Letters have been mailed to approximately 550 families in the Prince Street Elementary attendance area advising parents and guardians of the opportunity for Title I School Choice for the 2011-12 school year, due to Prince Street being a Title I school identified as a school needing improvement. There is a Parent Meeting on School Choice on July 21, and parents and guardians must return the letter of intent requesting School Choice by July 29 to be eligible.
Under the federal No Child Left Behind act, students in a Title I school that is in improvement due to not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two or more consecutive years must have the opportunity to attend another school that is not in improvement. Prince Street, which must receive local attention now that it has entered school improvement, must also offer Title I School Choice. (School Choice must be offered as long as a Title I school remains in improvement; leaving school improvement status requires making AYP for two consecutive years.)
Prince Street Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through grade 5. Prince Street families opting for Title I School Choice can request that their student attend either Charles H. Chipman Elementary or West Salisbury Elementary for prekindergarten to grade 2, and either Glen Avenue Elementary or North Salisbury Elementary for grades 3 to 5. The letter to Prince Street families includes a chart comparing state test results for the three schools with intermediate grades, and a chart showing the programs that each of the five schools offers. The school system will provide transportation for all Prince Street students attending another school by School Choice.
In the letter to Prince Street parents and guardians, Superintendent of Schools Dr. John E. Fredericksen said that many good things are happening at Prince Street, and he hopes families will elect to stay to be part of that improvement process. The difference between Prince Street making AYP and not making AYP was only about nine more students for reading and one more student for math reaching proficiency, out of a school population of 580.
“We are very proud of the many interventions that we have available for you and your child(ren) at Prince Street Elementary School. We will work to create additional programs to meet the identified needs of your student(s). Our qualified school staff is committed to providing the best educational program we can for all our students. It is our hope that you will elect to continue your child’s educational program at Prince Street School.”
A Parent Meeting for Title I School Choice options for Prince Street Elementary School families will be held in the school cafeteria at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 21. Staff members will be on hand to explain School Choice options, answer any questions, and receive letters of intent from parents and guardians who are requesting School Choice for their student to attend one of the Choice schools.
Letters of intent should be mailed in the envelopes provided to the attention of Sandra Drummond, Title I Supervisor. The address is Wicomico County Public Schools, PO Box 1538, Salisbury, MD 21802. For questions about the meeting or School Choice, please call Ms. Drummond at 410-677-4585, or Susan Jones, Director of Elementary Education, at 410-677-4496.
All Title I School Choice letters of intent must be received by Friday, July 29, to be eligible for School Choice. Letters of intent received after that date will not be honored. Requests for transfer under School Choice will be reviewed, and families will receive notification of their child’s school for 2011-12 later in the summer.
9 comments:
Are teachers being moved as well? I heard some teachers were being switched involuntarily? What is the scoop? Different schools or just between grades? The teachers there need some movement in my opinion. Very strange mix of teachers.
I heard a second grade teacher was getting a technology job? Don't think technology is what these kids need more of. How about teaching them full time the fundamentals! And, with all the budget woes Keep teachers int eh classroom rather than giving them "cushy" jobs at the board or being "technology geeks"
10:39, yes, part of the process for schools in need of improvement under NCLB involves transferring teachers to and from the affected school. This does NOT mean that the teachers are not good. The Board looks for teachers in other schools who have skill sets that can be valuable in the affected school, thereby helping to improve students' test scores enough to bring the school out of "needs improvement' status.
Thats right, transfer the good teachers who have taught their kids to excel and place them in a bad environment. Then place the teachers who are not having the same success in a school that is flourishing and soon all of the schools are at a below par level. The answer is to not change teachers, but instead to change behavioral habits of the teachers and children who are not excelling. If one method of teaching is not working, then try a different method. Rinse and repeat till you find a method that works. It is unfair to the teachers who have excelled to be switched, but then again, this is the BoE we are talking about....
Oh wow! The WCBOE is actually following a federal law? amazing
2:41
Well said! Lets punish good schools who have done well by taking out the reason they've done well- its teachers..Makes alot sense-NOT
With all of the resources at Prince Street (and lots of Title 1 funds being moved from other schools to Prince Street), why would parents of high achievers and average achievers at Prince Street leave their children there? They've been told no focus will be on their kids next year. MOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting comments all, but the truth is that the student population is generally not supported by their parents/guardians. The teachers and administrators there currently (and in the past), as well as the entire BOE population know the truth that this school has ally been the most difficult to educate for well over 10 years. No teacher/Principal volunteers to go to Prince, ever. The various central office baffoons over the years knew this, and still do. Resources were moved and squandered repeatedly. What is occuring now is simply the fallout of extreme short sightedness that cannot be corrected without drastic measures at this point. This, of course will never happen, and the school will continue to spiral out of control like Wi Middle is now. There is an unwritten tennant in ed circles that proposes taking the strongest staff (in this case, county wide) and put them with the most needy students. While once espoused by the great Dr. Handy herself,now that she is in a position to do this, why doesn't it happen? I'll tell you why - the best teachers don't want to go because while the physical plant is terrific, the place is a career killer that nobody wants to be part of. Just ask any 'magnet' teacher to work there, and what do you suppose the answer will be? Most likely something like 'not me, I put my time in...' Do you blame them? Staff burnout over there is at an all time high, and will never improve. I feel very badly for the children there as what must they and their parents think about this? Good luck Mr. Nunzio and Mr. Miller....I see your career lights fading.......
SadButTrue.....
Bless you......you do not have a clue about Prince Street!
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