Are Our Schools In Crisis?: What is a TASK FORCE?

The article below was reprinted word for word from the njea Association newspaper for May 2011

Governor creates mandate task force

Governor Chris Christie has signed yet another executive order, this one creating the Education Transformation Task Force. The group has been asked to study education regulaltions with an eye toward giving greater flexibility to administrators.

     The task force is charged with completing a comprehensive and thorough review of all current administrative regulations that affect public education and providing recommendations to the governor that further the goals of:

• increasing quality of instruction and academic acheivement for students
• improving teaching and educator effectiveness within schools
• improving the saftey and well-being of students
• sensibly eliminating or reforming those regulations that are found to be unnecessary, overly burdensome, or not conducive to an efficient and flexible classroom environment

     Although no individuals have been named at press time, the group is supposed to include at least one teacher, a principal, and a superintendent. Among its charges, the Education Transformation Task Force will examine the Quality Single Accountability Continuum regulations known as QSAC. Currently, schools must file reports that deal with more than 300 indicators of a school's performance.

     The task force's initial report, with its recommendations to the governor, is to be completed by August 15. At that time, the group will take comments from the public, the N.J. State Board of Education and education stakeholders. Its final report would be due before the end of the calendar year.

William A. Walker Sr.
He marched with
Adam Clayton Powell,
Rev. Goodman,  Malcolm X
and many others,
less known and some still
alive, in an attempt to
INTEGRATE
the Englewood Schools.
How do you think he
would feel knowing that
his great granddaughter's
high school is
segregated?

I am sitting here wondering what is different about the Education Transformation Task Force. Right now a small group of people are making decisions that affect the larger group. It does not seem from the description that this group would change anything for our children. The tone of it actually suggests that the Chief Administrative Officers will have even more responsibility. We certainly put a lot of confidence in the ability of one man. What makes a good Superintendent? What makes a good principal? Shouldn't the people who have the most power be evaluated by the people they serve, who by the way, also pay their salaries?

That Education Transformation Task Force sounds more than a little

scary to me. Mark your calendars for Aug. 15th.  We don't want to miss our chance to comment.

"HOW ARE THE CHILDREN?"

Our educators are no longer asking, "how are the children?" They are asking, "how is business?"

Are Our Schools In Crisis?: What is Title I?

Title I -  is a federally funded program designed to improve the academic achievement of poor and disadvantaged children in elementary and secondary schools. It originated with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.   Englewood New Jersey gets it's share of Title I funds. We must begin to monitor how the money is being spent. They would not qualify for these funds if low income families did not live here. Why do the low income families NOT benefit from federal monies meant to help their children?

A proud Grandma poses with
the sons of 2 of her sons.

Values Education - Transmission of values, such as respect for others, civility, empathy, and fairness. Also known as character education or ethics education.    You will not find any values education in Englewood. Englewood elite have shown themselves to be of poor character and have generally demonstrated an ignorance of ethics.

Englewood is a Title I school district. This means that it receives a large sum of money that is meant to help the children of low income families get the same educational advantages as everyone else. In other towns, it is well documented that this money is used to maintain remedial Reading and Math programs for economically disadvantaged children.

Where is Englewood School District's Title I Reading Program? Attend the June 16, 2011 School board meeting at 8pm Liberty School. Find out why this program no longer exists in Englewood.

Where is Englewood School District's Title I Math Program?

Where will you find graduates of Dwight Morrow High School concentrated if they attend college?
Check one close to home and you will see that they are concentrated in the Remedial Reading and Math classes. Englewood's education system has failed them. It sent them off without the tools they needed to survive in college or in the world of work. What type of VALUES EDUCATION ARE WE IMPARTING TO OUR CHILDREN? WHY IS ENGLEWOOD SYSTEMATICALLY NOT EDUCATING ALL CHILDREN?

Did you read today's Record? The surrounding towns have Academies and they are integrated into the general population. They had one set of King & Queen of the Prom in each school. They had one set of Valedictorins in each school. Check the papers for yourselves. Englewood looks very bad right about now.

New Jersey State Department of Education, are you listening? Are you reading the newspapers? Englewood Parents & Students need your help.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FAIL!

"How are the children?"

Are Our Schools In Crisis?: Why is Dwight Morrow High School Segregated?

Separate prom king and queen - you have got to be kidding.

I have not heard of anything like this since I left the racial turmoil created by the fight for civil rights in the south. Immediately following enforced integration high school proms were separated quite like this. Were the DMHS and Academy program students really at the same prom?  Is this what Englewood residents really want? There will always be tracking of some sort regardless of what we do. It is very destructive to the human psyche of both groups to separate them physically into 2 different buildings. The Board of Education has the power to fix this. What is the administration and the Board of Educaiton trying to tell us by promoting segregation?

