KEVIN E. CIAK’S INTEREST IN government began as a high school student in Sayreville, a diverse borough on the banks of the Raritan River in Middlesex County that today is transitioning from an industrial center to a predominately residential community.

That interest grew from a dedication to community, which developed long before high school. His parents, Carol and Edward Ciak, have a strong sense of giving to others—something they instilled in their children.

“We’re a tight-knit family,” he explains. “My parents are involved in the foster care system, which is essentially a volun-teer organization. They have always opened our home and their hearts to other kids. That’s been a source of inspiration for me.”

Toward the end of his junior year in high school, Ciak was nominated to be among an exclusive group of students se-lected to attend American Legion Jersey Boys State. The annual conference at Rider University provides prospective high school seniors with a week-long grounding in community leadership and the workings of government.

“Many a young person has found new direction for his life as a result of attendance at Boys State,” wrote Dr. Marie Parnell, Sayreville’s superintendent of schools at the time, in a congratulatory note.

“That’s just what happened,” says Ciak.

Two months later, Ciak attended his first school board meeting and caught the bug.

Ciak became a “regular” at board meetings. Within a year and a half, while a student at Rutgers University, the 19-year-old decided to run for a seat on the Sayreville Board of Education. He telephoned his friend to ask him to be his campaign manager.

“My friend was skeptical, not wanting to get involved in politics,” Ciak noted. “I told him, ‘It’s not politics; it’s education.’”

The response was as philosophical as it was factual. And it’s a belief Ciak retains to this day.

Ciak ran for office and won a seat on the board. That was more than 12 years ago.

What has kept him on board for four consecutive terms in a state where the average length of school board services is about six years? “Our kids, our staff and our community,” he answers. “Because I began this position at a young age, I de-cided from the onset that I was going to be a visible part of our students’ lives.”

Four terms later, he is still following that principle. Ciak can be seen side-by-side with the senior class staffing the re-freshment stand at football games under the Friday night lights. He attends the high school variety shows, student recog-nition programs, Read Across America events at the elementary schools and the fall back-to-school day for legislators.

The efforts have built trust and confidence among a core constituency—namely, the students—who easily recognize sincerity and appreciate it.

“Earlier this year, I had a chance to attend the New Jersey Sportswriters banquet to honor outstanding athletes and writers. Among them was Notre Dame and Sayreville War Memorial High School alumnus Brandon Hoyte, who was re-cently signed as a free agent by the Indianapolis Colts,” Ciak recounts. “When he saw me, his face lit up, and I got the kind of reception one would get at a class reunion.”

A similar greeting came a few years ago, when Ciak attended a recital at Westminster Choir College by opera singer Jeff Stanislawczyk, a War Memorial graduate, who has sung with Pavarotti.

In May, another key constituency, the local boards of education of New Jersey, selected Ciak to serve as NJSBA president through 2008. The election makes him, at age 31, the youngest state school boards association president in the nation.

Ciak’s election was not a tribute to his youth, but to his experience, including designation as a Master Board Member through the NJSBA Board Member Academy. It also recognized his dedication to local school board governance in roles spanning Sayreville Board of Education president, Middlesex County School Boards Association president, NJSBA vice presidents for legislation and for county activities, and group leader/trainer for Association programs.

Also elected were Vice President for County Activities Harry J. Delgado; Vice President for Finance John Bulina; and Vice President for Legislation/Resolutions Eva M. Nagy. Together with Ciak and Immediate Past President Patti J. Pawling, the NJSBA leadership team seeks to have the Association play a pivotal role in the lives of school board mem-bers in the challenging times ahead.

Ciak is employed as a finance manager for GE Sensing, a division of General Electric. He recently sat down for an interview with School Leader to discuss the leadership team’s vision for NJSBA and his expectations for the organization.

Q. In May, most, if not all, of the members of the Sayreville Board of Education attended the Delegate Assembly to wish you luck upon your election. That was impressive. Tell me about the Sayreville school district and its school leadership team.

The district is a K-12, suburban district. When I got on the board in 1994, we had 3,900 students; now we’re up to 5,700.

Our town is a “community” in the truest sense of the word. We have a strong volunteer base, including the fire com-panies, emergency squads, Lions Club and Knights of Columbus. Every Veteran’s Day we still honor those who answered our country’s call, and every Memorial Day we remember those who gave their lives to protect the freedoms that we share as part of a democracy. There is a strong belief in democracy, and it is not uncommon to have 30 to 40 people attend board of education meetings, even when there is no issue. This interest extends to school activities. Homecoming is a big event. The community even turns out to see our juniors and seniors board buses to their proms.

Our schools are a product of these values. Seventy-five percent of our high school students are involved in extra-curricular activities. When they graduate, they receive a diploma from Sayreville War Memorial High School.

The Sayreville leadership team mirrors these characteristics. Individually, we are involved in our community; we at-tend community and school events, and we listen with an open mind.

During your term as president, NJSBA will address a major portion of its Long Range Plan. What are your priori-ties in terms of the plan?

