Education Committee Update - September 2006
During the 2005-2006 school year the Education Committee met four times with Superintendent Michael Martirano and members of his executive team to discuss issues of concerns affecting minority students, parents, and staff in the St. Mary's County Public Schools. Of the utmost concern was, and continues to be, the elimination of the achievement gap that exists among African American and Caucasian students.
No Child Left Behind requires all schools, school systems, and states to show that students are making Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading, mathematics, and attendance/graduation rates.In Maryland, student progress in reading and mathematics is measured by the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) or - for a small number of students with profound disabilities - the Alternate MSA.
For the school year 2004-2005, St. Mary's County Public School has achieved a positive system improvement status.
For the 2005-2006 school year, the only areas in which SMCPS students did not make AYP were African American students' performance in reading and mathematics, and special education students' performance in reading and mathematics. MSA tests are given in grades 3 through 8.
Since the St. Mary's County Schools did not make AYP in 2004-2005, Maryland has identified the school district as a "System in Improvement." The public schools remain on this list although they are making progress.
Beginning with the graduating class of 2009 (students who entered grade 9 in the fall of 2005), students are required to earn a satisfactory score on the state High School Assessment (HSA) in order to earn a Maryland High School Diploma.
HSA test scores for 2005-2006 were up across the district with African American and Special Education students showing the greatest gains.
Concerns linger though as the HSA is a high stakes test-students who do not pass will not graduate. Passing rates for all students were 58.3 percent in Algebra and 80.1 percent for Biology, to name just two areas where St. Mary's students had significant growth over the previous year's scores. County press releases attribute the improvements to Dr. Martirano's insistence on excellence and the "teacher's intense focus and instructional intervention," as well as team building within schools and between middle and high schools.
We Want Answers and Action!
The NAACP will continue to meet, advise, and pose questions to the superintendent and Board of Education and to monitor the Master Plan to determine if we are doing as much as we can to eliminate the achievement gap. Below are some of the many questions that we have been asking in our meetings with the superintendent and will continue to ask as we meet with him quarterly during the 2006-2007 school year.
To volunteer on the NAACP Education Committee, contact Janice Walthour or Laurice White, (301) 863-3011.
Questions:
Per the master plan, what is the recruitment plan? How many minorities are we projecting to hire? What is the advocacy plan for retaining new hires? What is the plan for diversity training for all employees? Is there a plan for communicating individually with minority personnel to encourage them to apply for resource, administrative, or supervisory positions in their areas of employment in the workforce? If not, why not? How many have applied this year? How many were promoted?
What on going professional development is being conducted in the areas of instructional and behavior management ? How are pedagogy and knowing the learner ( e.g. developmental stages, learning styles, etc.) being connected with the skills a teacher must master for effective classroom and behavior management? Are the courses on multicultural education being taught and how many teachers are enrolled? Will this course or this type of course on understanding, accepting, and celebrating diversity be mandatory for staff? If not, why not?
Multicultural Experiences -Have we done the following:
- Identified areas of strengths and weakness of following state protocols at all levels?
- Developed strategies and actions in school improvement plans?
- Appointed ETMA Committees at all levels ?(Staff and Students)
- Provided professional and/or support staff to implement the plan ?e.g. a system-wide Multicultural Coordinator/Liaison to provide ongoing training, multi-cultural celebrations for staff, students and the community in the areas of valuing heritage/diversity/cultural uniqueness. e.g. programs and celebration for African American History/Heritage Month, Hispanic American Heritage Month, Asian American Heritage Equity , race, gender issues, aging awareness, disability awareness etc.
- Budgeted for staff and resource needs?
- Developed a plan for community outreach? (personal contact, voice mail, newsletters etc.)
How many seniors will graduate this year? How many minority students are graduating? How many minority students are not graduating this year? How does this compare to white students? What will happen to the students who do not graduate? Is there an action plan to help them complete high school and or obtain skills needed for employment?
Have you considered our request to re-evaluate the use of the Dr. James A. Forrest Center as an effective intervention for those at risk of dropping out of school and in need of skill development that uses their learning styles to provide them with success in school and in life?
What is the plan for early outreach(what is considered early?) to communicate with parents of minority students who are not meeting standards or will not be eligible for graduation. What are they being told to inform them of meaningful alternatives of learning and completion of education for their children? How are they being encouraged to take leadership or comply in their role as parents?
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