April 7, 2003

Dear Parent or Guardian:

On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 into law.  The law calls for sweeping changes in public education. Among these is a new federal requirement that all states and school districts in receipt of Title I assistance must, by 2003, issue annual “report cards” to parents. The purpose of the report card is to give parents information about their child’s school in terms of academic achievement and the professional qualifications of its teachers.  By making this information available each year, parents will learn how their school is doing, what its goals are, and what they can do to work more effectively with their teachers and administrators.  In addition to sharing good news, the report card helps parents make informed decisions about what to do in the event that their school is determined to be “in need of improvement,” based on annual test results, such as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Achievement System (MCAS).

Attached is our school’s first “report card.”  The information contained is divided into three parts.

Part I: Teacher Qualifications

Part II: School Achievement in Mathematics and Reading

Part III: School Performance Ratings

Part I provides information about the qualifications of the teachers on our faculty.  The information is divided into two parts: (1) the percentage of teachers who are certified or licensed to teach in Massachusetts and (2) the percentage of classes taught by teachers who are highly qualified in core academic areas such as mathematics, science, reading, history, English language arts, etc. Both pieces of information are intended to help you understand the backgrounds and preparation of the teachers who are working with your child.  As you will see, most if not all teachers in the school are certified, and most, if not all, are highly qualified. Those who are not are either working on a waiver granted by the Massachusetts Department of Education, or are long-term or permanent substitutes.  While qualified to teach within Massachusetts, certain teachers are now in the process of demonstrating subject matter competency through additional coursework.  No Child Left Behind requires that all teachers be highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and thus what you will see in the percentages are indications of how far our school has to go in order to comply with this deadline. 

 No Child Left Behind requires that test results for reading and mathematics be reported annually.  The information contained in Part II summarizes how we did on the last round of MCAS examinations.  The data is broken down by grade level, subject area, and the performances of different subgroups, or learning populations in the school such as limited English proficient students or students with disabilities.  This information is similar to what you received about your child’s MCAS scores in November.  Now these data have been added together to provide a snapshot of how the students in our school have performed as a whole.

  Part III provides information about how well our school is doing relative to others in the district and to its performance in past years.  The “Proficiency Index” (PI) scores for Mathematics and English Language Arts are part of Massachusetts’ School Performance Rating system.  This system has been set up to comply with the accountability provisions of No Child Left Behind which require, among other things, that each school make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting a national goal of all students being “proficient” in mathematics and English by the year 2013-2014.  The Proficiency scores and AYP ratings in the student achievement data are meant to signal whether or not our school is on target to meet this goal or whether it has fallen behind and is “in need of improvement.”

As suggested earlier, the information provided in our report card is designed to give you an update on how well we are doing as we move toward meeting the state and national achievement goals and qualification standards for teachers.  But it is also designed to alert you that you have certain choices available in the event that the school is “in need of improvement.  Also, if our school were in need of improvement for three consecutive years, you will be eligible to request additional or supplemental educational services. Such services will allow your child to be tutored after school or participate in classes aimed at boosting academic achievement in mathematics, reading, and language arts.  This report card is intended to make certain you are informed of your rights within the new federal law, and to give you the information you need to inquire about getting additional help after school.

This school report card is designed to help you be an informed consumer.   A complete district report card for our school system is also now available for you to review.  It may be found at the Superintendent’s Office, at our school’s office, in our Town library, or on our district’s website at winchendonk12.org. 

In closing, please know that we are prepared to help you further should you have more questions about what this report card means and how you can use it to help you and your child grow stronger academically.  Please feel free to call me directly if I can be of additional assistance to you. 

I look forward to meeting and talking with you then.

Sincerely yours,

Jane Ripley

Principal

School Report Card - Memorial

Report Card:
This report includes information on the school's performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) by content area, grade level, and for particular student populations. Comparison data from the district, the state, and from 2001 are also provided. In addition, this report includes other information as required by the federal No Child Left Behind act.

Mission Statement:
The Memorial School will provide a positive and safe learning environment and a commitment to educational excellence.

Data Definitions

Enrollment

Limited English Proficient: are defined as "a student whose first language is a language other than English who is unable to perform ordinary classroom work in English."

Low Income: An indication of whether the student meets ANY ONE of the following definitions of low income:
1. The student is eligible for free or reduced price lunch; or
2. The student receives Transitional Aid to Families benefits; or
3. The student is eligible for food stamps

Migrant: An indication of whether an individual or a parent/guardian accompanying an individual maintains primary employment in one or more agricultural or fishing activities on a seasonal or other temporary basis and establishes a temporary residence for the purposes of such employment.

Percent of teachers licensed:
The percentage of teachers with Provisional, Initial, or Professional licensure (all teaching staff, including long-term substitutes). This information is not required from charter schools.

Percentage of core academic classes taught by highly-qualified teachers:
The percentage of staff, measured in "full-time equivalency", teaching in core academic areas, that meet the NCLB definition of highly-qualified. To meet the definition, teachers must hold a valid Massachusetts license AND demonstrate subject matter competency in the areas they teach. The core academic areas are defined as English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

MCAS Student Status:

Regular: Students who do not meet the definition for Students with Disabilities or for Limited English Proficient.
Students with Disabilities: Students who have an individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a plan of instructional accommodations provided under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Limited English Proficient: They are defined as "a student whose first language is a language other than English who is unable to perform ordinary classroom work in English."

Race/Ethnicity:
This data is collected on the MCAS test, and is collected differently than in the enrollment statistics. Students have the option on the MCAS of selecting more than one racial/ethnicity descriptor, and "other" is an option.

Eligible for F/RP Lunch: Students eligible for free or reduced price lunch.

Performance Level Definitions
(A) Advanced - Students demonstrate a superior understanding of challenging subject matter, and solve a wide variety of problems.
(P) Proficient - Students demonstrate a solid understanding of challenging subject matter, and solve a wide variety of problems.
(NI) Needs Improvement - Students demonstrate partial understanding of subject matter, and solve some simple problems.
(W/F) Warning/Failing - Students demonstrate minimal understanding of subject matter, and do not solve simple problems.

Adequate Yearly Progress Performance (School)

Information on the DOE's school performance rating process can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/ata/sda.html#sprp.

Base PI - The cycle II baseline proficiency index. This measure is based on the 1999 and 2000 MCAS results and is an indicator of how close the school is to having all of its students Proficient or Advanced.
Imp. Target - The school's improvement target is the proficiency index points needed, every two years, to close the gap between the baseline and the NCLB goal of all students proficient by 2014.
Cycle II PI - The cycle II proficiency index. This measure is based on the 2001 and 2002 MCAS results and is an indicator of how close the school is to having all of its students Proficient or Advanced.
Perf. Rating - The performance rating is based on the cycle II PI. The six ratings are Very High, High, Moderate, Low, Very Low, and Critically Low.
Imp. Rating - The improvement rating is based on the actual change in the proficiency index, from the baseline to the end of the cycle, compared to the improvement target. The five ratings are Above Target, On Target, Improved Below Target, No Change, and Declined.
AYP - A determination of whether the school has made "adequate yearly progress".

Back to Report Cards