THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

        James A. Kadamus, Deputy Commissioner
        Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education
        Room 875 EBA                    (518) 474-5915

TO:             District Superintendents of Schools
                   Superintendents of Public Schools
                   Principals of Charter Schools

FROM:         James A. Kadamus

SUBJECT:    Identification of Higher Performing Schools and Districts

On June 30, 2005, Commissioner Mills will announce a list of 574 schools and 47 school districts that have been identified as "higher performing/gap closing" based on their performance during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. The Commissioner’s action is being taken in order to comply with the requirements of Section 100.2(p) of Commissioner’s Regulations as well as our No Child Left Behind accountability plan, which requires the State to recognize high performing schools and districts. Enclosed are a Q&A about the process as well as the list of schools and districts to be recognized. This information is embargoed until June 30 and is being sent to you to help you prepare for the announcement.

A few important points:

  • Receiving recognition is a noteworthy achievement. Only 28 percent of eligible schools and 11 percent of eligible districts met the criteria for recognition.
     

  • Not every school or district was eligible for recognition. The focus of this list is on schools and districts that are exceeding State standards and making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) while serving diverse populations. Only schools or districts that were held accountable for at least two racial ethnic groups or at least one of the other NCLB accountability groups (low-income, students with disabilities, or limited English proficient students) were eligible for recognition. This means that many suburban and rural schools and districts, which are either small or lack diversity, were not eligible for consideration. When grade 3-8 testing begins next year, many more schools and districts will become eligible for recognition.
     

  • To be eligible for recognition, a majority of the students in the school or district had to have achieved proficiency in English and math and all disaggregated groups for which the school or district was accountable had to have made Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years in English, math and science (elementary/middle levels) or graduation rate (high school). In some of these schools and districts, the absolute level of performance, particularly with students with disabilities, is still low, but AYP is being made.

    • Should you require any additional information or clarification, please contact Shelia Evans-Tranumn or Ira Schwartz at (718) 722-2796.

    cc: Commissioner Mills
          Shelia Evans-Tranumn
          Diana Hinchcliff
          David Johnson
          Ira Schwartz