JP Elementary Schools Don’t Make AYP Standards

By Beth Wolfson

JAMAICA PLAIN-- Public elementary schools in JP did not meet at least one of the two Adequate Yearly Progress expectations in English language arts and math, according to standards set by the Boston public school system. These expectations are in place to ensure that schools make improvements in the quality of education each year.

The standards are based on students' performances on the MCAS, Massachusetts’ state-wide standardized tests.

Louis Agassiz Elementary School is one of the six public elementary schools in JP. The school met the AYP requirements in English language arts in 2007 but did not meet the standard in math. Like the other elementary schools in JP, the administration and faculty at Agassiz is taking steps to improve students' MCAS scores.

The scores for 2008 have not yet been published, but Alfredo Nunez, the head master at Agassiz for 23 years, says students at Agassiz did not meet the annual yearly progress standard for english language arts for the first time in five years. They did meet the standard for math.

“It’s difficult because we have a large percentage of English language learners in our school,” Nunez says. “Once the students have been in this country for a year, it is required that they take the MCAS, regardless of how much English they understand. It makes it difficult for us to score well, because many of our students don’t even understand the questions being asked.”

City Councilor John Tobin says the state law mandating all students take the MCAS, regardless of their ability to understand English, is often debated. Tobin says the rules are unfair.

“There have been many attempts to reform the law but for now, if schools don’t administer that test to all students, they are shut down,” Tobin says.

Agassiz, like many of the public schools in the area, is introducing reading programs and training teachers to help students learning English as a second language.

“This year we’re doing an early intervention reading program before the third grade as well as teacher training programs so we’re looking forward to improvements,” Nunez says.

Tobin says Agassiz is one of the schools that have hired a parent-teacher coordinator as part of the Family Coordinator’s program, which was started two years ago to further communication between parents and teachers.

“Parental involvement is the key,” Tobin says. “This program puts someone in the school that can facilitate that connection between parents and teachers and principals.”

Agassiz has hired Linda Medina to be the parent-teacher coordinator. Her task is to educate parents about their children’s academic needs and MCAS testing scores as well as getting parents involved in the school.

“Many of these people have recently immigrated to this country and they have other issues,” Medina says. “Testing is not a priority for these parents.”

Medina also says many of the parents don’t understand how their children are getting positive report cards and still failing the MCAS.

“They don’t realize that these are two different measurements,” Medina says.

Medina says that Agassiz, along with many of the other elementary schools in the area, is considered a superintendent school. A school gets that title when it is unable to meet annual yearly progress standards and is then put on two-year probation. At the end of that period, the school is reevaluated.

“Most people think of JP as an affluent area, but the affluent kids go to private and charter schools,” Medina says. “We get the other kids and often we have to start teaching them English from the very beginning. We can’t compete with many of the Boston schools.”