Riverhead school board agenda: Three schools fail to meet some state progress requirements

The Riverhead school board will hear a presentation from Pulaski Street School principal David Densieski at Tuesday’s meeting on how the school will address falling below a state requirement for disabled students’ progress, according to the meeting agenda.

Pulaski Street School will be required to submit a School Quality Review report this year after it did not reach the state “annual yearly progress” (AYP) requirement for disabled students, said district superintendent Nancy Carney. Mr. Densieski will explain what curriculum changes will be made next year to bring the school’s program back into compliance.

Phillips Avenue Elementary and Riverhead High School were also required to submit a report after failing to meet the AYP. Phillips Avenue’s economically-disadvantaged, black, and English learning students missed the cut. Disabled students, Hispanics, and economically-disadvantaged students did not reach state proficiency at the high school. All three schools reached the AYP requirement for all other groups of students, and no other schools were cited for review.

The schools fell below the mark in these subgroups because of a change in state policy, Ms. Carney said. The state did away with the “Safe Harbor” policy, which gave schools a pass from making a report as long as the failing group was within a certain range close to the cut-off and all the other group scores were exceptional. The state also raised the “cut scores” this past year, making it more challenging for students and schools to meet the state requirements, Ms. Carney explained.

In other news, the board will vote to approve an out-of-state field trip for 81 students in the Riverhead High School Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble and Chamber Choir to perform at a “Music in the Parks” competition at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pa. on April 20 and 21.

The student groups will perform at the festival, then spend the rest of the day at the amusement park before returning to an awards ceremony later in the evening.

The board will also vote to accept recommendations from the Committee on Special Education for Individualized Education Plans for specific students in the district with disabilities.

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday in the high school auditorium. Scroll down to see a copy of the agenda.

Editor’s note: An earlier of this story contained some misinformation that was later clarified and/or corrected.

Riverhead School Board Agenda: Jan. 24, 2012