Superintendent's Monthly Newsletter
Parent & Community Edition 4 ~ November 2022
Chronic Absenteeism and Learning
Half of all students who miss two to four days of school in the first month will go on to miss nearly a month of school in excused or unexcused absences, according to a study released in July 2018 by the Baltimore Education Research Consortium. The study examined chronic absence and found a striking pattern. Remarkably, nine out of 10 students who missed five or more days in the first month went on to be chronically absent—defined as missing 10 percent of the school year in excused and unexcused absences—for the year. If poor attendance is allowed to persist, the impact can undermine children's prospects for academic achievement. In the early grades, students who are chronically absent have lower reading and math scores, as well as weaker social-emotional skills than they need to persist in school.
In fact, in a study of California students for Attendance Works, the organization that Hedy Chang oversees, only 17% of the students who were chronically absent in both kindergarten and 1st grade were reading proficiently by 3rd grade, compared with 64% of those with good attendance in the early years. Weak reading skills in the 3rd grade translate into academic trouble ahead: Students who aren't reading well by that point are four times more likely to drop out of high school. Chronic absence in middle school is another red flag that a student will drop out of high school. By high school, attendance is a better dropout indicator than test scores.
A report, "Absences Add Up," also from Attendance Works, documents what many know from common sense: At every age, in every demographic, and in every state and city tested, students with poor attendance scored significantly lower on standardized tests. In school, this translates into weaker reading skills, failing grades, and higher dropout rates.
We are working to monitor who is at risk for poor attendance, nurture a habit of regular attendance, and identify and address the challenges that prevent students from getting to school. The key is using data to identify and intervene early.
I am happy to report that during the month of November the student attendance rate in the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District was 91.37%. Our student absenteeism rate is something to be proud of. When students aren't feeling well and sick they should stay home until they are better. Our student handbook, school policies, and guidelines, as well as professional advice from our school nurses all advise us that when a child is sick they should not come to school. However, when students are healthy we want them in school and learning. Every day counts!
Hedy Chang is the director of Attendance Works, which is located in San Francisco and seeks to improve the policy and practice around school attendance. John Gomperts is the president and CEO of America's Promise Alliance, which promotes reduction in chronic absence as a key to improvement in graduation rates. Leslie Boissiere is the chief operating officer of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, which focuses on reducing chronic absenteeism and improving reading skills in the early grades. Visit www.attendanceworks.org.
American Rescue Plan Allocations
New Jersey was the recipient of more than 2.7 billion dollars in elementary and secondary schools emergency relief funds otherwise known as the American Rescue Plan or ESSER funds. This was the third major stimulus package enacted by Congress since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
In the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District we have appropriated ESSER funds into multiple categories consisting of providing mental health services and support including the hiring of additional support personnel such as guidance counselors at Francis A Desmares, Robert Hunter, and J.P. Case.
The pandemic created challenges for every child and at the same time exasperated the existing inequalities for both students and staff. The district has also appropriated funds related to summer learning and supplemental after-school programs. These include providing classroom instruction and online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. The district continues to consult with a handful of high-intensity tutoring programs to continue to provide more tutoring for students.
Additionally, the district used ESSER funds to support reading consultants and purchased the NWEA MAP assessment to assist the District to track learning in language arts and mathematics. The district also used funds to support book clubs for professional development for teachers, reading consultants, and evening programs to provide support for parents. Funds were allocated for evidence-based summer learning and enrichment activities which were designed to support summer activities that reinforced the broader learning for students.
New Jersey directed $48 million to support the development and implementation of Tier II, otherwise known as targeted small group intervention, and Tier III, intensive intervention services, to address students' and educators' mental health and social-emotional needs. Each school district in the state of New Jersey received a minimum of $45,000 to support the mental health of students and staff. We are targeting building relationships and providing social-emotional support, especially to support students' social-emotional needs.
The District continues to work diligently to invest in proven high-impact strategies to assist students to recover learning loss. For example, the District is ensuring that teachers have the high-quality curriculum and the support that they need to provide differentiated, empowering instruction. We are targeting individual attention and learning time outside the traditional classroom setting especially for students with the greatest needs. This includes summer programming, after-school clubs, and high-intensity tutoring which will continue into the spring and summer months.
Health and Physical Education Standards
Parents reported that they would like the district to take a cautious approach to curriculum changes in health and physical education. Flemington-Raritan's interpretation of the mandated state standards will be topics that are developmentally appropriate for our students. In second grade, respect, tolerance, and acceptance of everyone's unique qualities are topics that have been taught in the past and will continue as we move forward. Older grade students will be split into two groups when body changes are discussed using only developmentally appropriate terms that are age appropriate.
