More than 20 local schools named

Wednesday, August 13, 2003 • By BETH BRAVERMAN • The Express-Times

Twenty-two schools in seven area school districts failed to make adequate yearly progress, according to the state Department of Education's 2003 Academic Achievement Report released Tuesday.

"This report gives us a snapshot of where we are, and the progress we need to make in order to reach the NCLB goal of 100 percent of students proficient by 2014," Vicki Phillips, the state secretary of education, said in a prepared statement.

"The results show that we have schools in every part of Pennsylvania doing well, and schools in every part of Pennsylvania that need help in reaching these new expectations."

Mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the report looks at school progress and participation based on reading and math standardized test scores by school and by subgroup, attendance in kindergarten through eighth grade and high school graduation rates. This if the first comprehensive look at how schools are faring under the act, which President Bush signed last year.

The subgroups that have to make adequate yearly progress, or AYP, are minorities, low-income students, special-needs students and English language learners.

If a school or a subgroup fails to meet any of these state-set standards, the school gets placed on the list of those needing improvement.

Schools on the list for the first time are at a warning stage and have another year to meet the standards.

After two or more years on the list, the schools confront an increasingly harsh set of consequences, concluding with changes in the school governance after five years.

Only three local schools have not reached their adequate yearly progress for the second consecutive year. These schools are: Fountain Hill Elementary School, Marvine Elementary School and Northeast Middle School, all of which are part of the Bethlehem Area School District.

By law, Bethlehem Area School District must create a team of employees to create a plan to address the problem and allow students to attend a school in the district that has made AYP.

Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Lewis said the district will meet the requirements of the law but does not yet have a specific plan for how to do so.

Nineteen other public schools in The Express-Times coverage area are on the list of schools at the warning stage.

They are:

( Three schools from Bangor Area School District.

( Seven schools from Bethlehem Area School District.

( Three schools from Easton Area School District.

( One school from Nazareth Area School District.

( Three schools from Northampton Area School District.

( One school from Pen Argyl Area School District.

( One school from Wilson Area School District.

Also on the list are the Lehigh Valley Academy Charter School and Colonial Intermediate Unit 20.

Statewide, more than 50 percent of schools failed to make adequate yearly progress. There are 1,031 schools on the state's warning list, 246 in their second year of school improvement and 151 schools needing improvement for at least the third year. Of the schools listed in the report, 1,346 have met adequate yearly progress.

Districts that think the state made a mistake in evaluating their AYP have 30 days to appeal the determination.

According to the state's AYP targets, schools, districts and subgroups must have 35 percent of their students proficient in reading and 45 percent proficient in math. Those AYP targets will increase gradually until schools have 100 percent of students proficient in both subjects in grades three through eight by 2014.

"Our goal is to have increasingly fewer schools in the Needs Improvement Categories," Phillips said. "In partnerships with districts and IUs, we plan to work with schools and districts in a variety of ways to help them get on the right track and stay on the right track. We intend to stand side by side with our schools to ensure they realize the potential we believe rests in every classroom, every teacher and every one of our students."

( For more information about the 2003 Academic Achievement Report, visit the state Department of Education Web site at www.state.pa.us.