The following is a list of reasons why I withdrew my neice from the Academy:

• She was chastised for speaking to Dwight Morrow High School Students
• She was chastised for waving to Dwight Morrow High School Students
• The blinds were drawn on the North side of the King Hall building (Academy) so students could not see the North building
• A group of Latin and African American students were told (by Mr. Smith) that they would not last 3 months in the Academy, because they were singing hip hop at the lunch table
• DMHS students were not allowed in the South building
• Academy students were not allowed in the North building
• She was involved in several inappropriate conversations with the then coordinator, a Mr. Smith as he berated her friends.
• My neice never fully recovered from the treatment she received at the Academy. She was robbed of a free public education. 
• Her inner spirit made it impossible to survive there. I removed her for her own safety, because she had some very strong opinons about why they were separated.

The Academy@Englewood program must be assessed. The AVID, ACADEMY PREP, AND IVY PROGRAMS MUST ALSO BE ASSESSED. What exactly is the Academy program bringing to our district anyway? Most of the students are not from Englewood. They are also  not the best and the brightest from their home district. The Academies@Englewood is the worst example of tracking this educator has ever seen. It is not necessary to physically separate students  in 2 buildings. Regardless of what anyone tells you, the STATE  did not decide this. Do the research for yourself. You will find that our board of education decided to physically separate the students. It is NOT necessary to separate the children in SCHOOL CHOICE. You will not find this blatant model of segragation anywhere else but Englewood. Board Members have convinced themselves that this is a fine example of integration. I say BULL. I yell BULL!  Leave those biases at home! Each of you took an OATH. Stop the madness. Draw up a new master schedule and mix those kids up. If we lose a few students from other towns, they did not belong here in the first place. (In towns where students are all white is anyone trying to ship in African Americans or any other third world group to integrate the schools?)  The answer is no.

Vocabulary

This is Englewood's Model

Tracking - Practice of grouping students in curricular paths by achievement levels, for example, college preparatory or vocational. See also Homogeneous grouping.
Homogeneous Grouping - Organizing students for instruction on the basis of one or more common characteristics. Most frequently, homogeneous groups are created on the basis of student achievement.

The Alternative
Heterogeneous Grouping - Grouping together of students of varying abilities, interests, or ages.

Heterogeneous Grouping - Organizing students of varying achievement levels or needs in the same classroom (the opposite of homogeneous grouping).

NCLB – No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 - Signed into law on January 8, 2002. It reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the main federal law regarding K-12 education. The four main pillars of NCLB are: accountability; flexibility and local control; enhanced parental choice and a focus on what works in the classroom. NCLB requires state governments and educational systems to help low-achieving students in high-poverty schools meet the same academic performance standards that apply to all students

Title I - A federally funded program designed to improve the academic achievement of poor and disadvantaged children in elementary and secondary schools. It originated with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.  
Values Education - Transmission of values, such as respect for others, civility, empathy, and fairness. Also known as character education or ethics education.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FAIL!

"How are the children?"

Are Our Schools In Crisis?: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

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 ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS..

The NJ State Dept. of Ed. recommendation for Dwight Morrow High School: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.

1. Intake processes for new entrant students should include an assessment of their basic skills in 

their native languange to assure the appropriate placement of LEP students in courses for which  they are prepared. It will also help the administration to plan for LEP students' changing needs.

2. As the school plans to expand the math block for entering 9th grade students without the foundation skills needed to be successful in algebra, the ELL student  population should be offered the same opportunity to receive this block that includes instruction in basic skillas as well as algebra concepts. Likewise, extended ESL (e.g., Civics ESL) for the purpose of familiarizing ELL students with local, county, and state government and policies may serve to facilitate students' knowledge and accelerate integration into the American society. Additionally, these services may also assist with ELL language and educational gaps.

3.  ACCESS results show the need for a special focus on the speaking subtest. The school should assure that this key skill subset is fully addressed in the new curriculum review project this summer. Also, as the curriculum is reviewed, it should be realigned not only with the WIDA standards but also with the state's language arts literacy standards.

4. The school should develop an ongoing data bank regarding the ELL population to help plan services for this student group.  The data collected should include, but not be limited to, the following enrollment trends, native assessment as indicated above, tracking of former ELLs, student performance in the content areas both in bilingual classes and in general classes, ACCESS analysis, and cross-content needs.