My priority will be to serve as an enabler—someone who can make sure that we have the right infrastructure in place to achieve its goals and, importantly, to fully engage our board members.

I’m not convinced that we have that structure right now. For example, the first action listed in the Long Range Plan is “to advocate.” Yet, only seven of our 21 county school boards associations have vice presidents for legislation. At the same time, we have a Legislative Committee with clearly defined input on legislation and advocacy. Because many county associations do not have vice presidents for legislation, it is difficult to get the message from the state association to the rank-and-file board members.

I also think we need to look at the various structures within our Association—from the committees and county asso-ciations to the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Our efforts should eliminate duplication and ensure a direct line of communication from the elected leadership to the members. It’s also critical to ensure succession of leadership. Right now, if a president needs to resign, there could be a period of changing leaders until the next Delegate Assembly, which doesn’t promote continuity within the Association.

The Officers need to lead these tough conversations. We have to bring the members to the table and discuss, “Is this the best case scenario? Is this the best way to structure our Association? And if not, what is and how do we do it?”

What do you see as the major issues facing local boards of education?

Internally, we continue to see issues surrounding school board-superintendent relations and the interaction among the board members themselves.

As finances tighten, it will present a problem for state government, as well as the local community. You are going to see people getting elected to boards who really want to make a significant change in direction. But they haven’t been there; they haven’t seen all the controls that are placed on boards.

This is going to continue to fuel the types of interpersonal issues that can exist within local boards of education and between board members and superintendents. That’s where NJSBA plays a critical role. Our Field Services Representa-tives can be a tremendous resource in helping school boards work out these problems.

And external issues?

We still face issues regarding school construction. There are a lot of new classrooms that are on hold pending the school construction financing reform.

Funding issues will continue to mount. If sufficient revenues are not available, every single entity from state government to municipalities and school boards will be on their own to make do with what they have. Unfortunately, school boards are strapped with increasing fixed costs and increasing enrollment.

Funding can be a divisive issue. Is it possible for local school board members to represent their own communi-ties and yet advocate the advancement of public education statewide?

The two concepts—representing your own community and working to advance public education statewide—are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they work very well together.

Critics want to pit certain school boards and certain communities against each other, based on demographics and size. School board members can’t fall into that trap. When we fight among ourselves, we diminish the power of the school boards association and the power to advance public education.

We need to drive the debate toward real reform, systemic reform that includes funding and curriculum.

How can our schools adequately prepare students to succeed in college or in the workplace?

Local school boards should expose students to as many opportunities—both curricular and co-curricular—as possible. We need to offer programs that give students the ability to excel in different environments, with different groups of people and cultures.

Leadership skills are also fundamental—not just organizational leadership, but personal leadership, as well. Not every student will become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and we need to make sure they are able to lead productive lives and be passionate about what they can give to our world.

If you read [New York Times columnist] Tom Friedman, you see the new role that India is taking on. The United States is on a level playing field economically. High school reform will be essential for us to remain competitive and for our students to succeed.

I’ve been with the same company, but have had three different careers within 14 years. I started out in electrical en-gineering, moved into information technology, then to finance. That is going to be the norm for students—not do the same thing for the rest of their lives, but to have the ability to adapt.

How would you respond to the question, “What do I get for my NJSBA board dues?”

When you consider everyone you meet in life, you could divide them between “fair weather friends” and genuine friends, who stand by you through good and bad. NJSBA has always been a genuine friend to my board.

NJSBA provides a wide range of valuable services. Our New Board Member Orientation is a world-class program, effectively run, outstanding in content, and excellent in delivery. It offers the insights of experts in curriculum, advocacy, parliamentary procedure and finance. It gives local board members the ability to meet in small groups with experienced school board leaders, who provide guidance and share their experiences in the trenches.

Besides training, NJSBA has a comprehensive policy service. Sayreville has used that service to redesign our entire policy manual. The Association offers direct contact with our experienced legal staff for information on statutes, regulations and court decisions. It provides research, advice and assistance on labor relations matters.

My advice is to call your field service representative and have a conversation. Explain the challenges you face and ask, “What can NJSBA do for my board?”

When I was first elected to my board and wanted to change the world, it was NJSBA’s field service team that pro-vided me with a strong foundation of school board leadership fundamentals.

For Sayreville, NJSBA has stood by us through challenges, ranging from superintendent turnover to resolving differ-ences that seemed insurmountable. When our board was divided into two factions, our field service representative would sit down with us, review videotapes of meetings, and advise us on how we could resolve differences.

Those same types of services are available to all school boards.

You place a lot of value on relationships. When you ran for office, you stated that it is a critical time for NJSBA “to build partnerships and relationships at all levels.” Could you explain the concept?

Board members need to build relationships, and NJSBA needs to transform those relationships into partnerships. Every board member should know his or her legislator. Every board member should work to develop a strong relationship with his or her chief school administrator. They also need to involve their parents’ organizations in the legislative process.

