13th Avenue Renew School Looks Forward to New Year

As the start of the 2012-13 school year looms, theare one by one unveiling their respective blueprints to revive the flailing district, including the largest of the bunch, 13th Avenue Renew.

After weeks of planning, the administration at the West Ward school outlined at a meeting Tuesday plans to foster a "culture of achievement" through professional development and an individualized approach to learning.

The renew school will house roughly 1,100 students from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and 13th Avenue schools at the 13th Avenue building.

"Even though we'll be a large school, the way that plan is going to be rolled out … is so that we don't have kids who get lost," said Principal Kimberly Mackey. "They'll (teachers) be constantly working in teams and developing the more individualized approach to students."

The school's academic plan is undergoing a serious revamp for the upcoming school year, with a focus on professional development, technological literacy and a research-based teaching approach.

The school also sets out to improve scores on the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) test by one-and-a-half years, in part through a baseline assessment for literacy at the start of the school year. Seventy percent of students (grades 3-8) from 13th Avenue and MLK failed to meet state proficiency rates, according to Mackey's presentation.

The school also has an eye on student life, with plans of two student caucuses for social and academic success, as well as a partnership with the Urban League of Essex County to map out "safe passages" with community members for worry-free commutes to and from school. Participants of the "safe passages" program, like small business owners and the elderly, will don orange vests to signify protective zones for students to retreat to.

"They're going to be a support group for one another," said Mackey, of the student caucuses.

Last February, Newark's state-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson announced Schools affected by Anderson's restructuring plan were ones with consistently low test scores and declining enrollment.

Now, principals at each renew school, like Mackey, the former principal of 13th Avenue School who had to reapply for her job this school year, are tasked with boosting test scores in wake of school closures. This summer, school leaders have met with stakeholders in focus groups to hammer out logistics, like core values, learning and professional development models and even uniforms.

One parent Tuesday expressed concern over the 13 Avenue Renew's ability to support special needs students, which makes up 42 percent of its population this school year.

"We have two or three vice principals as well as a new chief innovation officer … and it hasn't been communicated to us that there's anyone with any real significant expertise to deal with special needs children," said the parent, who did not wish to be named.

While fielding questions, Mackey deferred one about special needs education within the school, saying it would be answered via email.

Wilhelmina Holder, president of the Secondary Parents Council in Newark, said the planning for renew schools was poorly executed and rushed.

"You start a year in advance, you bring the community in to build a consensus," said Holder. "This is the worst process, to have people work four weeks over the summer to try to build a school's confidence."

Community meetings were also held Tuesday at Peshine and Chancellor schools, while meetings for the other renew schools – Camden, Sussex Avenue, Quitman Street, Newton Street and Cleveland Avenue – are forthcoming.