As I shared in the August newsletter, every five years, the New Jersey Department of Education makes revisions to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Once approved by the State Board of Education, each district is required to update its curriculum documents to ensure that the "performance expectations" listed in the Standards are included in its curriculum guides. The Curriculum Department has several projects underway to comply with this requirement. Typically these projects are routine; however, the new Health Standards have become a source of controversy in a number of districts across the state.
The most frequent concerns expressed focus on the "Social and Sexual Health" topic. The State requires public school districts to write curriculum to teach learning objectives specified by the State of New Jersey but does not require "how" topics are taught. According to information provided to school districts, "The 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards (SJSLS) in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education (CHPE) were designed to address the needs of each student to gain knowledge and skills in caring for themselves, interacting effectively, respectfully and safely with others, and analyzing the impact of health choices."
The Board of Education Curriculum Committee, the Flemington-Raritan Council of Instruction, and a committee of teachers, all led by the Assistant Superintendent, reviewed our existing curriculum and the new standards. A curriculum that is developmentally age-appropriate was written through meaningful and ongoing consultation with the school community, including parents and Board of Education members who serve on the Curriculum Committee, teachers who serve on the Council of Instruction, and health and physical education teachers.
Documents and a survey will be shared with our community on Thursday, December 1, to collect feedback on the health and physical education curriculum. As I shared in the August newsletter, a final draft of the curriculum was anticipated in late November. It will be presented to the Board of Education for approval at the December 12 Board meeting. Parents can view an overview of the units developed at this link here in advance of Thursday’s release of the survey and additional documents.
Please know that the District's goal was to make minimal changes to the existing curriculum and that it is our belief that sensitive topics related to sexuality are best addressed by parents and guardians in the home. We believe we have met this goal and adhered to parents’ requests to allow sensitive topics to be conversations that occur in the home while meeting mandates of the New Jersey Department of Education.
Please rest assured that staff, faculty, and administration, in collaboration with the Board of Education Curriculum Committee, have developed an appropriate curriculum to meet the needs of our students. The lessons taught will not be very different from those in the past. I hope the multiple modes of communication have clarified any concerns that parents may have. I am grateful to our Board for their support, especially the Curriculum Committee which for their time, efforts and hard work on the document.
The District recognizes and respects that some families prefer to have these conversations privately. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.7, any child whose parent or guardian presents to the school a signed statement that any part of instruction in health, family life education or sex education is in conflict with his or her conscience or sincerely held moral or religious beliefs shall be excused from that portion of the course. Parents and guardians seeking to exercise this option should contact their local school principal directly.
District and Superintendent Goals
District Goals
- Goal 1: Maximize resources available for instruction to achieve academic excellence for all students to recover students’ learning loss in language arts and mathematics.
- Goal 2: Provide personnel, programs, facilities, and the time to meet the diverse needs of all students so that they may acquire the knowledge and confidence necessary to achieve their dreams.
- Goal 3: Support efforts to educate the whole child by investing in student mental health supports and expanding social-emotional learning.
- Goal 4: Engage the community, including parents, families, teachers, students, etc., towards common goals and objectives developed for the five-year strategic plan to benefit the Flemington Raritan Regional School District.
- Goal 5: Support the District’s teacher recruitment and retention efforts by focusing on bringing and retaining highly qualified teachers to Flemington-Raritan Regional School District.
Superintendent Goals
- Goal 1: Develop an action plan, including a budget with steps to recover student learning loss in mathematics and language arts.
- Goal 2: Analyze growth that continues in specific populations, including preschool students, English as a Second Language Learners (ELLs), and special education students.
- Goal 3: Develop a continuation of a multi-tiered system of support within the district to address the mental health needs of all students.
- Goal 4: Develop and publish a renewed Flemington-Raritan Regional School District Strategic Plan in collaboration with the Board of Education and the school community that focuses on the vision and mission of the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District.
- Goal 5: Provide a wide range of activities to recruit and retain educators in the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
December 5: RFIS and JPC Parent-Teacher Conferences/Early Dismissal, Grades 5-8 only
December 6-9: Parent-Teacher Conferences/Early Dismissal for all grades
December 23: Early Dismissal/Winter Break begins
December 26-January 2: School Closed/Winter Break
Dr. Kari McGann
Flemington-Raritan Regional School District
Email: kari.mcgann@frsd.us
Website: www.frsd.k12.nj.us
Location: 50 Court Street, Flemington, NJ, USA
Phone: (908) 284-7561
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flemrarschools/
Twitter: @karimcgann