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Schools adapt to minorities #1
Education in Prince William County Public Schools surpassed reading, writing and arithmetic a long time ago.
Educators are searching for ways to teach those subjects, among others, to an increasingly diverse student population. Federal and state mandates, a finite amount of dollars and high expectations mean the stakes are even higher.
Minority enrollment in the county's school division was at 29.2 percent in 1994. Ten years, 13 more schools and about 20,000 additional students later, minority enrollment makes up 52.6 percent of the total 66,200 students enrolled.
The school system, like many others near urban areas, is struggling to find a balance between meeting federal mandates to close education gaps between white and minority students and meeting the needs of all of its students -- regardless of race
or economic status.
"Instead of saying this person
is Asian, Hispanic or this, I look at the data and say we need to develop strategies for students who aren't achieving ... that means we start with the scores and the educational needs," said Pamela Gauch, associate superintendent of instruction.
Since even five years can account for a lot of change -- 38 percent more students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch, 280 percent more students enrolled in English for Speakers of Other Language programs, 160 percent more Hispanic students -- the push to avoid playing catch-up academically and financially is strong, say school officials.
That balance has translated into expanding full-day kindergarten programs, starting with county's 18 Title I schools -- those with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. A new $285,000 centralized ESOL registration site is scheduled to open in the fall. And since 2000, ESOL spendi
ng on programs and staffing has increased more than 284 percent to $11,464,748, accordin
g to David Cline, director of finance.
The No Child Left Behind Act, often the subject of contentious debate, was enacted to close the gap between white and student subgroups, such as race, special education and limited English proficiency students, in reading and math by 2014. Schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress under the law can be subject to sanctions, including allowing students to transfer to other schools.
Prince William County has made significant strides in narrowing those gaps since 2001, when only eight schools made adequate yearly progress under the law. The school division's most recent results -- 52 of 75 of the schools tested last year made adequate yearly progress -- top state averages, as do its accreditation rates, 96 percent compared to 85.7 percent for the state.
The successes have been the result of more focus on students' individual learning needs and ze
alous staff development in both instruction and multicultural issues, according to Gauch.
"You can't ever
assume that what you're talking about, they've had knowledge of," said Neabsco Elementary School Principal Linda Trexler. With a 74 percent minority population, 60 percent free or reduced-price meal population and 19 percent ESOL, Neabsco is no longer in the precarious position that it and 13 other schools faced last year of possibly having to offer school choice.
Title I schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years must offer school choice.
More ESOL teachers, remediation, data analysis and volunteer hours helped Neabsco and 12 other Title I schools make the grade, but Trexler believes teaching in a diverse population may be more challenging but it is just as rewarding as teaching in any other setting.
"I think that we work really hard and I think when you have this diverse a population, it really takes special teacher
s to be able to work in a school that is high poverty, high diversity," said Trexler.
Even with all the successes, there are gaps. Based on last
year's Virginia Standards of Learning exams, 71 percent of the county's black students and 75 percent of Hispanic students passed the math exam, compared with 89 percent of white students.
While 81 percent and 79 percent of white and Asian third graders, respectively, passed the reading and language arts SOLs last year, blacks and Hispanic pass rates were significantly lower at 62 percent each.
"Do we have a gap still? Yes, we do," said Gauch. "We're responding better to the needs of individual students because we have the data to help us do that."
http://www.manassasjm.com/servlet/Satellit...&path=!news
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Schools ada
pt to minorities #2
Man pulls out gun at school bus stop
An 18-year-old Dale City man allegedly pulled a gun on a 14-year-old Beville Middle School student who waited for the school bus Thursday morning, Prince William C
ounty police said.
Police say Jesus Joshua Nartatez Delacruz Jr. of 13203 Delaney Road wanted information from the student about a separate incident when he pulled the gun, said 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn, department spokeswoman.
The student was waiting at the bus stop at the intersection of Delaney Road and Kurtz Road around 8 a.m. when the incident occurred, police said.
Delacruz became angry and pulled out a gun to intimidate the student, police said. No shots were fired.
Delacruz turned himself in to police Thursday evening and was charged with brandishing a firearm. He is being held in lieu of $2,500 bond.
http://www.manassasjm.com/servlet/Satellit...&path=!news
_________________________________________________________
Schools adapt to minorities #1
Education in Prince William County Public Schools surpassed reading, writing and arithmetic a long time ago.