Bringing parents out to school board meetings, getting them involved in advocacy and spreading the success stories of our schools build those relationships.

In turn, NJSBA needs to leverage those relationships and build partnerships at the state level. We’ve already started that. Our meetings with the state Board of Education have grown from one annually to several each year. We are also part of Leadership for Educational Excellence—a coalition of the state’s major education organizations whose meetings include the commissioner of education. I also hope to increase collaboration with the superintendents’ and school business administrators’ associations, and continue to partner to further refine the processes of superintendent evaluations and goal-setting.

Have you considered serving your community in other ways?

I’ve certainly entertained the thought. But I’m really happy on the education side. The challenges for local school boards and their members are still there and are growing. We have a big job ahead of us.

Frank Belluscio is the Director of Communications at NJSBA.

By Mary O’Malley

NEW JERSEY LEADS THE NATION in preparing its students for college, but much work still needs to be done to ensure all high school graduates are fit for the challenges that lie ahead.

Far too many students are dropping out of the educational pipeline. While 90 percent of New Jersey ninth graders will graduate from high school, only 25 percent will earn a college degree, according to Achieve, Inc., a group created by the nation’s governors and business leaders in 1996, that helps states raise academic standards and achievement so that all high school graduates are ready for college, work and citizenship.

Six Years and Out Nearly two-thirds of Garden State students take six years to graduate from college, according to the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. The length of time spent in college can drastically increase the already burden-some cost of higher education for many students and their families.

A high school diploma is no longer an automatic ticket to the middle class. Consider: A car mechanic must be able to read at a level equivalent to a junior in college, and blue collar jobs now require high-level skills, according to Achieve, Inc.

Statewide and nationally, the business community finds that many New Jersey students are not prepared for work.

In response, state education stakeholders held a High School Summit in September 2005 with former Governor Rich-ard J. Codey to discuss public high school education. The consensus: “We should—and we could—be doing more to prepare students for the future.”

As a result of the summit, a group of organizations joined to form the New Jersey High School Redesign Steering Committee. The committee plans to further examine the readiness of high school graduates and to advocate for academic improvements. Members include: the New Jersey School Boards Association, New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, the state Department of Education, and the state Commission on Higher Education. Montclair State Univer-sity, New Jersey United for Higher School Standards, the New Jersey Education Association and the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce also are members.

“The formation of this committee marks the beginning of a long journey, but one which must move swiftly,” said Ar-thur F. Ryan, chairman and chief executive officer of Prudential Financial, Inc., and chairman of the business coalition. “We must ensure that a New Jersey high school diploma means a young person is ready to work and prepared for a life-time of learning.”

The steering committee plans to champion improvements in high school instruction and curriculum, including a more rigorous sequence of courses and assessments, with the intent to boost student learning to enable them to excel in the global economy. Increased teacher professional development and support also would be a priority.

New Jersey also agreed to participate in the American Diploma Project (ADP), a national initiative comprised of 22 states focused on ensuring that every high school graduate is prepared for college and work.

The leaders of ADP have identified benchmarks and conducted research in post-secondary institutions and high-performance workplaces, with input from kindergarten to grade 12 educators. ADP standards—as a true measure of what students will need to know and be able to do after graduating high school—have been met with unprecedented support within the state’s higher education and business communities.

The benchmarks back the concept that more challenging courses prepare students for the real world, whether or not they plan to attend college. A majority of recent high school graduates have said that they would have worked harder in high school, knowing what they know now, according to Achieve, Inc. Students also said that they would have worked harder if more had been demanded of them.

Steering committee members said they expect to face many challenges in a redesign of New Jersey high schools, which underscores the importance of gaining broad-based support throughout the state. Although it may be difficult, committee members said they believe that the results will be worth the gargantuan effort ahead.

New Jersey is not alone in its attempt to improve high school education. Many states, such as Indiana, have begun similar reforms.

Indiana has created a “Core 40” program that encourages its students to take tougher high school courses such as human anatomy and physiology, economics, and advanced placement calculus and trigonometry. The program has paid off, moving Indiana from 40th place to 10th in the nation in high school graduates enrolling in post-secondary education.

Indiana also created another method of deterring students from dropping out of high school—taking away their drivers licenses.

Reasons for Reform Achieve, Inc. found that New Jersey’s High School Performance Assessment, also referred to as HSPA, does not adequately measure college and work readiness. Disturbingly, it found that parts of the test are geared to as low as seventh grade skills.

“College instructors are especially critical and are unsatisfied with the job that high schools are doing in preparing students in writing and mathematics,” according to information culled from an Achieve, Inc. survey. “Instructors report that they spend a significant amount of time teaching material that they believe should have been learned in high school.”

Local graduation requirements in the state vary widely. And many students find that they are not prepared for college and have to spend more time and more money taking remedial courses, which could delay their earning a degree.

Every day also brings with it new developments in healthcare, science and technology. Thanks to the global econ-omy, the Internet and cable television, the world is “on” 24 hours a day. Think of how much, and how quickly, technology has changed lives and the way students have been taught in the past few years.

