Are Our Schools In Crisis?: Special Education

CAPA REVIEW (Collaborative Assessment of Planning and Achievement)
This review was conducted by the New Jersey Department of Education: 2008 - 2009
This post includes the state's recommendations for improving the achievement of Dwight Morrow High School students in the area of Special Education.

SPECIAL EDUCATION:
This is what the School is recommended to do in order to improve achievement in Special Education..
1. Implement an intensive reading program
2. Provide more professional development on inclusion, differentiated instruction, and curriculum implementation.
3. Provide more relevant electives for non-college bound special education students.

This is what the District should do in order to improve achievement in Special Education.

1. The District should initiate a curriculum rewriting process.

Reopening the Library is only a miniature step in improving the level of literacy among all of our students. The State has recognized that more attention must be given to students with learning disabilities and poor reading skills. There is no getting around the fact that teachers must be trained more comprehensively in curriculum implementation. Throughout the report it is noted that teachers do not have a strong grasp of differentiated instruction. It is also noted throughout that Dwight Morrow High School students are leaving without any useable skills that will help them find jobs. Rewriting the curriculum is given precedence numerous times as a means to improving student readiness. Read this letter and note that the state is changing the way students will be tested throughout the year. If you read it, the board and the Chief School Administer will not be able to ignore it. 

Dr. Carlisle has asked the Board of Education to give him goals and objectives several times in public meetings. The goals are obvious based on the recommendations required by the state. Our Board of Education and Chief School Administrator must begin to read and utilize suggestions from the state that are clearly in the best interest of the children.

"How are the children?"

Dwight Morrow High School Reopens the Library

At 7:00 pm on Thursday, May 26, the newly renovated Dwight Morrow High School Library reopened.

The affair was well attended. Administrators spoke and the orchestra from the Academy Program performed. A buffet style meal was served in the lobby outside the Library.

DMHS Principal, Dorian Milteer
& Ms. Bickham

Principal Dorian Milteer poses with Ms. Adrian Bickham. She is a  Dwight Morrow Alumnus and faculty member. In listening to her speech it was refreshing to learn that many Englewood residents and alumni had felt the absence of a functioning Library in the high school.

DMHS Librarians

Maureen Cushieri is the School Library Media Specialist. Cathy Robertson is the Library Clerk. It is not clear at this time, but Ms. Robertson seems to clerk in the middle school also. During a conversation in the hallway it was noted that neighboring towns are closing their libraries. I made the point that these towns do not have the low test and achievement scores that Englewood does. We need our libraries and knowledgeable, trained library personnel to operate them.

Board Member Harley Ungar
& Thomas Coach Monroe

Thomas "Coach" Monroe gave a history lesson on the development of the town of Englewood. Visit this link if you wish to hear Coach Monroe's telling of the history of Englewood. He is our local Griot. He spins an engaging history of the migration  to and settling in Englewood by African Americans.



Library Conference Room

 The gigantic table in this room is the original table from the 1930's. Mr. Hunken informed me that most of the furniture and tables in the Library are original pieces from that time. "You would not believe the gum we scraped from the bottoms of those tables," he said. I told him that the tables at Harvard probably had the same amount of gum beneath them. He laughed and agreed with me. He also pointed out that the furniture and the space had been well cared for over the years. He apologized for the lack of air and promised that the problem would soon be remedied. The Library, conference room, and classroom next to it are very stuffy. These rooms are in desperate need of central air. I cannot imagine sitting in the sweltering heat of May and June  in either place.



Classroom next to
conference
room



The room in the photo to the right is located next door to the Library conference  room. Based on the instuctional materials on the walls, it is assumed that a Literature class of some type is conducted there. It is small. The tightly closed windows are covered with colored construction paper. The paper blocks out the sun, the light and the air.

The task now is to fill the shelves with reading material that will both challenge and enlighten the student population. I have not seen signs of the classical literature and will be checking back at a later date to see how the books are being selected. It is of great importance that a cross section of Classical Literature and reference books that reflect the Mullticultural nature of the School and Community  fill the shelves.

Training Our Babies: The Responsive Classroom:

Have you ever heard the term Responsive Classroom? Follow this link to a website where you may learn about the model that is being introduced into the Pre k, Kindergarten and elementary school experience in Englewood. Familiarize yourself with the information, resources and workshops available on this site. Offerings are tailored to Individual Parents and to Districts. Get on top of what the District is planning for your child. Home page for The Responsive Classroom. The site is very Parent friendly.



Donald A. Quarles Pre-k, K

Responsive Classroom  
Explanation of goals: a widely used, research-backed approach to elementary education that increases academic achievement, decreases problem behaviors, improves social skills, and leads to more high-quality instruction

Ask questions based on what you read. Sometimes programs change significantly once they are installed. Many of the attributes that first attracted us to the programs never make it into the actual implementation process. Parent involvement will change that.

