Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Schools

Thu, May 23, 2013


	Letter to Parents from the Superintendent

Dear Parents,

It has come to my attention that over the last couple of days several rumors have started to circulate in the community regarding Wemrock Brook School and the possibility of redistricting in the future. Let me state this clearly: the Board of Education has not made any decisions regarding redistricting at this time. What has been decided is the following:

1. After the first grade registration period ended in March, it was determined that Wemrock Brook School would require one additional classroom to service the over 700 students in the building. Since there were no classrooms available, a self-contained special education class had to be moved. There are no other classrooms available in the building.

2. Since Wemrock Brook School already has the largest class size for first grade in the district and there are no other available rooms in the building, I determined on April 1^st that any new first grade registrations from the Meadow Creek area would go to Taylor Mills School for the 2013-2014 academic year, and that the only exceptions to this rule would be for newly-registering first grade children from Meadow Creek whose older siblings already attend the Wemrock Brook School.

3. As of 9:00 AM this morning (May 8, 2013) there have not been any new first grade registrations from the Meadow Creek area. Therefore, no child has yet been impacted by this rule.

4. In September 2013, after the school year has started, I will present information to the Board of Education on the large student population at Wemrock Brook School and possible solutions for the future. This discussion will be open to the public and all members of the school community will be made aware of the time and location of the discussion. The placement of children who were relocated to Taylor Mills School for the 2013-2014 academic year will be part of the discussion. If space is available in Wemrock Brook School for the 2014-2015 academic, they will have the option of going to Wemrock Brook or staying at Taylor Mills School.

5. The Meadow Creek area was selected because over the last two years the largest number of new registrations has come from that community. The possibility exists that a large number of new students from the Meadow Creek area will register over the summer, and we need to have a plan in place that will allow those students to have a smooth enrollment to our schools.

I hope this clarifies any misunderstanding or confusion you might have had regarding this issue. I apologize for the appearance of the lack of transparency. It was my intent that anyone impacted by this decision would know all the accurate information at the time they registered their child. I underestimated how quickly misinformation travels in our connected world. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact my office.

Sincerely,

John J. Marciante Jr. Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools


	Superintendent's Update on PARCC Testing and Common Core State Standards

As I have indicated previously, over forty states, including New Jersey, decided several years ago to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics in 2012-2013. Part of this process will include the replacement of the NJASK with the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) in 2014-2015. The transition from the NJASK to the PARCC assessment will begin the Spring of 2013. In Language Arts, only those types of questions that have previously been on the NJASK and are consistent with the Common Core State Standards will be included in the 2013 NJASK. In Mathematics in grades 3-5, the new Common Core State Standards will be assessed. Overall, it is my opinion that this will narrow the range of difficulty of the questions your child will be expected to answer, and many children will find that the test has become more difficult. While it is too early to predict the impact on a particular child's score as compared to his or her previous performance on the NJASK, it is important to remember that the main purpose of the CCSS and the PARCC is to raise the standard for proficiency. It is reasonable to expect that many children will see their scores decrease to some degree.

The main purpose of this communication is to help parents understand the challenges that their children will be facing over the next several years. To assist in this endeavor, I have placed on the district web site a number of PDF documents that are examples of questions that will appear on the PARCC in 2015 and explain how they are related to the CCSS. Clicking on this link will lead you to those PDF documents. They describe various grade level items in Mathematics and Language Arts. It should be noted that some of the questions require additional material or capabilities that require an active online connection. Additional information can be found at www.parcconline.org

The district will continue to make the changes that are necessary for your child to be successful during this transition. While you might not be aware of the subtle differences in instruction your child has experienced, the teachers in Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Schools have been implementing the CCSS for the past three months. I was also happy to hear that approximately 50% of the children in grades 1-5 are reading those extra 30 minutes a night. I am sure that by working together, we will be able to prepare your children to meet this challenge.

Sincerely,

John J. Marciante Jr., Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools