Article

P'burg, Warren Hills fail to meet all requirements for No Child Left Behind; they're not in trouble, yet.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 • By MICHELLE PITTMAN • The Express-Times

It's not the type of consistency educators like to see.

For the second straight year, Phillipsburg and Warren Hills Regional school districts have landed on the state Department of Education's list of districts in need of improvement under No Child Left Behind regulations.

Department of Education spokesman Richard Vespucci said the designation doesn't require any action by the districts but does nudge schools closer to potentially losing federal Title I funding.

"A district would have to be on the 'needs improvement' list for four years to be considered for that kind of corrective action," Vespucci said. "We're not recommending that any district have their funding reduced or eliminated. What they might want to consider is redirecting that money to the populations with the greatest need."

The Phillipsburg district receives about 68 percent of its funding from the state as an Abbott District, one of the 31 poorest districts in New Jersey, leaving it less reliant on Title I funding.

Peter Merlucci, superintendent of Warren Hills Regional School District, said school administrators are already working to improve their standing with the state.

"It's important to note that we were lacking not overall, but in our subgroups," Merlucci said. "There are certain segments that we need to work on."

Test scores an issue

Warren Hills missed the proficiency mark in standardized test scores in language arts and math for special education students at the middle school and high school level, Vespucci said.

"We've made changes to the curriculum and special education program that are going to improve education for all of our kids," Merlucci said. "We don't want to wait until it's too late to take action."

The improvements have focused on computer-based learning programs that are accessible at school and at home for parents, he said. An overall emphasis on math and language skills is also being promoted at all grade levels.

"We knew we were going to be on the list," Merlucci said. "We spent time preparing reports and now we're waiting for the finals copy to see what we can do immediately to improve scores and what we can do over the course of a three-year plan. Once that's done, we'll begin implementing the suggestions."

Phillipsburg Superintendent H. Gordon Pethick said he, along with Director of Secondary Education George Chando are working to improve educational strategy at all grade levels in response to the scores.

"We knew there was a good chance we were going to end up here," he said.

Focusing attention

The Department of Education releases a list of underperforming schools in August, Vespucci said. The district lists reiterate the populations that need extra attention.

In Phillipsburg, test scores were below the benchmark in language arts, literature and math for special education students at the high school. Special education students at the middle school fell below the mark in the same subjects.

At the elementary level, special education students, Hispanic students and economically disadvantaged students fell below the benchmark in language arts and literature.

Pethick said he doesn't consider a lack of proficiency in certain populations a failure on the schools' parts. He said they are still working on an action plan for improving scores among those populations.

"We don't require any action at this time, but I believe educators in New Jersey want to pull up these scores," Vespucci said. "Notifications about failing schools were sent home in August, so nothing further is being sent out at this time."

If the districts do not improve their scores in the next two years, Vespucci said, the department and outside educators will review programs at the schools and determine what changes should be made to improve performance.

Strike two for districts

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