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No Comments [ Add Comment ]It's all in the numbers
By Amy K. StewartTitle 1 schools in Ogden put to the test over No Child Left Behind
OGDEN -- Two Ogden School District Title 1 elementary schools will be working hard this school year to try to be removed from the "needs improvement list," as designated by the federal No Child Left Behind law.
As dictated by NCLB, if a Title 1 school doesn't pass Adequate Yearly Progress two years in a row, it is placed on the list and subject to sanctions, which increase if the school moves to Level 2 or 3 on the list.
To be removed from the list, the school has to pass AYP two consecutive years.
A school is judged each fall by its AYP report, which is based on spring testing. The state and districts publicly announced their AYP data Sept. 17.
A school is designated Title 1 based on the number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. Title 1 schools are eligible for federal funding.
Principals of the Title 1 schools Dee and Lynn are fighting hard to get their schools removed from the improvement list.
Both are boosting their math programs, and Lynn is also concentrating on language arts. Both schools are using tutoring and supplementary educational programs.
Dee Elementary School is on Level 3of the list. This means the school must notify parents, allow the parents to choose another school for their child, offer supplemental education services and be monitored by the state.
Lynn Elementary School is on Level 1, which means the school must notify parents and offer school choice.
Edison Elementary School, with Suzanne Bolar as principal, was removed from the list for this school year, as it passed AYP two years in a row.
With NCLB, if a school doesn't make the benchmark in just one of the 40 required categories, including how minority subgroups fare in language arts and math, the entire school is marked as "no pass" for AYP.
"It could boil down to a handful of kids," said Rich Moore, district federal programs director.
For spring 2007 test data, Dee received one "no" out of 40. The subcategory was limited English-proficient students in math.
At Lynn, the school passed AYP for 2007. In 2006, it didn't pass because of the LEP subgroup that didn't make the mark in language arts and math. Lynn is therefore frozen at Level 1 and is striving for a second year of passing AYP to be freed from the list.
The two elementary principals are doing two things: emphasizing the positive by touting the school's overall academic gains and boosting everything from tutoring to specialized learning programs in order to make AYP.
"I don't think there is a principal in our district who isn't embracing accountability," said Dee Principal Linda Brown.
Dee is working on some new strategies, including math vocabulary. If a student can't read English, doing math story problems is difficult.
"We're sure it's not computation," Brown said. "It's vocabulary."
The issue with the LEP group is it is a more fluid population than the subgroups labeled by income or race.
"It's a moving target," Moore said.
The school could focus interventions on the LEP group, but once the students learn the language, they exit the subgroup.
"The nature of the LEP group can change," Moore said. "We could have three or four families move in from Mexico and not know a word of English."
At Lynn, educators are using a computer program called "English in a Flash." It is meant to increase students' vocabulary by letting them hear the sounds of the words.
"We are doing the best we can. The kids are learning," said Lynn Principal Coleen Martindale.
Educators also point to overall academic gains that fly in the face of NCLB's labeling process of AYP.
Brown said, "What I would like to see is every student rated on his or her individual progress each year. If they could take my kinders from what they do in August to what they can do in May, we would be among the top in the state."
Moore said Brown's comments reflect educators' views of NCLB nationwide.
"There are concerns about LEP and special-education subgroups, and there is a push to track an individual's growth from year to year," he said.
NCLB, instead, measures a different group of kids each year.
"You're comparing (for example) last year's third-graders to this year's third-graders, and that is just so absurd," Moore said. "It just can't be defended."
Many educators are keeping their fingers crossed -- NCLB is up for reauthorization this year, and Congress is considering major revisions.
Reed Spencer, district executive director of curriculum and assessment, said he refuses to judge a school solely on AYP's "yes" or "no" label.
He said he would rather answer such questions as: Is the school getting better? Are we accomplishing some continuous improvement? Are more kids getting proficient?
"To me, this is what it's all about," he said.
According to data from the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students, a series of tests required by the state, Dee students actually improved academically despite the school's inability to pass AYP.
From May 2004 to May 2007, Dee students made an average gain of 19.8 points in language arts, while the state average was a 0.6 point gain, according to U-PASS data Spencer compiled.
In math during the same time period, Dee had a 7.8 point gain while the state average actually declined 1.6 points, according to the data.
"That validates everything that we have believed in and worked for," Brown said.
"We believe in our children. We believe in their intellect. And we believe that effective teaching strategies can overcome."
How to help Title 1 schools?
Ogden School District is hiring tutors for its Title 1 schools. Tutors receive $9.50 an hour to work two to three hours a day. For more information, call the district's human resource office at 737-7320.
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