The New York Department of Education is handing out warnings to 123 struggling schools saying get it together or adios. These schools have until 2015 to make high improvements with tests and graduation rates. Maybe they should hire some new teachers. What do you think, is it the teachers or the students? Read more below.
These “priority†schools were so named because they posted low graduation rates — under 60 percent — and poor test scores. The list of struggling schools was generated as part of the state’s waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law. New York City has until October to submit transitional plans detailing what will be done in these schools to facilitate improvement.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the city must also reach an agreement on new teacher evaluations — another requirement for NCLB exemption — by January, or risk losing some state funding.
GothamSchools reports school districts will be able to allocate money once used to fund after-school tutoring, to new initiatives in the priority schools. School improvement plans must include an extended learning day and slightly increased spending on parent engagement.
Ira Schwartz, the state Education Department’s assistant commissioner for accountability, said some schools could be stripped of the “priority†designation if they significantly improve in the coming year. That said, once a school begins implementing a reform program, it must commit to it for all three years and be held accountable for long-term results.
Seventeen of the city’s priority schools are already in the process of closing, the New York Daily News reports.
Still, New York City placed 55 schools on the state’s list of 250 top-performing schools. According to GothamSchools, these institutions have either advanced student progress the most, or do not have prominent achievement gaps. They will receive between $150,000 and $300,000 to expand their successful models into more schools or more grades.
