New Rochelle School Parents Concerns About New York State Exam Results

Written By: Robert Cox

A reader sent the following email:

My sons attend Trinity Elementary School. We have not been informed on the [result of the] last state test. A couple of parents said they received the kids scores by contacting the board of ed.I thought these were suppose to be announced, so to speak.I was looking for some insight on this, because my wife and I received a letter in the mail notifying us that my youngest one could receive additional help for reading,I had no idea he was in need of help.

As I recall the scores are embargoed by the state. By now parents should have received the results but just to clarify any mystery I made some inquiries to state and local officials. Basically, the district had the data but was not allowed to send it out. In the meantime, the used the data to identify students who were in need of help.

The file containing the Parent Reports for students who were in Grades 3 to 8 during 2010-11 was received from NYSED around the second of September. The reports were then distributed to the schools the following week; they put them in envelopes and mailed them out by the end of September.

As to why, the embargoed data was available before that to flag students in need of help, officials in New York City prevailed on SED to release the unofficial scores to them in order to assist with summer school placements. So all local districts received this embargoed information last June. New Rochelle wasable to review these assessment results when identifying students to receive supplemental reading services for 2011-12

One thought on “New Rochelle School Parents Concerns About New York State Exam Results”

  1. school district
    I have never heard anyone on the City Council say anything of substance about the school district, its management, oversight, policies, achievement or lack thereof. To me this represents the most serious lack of responsible stewardship in New Rochelle. It is a shared responsiblity; not the majority, minority, mayor, council…. it is citywide and it violates all sense of urban planning and development (who wants to bring a business or family to New Rochelle under such circumstances), responsibility to citizens and voters, ability of all children to get an education, and of course, our tax base.

    If anyone out there contends that bob cox spends too much time in criticizing and reporting on what is going on in the district, they are flat out wrong. you may be of the opinion that he is one-sided, abrupt in his criticism, or plain rude. That is unimportant as well… my only criticism of TOTS is that it is not reaching out and identifying the totality of the systemic issues facing this city given the many issues we see on an on-going basis.

    I don’t care about separation of powers; this, itself is foolish and many municipalities are finally seeing that the burden of entrusting a multi million dollar budget (or whatever the case) cannot be left in the hands of boards with little or no business backgrounds, lawyers, PTAs and other unfocused, albeit well-meaning people. If you need proof that we live in a narcissistic society, try getting the majority of parents to realize that because they “feel” their children are getting a good education, that their school administrators are “nice” they are literally causing the children of New Rochelle to receive short shrift in terms of providing a safe haven, broad-based education, up to date facilities, and most important, a formative and multi-cultural learning experience that puts them on the right track in this complex age of globalization.

    Forget the teachers abilities to teach. That is not the issue; it begins with us frankly. We have to insist our elected officials take some responsibility, no a lot of responsibility for what is happening here. I was pleased to read recently that Ron Tocci has made some useful comments about changing the composition of the school board to serve on a District appointed basis. That is a start. Next step is with our mayor and council, one and all of them, who have to have the managerial courage to say that is it literally a sophism or put in simpler terms, an idiotic statement to sell the merits of New Rochelle to any investor, commercial or residential, with or without an abatement, with one or more parking space needs, etc. etc. etc. without stepping up and recognizing what the hell is going on here.

    So, I do not care if bob cox has motives. I am simply glad he is energetic and damn accurate on portraying what is going on in the school district. I don’t even care if the typical TOTS poster gives big papa, Lou, Al a pass on this and other issues that affect the City we all love. The blame transcends party politics, ideologies, liking or disliking of individuals in office… this is a place we live in, maybe grew up in, have children being prepared to face the world. It is not a place for moronic parents to burst into a classroom, kids to be beaten or mugged for cel phones, graduation rates to continue to fall, parents who care not getting routine test results, poser and incompetents running the district, ex board members using it as a springboard for big dollars, and so much more.

    yes, i support noam bramson but I will make sure that it comes with a price. that price is i will never let him or any other elected official forget what the necessary behaviors are (meaning policies, planning, etc. to make this place work).

    And, bob cox, keep going, this remains the core issue in New Rochelle.

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