Public Education Network


	Culpeper Star-Exponent (Virginia) April 19, 2011 HEADLINE: School board approves restructuring plan for Pearl Sample By Rhonda Simmons In a 7-0 vote, the Culpeper County School Board approved a restructuring plan Monday for Pearl Sample Elementary School. Under the plan, the school division's alternate governance committee would assist Pearl Sample officials, if necessary, in the hiring process, placement of teachers, conduct time studies to evaluate the use of instructional time, review administrators' evaluations of staff, determine if more staff is required, verify that staff members have the highly qualified designation, according to Rob Hauman, director of curriculum, instruction and technology for CCPS. School board members repeatedly stressed the fact that these actions would only be put in place if Pearl Sample students don't meet this year's Adequate Yearly Progress, a government measurement of the NCLB Act of 2001, which determines how schools nationwide are achieving academically. "I'd just like for everyone to understand that this is only if. This does not happen automatically now. It's only if the scores do not come in where we hope they will be," declared school board member Elizabeth Hutchins. Since Pearl Sample is a Title I school in its fourth year of school improvement under No Child Left Behind , school officials are required by law to develop a restructuring plan for year five to improve academic achievement. "We have to prepare it and have it ready for implementation (just) in case," said school board chairman George Dasher. AYP results are typically released in mid-July or August. As part of NCLB, students take Standards of Learning assessments otherwise known as standardized tests in four critical areas: English, math, science and history/social science each spring. AYP measures students in different subgroups: all students, economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, limited English proficiency, blacks, whites, and Hispanic. At Pearl Sample, the economically disadvantaged subgroup missed the goal by one benchmark last spring, according to the school division's data. In order to make the yearly goal under NCLB, schools must meet all 29 objectives. Missing one benchmark could result in a school not making AYP and possibly being forced to implement improvement plans. Since Title I schools receive federal money for programs geared toward helping low-income students, they face tougher penalties when it comes to meeting AYP. The restructuring options Pearl Sample had five restructuring options to choose from: 1. reopen the school as a public charter school 2. replace all or most of the school staff (which could include the principal) 3. enter into a contract with an entity, such as a private management company with demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate Pearl Sample as a public school 4. turn the operation of the school over to the state (not an option in Virginia) 5. implement any other major restructuring of the school's governance arrangement that is consistent with the NCLB principals of restructuring The committee chose option five and submitted its recommendation to the school board earlier this month. Pearl Sample is already offering students school choice and free tutoring. Superintendent Bobbi Johnson explained to the board that the alternate governance committee is basically a support team that will work closely with Pearl Sample staff. "We will not replace anyone at the school. We are not talking about replacing leadership or teachers or any of those drastic kinds of things that have our people a little bit nervous," she added. "I think (the alternate governance committee has) selected what I believe will be the most effective plan." Pearl Sample principal Kristin Williams said her staff members are concerned about the "what if" scenarios they've been hearing about recently. "We're putting the options out and we're talking about the alternate plan and what that looks like and what it will most likely be and again it's a 'what if' so I think the uncertainty is probably the part that's most concerning," Williams said. Earlier this month, the committee met with parents and faculty members at Pearl Sample to discuss the proposed restructuring plan. Hauman said about 30 people attended that April 4 meeting. "We told them what all of the options were and said we'd stay there as long as we needed to stay," Hauman told the board. "Everybody got a chance to raise their concerns and we left the meeting with a very good feeling that they understood why we were making the recommendations that we were." After approving this restructuring plan Monday, the school board must submit a questionnaire to the Virginia Department of Education, providing its detailed restructuring plans for Pearl Sample in case the school doesn't make AYP this year. Hauman added that Pearl Sample parents will be invited to upcoming meetings throughout the year and a member of the alternative governance committee will attend each PTO meeting to provide feedback and listen to parents. During Monday's meeting, the board also approved the school division's career and technical education's local plan for 2011-12. Virginia Department of Education Request for Information: Questionnaire Restructuring/Alternative Governance Implementation under No Child No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB) PLANNING REQUIREMENTS FOR YEAR 4 TITLE I SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SCHOOLS Description of Alternative Governance and Aligning School Reform Efforts (Alternative governance ~ State Transformational Model ~ Conditional Accreditation ~ Accreditation Denied ) Background and Purpose Schools in Title I School Improvement are awarded supplemental funds to support efforts to raise student achievement. Among the school reform initiatives required under No Child Left Behind is the provision of restructuring/alternative governance for year 5 and beyond School Improvement schools. Title I schools in Year 4 are required to plan for restructuring/alternative governance. Alternative governance is intended to be the structure for the delivery of new and revised data-driven initiatives to improve student performance. Identified schools must show the alignment of all major reform initiatives under the alternative governance structure. In particular, schools that are participants in the State Transformational Model and/or schools that have been rated conditionally accredited or accreditation denied under the Standards of Accreditation must align school reform efforts. The attached questionnaire allows schools in Year 4 to provide evidence of their planning for the implementation of restructuring/alternative governance in the event they enter Year 5. The approvable questionnaire will be kept on file in the Office of School Improvement and shared, as appropriate, with the Board of Education. Important Submission Instructions: Please submit one completed questionnaire per identified school by April, 18, 2010, and send to Janice Pierson at Janice.Pierson@doe.virginia.gov. Use as the subject of the e-mail: Your Division Name: NCLB Questionnaire. Each school's completed questionnaire should be a separate attachment to one division e-mail (not a separate e-mail per school). Restructuring/Alternative Governance Planning Questionnaire for NCLB Year 4 Schools School Year 2010-2011 Part I. Identify the Year 4 School(s): List the Year 4 Schools in the division. Mark an "X" in the box beside the school this survey represents. Remember to complete a different survey for each Year 4 School. Pearl Sample Elementary School Part II. Selection of Option Indicate with an "X" the NCLB restructuring/alternative governance option which the school is planning to implement in Year 5 AND respond to the italicized prompts with specific details of the plan. 1. Reopen the school as a public charter school Describe the process the division is undertaking to create a charter school. What will be the primary focus of the charter school?