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New Basic Skills protocols recommended
(by Kathryn A. Burger - March 19, 2008)
A reorganization of the district’s Basic Skills program, discussed at the March 17 Park Ridge Board of Education meeting, hinges, in part, on the Separate Proposal the board hopes will be approved when residents vote on April 15. Funding for three full-time positions for elementary Basic Skills instruction is included in the budget; the cost of the additional 1.2 positions needed to deliver the revamped program are contained in the Separate Proposal.
As reported, flaws in the program at the elementary school level were discussed when staff cuts in the program were considered during the budget process. Parents objected to what they viewed as a reduction of necessary services to students.
Patricia Johnson, superintendent of schools, questioned if all of the students currently receiving Basic Skills instruction actually qualified because there was, “no criteria for students entering the program nor a benchmark for students to leave it.” She said students who are performing at and above grade level are currently receiving Basic Skills instruction when the program is intended for students performing below grade level. “The program is not meant for a student to improve his grade from a ‘C’ to a ‘B’.” Once a comprehensive placement policy was created and applied, the number of students participating would be reduced, she said.
At the March 17 meeting, Johnson, along with Sheldon Silver, principal at
East
Brook
Elementary School , and Christine McCaffery principal at
West
Ridge
Elementary School , gave board members an overview of the current program and their recommendations for improvements.
Placement criteria that include multiple measures would replace the current practice of teacher and/or parent referral. Students are now placed in Basic Skills for an entire school year. In the revamped program, quarterly assessments would be used to determine a student’s progress. Students could also enter the program during the school year. Generalized instruction would be refined to target individual needs.
Staffing recommended for the new program is based on estimates of enrollments and must be in place to serve all the students who need the program. However, Johnson said, in the event staff time exceeds Basic Skills instruction needs, enrichment programs would be provided.
Some board members voiced concerns about the amount of time faculty and administrators would have to devote to the new placement process and the quarterly assessment of students in the program. Changing abruptly from the current system to the new, more structured program, some said, could be unpopular with parents. Johnson and the principals said there would be a phase-in period and the groundwork for the implementation of the new procedures in the fall would begin well before this school year ends.
To pass, the Separate Proposal must be approved by at least 60 percent of voters, not a simple majority. If approved, the Separate Proposal will stand, even if the budget is defeated.
The Park Ridge Board of Education will hold a Public Hearing on the proposed 2008-2009 budget at a special meeting on Wednesday, March 26 beginning at 8 p.m. in the high school’s Little Theatre. The meeting will be devoted to the budget presentation, and discussion and public comment on its content. The board is mailing a budget newsletter to all residents prior to the meeting.
Kathryn A. Burger's e-mail address is burger@northjersey.com.
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