State to Assist Lakewood schools
5:32 AM, May. 17, 2012
Lakewood will benefit from the expertise of state Department of Education staff in areas like school culture and climate, instruction and literacy beginning in September, a department spokesman said.
Roughly 11 department staff will be assigned to each of one of seven Regional Achievement Centers (RACs), said Justin Barra, department spokesman.
They will offer expertise in one of eight “turnaround principles,” Barra said. They are: leadership, school climate and culture, instruction, curriculum assessment, staffing practices, use of data, use of time, and community and parental involvement.
The RACs are part of what Gov. Chris Christie’s administration is calling an “accountability system” that came about because of a waiver New Jersey received from certain provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The staff at the RAC for Lakewood will work with the high school, designated as a “priority school,” one of the most troubled in the state, and three grade schools that have been labeled “focus schools,” schools that also need help.
A host of questions concerning the RAC plan remain unanswered, such how much money will go to the program, what authority the RACs will have over school districts and what specific remedies will be recommended for troubled schools.
“Interventions” in priority schools will be monitored and will continue for three years, two years at focus schools, according to the department web site. Removal of a principal is one example of an “intervention” cited.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said Tuesday that acting Commissioner of Education Christopher D. Cerf assured him more money would flow to Lakewood.
Asked if Lakewood would receive funds directly, Barra said in an e-mail, “The intervention plans and the resources to support those interventions will depend on the individual needs of the schools identified through the school reviews being conducted now.”
Ken Serrano: ; kserrano@
njpressmedia.com
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