It’s report card day and students are anxious to see what they received. Surprisingly, staff in our school could relate to this as they awaited the release of our school’s Progress Report on November 16th.
In NYC, each public school receives a report card based on their previous school year. This year is the third year that schools are being issued progress reports, and according to the New York Times, 139 high schools received A’s.
“I never heard of schools getting report cards, but I can see how it can be effective because it may motivate some principals and teachers to really take action in their school, that is if they want to be within at least the top 20 percent,” said a senior student.
A school’s grade is based on the previous school year and is a reflection of school environment, student progress, student attendance and student performance. After being evaluated based on these categories, our school was graded an A. Numerically, that equals an 86.3 out of 100, placing our school in the 11-20 percentile citywide.
Our report was based on the 2008-2009 school year, since this process only occurs when a school has a graduating class. Previously, our school was only given predicted scores that were never released.
“Our school has done several things as far as keeping students on track. Tutoring is offered both before and after school and during lunch periods. For kids who fall behind, we offer credit retrieval to keep them on track, and we also have strong teacher-to-parent communication. Using Engrade helps students keep track of their grades, and student led conferences allow students to take responsibility for their work. Our staff is hardworking and always looking to improve our students’achievement,” said Principal Ms. Aimee Horowitz.
Individually, our school received an A in both the student performance and student progress categories. However, our school’s lowest rating was a B in school environment.
The school environment section of the report revolves around student, teacher, and parent surveys. Our School Leadership Team is currently working with Ms. Aimee Horowitz on ways to improve our school based on feedback from the surveys by analyzing the responses to each question to see the areas our school can improve. We received 9.9 out of 15 on this section.
“We are reflecting on the feedback from the surveys to improve our school. Also, we are trying to find ways to explain the questions on the survey so that people in each constituency have a better understanding of what the question is asking and what the response choices mean,” said Ms. Horowitz.
According to a NYC DOE press release on November 19th, principals and assistant principals at 63 high schools’, secondary schools, and K-12 schools’will receive bonuses for meeting target areas and for achieving scores in the top 20 percentile citywide. Certain schools’teachers and other UFT members met student performance targets set at the start of the 2008-2009 school year.
Also, a contract that the city has with the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators allows principals to earn bonuses based on the success of their students. If a school scores in the top 20 percentile citywide, the principal of that school is eligible to receive a bonus of up to $25,000. In schools where principals receive bonuses, assistant principals receive half the bonus amount that their principal receives.
Our principal, along with 30 other principals qualifies for this category, earning her a $7,000 bonus and our assistant principal, $3,050.
“It is nice that principals get a bonus to pay off for their hard work, but I think it’s controversial since there is no money to be put into schools for things such as Pre-K programs or just general funding for schools. Can’t they give extra funding to the schools instead of giving principals a bonus?,” said sophomore Jamie Lepard.
Bloomberg has made the school report cards crucial to their existence. Schools that receive low grades face major consequences, such as leadership changes or even closure. Chancellor Joel I. Klein, has closed 9 high schools since the city began issuing progress reports.
The school grade is a solid reflection of our school and may increase or decrease the number of students who apply.
“After coming to the open house in November and hearing about the teachers’dedication to the student’s education and all the different types of experiences the school has to offer, it is to no surprise to me that CSI High School has received an A on its report card. I hope my son gets to be apart of this kind of community,” said Maria Trani, parent of an 8th grader at I.S. 72.
