|
Impact on the Waterford School District
NCLB, signed into law by President Bush in January 2002, is the
federal government’s largest ever expansion into our local
schools. While we support the concept of NCLB and will fully
comply with this new law, it is very complicated and will
require an enormous effort by our school, school district, and
state to implement.
Under NCLB, a measure known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is
used to report student progress on the Michigan Education
Assessment Program (MEAP) reading and math tests. By the 2013-2014
school year, all students in Michigan are supposed to be
successful on the MEAP test according to NCLB.
Each year, our schools will receive a report from the state that
shows our AYP status. The report will include students’ scores for
the entire school, but that’s only part of the rating. The report
will also break students’ scores into different subgroups:
-
Race/ethnicity
-
Students with disabilities
-
Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
-
Economically disadvantaged
Individual student scores will not appear on the report.
If one of our schools does not make AYP in every category, does
that mean a school is bad? Absolutely not! AYP is mostly based on
MEAP results and our students are learning much more than what’s
measured by a single test on a single day. It’s important for
parents to understand their child’s day-to-day progress in the
classroom.
Impact on Title I Schools
Some of the Waterford Schools are Title I Schools and receive
Title I funding. Title I is a federal program that provides
resources to schools in areas of economic need. NCLB focuses on
schools that receive Title I funding.
Under NCLB, every school receiving title I money is required to
notify parents of their right to request and receive the following
information from the school:
-
Professional qualifications of their child’s teacher(s)
including degrees and certifications held and whether the
teacher is certified in the area he/she is teaching.
-
Whether or not their child is receiving instruction by a
paraprofessional, and if so, his/her qualifications. This
applies to all instructional staff in the school, not just those
paid with Title I funds.
-
About the school improvement status of their child’s school.
Title I schools that do not meet AYP for at least two years in a
row may be required to offer students public school choice
within the district or tutoring. Schools that continue to be
identified for improvement may be listed for corrective action.
-
Of their child’s achievement level on the MEAP test.
-
If their child has been assigned or taught for at least four
consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet the highly
qualified definition.
-
Of their right to be involved in the planning and implementation
of the parent involvement program in their school.
Steps
Our Schools Are Taking to Ensure Student Success
We are using our school improvement plan, developed as required by
Michigan law, to address our school improvement needs, including
those identified under NCLB. Our schools are currently working on
a variety of school improvement efforts to make our schools even
better.
We can’t do this alone. Maintaining high quality schools is a job
for the entire community, and we need your help in reaching these
goals. If you would like to get involved contact your building
principal to find out how you can help!
Back To Main
|