New Jersey needs a well-trained workforce and students who leave high school ready to further their education to keep up with the rapid pace. The same technologies that aim to make life easier and more convenient, also tend to elimi-nate low-skill jobs.

Toll takers are being replaced by E-Z Pass, telephone operators are being replaced by voice recognition systems, and bank tellers are being replaced by ATM machines and online banking programs.

Fifty years ago, many people in the then-manufacturing dominated economy used their backs to earn a living. The wages they earned were enough to support themselves and their families, but because of our evolution to a service and information-age economy, these types of jobs have become increasingly scarce. The remaining manufacturing jobs offer salaries that make it tough to live comfortably in most of New Jersey.

New Jersey students of today and tomorrow will require more knowledge and skills than ever before. Within the next few years, more than two-thirds of new jobs will require at least some post-secondary education, according to a 2003 study conducted by Princeton-based Educational Testing Service.

Just one year of post-secondary education can increase lifetime earnings by a million dollars, according to the Na-tional Center for Educational Statistics’ 2004 report, “The Condition of Education.”

New Jersey is making an effort by participating in a U.S. Chamber of Commerce field study for a Workforce Readiness Credential which could be administered in six states as a possible condition of employment.

Excellent learning opportunities exist in the state, but there is always room for improvement. That is why the New Jersey High School Redesign Steering Committee hopes to spur public interest in beefing up the state’s economy and to encourage honest public debate about raising student standards to an even more competitive level. For further informa-tion about the committee visit: www.njhighschoolsummit.org.

Mary O’Malley is executive director of New Jersey United for Higher School Standards, which is a member of the New Jersey High School Redesign Steering Committee. She can be reached through info@newjerseyunited.org.

By David Bosted

ANNA IS 14 AND JUST STARTED high school. As a freshman, her schedule looks a lot like those her parents had when they were in high school. She takes three honors classes, and her other courses are considered to be on the regular academic track. She moans when she thinks about gym class being scheduled first period, and she perks up when she talks about her dreamy Latin teacher.

Anna might seem like a typical high school student, until she starts talking about the high school courses in design and economics that she expects to take. She also expects to take challenging college courses, and plans to leave high school with college-level skills and, something her parents did not have the opportunity to earn—college credits.

Dual Enrollment Benefits Dual enrollment programs enable high school students to enroll in and to earn college and high school credits simultaneously. Dual enrollment programs can be administered in high school classrooms, through dis-tance-learning—such as satellite and video-conferencing—and through nearby community colleges or 4-year institutions.

More than half of public high schools have offered at least some dual credits courses, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

The terms “concurrent enrollment” and “dual credit” often are used interchangeably.

In New Jersey, there is Option 2 curriculum which can include dual enrollment specialty programs and curriculum, or a magnet-type of school. Option 2 is geared to provide an alternative to traditional high school courses and curriculum to high school students.

The World Is Changing Schools have often been the pressure point where social change collides with the established way of doing things. Curriculum itself is now in play.

Over the past decade, pressure has been building for high school reform across the nation. In New Jersey, a movement is brewing to make high school classes more rigorous and to develop other programs that would better prepare graduates for college or for work. Few districts will be able to avoid making major changes to deliver a more advanced curriculum in the years to come.

Former state Senator Ray Bateman, R-Somerset, said during a Public Education Institute-sponsored event on School Finance last May that one source of dissatisfaction is that “high schools aren’t producing a very good product.”

For 26 years, Bateman has served as chairman of Raritan Valley Community College in North Branch, Somerset County, where he said educators have found that about 75 percent of their students require some form of remedial coursework.

“These are students from good high schools, so why do so many need remedial instruction?” Bateman asked.

Some educators see the solution to the educational quality problem as offering more demanding courses, such as four years of required math in high school and more homework. Those who disagree believe that less is more and that the extra free time would afford students more opportunities to develop personal career interests, to work after school, and to study. Dual enrollment appeals to both factions.

Big Schools v. Small Schools Intuitively it seems like small schools have the most to gain from dual enrollment and online courses, because they have greater potential to expand otherwise limited selections of classes. But, it is the large districts that seem to be gaining the most ground.

Clifton High School in Passaic County is one of the state’s champions in offering its students dual-credit coursework. Each morning yellow school buses, filled with eager high school seniors, roar up the hill to Montclair State University to take college courses.

Clifton students also take classes at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

While its students are gaining academic and life benefits by participating in the dual-credit program, the Clifton school district is getting breathing room in its crowded high school. Toms River, Cherry Hill, Dunellen, Hunterdon Central, Fair Lawn and Phillipsburg are among some of the state’s other large districts that offer similar programs.

Leading the Charge Some school board decisions could affect the way school instruction is delivered for years to come. While some might think that the push for change would come from guidance counselors, who advise students on aca-demic courses, colleges and careers, Anna had a different experience. When she asked her eighth grade guidance coun-selor about dual- credit courses, she was told that they did not exist.

