New
Jersey Department of Education Accomplishments
THIRD QUARTER ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN
EDUCATION 2004
Commissioner William L. Librera
October 1, 2004
Commissioner Librera has 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 NJ Department of Education has done the following:
- Sponsored, along with the Gifted Program of Montclair State University
and Passaic County Community College, "Symposium V: Mining Giftedness
and Discovering Diverse Gifts – Identifying Giftedness in Minority
Populations" targeted to staff development needs of teachers
and administrators in the northern region.
Raising Student Achievement
The New Jersey Department of Education has done the following:
Standards
Early Childhood Education
- Presented a second-year report on the Abbott preschool
programs prepared by the Early Learning Improvement Consortium (ELIC)
to the State Board of Education. ELIC is a multi-year initiative
in which participating New Jersey colleges assist the DOE in monitoring
and tracking early education progress. In 2003-04, the fifth year
of the state-mandated program, the 30 Abbott districts enrolled 38,000
eligible three- and four-year-olds – more than half of the 53,000
who are eligible. The report concluded that New Jersey remains the
leading state in providing preschool with the highest standards for
low-income children. The state’s investment in 2003-04 was $407
million. Projected enrollment for 2004-05 is over 43,000. Thirty-two
percent of Abbott preschoolers are served in school-based programs,
eight percent in federally funded Head Start programs, and 60 percent
in private contracted child care centers. The ELIC report also referred
to an earlier report by the National Institute for Early Education
Research (NIEER) that gave New Jersey high marks nationally in regard
to Abbott quality preschool standards.
- Launched NJ After 3, Inc.
that made the first round of funding available for Requests for Proposals
(RFPs) for quality after-school programs that offer a safe, structured
environment for children during traditional work hours in order to
expand access in schools that do not currently have them. Grants
ranging in size from $50,000 to $500,000 were awarded for programs
to begin in October.
Literacy
- Hosted the second annual literacy conference in Atlantic
City August 2-4. The purpose was to reinforce the administration’s
focus on having every child able to read at the end of grade three.
Topics that were covered during the three days included the following:
early childhood education, technology, bilingual/English as a second
language, special education, the six critical components of literacy,
and educational leadership.
Diverse and Multiple Paths for Student Achievement
The Department of Education has done the following:
- Conducted a summer pilot program offering 250 selected students
who had not passed the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA)
during their junior year the opportunity to receive five weeks of
intensive instruction and then take the HSPA again in late August.
The purpose was to increase the number of students who pass the HSPA
for graduation and decrease reliance on the Special Review Assessment
(SRA) that is intended as an alternative to the HSPA in very limited
circumstances. Fifty students in each of the following districts
participated: Englewood, Hillside, Jersey City, Franklin, and Vineland.
In September, the department released a summary of the HSPA results
for the participants. Of the 137 summer institute students who took
the language arts portion of the test, 74.5% achieved proficiency.
Out of the 215 who took the math portion of the test, 35.8% achieved
proficiency. The department will work on further analysis of how
to achieve better passing rates in math.
- Conducted a three-day summit in September on "Re-inventing
New Jersey’s High Schools" that was co-sponsored
by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the NJ
Principals and Supervisors Association. The summit took place at
the Embassy Suites in Piscataway. It provided teams of educators
from 30 New Jersey high schools with the opportunity to participate
in workshops with national experts and practitioners.
Innovative and Outstanding Practices and Programs
The Department of Education has done the following:
- Received sixteen new charter school applications
in July that are under review. In September, 51 charter schools opened
their doors to approximately 14,000 students. The 2005 state budget
includes approximately $5.2 million in additional aid for charter
schools.
- Convened the fourth annual Generation Next Conference in August
in the Atlantic City Convention Center to address the evolving vocational-technical
and adult education needs of students in the 21st century.
It was entitled "Generation Next: Showcasing Best Practices
and Innovations in Vocational-technical, Career, and Adult Education" and
featured over 50 workshops by presenters from across the country
on various aspects of career preparation and workforce training.
Public Communication, Engagement and Accountability
The Department of Education has
done the following:
- Co-hosted the Delaware Valley Parent Empowerment Fair August 14
at the Penn’s Landing Great Plaza Pier in Philadelphia. Other
sponsors were the Delaware and Pennsylvania Departments of Education,
as well as the Pennsylvania Parent Information & Resource Center
and WDAS radio. The fair gave parents the opportunity to learn as
much as possible about being a positive presence in their children’s
lives.
- Designed an online entitlement grant application process called
NJ EWEG or Entitlement Web-enabled Grant Application to expedite
the review and approval of grant proposals. Entitlement grants are
awarded to districts for specific programs based on eligibility formulas
prescribed in legislation or regulation.