• When will the success of the program be assessed? (evaluated)
• How will the program be assessed, and by whom?
• Will Parents be involved in the assessment of the effectiveness of the  program?
• How much will it cost the district?
• Is it for everyone and should the concept be modifiedd and continued through to high school graduation?
• Will ALL teachers participate in training in preparation for the program?
• Ask to see written documentation of what the program is bringing to Englewood children, parents and community.

DMHS board in Main Office

The basic concept of the "Responsive Classroom" is a noble one. It is "Behaviorial Modification with Kid Gloves". That is okay, if it works. The concept should get a mature twist as the students mature and the morning time evolves into "a more interactive and responsive homeroom" where connections are made. If not under supervision, there will be a tendency for this crucial time (of morning meeting) to dissolve into a time for "announcements" and updates on school activities."

All classrooms that work well are ?Responsive Classrooms". Healthy relationships between students in a culturally diverse community must be nurtured by parents, students, teachers, administrators and boards of education members. Teachers must also become more involved in wanting to know about each child in order for the model to work. Discipline and respect goes both ways. Teachers must exercise more self control in dealing with students with different learning styles.

"How are the children?"

Vocabulary for Literacy Recommendations

Today's Vocabulary Words
Learning these words will help you communicate with your child's teacher and the school in general.
Assessment - To test or evaluate...is used to determine what students know and what they can do. Students, teachers, principals and superintendents are assessed.

Authentic Portfolio - A collection of a student's work specifically selected to tell a particular story about the student. Students perform authentic tasks which demonstrate application of knowledge and skills. Their portfolios tell compelling stories of the growth of talent and showcases individual skills and abilities.

Benchmarks - a point of reference for measurement of student achievement. A standard by which something can be measured. (In this case student achievement.)

Curriculum - means two things:

• the range of courses from which students choose what subject matters to study,
• a specific learning program. The curriculum collectively describes the teaching, learning, and assessment materials available for a given course of study.

Curriculum Development - Usually takes the form of a workshop and offers specific tools which teachers and schools can use as they design curriculum, develop assessment tasks, and create the classroom practices that will lead to significant student learning and growth.

Differentiate Instruction - involves providing students with different avenues to acquiring content; to processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and to developing teaching materials so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability. Everyone learns differently. Teachers must construct lessons with this fact in mind.

Disaggregated data - Disaggregated data means looking at test scores by specific subgroups of students.

Literacy - Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read and write.

Professional Development - Continuing education for teachers. It enables them to keep up with and learn new teaching strategies that contribute to improving student achievement.

"How are the children?"

Are Our Schools in Crisis?: Literacy

CAPA REVIEW  (Collaborative Assessment of Planning and Achievement)

This review was conducted by the New Jersey Department of Education: 2008 - 2009  This post includes the state's recommendations for improving the achievement of Dwight Morrow High School students in the area of Literacy. The next post will help you to become familiar with words that are used by teachers and school administration that you may not know.

DMHS East Wing

Governor Christie has introduced plans to augment the current New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards with  a new set of rules. The current standards are expected to become the Common Core State Standards. This change is slated to take place within the next 5 years. Each district is charged with selecting an assessment system. It is called the Transition to Next Generation Assessment Systems.  This new system will require 4 assessments (tests) during the course of the year. That is a test at the end of each marking period. I have written the person indicated in the letter requesting more specific information.  Are we ready for this? Do we even have Mid term and Final Exams?

LANGUAGE ARTS LITERACY  (English & English Literature)

State Recommendations:   This is what the School should do.

1.  Implement an authentic portfolio process for reading/writing for ALL students in core English classes.

2.  Develop a curriculum committee to create a standards based curriculum with benchmarks and assessments as well as effective teaching strategies.

3.  Revisit the school schedule so that time is provided to teachers to work on continuous vertical and horizontal articulation within the English curriculum.

4.  Continue professional development in the process needed to differentiate instruction for all students.

State Recommendations:  This is what the District should do.
1.  Provide a designated high school literacy supervisor/coach to support instruction.
2.  Staff the media specialist position in order to implement a formal library program which integrates with the literacy program.
3.  Share up-to-date and, preferably, disaggregated data with teaching staff on a regular basis, and analyze results for impact on classroom teaching practices.
4.  Create a structure to support ongoing curriculum development, revision, and implementation.

(#2 under what Schools should do. You will notice that I do not define vertical and horizontal articulation in English Curriculum. That is a very vague recommendation and it does need clarification. Those terms are generally associated with businesses. I also found a lot of references to the field of medicine and dentistry. It needs clarification.)

The clickable links in the text above lead to books at Amazon.com. The books provide more information that will aid in understanding the recommendations. These books may be available in the Library. Look below the book images. You are allowed to preview contents on some of them. Other books on these subjects are available in the library.

"How are the children?"