Some superintendents also may not be familiar with the dual-course enrollment opportunities that exist. In numerous districts, it is the school board members who have taken the lead. This is appropriate under New Jersey law, which states that curriculum is the school board’s domain.

Nationwide community colleges are prominent leaders in curriculum reform.

After students, community colleges have the most to gain by a boost in their enrollment and by an increase in reve-nue that comes along with more students on campus.

There is an infusion of quality students similar to the boost from the “NJ Stars” program, which subsidizes college education for students in the top 20 percent of their high school class. Leading this trend are Florida, Minnesota, New York, Utah and Washington, according to the state education department.

Testing the Waters The state Department of Education lists many benefits of dual-enrollment programs including: savings of time and money, promoting efficiency of learning, and reducing the potential for students to repeat grades.

Dual enrollment programs also help colleges enhance admission, retain students, and help students ease the transi-tion from high school to college by enabling them to “test the waters.”

However, problems could occur when schools pull their brightest students out of the classroom. Also, some district money will be spent at community colleges, outside of the district. A high school student’s poor performance in college courses also could permanently mar their college transcript. And a significant age difference exists between high school and non-traditional community college students, whose average age is 29.

For high schools, concurrent enrollment in a college course could be a quick way to offer a wider variety of advanced studies to gifted and talented students.

The state Department of Education will want to know that all students are being afforded equal educational opportu-nities regardless of ethnic, racial or socioeconomic backgrounds.

Paying the Bill Anna had a dream, a bad dream, in which her academic enrichment trips and programs bankrupted her family.

“I woke up in a sweat! It was so real!” she said. “We were totally broke, completely ruined financially, because of my academic trips and studies. I was actually crying.”

One rule-of-thumb, however, is that adjunct faculty courses cost only about one quarter of the cost per student of a course taught by a full-time professor. A 50-50 split of costs between district and student is not unusual. Typically, schol-arship money is made available for needy students. College textbooks can range from $50 to $80 each, used books can be half that.

Making It Happen When writing your district’s dual credit policy, the school board should consider the advantages and the disadvantages involved with organizing, controlling and financing a dual-credit program. Given the variety of choices when writing a policy for dual-credit programs, some boards set up advisory committees to gather information and to report back to their full boards with recommendations. The board makes final decisions.

The world now offers more choices that fit the needs of different students and families. So, while the high school building, colors, and cheers may be the same ones parents remember fondly, the high school curriculum will expand in unprecedented ways.

David Bosted is a policy consultant for the New Jersey School Boards Association. He can be reached at dbosted@njsba.org.

Dr. Noguera will address the Workshop 2006 General Session on Thursday, October 26.

His presentation, Making Connections to Student Achievement, will show how issues such as diversity and violence can have a direct impact on student performance.

By Pedro A. Noguera

I RECENTLY VISITED A “FAILING” high school in Miami. Actually, it might be called a double failure, because in 2003 the school received an “FF” rating from the state. The reason? The majority of its students had received failing scores on the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test) for two consecutive years.

I visited just before the school was scheduled to take the state exam again. I asked the school principal what would happen if the school received another failing score. He replied, “We already know that we will fail the exam, because two thirds of our students don’t speak English. They just arrived in the country from Haiti. We will fail again and then we will be an “FFF” school. The state is supposed to take over “FFF” schools, but I’m not worrying about that.”

When I asked why he wasn’t worried he elaborated. “I’m not worried because I’m leaving this job. I’m tired of being humiliated. We work hard here—the faculty is dedicated and gives its all, and the kids are great. They try their best and we have very few behavior problems. They just can’t be expected to pass an exam in a language they don’t understand. The worst thing about this is the state doesn’t have any suggestions for what we should do differently. They’re just apply-ing the pressure, and I’m fed up with it.”

Florida is not alone in using this type of approach to “help” struggling schools. The drive to establish higher aca-demic standards through the use of standardized tests has swept the country. Since the adoption of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, students in all 50 states are required to take exams in fourth and eighth grades, to ensure school accountability. Some states—such as Florida, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Massachusetts—have taken NCLB a step further, and require students to pass high stakes exit exams to graduate high school. If the U.S. Department of Edu-cation has its way, high school students throughout the nation will eventually be required to pass exit exams before they are allowed to graduate. As a result of this prospect, considerable attention has been focused on high schools and the need to insure that they will be able to meet this new academic challenge.

Schools like the one I visited in Miami provide a clear picture of the limitations of this approach to school improve-ment. Even with the threat of state intervention hanging over their heads, there was little reason to believe that it would find ways to escape the “FFF” rating. This was not because the staff was lazy or ambivalent about raising the achieve-ment of its students or because the students themselves were unable to learn. In fact, all evidence suggested the oppo-site. Teachers and administrators at the school were making a concerted effort to meet student needs—offering extra test preparation classes after school, providing intensive English language instruction. In short, they were doing what they could to keep students, many of whom had failed the exam twice already, from becoming discouraged and dropping out.

