Teaneck Schools Removed From Warning List
Posted on: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 15:00 CST
By BRIAN ABERBACK, STAFF WRITER
TEANECK The school district has been removed from a federal watch list of underperforming districts, school and state officials said.
Teaneck is no longer classified as "in need of improvement" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The district learned the news from the state Education Department this week.
"I'm pleased," said schools Superintendent John Czeterko. "We work hard every day toward the goal of each child achieving to his or her highest potential."
The ruling lifts a restriction that the district earmark $30,000 in funding for special-needs staff development.
The district already funds for special-needs staff training and can now allocate the $30,000 as it feels appropriate, Czeterko said.
School districts cited under the federal law must improve standardized test scores within two years or face sanctions that include mandatory allocation of federal aid to tutoring programs and allowing parents to send their children to different schools within the district.
Teaneck was cited in October because its percentage of third- and fourth-grade special-needs students who passed the standardized math test failed to meet No Child Left Behind standards.
The district's status changed after the state calculated the scores of three students who took the Alternate Proficiency Assessment. Those students' scores raised the passing percentage to an acceptable level, state officials said.
The initial "needs improvement" assessment was made before the state received the APA results, said Richard Vespucci, an Education Department spokesman.
Students with severe cognitive impairments take the APA rather than the standardized tests taken by the majority of students, school officials said.
The Education Department plans to release a final, statewide Adequate Yearly Progress report soon, possibly this week, said department spokesman Jon Zlock.
Teaneck was the only Bergen County district cited for falling below standards in the initial report last fall.
Three Passaic County districts were cited: Paterson, Passaic and Passaic County Vocational. The status of those schools did not change, Zlock said.
Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.
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