman utilizes and is tied to the skills and abilities of the workforce. The report offers that the fate of our Nation is in a serious decli
ne economically and unless we redesign our public schools, “the American standard of living will steadily fall relative to those nations” that are doing a better job.

With this backdrop, the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce recommends, among many others, the following:

• States, not districts, would take on the entire funding responsibility for schools;
• States would administer rigorous board exams to students after the tenth grade. These tests would open the pathway to technical schools, colleges or other further school study;
• Teachers would be hired, paid and trained by the state;
• Many states would have private contractors operate the schools.

To accomplish much of the report, local school boards and districts would relinquish much of their control over the day-to-day operation of schools. The report calls for the hiring of more able teachers, the development of a universal, high quality early childhood program for all 3 and 4 year-olds, creating more rigorous assessments that measure, among other things, teamwork and creativity, and providing the necessary resources to assist our nation’s disadvantaged students in achieving high standards.

In addition to those aspirations already mentioned, the Commission recommends “parental choice” in the selection of schools, complete governance discretion by school contractors as long as they meet accountability requirements imposed by the state and opportunities for adult members of the workforce to pursue further education.

The report is the result of two years of intense study and field research and has been published by Jossey-Bass Publishers. My purpose in sharing this information is to inform you of the beginning of a serious debate that will ensue regarding how to improve the country’s education system.