NJQSAC: Will we find out where we are at the Town Hall Meeting?

Is NJQSAC still important? This (fact sheet) says it is. NJQSAC is the State's new way of monitoring school districts.

In 2007 Plainfield's NJQSAC reported the following results on the 5 areas that schools districts get qualified on:

Operations Management - 61% of indicators met.
Personnel – 38% of indicators met.
Instruction and Program – 8% of indicators met.
Governance(BOE Performance) – 11% of indicators met.
Fiscal Management – 32% of indicators met.

Because of these results that were below the 80% minimum mark, and according to THIS State information the school district was to prepare a District Improvement Plan, which is to have the supervision of the county and/or State every six months until the district satisfies the minimum requirements for the State's NJQSAC. These visits generate a written report of satisfaction or not from the County/State that is sent to the district. Until this date I have not seen an update, or a single report, from either the Board of Education or from Dr. Gallon that lets us, Plainfield School District stakeholders, know how the district is doing on this NJQSAC revisions.

Dr. Gallon III is holding this coming December 9th a town hall meeting as per THIS FLYER that is posted at the school district's website. I'm hoping that along with the "district highlights" we get to hear some detailed and updated information on where is it that district is standing when it comes to NJQSAC, the new State's monitoring system for all school districts. And while the invitation has already been extended by Dr. Gallon, let me invite you too and stress the need for all to come out this December 9th to Dr. Gallon's Town Hall meeting; if you don't feel like supporting Dr. Gallon or his administration, please come out to support the call for improvement of our school district that is so direly needed for the betterment of our entire city.

And for those who need a bit more information about NJSAC's monitoring process, but are hesitant to read the entire 59 page document, I took the following excerpt with the hopes that it illustrates a bit more what NJQSAC monitoring is all about:

--N.J.A.C. 6A:30-5.6 Implementation and Monitoring of an Approved NJQSAC District Improvement Plan

(a) A public school district shall implement its NJQSAC district improvement plan promptly upon approval of the plan by the Commissioner.

(b)Every six months, the Department shall review the progress of the public school district in implementing the NJQSAC district improvement plan. As part of this review, the public school district shall submit a report of its progress in implementing each of the items in the NJQSAC district improvement plan and in satisfying the weighted performance indicators of the component(s) of school district effectiveness that are the subject of the NJQSAC district improvement plan in a format to be determined by the Department. Each six month review shall also include an on-site visit at which time the Department may receive input from members of the in-district team responsible for developing the NJQSAC district improvement plan and others as determined appropriate by Department staff. Based on these six-month reviews:

1. If the Commissioner determines that the public school district satisfies 80 to 100 percent of the weighted quality performance indicators in each of the five components of school district effectiveness:

i. The Commissioner shall issue a letter of recognition designating the district as high performing;

ii. The six month reviews of the public school district pursuant to this subchapter shall cease; and

iii. Payment for any technical assistance provided by highly skilled professionals shall become the sole responsibility of the public school district.

2. If the Commissioner determines that the public school district does not satisfy at least 80 percent of the weighted quality performance indicators in each of the five components of school district effectiveness:

i. The Commissioner shall issue a letter detailing the areas in which the district continues to need improvement;

ii. The Commissioner shall ensure that the public school district continues to receive appropriate technical assistance, if applicable;

iii. The Commissioner shall continue to monitor the progress of the public school district.

(c) Subject to the approval of the Commissioner, a public school district’s NJQSAC district improvement plan may be amended by the public school district as circumstances warrant. Two years after the implementation of the initial NJQSAC district improvement plan and every two years thereafter, the Department shall specifically assess whether the public school district’s NJQSAC improvement plan should be amended to address insufficient progress by the public school district in satisfying the weighted performance indicators in one or more areas of school district effectiveness.

1. If the Commissioner determines that the NJQSAC improvement plan should be amended, the Department shall work collaboratively with the in-district team comprised of members as set forth at N.J.A.C. 6A:30-5.4(e) to develop amendments to the plan, which shall be subject to approval as set forth at N.J.A.C. 6A:30-5.5.

2. If the Commissioner determines that the district is making sufficient progress in all areas, the school district shall continue to implement the current NJQSAC district improvement plan without amendments.--

No blog for Sunday, sorry. Enjoy what is left of this weekend

December life is beginning to be hectic with so many things to do to get ready for this month and the months ahead.

Check Dan's CLIPS to get most of the 411 on what is going on this weekend around the city. And relax, take it easier today, enjoy life! Tomorrow we can go back to do the same old same.

MP

The Lenghty Process of Getting Information Right

The process of gathering public information can sometimes take long, long time, so long that sometimes one could wonder if by the time one gets all information together, the same is worth any peanuts to anyone else. Bloggers don't have the benefit of gatherings of people making lists of what it is important for the community, the only list we often have is our social conscience, and piggy-backing to what Renata Hernandez said, social conscience, just like integrity, is subject to the values, beliefs and principles [one] claim[s] to hold.