The principal, who told me that he would be leaving the school and the profession at the end of the year because he was “tired of being beaten down,” was described by everyone I interviewed as dedicated, hard working and committed. However, despite their best efforts the school had not found a way to provide its students with the language skills needed in time to pass an exam in English. This was not merely a matter of working hard. Research on language acquisition; de-tailed in “Identity, Conflict, and Evolving Latino Communities: Cultural Citizenship in San Jose, California” by Rosaldo R. and W. Flores; shows that many English language learners require several years to read and write at the high school level and master academic English.

What’s at Stake in High Stakes Tests Does a policy that has the unintended effect of driving away good teachers and adminis-trators make sense? Does denying students who have not been prepared the opportunity to earn a high school diploma or to enroll in college make sense? Is the State of Florida, or for that matter Texas or any other state that adopts a similar policy, better off by imposing such “tough standards”?

In 2002, after Massachusetts implemented its first high stakes exam, the consequences of raising standards and in-creasing accountability before any serious effort was made to improve struggling schools became painfully evident. Over 5,000 students who met all of the requirements for graduation but failed the state exam were denied diplomas. Ironically, most state leaders and major media outlets viewed the results as a victory, a sign that the state was finally “getting tough” with failing schools.

However, a closer look at the students who failed suggests that perhaps the reason why so many public officials could be satisfied with such dismal results is because the students who failed were in effect considered expendable. One third of the students who failed the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment of Students) were identified as learning disabled and in need of Special Education. Another third were students who the state identified as English Lan-guage Learners. Finally, the remaining third were students who came from schools that the state knew before hand were so poor that the vast majority of their students would not pass the exam, in part because they lacked teachers who were qualified to teach core subjects, particularly math. The overwhelming majority of the students who failed were poor and minority. How could their failure be regarded as a policy victory?

What makes this strategy particularly questionable is the fact that the record of state takeovers of failing schools and districts is abysmal. In districts such as Compton, CA, Roosevelt, NY, Trenton, NJ, Lawrence, MA, and many others, there is no evidence that state control has led to improvement. Past failure should serve to remind us that state governments possess no expertise or special remedies for school success that they have been withholding. Without a serious effort to address the underlying causes of school failure, even extreme measures will not produce the higher achievement and better schools that policy makers and the general public seek.

While few can argue against the goal of increasing student achievement, it is not unreasonable to question whether raising standards and increasing school accountability are enough to improve struggling schools. This is not because there is necessarily anything wrong with doing either, but there is a faulty assumption underlying this approach that is oc-casionally expressed but more often implied: that schools fail because the staff is lazy and unmotivated, and that what they need to raise achievement is pressure, threats and even public humiliation. What is particularly disturbing about this approach is that it ignores so many of the obvious things that we know are essential to raising achievement and creating better schools—such as recruiting skilled teachers, reducing class size, providing students with academic support through tutoring during and after school, as noted in “Student Engagement and Achievement in American Secondary Schools,” by Fred Newman.

While the need for change is clear—too many students are dropping out and leaving school unprepared for either college or work—high schools have proven to be especially difficult to improve. Part of the reason for this is that high schools are steeped in tradition. These traditions that affect how they are organized, how instruction is delivered, and how students are treated are difficult to change. Missing from the present policy debate is a well thought out approach to tackle these issues, and until such an approach is developed, it is unlikely that we will see widespread improvement, regardless of how much pressure is applied.

Small Schools to the Rescue? At the present, the most common approach to high school reform, according to “New Schools: How Small Schools are Changing American Education,” edited by Evans Clinchy, is the effort to alter the structure of large comprehensive high schools so that students are assigned to small learning communities instead.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the Carnegie Foundation and most significantly the Gates Foundation, which has invested nearly one billion dollars into this effort already, large urban school districts throughout the United States have embarked on an effort to transform the American high school by converting them into small learn-ing communities. In New York City alone, over one hundred million dollars has been allocated in the last three years for the development of new small learning communities. Similar efforts are now underway in Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Boston and Houston.

The thinking behind this reform is that if schools are smaller, students will benefit from a more personalized learning experience where they are known well by their teachers. The assumption is that by improving teacher-student relation-ships and decreasing the degree of anonymity in schools, student achievement will increase. While there is some re-search available supporting this approach to school improvement, most of this research is based either upon broad com-parisons of student graduation rates and test scores, or qualitative data obtained from individual schools. There is rela-tively little research showing how or why small schools may be more effective, and very little guidance available for educa-tors who are leading these types of change efforts on how to carry out these types of reforms.

Anyone familiar with the way schools work understands that the theory underlying the small school movement is fairly weak. Just because the size of a school is reduced it does not necessarily mean that relations between adults and students will improve. Moreover, even if relationships between students and teachers improve it does not guarantee that there will be an improvement in student achievement. “Beyond the Classroom,” by Laurence Steinberg notes that the big-gest challenge facing high schools is how to reduce the boredom and alienation that is prevalent among students. This is not an argument against small schools, but it does suggest that unless more is done to improve teaching and learning there is little reason to believe that making schools smaller will make them better.

