Vol. 41, No. 52
August 13, 2007
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS
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DESE Lists More Public Schools and Districts
That "Need Improvement," Based on AYP Standards
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has notified more than 250 public schools and school districts that they are unlikely to meet "adequate yearly progress" goals and will be classified by state education officials as "needing improvement" during 2007-08.
Under the provisions of federal law (No Child Left Behind), these schools and districts will be in the category of needing improvement for the first time. They are required to notify parents about the designation as soon as possible. The school districts will be required to prepare a new school-improvement plan.
"We are making a preliminary identification of new schools and districts that need improvement, as required by the law and based on 2006 MAP scores, attendance rates and graduation rates. In previous years, we made this determination after all schools had received their new test results. Federal officials have told us we must accelerate our timetable," said Stan Johnson, assistant commissioner of the department of education.
Results from the 2007 MAP tests will be released Friday (August 17).
DESE staff have officially notified local school officials that 102 additional buildings and 167 districts will be in the "needs improvement" category for the coming year. In all, the state now has about 200 school buildings that are designated for improvement.
Students in some of the newly designated schools may be entitled to transfer to other schools within their districts, and district officials are required to notify parents as soon as possible about options they may have.
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