School Choice Again Offered to D.J. Montague Parents

By Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Parents of students at D.J. Montague Elementary School will again have a chance to choose whether to stay or leave the school next year.

Williamsburg-James City County Schools Superintendent Steven Constantino mailed a letter to parents last week that indicated they can choose to transfer their children to Norge or James River elementary schools between July 1 and Aug. 1.

The school division was forced to offer public school choice for the 2010-11 school year because the school failed to meet federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals in reading for the 2009-10 school year. The school is in its second year of “School Improvement” status for reading, which required the division to make changes to improve the school. “School improvement” is applied to Title I schools receiving federal funding based on the number of low-income students.

Norge and James River Elementary schools were both selected as transfer options last year. At the time, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Scott Burckbuchler said Norge has the most capacity and James River has an International Baccalaureate program that offers a different method of instruction. Last summer, the announcement was made on Aug. 31, giving parents until Sept. 15 to file a transfer request. This year, parents will have from July 1 to Aug. 1 to file transfer requests, with two months prior to consider options.

D.J. Montague failed to make AYP in 2008, but rebounded to meet the requirements in 2009. In 2010, the school made AYP in mathematics and attendance, but one subgroup – black students – failed to meet the English proficiency requirement. Among black students, 76 percent showed proficiency in English, four percentage points shy of the requirement. To come out of “improvement” status, a school must meet benchmarks for two consecutive years.

This school year, the division changed leadership, bringing Principal Lynn Turner to D.J. Montague from James River Elementary and Vice Principal Kim Pickles from Matoaka Elementary School. Throughout the year, the school has offered after-school tutoring, professional development for teachers and new reading materials. The school also added a Reading Recovery teacher to help students who have been identified as needing extra assistance.

In his letter to parents, Constantino outlined reasons he believed they should consider keeping their children enrolled at D.J. Montague. He said D.J. has: a close-knit and supportive community; strong community partnerships; dedicated families committed to working together to improve the performance of the school; compassionate and caring teachers; a competent leadership team; and improved its academic performance.

Parents of students at D.J. Montague confirmed Monday that the atmosphere has changed for the better. Subtle changes, like a new gym floor and clean carpets, have made the school more welcoming, said Lisa Ownby, who will have three children attending the school when her youngest starts kindergarten next year.

Michelle Clauberg, who has a kindergartener and fourth-grader attending D.J., said there is a general sense of calm that wasn’t there before. “There’s a sense of who the leadership is, and a sense of the community of D.J. pulling together,” she said. “I think you can feel it.”

She has been particularly impressed with the instructors’ emphasis on teaching test-taking strategies this year. She said they’ve identified who needs extra help, and found a way to assist those students, rather than attempt to teach one strategy for the entire school.

Melissa Cantrell, who has a third-grader at the school, said she’s been impressed with how teachers have prepared the students for the upcoming Standards of Learning tests. She said her daughter brings home folders of review work multiple times a week, takes reading benchmark tests and uses an online program called “Success Maker” to prepare for math. “The teachers aren’t trying to stress them out,” she said. “They’re looking at it as a ‘Do your best’ thing.”

AYP evaluation of schools and divisions began when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2001. AYP requirements increase by four percentage points each year, raising the bar for the benchmarks annually. The ultimate goal is to have 100 percent of students be proficient in math and reading by 2014. Last year, 81 percent of students had to pass their reading SOL and 79 percent had to pass their math SOL to meet AYP. The schools also have to meet benchmarks for attendance, science, writing and history/social science.

Clauberg said it’s hard to predict whether the improvements will result in better test scores. She said the division’s redistricting of elementary schools changed the student body, so comparing last year’s scores and this year’s scores won’t be comparing “apples to apples.” Ownby said more children have been identified as “at risk.”

“The reality is, we have more children at risk this year than last, and D.J. must make AYP at a higher pass rate than last year,” she said. “It’s hard to say what the outcome will be this year regarding AYP. I can say that teachers and administrators are working hard at D.J.”

If D.J. Montague failed to make AYP in reading this year, the school would enter a third year of school improvement status. At that time, the school must continue to offer public school choice and supplemental services, but also take at least one of the following corrective actions:

• Replace school staff deemed relevant to the failure to make AYP

• Implement a new curriculum shown by research as effective in raising achievement

• Decrease the authority of school-level management

• Appoint an outside expert to advise the school on the implementation plan developed in the first year of school improvement

• Extend the school year or school day

• Restructure the internal organization of the school.

Kathleen Smith, director of the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School Improvement, said most schools entering a third year of improvement status choose to implement a combination of corrective actions. Many hire an outside expert and/or take away the principal’s governance of the school and establish a central office committee to share governance with the principal, she said.