The meeting began with a detailed presentation on student achievement metrics, highlighting the district’s performance in ELA and mathematics. The graduation readiness for ELA stood at 81.7%, slightly above the state average of 81.6%. However, the math scores were notably lower, with the district achieving only 41.3% compared to the state’s 54.7%. These statistics sparked a discussion about the district’s academic performance and the necessity for targeted interventions.

One notable concerns was the performance of economically disadvantaged students and special education students, with graduation rates of 56% and 58.8%, respectively. The discussion also focused on the challenges faced by multilingual learners, who had a graduation rate of 42.9% in ELA. The board acknowledged the difficulties these students encounter in acquiring proficiency in English and discussed alternative pathways for graduation, including assessments such as the PSAT, SAT, or ACT, or a portfolio appeal process. Notably, 100% of eligible students from the previous year had graduated using these alternative methods.

To address these performance gaps, the board proposed a partnership with Linkit, a benchmarking and data warehousing platform. This tool will enable students in grades 2 through 11 to take assessments at various intervals during the school year, providing predictive data on student performance on state assessments. The data will be accessible through dashboards, allowing educators to monitor student performance across multiple metrics and adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. One participant expressed relief that Linkit seemed more user-friendly and informative than the previous system, Performance Matters.

The conversation then shifted to the issue of student mobility, with less than 58% of students who began in kindergarten remaining through high school graduation. This high level of transiency complicates the interpretation of performance metrics, as students entering and leaving the district may not accurately reflect the school’s efforts. Chronic absenteeism was another topic of concern, with rates close to 20% in early elementary levels and around 12-13% in middle and high school levels. The state defines a chronically absent student as one who misses 10% or more of the school year, which translates to 18 days in a typical year. The implications of absenteeism were emphasized, noting that consistent classroom attendance is important for academic success.

The meeting also featured a presentation on the ACCESS test results for multilingual learners. The writing and reading components of the test each comprise 35% of the overall score, with listening and speaking at 15% each. The presentation revealed that no students reached the “bridging” or “reaching” levels necessary for exiting multilingual learner services. Out of 86 students who took the test in the Spring, only two achieved the required score to exit the program. The board discussed the significant increase in the multilingual learner population, which grew from 39 students in the 2018-2019 school year to 88 in the previous year.

Subsequent steps include sending score interpretation guides to families in both English and their native languages and providing professional development opportunities for teachers to better support multilingual learners in a general education setting. This approach aims to integrate these students more effectively rather than relying solely on specialized services.

Public comments brought additional community concerns to the forefront. One parent expressed frustration regarding school taxes and suggested implementing tuition fees for families without children in the school system. The board reiterated its legal obligation to provide free public education, noting that state laws prohibit charging tuition for public schools.

Another community member inquired about current student enrollment, which was reported as 1,591 students. A former board president voiced concerns about public education funding and emphasized the importance of quality education and accountability within the district. They advocated for better communication of the district’s successes to the community to garner support for future initiatives and referendums.

Board members also discussed the new superintendent’s background, providing a brief overview of their previous roles in education. The meeting continued with acknowledgments and congratulations to high school students for their performance on Advanced Placement (AP) exams. In AP Literature, three students achieved scores of four out of five, while in AP Language, four students earned perfect scores out of 17 participants. The board plans to report further AP data in the upcoming November NJLA score report.