Arlington County schools staff are starting contingency plans in case Hoffman-Boston Elementary School fails to meet federal No Child Left Behind requirements this academic year. The school district then would have to reorganize Hoffman-Boston or replace staff.
If it does not meet the adequate yearly progress standard in its reading test scores this school year, it will be the sixth time Hoffman-Boston has failed to meet the federal standard.
After the sixth year of failing scores, the law requires reorganizing the school or replacing staff. Options include reopening the school as a charter school, bringing in an outside agency to operate the school or some other kind of major restructuring.
“We will begin plans for possible restructuring,” Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Mark Johnston told school board members Thursday. “If it doesn’t [pass] we’ll need to implement them in fall 2008.”
Any changes will be based on Hoffman-Boston’s strengths, Johnston said. The students’ math scores have been strong in recent years, and younger students’ test scores have been high thanks to strong preschool attendance, he said.
This year, Hoffman-Boston’s overall reading scores and the reading scores of subgroups of students, including blacks, those learning English and the economically disadvantaged, did not meet the reading targets, said Mark Macekura, special projects coordinator for Arlington schools.
In addition to offering tutoring to Hoffman-Boston students this year, Johnston said, a new language arts curriculum has been implemented.