5. The school is encouraged to review texts, supplemental materials, and programs available to support the revised ESL curriculum.

6. There is need for greater rigor and higher expectations for ELL student writing.

Where does one start?

• Test English Language learners when they register in their own language. Very valuable. How can you determine what students know without this test? It is all about what students know and not about preconceived ideas.  Might this be a reason why so many students end up in Special Ed or just socially promoted on? It must be determined what students know in their native language before trying to shove anything else into their heads.
• Including English Language learners in any effort to help students lacking foundation skills in Mathematices is also a positive. It is interesting that Civics is listed as a suggestion. I see very little focus on Civics for even English speaking students born in the US. They all need it. All students need a knowledge of  local, county, state, and federal government policies. This might help them understand the importance of being a registered voter and nurture more spirited American citizens.
• A special focus on the Speaking subtest. More attention must be given to ELL students actually learning to speak English. This is the language of American Standardized Tests, Drivers licenses, Citizenship papers, SAT's  etc.
• Develop an ongoing data bank regarding ELL. Why is the District not doing this already? How are we determining which programs work and which do not?
• Has the Districi reviewed  texts, supplemental materials, and programs available to support the revised ESL curriculum? Was the curriculum revised, or was this just something they said they were going to do because the State was asking?
• Rigor. Again we see this word. What does it mean in educational talk? Just how involved are teachers and students with the task at hand? Do they all have a burning desire to know?

Vocabulary:
WIDA - is a consortium of states dedicated to the design and implementation of high standards and equitable educational opportunities for English language learners.WIDA educational products and services fall into three main categories: standards and assessments, professional development for educators, and research.
The WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards are recognized worldwide for their innovative approach to measuring academic language development in English. From those standards, various WIDA assessments have been developed to evaluate student progress according to the WIDA proficiency scale, including ACCESS for ELLs^® which is administered annually in consortium member states to comply with federal accountability requirements in the United States.

WIDA - ACCESS for ELLs - ACCESS  stands for Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners. This large-scale test addresses the academic English language proficiency (ELP) standards at the core of the WIDA Consortium's approach to instructing and evaluating the progress of English language learners. To alleviate any confusion, the WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT)™, more aptly known as a screening tool, has a different purpose and format from the ACCESS test. To understand the relationship between the two tests, see Comparing W-APT and ACCESS for ELLs.

I purposely left this area for last because it is the area that the system seems least able to deal with. Much of this ineptness may be attributed to the fact that few people are willing to learn about others. In a town where there are so many cultures living together we must learn to respect each other. A proud showing of the flag of each person's country should be prominently displayed somewhere on school property. In my old school each student was represented by the flag of the country from which he originated. The principal ordered a new one everytime someone else registered and made sure that person did not feel left out. But alas, even there individuality seems fleeting since the flags are no longer displayed and the different groups are drifting apart again. At least, they still inhabit the same physical building. Divisiveness is doing irreversible harm to our town and the overall morale on our high school campus.

Are Our Schools In Crisis?: COMMUNICATION

DID YOU KNOW
that a very important enrichment program is available for 8th graders? The deadline for enrollment is June 17, 2011. (July 5 - July 29) Space is limited. Show that you are interested. Apply for a spot for your child.
9TH GRADE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM - This program will focus on enrichment in Mathematics, Language Arts, Fine Arts, Biology and College Readiness Skills. Completion of this program can earn students 1.25 in high school credit. Go to Janis E. Dismus webpage and click on these words: 9th Grade Summer Enirchment Program Flyer.pdf    print out an application for your child.  The deadline is June 17th.

DID YOU KNOW
that an enrichment program is planned for the parents in the area of Singapore Math? Learn some new ways to help your child love learning Math.

DID YOU KNOW
that the Middle School is being reorganized?

DID YOU KNOW
that your child qualifies for free tutoring if he/she gets free lunch? Call the school. Get an application.

DID YOU KNOW
that you should ALWAYS check your child's notebook and school bag for notices containing important information?

DID YOU KNOW
that there is a very important board meeting June 16, 2011. Public session begins at 8pm at Liberty School.

DID YOU KNOW
that board members must be certificated by the New Jersey School Board Associaton?

DID YOU KNOW
that there are job openings in Englewood? Click here.

DID YOU KNOW

that the The New Jersey School Ethics Act (N.J.S.A 18A:12-23) requires local board of education

members to:

1. File disclosure statements
2. Avoid prohibited conduct
3. Adhere to the Code of Ethics
4. Undergo training in the responsibilities of school board membership

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FAIL!

"How are the children?"