Educators are searching for ways to teach those subjects, among others, to an increasingly diverse student population. Federal and state mandates, a finite amount of dollars and high expectations mean the stakes are even higher.
Minority enrollment in the county's school division was at 29.2 percent in 1994. Ten years, 13 more schools and about 20,000 additional students later, minority enrollment makes up 52.6 percent of the total 66,200 students enrolled.
The school system, like many others near urban areas, is struggling to find a balance between meeting federal mandates to close education gaps between white and minority students and meeting the needs of all of its students -- regardless of race
or economic status.
"Instead of saying this person
is Asian, Hispanic or this, I look at the data and say we need to develop strategies for students who aren't achieving ... that means we start with the scores and the educational needs," said Pamela Gauch, associate superintendent of instruction.
Since even five years can account for a lot of change -- 38 percent more students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch, 280 percent more students enrolled in English for Speakers of Other Language programs, 160 percent more Hispanic students -- the push to avoid playing catch-up academically and financially is strong, say school officials.
That balance has translated into expanding full-day kindergarten programs, starting with county's 18 Title I schools -- those with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. A new $285,000 centralized ESOL registration site is scheduled to open in the fall. And since 2000, ESOL spendi
ng on programs and staffing has increased more than 284 percent to $11,464,748, accordin
g to David Cline, director of finance.
The No Child Left Behind Act, often the subject of contentious debate, was enacted to close the gap between white and student subgroups, such as race, special education and limited English proficiency students, in reading and math by 2014. Schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress under the law can be subject to sanctions, including allowing students to transfer to other schools.
Prince William County has made significant strides in narrowing those gaps since 2001, when only eight schools made adequate yearly progress under the law. The school division's most recent results -- 52 of 75 of the schools tested last year made adequate yearly progress -- top state averages, as do its accreditation rates, 96 percent compared to 85.7 percent for the state.
The successes have been the result of more focus on students' individual learning needs and ze
alous staff development in both instruction and multicultural issues, according to Gauch.
"You can't ever
assume that what you're talking about, they've had knowledge of," said Neabsco Elementary School Principal Linda Trexler. With a 74 percent minority population, 60 percent free or reduced-price meal population and 19 percent ESOL, Neabsco is no longer in the precarious position that it and 13 other schools faced last year of possibly having to offer school choice.
Title I schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years must offer school choice.
More ESOL teachers, remediation, data analysis and volunteer hours helped Neabsco and 12 other Title I schools make the grade, but Trexler believes teaching in a diverse population may be more challenging but it is just as rewarding as teaching in any other setting.
"I think that we work really hard and I think when you have this diverse a population, it really takes special teacher
s to be able to work in a school that is high poverty, high diversity," said Trexler.
Even with all the successes, there are gaps. Based on last
year's Virginia Standards of Learning exams, 71 percent of the county's black students and 75 percent of Hispanic students passed the math exam, compared with 89 percent of white students.
While 81 percent and 79 percent of white and Asian third graders, respectively, passed the reading and language arts SOLs last year, blacks and Hispanic pass rates were significantly lower at 62 percent each.
"Do we have a gap still? Yes, we do," said Gauch. "We're responding better to the needs of individual students because we have the data to help us do that."
http://www.manassasjm.com/servlet/Satellit...&path=!news
- - -
Schools ada
pt to minorities #2
Man pulls out gun at school bus stop
An 18-year-old Dale City man allegedly pulled a gun on a 14-year-old Beville Middle School student who waited for the school bus Thursday morning, Prince William C
ounty police said.
Police say Jesus Joshua Nartatez Delacruz Jr. of 13203 Delaney Road wanted information from the student about a separate incident when he pulled the gun, said 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn, department spokeswoman.
The student was waiting at the bus stop at the intersection of Delaney Road and Kurtz Road around 8 a.m. when the incident occurred, police said.
Delacruz became angry and pulled out a gun to intimidate the student, police said. No shots were fired.
Delacruz turned himself in to police Thursday evening and was charged with brandishing a firearm. He is being held in lieu of $2,500 bond.
http://www.manassasjm.com/servlet/Satellit...&path=!news
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