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The federal mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the requirements of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) specify that school districts not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) must notify parents of the district's status.
Dear Parent or Guardian,
Under the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, each state is required to assess all school districts to determine if each district has made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward meeting the academic testing standards and additional measures set by the state. The AYP decisions are based on the results of state testing in communication arts and math and the district’s attendance and graduation rates. The NCLB proficiency targets will increase annually to reach the goal of 100% by 2014. If the district has not met AYP proficiency targets for two consecutive years in any one of the four areas, the school district is considered “in need of improvement.”
We are pleased that our students, as a district total, met the AYP targets in communication arts, math, attendance rate, and graduation rate for the 2009-2010 school year. When considering the subgroups (District Total - All Students; Race/Ethnicity - Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Black, Hispanic, White, Other; Limited English Proficient; Individualized Educational Program; and Free/Reduced Lunch) the district did not make AYP for the following reason:
While the district subgroups did exceed the state average, students in three subgroup areas did not achieve at or above the state proficiency target of 67.4% in communication arts and 63.3% in mathematics.
Because AYP was not met, the district must develop a plan for improvement. One important component of this plan will be parent involvement in both the development and implementation of the plan. You can also help by increasing your understanding of the assessment, understanding the importance of good attendance and graduation, visiting schools, becoming a volunteer, and engaging in reading and math strategies at home.
If you have questions about the district’s AYP designation, please call my office at 417-334-6541.
Respectfully,
Dr. Brad Swofford
Assistant Superintendent
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