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By Elisabeth Hulette Only minor changes are being planned for Annapolis Middle School, which has to be restructured this year because it missed state testing targets for five years, school officials said yesterday. Under the plan developed by county schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell, some staff members likely would be replaced or reassigned, teachers would go through extra professional development, and department heads would take over more nonteaching duties, such as coaching teachers. Annapolis Middle would not be privatized or turned into a charter school, which were the other options offered by the state. "We must be headed in the right direction," said Carolyn Burton-Page, the school's principal. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, schools that miss testing targets for five years must undergo a structural overhaul. In Maryland those targets are based on attendance, and on student performance in reading and math on the Maryland School Assessment. Last year Annapolis Middle missed the mark for its fifth year. The full restructuring plan hasn't been written yet, though later this spring Maxwell will submit it to the county and state school boards for approval, said school spokesman Bob Mosier. But so far, the middle school's sentence looks significantly lighter than the one given two years ago to Annapolis High School. During the restructuring there, the staff was zero-based, meaning teachers had to reapply for their jobs. Eventually about half were replaced. That wouldn't happen at the middle school under the superintendent's plan, largely because 39 employees - about 41 percent of the staff - are new this year, so there's no point in mandating a major staff turnover, Mosier said. "Is it as drastic as Annapolis High? It is not," he said. "It is not zero-basing." Teachers would undergo some professional development this summer, including "cultural proficiency training" and lessons in the Middle Years Programme, a middle-school version of the prestigious International Baccalaureate Programme. Annapolis Middle has had the program for a year and a half. Some staff members would be replaced or reassigned, and officials would make sure those who stay are on board with the restructuring. "If you're going to be committed, we want you back," Burton-Page said. Marti Pogonowski, director of continuous school improvement, said the plan was developed with community input. Parents generally asked that the Middle Years Programme be kept. In focus groups, teachers asked that officials drill down to key issues and create a school-improvement plan. Overall, she said the plan is comparable to those used at other schools in Maryland, even though it looks light compared with what happened at Annapolis High. Parents gave mixed responses. Robin Disciorio, who has one child at the school, said she approves of professional development for teachers. Annapolis Middle has some teachers who seem burned out, but also some "gems" who would benefit from further training, she said. Parent Mark Brumenan said the trouble isn't in the teachers or the school, but rather in the homes of some students. Annapolis Middle serves some of the city's poorest areas and a lot of single-parent homes, and students sometimes arrive unprepared or unable to learn, he said. "If the kid doesn't have a bedtime, the kid's not going to do well in school," he said. "We all want an administrative fix, but it's not going to work until the family structure changes." |
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