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FIRST QUARTER ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN EDUCATION 2003
Commissioner William L. Librera
April 1, 2003

Governor McGreevey and Commissioner Librera have grouped the state’s educational initiatives into five major themes:

-Teacher and administrator quality;
-Raising student achievement;
-Diverse and multiple paths for student success;
-Innovative and outstanding practices/programs; and
-Public engagement and communication and public accountability.

Teacher and Administrator Quality

The Department of Education has done the following:

• Proposed repeal of Professional Licensure and Standards regulations and adoption of a new chapter of rules governing this area. The new rules are part of a comprehensive review of all chapters of the state administrative code to identify regulations that were overly prescriptive, outdated or creating high cost and low benefit to those affected by them. Changes to licensure from the existing code are extensive and take into account critical improvements made in the last several years, including introduction of the Core Curriculum Content Standards. They also look ahead to meet the need to create better connections between certification and teaching and learning, and address licensing in standards-based reform. The new regulations are designed to be more coherent and practical.

The new chapter would do the following:

Establish standards for teachers and school leaders as the basis for college preparation programs, mentoring programs, and professional development.

Tighten certification requirements to ensure that teacher preparation programs train teacher candidates and existing teachers for the specific subjects they will be required to teach.

Clarify and create a seamless, coherent path of teacher training and career enrichment from teacher preparation courses for prospective teachers to professional development requirements for existing teachers. and

Ensure that the state complies with provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act that affect teacher credentials. For example, the act contains new definitions in a number of areas, including one for a "highly qualified teacher."

• Hosted teacher town meetings with Governor James E. McGreevey and Commissioner of Education William L. Librera for Monmouth County educators on Wednesday, January 29 and for Ocean County educators on Thursday, March 27 in Bayville. Teacher town meetings to be held in every county provide an opportunity for educators to communicate their ideas and concerns directly to the Governor and Commissioner and help shape future educational policy for the state.
  
  
• Held a statewide recruitment event in March to help local school districts hire qualified world languages teachers. This is the fourth year the DOE has sponsored the event. More than 600 teacher candidates attended the event.

Raising Student Achievement

The New Jersey Department of Education has done the following:

• Proposed amendment of the Standards and Assessment code which contains the Core Curriculum Content Standards and the statewide assessment system. The amendments are designed to create greater flexibility for high school students to select courses and establish paths to a high school diploma that place a priority on demonstrating proficiencies in required content areas. The proposed revisions in the high school graduation requirements have evolved from the New Jersey Department of Education’s Standards and Graduation Requirements Forum, held in November 2002, and from extensive public testimony. Other amendments to this chapter will ensure that New Jersey conforms to changes in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act.
  
  
• Proposed to the State Board of Education revised Core Curriculum Content Standards in visual and performing arts, health and physical education, social studies, world languages, technological literacy, and career education and consumer, family, and life skills. The revised standards provide more content specificity and clarity in terms of what students should know, understand, and be able to apply. The revised standards were completed by revision committees in each area and reviewed by hundreds of educators, representatives from business and industry, and NJ citizens. The state board is expected to adopt the standards in June 2003.
  
  
• Entered into a contract with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to develop and score new 3^rd and 4^th grade language arts literacy and mathematics tests for 105,000 students in the first year and 110,000 students in the subsequent three years starting in spring 2003. The contract also requires ETS to develop and score a 4^th grade science assessment for 110,000 students beginning in spring 2004. The new state tests will be known as NJ ASK 3 and NJ ASK 4. The tests, now under development, are scheduled to be administered to third and fourth graders on May 20-23, 2003, with makeup testing on May 27-30.
  
  
• Formed a partnership with the Coalition for Responsible Education Assessment, Testing and Evaluation (CREATE) and the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, which announced April 2 the nine pilot schools chosen for the New Jersey Performance Assessment Pilot Project. The project is a five-year program slated to begin this summer with a training session. It is centered on "performance-based assessments" that will complement the state’s traditional standardized tests. Performance-based assessments will be developed in all Core Curriculum Content Standards areas — beginning with math, language arts and science — and will include student projects, demonstrations, competitions and problem-solving tasks.
  
  
• Endorsed The Strategic Plan for Systemic Improvement in Public Education in the State of New Jersey, adopted by the State Board of Education. It is designed to cover a five-year period through 2008 and guide efforts by the board and the Department of Education to ensure that all New Jersey students receive a quality public education.

The four areas of emphasis in the new Strategic Plan are as follows:

ASSESSMENT: to ensure that student assessment is integral to the teaching and learning of subject matter as presented in the Core Curriculum Content Standards.