So, with this said, I have few documents sitting on my desk, couple of those documents are the job descriptions of the two positions two staff members from Dr. Gallon III's cabinet got assigned after the county superintendent found them to be ineligible for the positions they were originally assigned to. Other documents have to do with payments from the November's Bill Listing and more, and on which I am now looking into getting more information. Needless to say, it takes time to get together all relevant information.

With respect to the job descriptions, I am still awaiting more information, for I didn't get my complete OPRA request, when, and if, I get this information, then I'll make up my mind on whether this information will be posted here or not. If you don't want to wait and would like to have a copy of what I have right now, please e-mail me at pellum9@aol.com with your request.

There is another factor that has come up, and this is not based on the job descriptions, but rather on the impact to the district and the community, both academically and financially, that these latest job changes have had. These two areas have been impacted and will continue to be due to the decision taken by the BOE.

Dr. Gallon III did mentioned on his response to my questions the need to respect labor contracts due to the financial responsibilities that could be acquired if contracts were broken before their due time. And fair enough, breaking a contract here in this country can cost more than keeping an employee. But the step that was taken to solve one problem has opened now more questions into the hiring and approval process taken by the BOE and his administration. It also places new attention on the needs of the district and its administrators. To formulate the right questions, and know what the right answers are, will take some time and can't be the solely work of one parent and blogger.

At this moment the right step, at least for me, is to wait until I get all my requested information together before I post any job descriptions. There are no doubts on my mind that there were steps that shouldn't have had taken place, but deciding who took these steps and understanding why they took them, will be more a matter of what your own values, principles, and beliefs are.

Until we get a community whose values, principles, and beliefs, are more homogeneous, and whose main goals are to improve and support the educational system, we will all be waltzing around the improvement of the school system. Or if you prefer something more sassy: "It takes two to tango". And in this case, if the school district is failing or succeeding, we only have to look at what part we, the community, are playing.

MP

Plainfield Holiday Shoping Sights

This Holiday Season be adventurous,
make Plainfield shops
part of your shopping list.

A Parents' Concern: School Staff Who Can't Live in Plainfield & Our High Property Taxes

A former Evergreen student who teaches today at Evergreen.
Parents getting this year's NJASK results.

Last night we had our PTO meeting at Evergreen and one of the concerns that was shared by a parent was that one of not having enough teachers living right here in the city. I don't now what the statistics for my school or the district are, but one thing I know is that of all my son's teachers, it is only a minority that live here in Plainfield, and some of the school staff that I know that have lived here, forever and ever, can't wait to retire to move out due to the high taxes. The concern was raised not as a bad thing, but more about how much easier, and better, it would be for the school and the community to have a lot more teachers that live right here in the city. The one aspect that was raised last night is that just as it is hard to get parental involvement going, so it is to get teachers involved at after school hours activities, and who can blame teachers? Many of them have young families to take care of just as we Plainfield PPS parents and families do, add to that the fact that a good number of them must drive, more or less, an hour to go back and forth from home.

On my talks to teachers and administrators over the last few years one thing that sticks out when we talk about how they came to chose their place of living is property taxes, many school staff have shared that they could not, or would not, pay Plainfield's high property taxes. And it is true, Plainfield has higher taxes than many surrounding towns, so even for a person who has a fairly secured job and a pretty decent salary, property taxes here in Plainfield are high. We must be willing to take this conversation up and accept that property taxes place us in a disadvantaged position when it comes to attract teachers and school staff, or any other professionals with a similar income, who are looking to buy a house.

To my knowledge Plainfield had, or has, a program to attract home-buying teachers and other school professionals, but despite various inquiries with different elected officials I have yet to find an answer. If the program does not exist anymore, perhaps this is a good time to add it to the city and school district's "To Do List". It doesn't have to be solely a home ownership program that could be looked into, but a rental program could be part of an initiative to attract teachers and school professionals to Plainfield. Chicago has one that has worked for their school district, or at least, that is what the Chicago School District's Teacher Housing website says.

Last night, and thanks to the parent who raised the concern, I am able to sit today to write this post that hopefully will help to start the conversation on how truly connected school and city are, and that despite the lack of communication that has existed between city-school-general population we can't deny, or continue to ignore, the mutualistic relationship that exists between these entities. Just as many of us, blogs' readers and writers, will agree that school performance affects the value of our property, we must also acknowledge that the city's high property taxes are stopping many young professionals willing to move here. What can do as residents to help change this?

And if you are a school employee who wants to live in Plainfield, what stops you from moving into Plainfield aside from high property taxes?

Does anyone believe there is a solution to this concern? Any thoughts on this will be appreciated. Thanks!

MP