New Jersey Department of Education

NJDOE News

For More Information Contact the Public Information Office:
    Jon Zlock
    Kathryn Forsyth, Director
    609-292-1126

For Release: April 20, 2005


DOE Finalizes "Districts In Need of Improvement" List

The Department of Education has denied two out of five school district appeals and announced today a final tally of 25 school districts and three charter schools that have been designated as "Districts in Need of Improvement" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

The Elizabeth School District in Union County appealed its designation, however that appeal has been denied. Also, the Lenape Regional School District in Burlington, named on March 7 when the DOE issued preliminary information, appealed after the fact. That appeal has been denied as well.

Districts previously identified on March 7 as "in Need of Improvement" were:

Atlantic City; Buena Regional; Camden City; Camden County Vocational; Winslow Township; Middle Township; East Orange; Essex County Technical; Irvington; Newark; Jersey City; Trenton; Middlesex County Vocational; New Brunswick; Asbury Park; Freehold Regional; Long Branch; Morris School District; Lakewood; Paterson; Franklin Township, Somerset County; North Plainfield; and Plainfield.

The Central Regional and Hammonton school districts have been removed from the list due to final data calculations.

The three charter schools identified as "in need of improvement" are: Academy Charter High School in South Belmar, Monmouth County; Liberty Academy Charter School in Jersey City, Hudson County; and Lady Liberty Academy Charter School in Newark, Essex County.

The 28 "Districts in Need of Improvement" are designated based on student assessment results and how they are calculated under a federally approved NCLB formula. For more information about Districts in Need of Improvement and the formula, please click here: www.state.nj.us/njded/news/2005/0307dini2.htm.

For additional information, please contact the Department of Education Public Information Office at (609) 292-1126.