EXEMPLARY EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES: to ensure that student performance at all levels is enhanced through the participation in exceptional educational programs or activities.

LITERACY: to provide effective literacy instruction to all public school students with the objective that all students must meet grade-appropriate language arts and mathematics standards as defined in the Core Curriculum Content Standards.

TEACHER PREPARATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: to expand and improve the pool of qualified teachers and administrators and to prepare teachers to effectively teach both the child and the subject.

• Began the implementation of the federal Reading First grant project involving $120 million over five years in the state’s most disadvantaged districts.
  
  
• Formulated Abbott rules and regulations to require intensive early literacy programs similar to Reading First.

Diverse and Multiple Paths for Student Achievement

The Department of Education has done the following:

• Hosted regional meetings on the 12^th-Grade Pilot Program. The 12th-grade pilot program encourages high school seniors who have finished all graduation requirements to enroll in college-credit courses or seek volunteer opportunities, among other things, for both personal and intellectual growth. The 12^th-Grade Pilot Program is an initiative high on Governor James E. McGreevey’s and Commissioner of Education William L. Librera’s list of education priorities. The pilot program encourages districts to offer high school seniors a plethora of out-of-school options, such as online courses and community service work. There are 85 schools participating.
  
  
• Announced plans for an Entrepreneurship/ Business Management Academy with Camden County College, Rutgers University and six Camden County high schools participating. The academy is the first seamless pre-kindergarten through senior year of college initiative in the state of New Jersey, and it is a model program for Governor James E. McGreevey’s and Commissioner of Education William L. Librera’s 12^th-grade pilot program and senior year initiative. The 12^th-grade pilot program encourages high school seniors who have finished all graduation requirements to enroll in college-credit courses or seek volunteer opportunities, among other things, for both personal and intellectual growth.
  
  
• Launched the Cherry Hill Academy for Studies and Experiences. The academy is available to the more than 3,600 high school students from Cherry Hill’s two high schools. The academy is initially serving students in grades 9 and 10 and will be expanded to include students through the 12^th grade by the program’s third year.
  
  
• Students can choose to apply for full enrollment in the academy or take just one or two courses that will be offered by the school in coordination with Commerce Bank, Drexel University, as well as Camden County College and Rutgers University.
  
  
• Commerce Bank and Drexel University, who were instrumental with the Cherry Hill district in creating this program, have collaborated to allow students the opportunity to earn college credits online or in person at Drexel University while they are still attending high school. Drexel was an early partner to the academy and will continue to assist the high school program. In addition, Drexel is offering courses in areas such as accounting and business management at 50 percent reduced tuition.
  
  
• The academy curriculum, under the direction of the Cherry Hill Public Schools, benefits from the review and input from the Department of Education, area business leaders, and representatives of higher education. Courses that prove to be successful will be improved. In addition, students in the academy will receive certificates based on their level of participation.
  
  
• Approved two new charter schools -- the Jersey Shore Charter School, which will serve students from Eatontown, Oceanport and West Long Branch in Monmouth County; and the Great Falls Charter School, which will serve students from Paterson. New Jersey’s 50 operating charter schools currently enroll nearly 13,000 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. The Jersey Shore Charter School is scheduled to open in September 2003 along with the Ridge and Valley Charter School in Warren County and the Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology in Passaic County. The applications for both schools had been previously approved and each school had opted to take a planning year. The Great Falls Charter School will take a planning year before opening in September 2004.
  
  
• Surveyed 71 school districts that have the 270 schools in need of improvement and established that during the first year of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, 504 students transferred to another school within their districts under the federal law’s school choice provision. The 504 students who transferred during the current school year represent 60 percent of the 835 transfer requests received by 21 school districts as of September 30, 2002. These 21 school districts that received transfer requests represent 30 percent of the 71 districts.
  
  
• Announced the establishment of the New Jersey Center for Character Education at Rutgers University. The center will be funded through a $2 million four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. New Jersey is one of only five states to receive an award under the Partnerships in Character Education grant program, Title V, Part D of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.
  
  
• The New Jersey Center for Character Education will assist the department along with the public and nonpublic schools throughout the state to materialize one of the objectives in Governor James E. McGreevey’s 21-point education reform plan for New Jersey: To develop new initiatives to improve character education in our schools to help our children become productive, informed and actively involved citizens.
  
