Federal and state standards part of No Child Left Behind
By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
Two Chapel Hill-Carrboro elementary schools must allow students the option of transferring to other elementary schools in the district this year under federal No Child Left Behind standards.
The school district recently released preliminary Adequate Yearly Progress results for the nine elementary schools and four middle schools. While all district elementary schools and three of the four middle schools met federal standards in reading, all four middle schools and four elementary schools failed to meet standards in math.
Both Carrboro Elementary and Frank Porter Graham Elementary will offer students the option of transferring to other district elementary schools. This is the second year Carrboro Elementary has offered the transfer option, as it failed to meet federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards in reading for the prior two years, although it met reading standards this year.
Frank Porter Graham Elementary will offer the transfer option for the first time this year because it failed to meet federal standards in math for the second year in a row.
Carrboro Elementary, Estes Hills Elementary and McDougle Elementary also failed to meet federal standards in math.
According to school officials, no Carrboro Elementary students chose to transfer to other elementary schools last year. The district has notified parents of students at Carrboro and Frank Porter Graham about the transfer option. School board chair Jamezetta Bedford said she did not expect many students to transfer out of Frank Porter Graham or Carrboro Elementary. She added that she was pleased with the reading scores, because the district has recently been focusing on literacy.
“I’m actually thrilled with the reading scores,†she said. “We knew math was going to be tough.â€
Bedford said the math tests for AYP were re-scored last year, and most state schools failed to meet federal math standards.
“We’ll be hearing more on ways to change instruction in math,†she said. This year, the school board budgeted funds for staff development to work on classroom instruction.
According to school officials, subgroups of students identified as African American, economically disadvantaged and disabled failed to meet AYP standards at several district schools.
School board members Annetta Streater and Liz Carter have said the district needs to work more toward closing the achievement gap.
Carter said she was optimistic for the district, but that there was much work to be done.
“I think what needs to happen is meeting individual needs,†she said. “I’m not discouraged. I think we’re capable. I think if there’s any district that’s capable of meeting the needs of our kids, that this is a district that can do it.â€
However, she added, “It’s going to take more than just the work that the teachers do in the classroom each and every day.†She stressed the importance of work in after-school programs and at home.
Streater has said the district needs to look at the programs in place to determine if they are working for all students.
“We may not have the right programs in place,†Streater said. “That may be one reason why our fragile students are not achieving.â€
Under No Child Left Behind regulations, schools receiving federal Title I funds that do not meet AYP standards for two years in a row must allow students to transfer to other schools meeting AYP standards.
District middle schools and high schools are not subject to federal sanctions because they do not receive federal funds. Overall district data will be released August 17, when high school data is available.