NYC-WTC_000195490

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Raising Standards and Ending Social Promotion

Raising standards in the classroom and ending social promotion are agenda items that continue to drive Board of Education programmatic and fiscal decisions. The 2002 Executive Budget will continue to address the needs of the system’s diverse studentpopulation, including the 160,000 English Language Learners (ELL), who currently take part in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and Bilingual Education programs. A combination of increasingly divers? demographics, new Regents requirements for ELL students, and the 1998 California referendum rejecting bilingual education has led the Board to reform its policies. This new approach focuses on creating instructional practices tailored to the individual needs of students, and on giving parents greater control over their children’s education. '

In 2002, the fcity will provide additional assistance to bilingual education students who have made little-to- no progress toward English proficiency during the three-year State mandated transition period. Project English will provide 20 weeks of individualized Saturday and after-school intensive English preparation for 38,600 students / in Grades 2-12. Teachers involved in the program will receive three hours a week of professional development from ELL specialists. '' -I The 2002 budget also provides funding for Project Science, a new program consisting of weekend and after­ school intervention, enrichment and Regents preparation in math and science. For a period of 40 weeks, 45,300 under-performing middle and high school students will take classes conducted in well-equipped sites such as Science high schools and college campuses. Collaboration with organizations such as the New York Academy of Sciences will offer teacher preparation and curriculum development.

This science education initiative will employ three program models. Intensive Intervention is a highly structured and individualized program for those students in Grades 6-12 who are performing furthest from New York City standards. Last year less than 50 percent of New York City’s fourth-grade students and less than a quarter of eighth grade students met the math standards on the State assessments. This program will Increase math and science proficiency and prepare students for the State Math Assessments and the State Science Assessments currently being phased in for eighth-grade and high school. Accelerated Enrichment will stimulate interest a^d involvement in math and science for students in Grades 7-12 who need additional instructional support. Experimental learning and inquiry-based investigations will develop knowledge and deepen student understanding of science and math concepts. The third program model, Regents Tutorials, will provide additional help for those middle and high schools students at risk of/failing the science and math Regents examinations.

I The 2001 summer program focused on ending social promotion by serving the needs of more than 290,000 • mandatory and voluntary student participants in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Of the 60,765 students in / Grades 3-8 mandated to attend summer school in 2000, 64 percent were promoted to the next grade. Building upori this initial success, the 2002 budget includes $23 million to serve 50,000 additional students in Grades 3- 12. These students willreceive intensive literacy and math instruction in classes limited to 15. High school students who have failed core subjects and/or one or more Regents exams will receive both Regents preparation / and subject immersion. In addition, greater attention will be paid to the attendance of the mandatory student population via outreach services that include telephone calls, home visits and mailings both prior to and during the summer school session. /

The 2002 Executive Budget also includes funds for a public-private initiative with the Book Project to create libraries in each of the 21,000 kindergarten through eighth-grade classrooms. The program is designed to build upon other literacy efforts^ such as Project Read, by instilling a passion for reading. Teachers will be trained to customize their libraries to better meet the needs and interests of individual students. Each library will contain 300 books, the equivalent of nine books per child. t

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