By Alex Davidson
District 27 School Board President Steven Greenberg had a lot to say about the state Department of Education’s figures, released two weeks ago citing 12 schools within his district as needing academic improvement.
The figures, compiled under the new guidelines of the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001 with the support of President George W. Bush, place schools in certain categories determined by their standardized test scores.
Among the 12 District 27 schools listed, the department cited three as “SURR” schools, or Schools Under Registration Review. The schools were PS 43 and MS 198, both in Far Rockaway, and PS 45 in South Ozone Park. The department said SURR schools exhibit no signs of academic improvement and the state could possibly close them if no changes occur.
District 27 Superintendent Matthew Bromme was unavailable for comment.
But Greenberg, president of the District 27 school board, said the figures do not mean that learning does not occur at the 12 schools listed.
“The test scores don’t always accurately represent what goes on in a school,” he said. “There are schools on that list that parents are very happy about.”
Greenberg pointed out that at MS 198 there was no staff turnover last year and school officials managed to reduce class size. He said parents want to keep their children there because of the smaller classes, rather than transfer them to another school in the district, which is an option raised by the No Child Left Behind Act.
Greenberg said to date 300 parents have requested transfers districtwide.
The act also gives money to parents of children at listed schools for tutoring either on or off-site, depending on each school, Greenberg said.
“I happen to think this is a very interesting program,” he said. “I think it’s a nice opportunity to get extra learning time for these kids.”
But Greenberg, who has been on the board since 1991 and president for five years, had his own criteria for a successful school.
“There are a lot of different things that should be included in what a good school is — it’s not just reading scores,” he said. “You have to look at the school, is it safe, are the children actively engaged in learning, is there a library?”
And city Department of Education statistics may prove Greenberg right.
District 27 has a 90.2 percent attendance rate to date, compared to the entire system rate of 85.7 percent. And the district spending for the 2000-01 school year per general education student is comparable to the entire system average.
The best indicators, however, of the schools’ responses, will be the results of the tutoring and transfers on student test scores, Greenberg said.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
