Staff, facility development continues at UFRSD
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

ALLENTOWN - "I have yet to see a school where the learning curves of the adults were steep upward and those of the students were not. Teachers and students go hand in hand as learners … or they don't go at all."

This quote from noted educator Roland Barth, founder of the Principals' Center at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Mass., opened the presentation regarding the professional development aspect of the state's Quality Assurance Annual Report (QAAR) at the Nov. 19 Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education meeting. The report reviews different aspects of the school district, including its goals for students, professionals and facilities.

Stephan Cochrane, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said the school district spent $81,620 on professional development last year, including $36,700 for tuition reimbursement.

In 2006-07 the school district focused its professional development on curriculum mapping for content, skill and assessments in all subjects; support for new teachers, including mentoring and seminars for success; and technology, including the introduction of the Edline Web site and portal, which all parents and teachers will have access to in February 2008.

During the 2007-08 school year, the district will place professional development emphasis on the next steps in curriculum mapping, including Conferencing on the Web (COW), and on a Dec. 4 workshop for 12 teachers with Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

Hayes Jacobs is a recognized pioneer in the field of curriculum mapping, according to the Web site for Collaborative Learning Inc. Cochrane said she is the "best expert in the world" to work with the staff.

New teachers this year will have to attend a four-day induction seminar and

monthly meetings, according to

Cochrane.

Changes in professional development in grades K-4

will include the addition

of readers' workshops,

guided reading, and consultations

with educators

from Teachers College at

Columbia University, New

York City.

For teachers in grades 5-8 there will be an introduction to writers' workshops, reviews of Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) essays, consultations with Teachers College representatives, and visits to other schools.

Seventh- through 10th-grade algebra teachers will have to attend a workshop with Millstone teachers on Feb. 25. The school district will also place a new focus on differentiated instruction such as data-driven instruction, multiple intelligence theory, and schoolwide enrichment models.

After the professional development aspect of the QAAR report was delivered, Business Administrator Viola Yosifon reported on the condition of school facilities for the QAAR report.

The report cited various major building projects and renovations during the 2006- 07 school year. The district installed vinyl floors in the halls of the elementary/middle school, an additional 5,000-square-foot parking area near the administration building, replacement windows near the courtyard at Allentown High School, replacement bulletin boards in the elementary/ middle school, and replacement of electric circuits in the elementary/middle school. In addition, the bleachers in the center area of the football stadium were completed, and almost half of the ceilings at the high school were replaced, according to the report.

During the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Richard Fitzpatrick delivered information regarding how the district fared in the New Jersey School Report Card's demographic comparison.

For 2005-06, the last school year for which the state has released data, the Upper Freehold Regional School District's faculty attendance rate was slightly above the state average of 96.5 percent, at 98.4 percent.

The school district's student mobility rate was far below the state average of 11.9 percent, with only 4.5 percent of students entering and leaving during the school year.

The district's attendance rate, which provides a percentage of students present on an average day, was similar to the state average. However, the district's percentage of total revenues from various sources was far below the state average.

The local tax levy provided 55 percent of the school district's revenue in 2005-06, whereas the state average was 51 percent. The district received 15 percent of its funding from the state, while the state average was 41 percent.

Yosifon said that one of the biggest challenges the school district faces is getting most of its funding from the local tax levy.