  
• New Jersey is already leading the nation in its commitment to providing support for the development of character education in public schools through the New Jersey Character Education Partnership initiative, which has provided $14 million in state aid funding to school districts over the past three years. The New Jersey Center for Character Education (NJCCE) will be housed at the Center for Applied Psychology in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway.
  
  
• When Governor McGreevey’s Character Education Commission held statewide hearings last year, many educators acknowledged the positive impact of character education on school climate and student behavior. Parents also testified regarding the supportive role that character education plays in helping them raise their children.

Innovative and Outstanding Practices and Programs

The Department of Education has done the following:

• Developed a comprehensive Technology Plan, titled "Working Toward the Future with Our Children." The plan, which began taking shape in early 2002, sets four goals and outlines numerous ways to implement a sound technology program, both on state and local levels.

The four goals of the plan, which also includes what actions the DOE has taken to include technology throughout the curriculum in daily activities for students, teachers and administrators, are as follows:

Students will attain the educational technology and information literacy skills that will assist them in achieving Core Curriculum Content Standards and to succeed in the workplace in the 21^st Century;

Educators will attain the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively use educational technology to assist students to achieve the Core Curriculum Content Standards;

Students, teachers, and administrators will have access to educational technology in all learning environments, including classrooms, media centers, schools, and other educational settings, such as community centers; and

New Jersey school districts will establish and maintain the technology infrastructure necessary for students and educators to access electronic information and to communicate freely via technology.

• Announced the first of at least seven Renaissance School Zones which is an initiative that incorporates small schools into the economic development of a neighborhood. The Roebling Elementary School will be built in Trenton on the site of the former factory. The Renaissance School Zones initiative combines elements of Smart Growth with providing small state-of-the-art schools within the context of the larger community development in urban or older suburban areas.
  
  
• Submitted an amendment to the approved $11 million three-year federal charter school grant to include pre-charter planning grants of up to $10,000 and an extension of the grant period for planning and implementation grants from two to three years. Additionally, the department has requested a waiver from the federal Department of Education to use up to 30 percent of these funds to support dissemination of successful charter school practices by veteran charter schools that have demonstrated financial viability and the ability to improve student achievement
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• Increased participation in the interdistrict school choice program that now includes 14 districts in 14 counties. The department will recommend to the Legislature that the program be expanded to permit more districts per county.

Public Communication, Engagement and Accountability

The Department of Education has done the following:

• Submitted to federal education officials the state’s preliminary Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook describing its planned compliance with the one-year-old No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. The preliminary plan provides detailed information on New Jersey’s planned implementation of the critical elements required for approval of the state’s single accountability system. States that fail to meet deadlines risk losing federal education money.

The preliminary plan was framed by four over-arching goals:

Put students first;

Design an inclusive system, one that includes all students, schools, and districts and is fair and equitable in that all are held to the same criteria;

Build on our existing systems by incorporating rigorous academic achievement standards and using data to drive decision-making;

Provide a coherent process of engagement to solicit input from key stakeholders.

The state’s plan includes the measures it will take to determine adequate yearly progress for schools that are identified as needing improvement.

• Secured $248,000 as part of a federal grant program to support AmericCorps members and other volunteers in public safety, public health, emergency response, and disaster preparedness efforts statewide. New Jersey is one of 43 grant recipients nationwide to share $10.3 million in competitive Homeland Security Grants. The new initiative is designed to help meet the President’s goal of involving Americans in the war on terrorism.
  
  
• Released a memorandum to all local school officials due to recent school concerns about both the conflict with Iraq and the National Terror Alert System. The memorandum is a list of suggestions for the local officials to use in addition to their own emergency response plans. Above all else, the DOE encouraged schools to keep the lines of communication open and to work with their local law enforcement and emergency management officials.
  
  
• Initiated the "Network of Schools" initiative to create a technology-based link among school districts statewide and the DOE that will address the following three areas: the achievement imperative, special education reform and small schools concepts. Commissioner Librera and Deputy Commissioner Pfennig hosted a videoconference from Trenton that included seven other sites across the state for superintendents and other educators. About 60 people attended at remote sites in Cape May Courthouse, Howell, North Bergen, Lodi, Tinton Falls, North Brunswick and Wayne.
  
  
• Released the 2002 New Jersey School Report Card that contains detailed statistical profiles of all public schools in the state. The annual reports are prepared for the public to gauge school and student progress and it has become a major state accountability instrument.
  
  
• Released the 2003 Comparative Spending Guide. The guide is a statistical report that details how local public school districts in New Jersey allocate their financial resources and allows citizens to hold communities accountable for spending.

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