All Borough Schools Excel in Adequate Yearly Progress

As the new school year kicks off, students and teachers in the New Milford school system have something to celebrate.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Danielle Shanley announced at Tuesday night’s Board of Education work session that all four of the borough’s schools met the requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

AYP is the measure by which schools, districts, and states are held accountable for student performance under Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

New Milford High School, David E. Ownes Middle School, and Gibbs and Berkley Elementary Schools each met 40 out of 40 indicators, something Shanley says is “really something to celebrate.”

“There are lots of factors involved; hard work on parts of the teachers, the students focus, the administrators,” said Shanley. “We’ve set the bar for how hard we have to continue to work.”

During the 2010-2011 school year, Gibbs Elementary met AYP requirements, while Berkley, Owens Middle School, and New Milford High School missed the mark by one to two points each.

Shanley explained that the benchmark used to measure AYP does need to grow over time, with the expectation that by 2014 all students will be 100 percent proficient. “That is why the have the safe harbor, [as a] safety net. So the reduction of partial proficiency by 10 percent would supersede not meeting the benchmark,” said Shanley.

Principals of the four borough schools plan to announce AYP results to parents at each of their back to school nights this week.