The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires that all states create high academic standards for the core areas of reading, writing and math. The goal of NCLB is for 100% of students meet or exceed these standards by the school year 2014. The measure of annual progress toward these standards is called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). AYP is based primarily on the results of the Nebraska state assessments given to students in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11.

When the results for AYP status are released on Friday, October 16th, Franklin Elementary School will be designated as a Year One “Needs Improvement” school under these federal guidelines.

During the last testing session:

98% of the students in grades 3rd-6th grade met or exceeded the standards in Math.
86% of the students in grades 3rd-6th grade met or exceeded the standards in Reading.
89% of the students in grades 3rd-6th grade met or exceeded the standards in Science

For a comparison of how our elementary school student’s academic performance compares with other Nebraska elementary schools students academic outcome.

Please know that the “Needs Improvement” designation bestowed upon Franklin Elementary School only refers to federal criteria and does not reflect the overall quality of our school. Franklin Elementary School is dedicated to providing a superior education that ensures academic success for all its students. We remain a AdvancED accredited school in complete compliance with State of Nebraska regulations, including quality curriculum and teaching staff.

In addition to measuring each school, NCLB also requires the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) to annually review the progress of each school district. Based on Nebraska state testing results, the Franklin Public School District was identified by the NDE as a district in need of improvement for the 2015-16 school year. A district is identified for improvement if it meets this NE criterion:

Does not make AYP in all grade spans within the district-elementary (grades 3-5), middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12)- for two consecutive years in either content area of math or reading, considering all eligible student subgroups.

To be removed from the district improvement status, the district must meet the grade span achievement standards for two consecutive years.

As a Title 1 district identified in need of improvement, Franklin Public Schools is required to communicate the district improvement plan strategies specifically addressing the teaching and learning needs of low-achieving students. The goals identified in the plan are listed below:

All teachers are being trained in a research-based instructional model created by Robert Marzano.
Weekly Response to Intervention (RTI) team meetings allows teachers to identify students in need of intervention of a skill not yet mastered. These students are then placed in small or individual settings to increase mastery level of the skill.
A standards-based report card in the area of math allows for students and teachers to monitor mastery of the math standards throughout the school year.

When an LEA (Local Education Association) is identified for improvement, it must reserve not less than 10 percent of its Title 1, Part A funds for high-quality professional development for the instructional staff that is specifically designed to improve classroom teaching. The LEA must continue to reserve and use these funds for this purpose during each fiscal year it is identified for improvement.

Parent support is essential to help your student reach his or her highest academic success, but parents may need ideas about the best way to be involved. A few suggestions include:

Communicate regularly with your child’s teachers about overall goals for the year and your child’s progress toward those goals.
Make sure your child attends school regularly. Attendance is important at every grade level. When your child must be absent, please talk with the teacher to coordinate make-up work and assignments.
Help your child with his or her homework.
Volunteer at the school. Every teacher needs volunteers to help in the classroom, or even with projects that can be done in your home. Other areas in the school, such as the office or cafeteria, also need volunteers.

As parents, you can be assured your students continue to receive a high quality education at Franklin Elementary. The assessment results cited by NCLB are one useful measurement for us, but we also have many other indicators to demonstrate that our students are indeed high achievers.

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires each school identified for Title I School Improvement to offer Public School Choice to all students who attend the identified school. Our students do not have another choice of schools within our district and as a result our students do not qualify for Public School Choice.

We are very proud of our students and of the education they receive from the staff at Franklin Elementary School. We also are committed to continuous improvement, and so will continue to seek new data and make any changes necessary to benefit student learning. We appreciate and depend on your ongoing support and assistance, and welcome your suggestions.

Sincerely,