According to The New York Times, current data from New York City shows that the new small schools have an atten-dance rate of 89 percent compared to 80 percent at traditional high schools. There is also anecdotal evidence that relationships be-tween students and teachers are better at smaller schools, and that schools themselves are safer and more orderly. There is good rea-son to give these reforms the time needed to show results, rather than moving quickly to abandon this effort. However, the question before educators and policy makers is “How much time will be needed to show results with the pressures associated with NCLB already hanging over us?”

The clearest evidence that more is needed to improve student outcomes is the large number of poorly performing small schools that are already in existence. Throughout the country, many school districts already operate a number of small high schools, either for special populations—at risk students, or students enrolled in vocational programs—but few of these serve as models of school reform. Understanding why such schools have not succeeded in meeting student needs should be at least one of the questions asked before too much money or effort is invested in sweeping, costly reforms.

The Heart of the Matter: Changing School Cultures Missing from most of the popular approaches to school reform are well-developed strategies for changing the culture of schools. By culture I am referring to the attitudes, beliefs, norms and sense of mission that under-lie the character of a school. School culture relates to the climate or atmosphere under which teaching and learning occur, and it is also about the nature and quality of relationships between adults and students within a school. Yale psychologist, Seymour Sarason, argued many years ago that school reform efforts were bound to fail if they ignored culture and only focused upon altering structure or curricu-lum. Other researchers, such as Theresa Perry, Asa Hilliard III & Claude Steele, have come to similar conclusions.

In addition to relationships, school culture also pertains to the mission of a school; the explicit and implicit message students re-ceive about the purpose of education. Such a message is important for countering the distractions that may discourage students from taking school seriously, according to Laurence Steinberg, author of “Beyond the Classroom.” An understanding of the purpose of edu-cation also counters the racial stereotypes that may undermine student confidence, according to an article in “American Psychologist,” and the need to develop identities that enable students to see themselves as intellectuals. Many reformers shy away from focusing on school culture because the concept seems too ambiguous.

Unlike school structure which is concrete and tangible, it can be difficult to measure progress when one is attempting to transform a school’s culture. Changing a course schedule, re-organizing a grade configuration, or devising a new approach to assigning students to clusters within a school, all lead to clear, identifiable changes in a school. Getting teachers to display greater interest in their stu-dents, to modify their approach to teaching so that they become more effective at meeting the learning needs of students, and getting students to take their education more seriously, is harder to achieve and bring about. However, administrators who ignore the need to bring about such changes run the risk of engaging in reforms that produce superficial change at best, but ultimately fail to improve aca-demic outcomes.

No Child Left Behind has succeeded in getting schools to focus more intently on the need to improve student achievement. By requiring schools and districts to report test scores and disaggregate the results by various recognized subgroups, the law has also succeeded in making districts accountable for the performance of their neediest students. Only the most cynical critics can argue against the merits of these aspects of the law.

However, for schools like the one I visited in Miami, with a long-term record of poor performance, at least as measured by stan-dardized test scores, more than just pressure will be needed to help them to improve.

We must keep in mind that there are a large number of failing schools throughout the nation. By some estimates, note David Tyack and Larry Cuban in “Tinkering Toward Utopia,” these failing schools make up nearly a third of the high schools in the United States and they disproportionately serve the poorest and most vulnerable students. Such schools need more than just pressure to im-prove; they need a total change in culture and they need real help.

Pedro A. Noguera is a professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education. He can be reached at PNoguera@NYU.edu.
Published in In Motion Magazine October 1, 2005. Reprinted with permission.

By Mike Yaple

2006 Winners
Souper Thursday
Absecon School District (Atlantic)

Teaching Adolescents
& Young Adults with Autism to Access Schedules on a Palm Pilot
Alpine Learning Group (Bergen)

Self-Advocacy: Empowerment
River Vale Public Schools (Bergen)

Soaring with Signs The Children’s Institute (Essex)

The Soup-er Heroes of Secondary 6
Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission (Middlesex)

“Show Me”
Hanover Township School District (Morris)

Little Historians
Mount Olive Township School District (Morris)

Self-Advocacy Training
Mountain Lakes School District (Morris)

Classroom at the Aquarium
Point Pleasant Beach Public Schools (Ocean)

Building Bridges Through Music
Vernon Township Public Schools (Sussex)

WHETHER IT’S HISTORY OR TECHnology…music or sign language…community outreach or self-empowerment…schools in New Jersey use innovative approaches to help the most challenged children achieve their full-est potential.

This year, 10 of those innovative programs are being recognized in the fifth annual Innovations in Special Education program.

Sponsored by the New Jersey School Boards Association and the Association of Schools and Agencies for the Handicapped, ASAH…serving the private special education community since 1974, the Innovations in Special Education awards are held in conjunction with the annual celebration of Special Education Week in New Jersey, held each May.

A panel of judges representing the NJSBA, ASAH, and the New Jersey Department of Education selected the 10 programs from among 76 submitted to the Innovations 2006 program. The judges chose the honorees based on program innovation, effectiveness, parental or community involvement, and strategies to evaluate the program.

The Innovations program recognizes the achievements made by New Jersey’s public schools and private schools for the disabled that serve more than 235,000 special education students.

Souper Thursday
Absecon School District (Atlantic)

Souper Thursdays teaches students self-care and pre-vocational skills by making and selling soup to teachers and other staff members of the school community. The goal is to teach students independent living skills, while incorporating all ar-eas of the curriculum. Students place orders, tabulate amounts of the ingredients that are needed, prepare the food, col-lect money and learn about jobs in the food industry.
Contact: Tracy Swain, 609-641-4888, ext. 1705

Teaching Adolescents & Young Adults with Autism to Access Schedules on a Palm Pilot Alpine Learning Group (Bergen) This program incorporates the use of technology to focus on specific skills often lacking in students with autism, particu-larly staying on-task for long periods of time. Students learn to use Palm Pilots as a guide in completing complicated activ-ity schedules, which are broken down into clear, sequential steps.
Contact: Kathryn Cerino, 201612-7800, ext. 20

Self-Advocacy: Empowerment River Vale Public Schools (Bergen)

Self-Advocacy: Empowerment prepares students for the transition from middle school to high school by helping them to identify and negotiate for what they need to be successful in school and adult life. These skills are particularly necessary as students take part in meetings with staff and their parents in the development of their Individual Education Plans. Through role-playing, movies and other techniques, students learn how to inventory their learning strengths, assess areas to improve, and set goals to prepare themselves for high school.
Contact: Carol J. Beierle, 201-358-4000, ext. 4104

Soaring with Signs The Children’s Institute (Essex)

Through Soaring with Signs, children (ages 3 to 9) acquire a practical base of sign language to augment receptive and expressive communication. The use of signs provides a richer communication experience for students with autism. Work-ing through the concept that multi-sensory instruction can develop learning skills, the program results in previously inat-tentive students responding when teachers pair words and signs.
Contact: Carolyn Gretchen, 973-509-3050

The Soup-er Heroes of Secondary 6
Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission (Middlesex)

The Soup-er Heroes of Secondary 6 builds skills in the area of daily living. Every other week, students prepare a new rec-ipe for sale to staff. Quality control and presentation are emphasized. As a self-sustaining program, the students purchase supplies for distribution from an online restaurant site, fill out order forms, design advertisements and acquire money math skills.
Contact: Stacy Rieger, 732-605-9100

“Show Me”
Hanover Township School District (Morris)

‘Show Me’ is designed to encourage positive self-images for special needs students while strengthening literacy, encour-aging the performing arts and promoting creativity. Students participate in two performances each year, writing plays based on an area of study or on characters they select from literature they have read. Students refine the script, memo-rize their lines and participate in designing costumes and scenery.
Contact: Karen Kebrdle, 973-515-2419

Little Historians
Mount Olive Township School District (Morris)

Little Historians integrates state curriculum standards in three learning activities that acknowledge veterans and current military personnel. The first activity involves students placing American flags in front of the school for Veterans’ Day, as they learn why the veterans are honored. A Vietnam veteran visits for the second activity, and students learn to listen, comprehend, take notes and formulate questions. The third activity involves making “Valentines for Veterans” cards, as students express appreciation for the contributions of veterans.
Contact: Karen Zawistowski, 973-927-2203

Self-Advocacy Training
Mountain Lakes School District (Morris)

Through Self-Advocacy Training, each student must understand the nature of his or her disability, be able to articulate its impact on learning, and feel empowered to advocate for his needs. This helps students better participate in developing their own Individual Education Plans. Staff receive training to guide each student to discern personal strengths and inter-ests as a foundation for future planning. Each week, staff focus on a different area to train students in self-advocacy, pri-oritizing values and setting goals.
Contact: Janet C. Wright, 973-334-2587

Classroom at the Aquarium Point Pleasant Beach Public Schools (Ocean)

Classroom at the Aquarium, which includes trips to the local Jenkinson’s Aquarium, integrates science, computers and math as students learn about organisms, the diversity of life and geophysical systems of animals. Students record their explorations with a digital camera, enabling further study and creation of a CD. The program also helps students develop skills for problem solving, decision making and inquiry by formulating questions, making hypotheses, and conducting experiments.
Contact: Michael Landers, 732-899-3737

Building Bridges Through Music Vernon Township School District (Sussex)

Building Bridges Through Music helps students improve their ability to communicate through song and sign. Music is used to reach out to students, ages four to 10. They play a keyboard, sign as they sing favorite songs, and participate in dance. General education students and their disabled peers engage in a great deal of interaction. Students develop social skills through music and peer interaction, improve motor skills through dance, increase attention span, and develop awareness and acceptance of diversity in learning styles.
Contact: Mary Jane Dammers, 973-764-2801

Mike Yaple is the public information officer for the New Jersey School Boards Association. He can be reached at myaple@njsba.org.