Members of RBR’s School Improvement team who supported the recommendation for the academy expansion are (pictured left to right): Ernie D’Albero, Stephen Sarles and Terra Sarnacki, all teachers; Lori Todd, student assistance counselor; Andrew Forrest, teacher, Paul McEvily, parent, Principal Jim Stefankiewicz; Sara Wiggins, teacher; Carolyn Selheim, student; Diane Sheng, parent and committee president; Rob Donohoe, teacher. LITTLE SILVER – A major federal grant awarded to the Red Bank Regional (RBR) School District will fund the implementation of smaller learning communities for students.
According to a Sept. 28 press release from the school, a $1.25 million grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and will provide the funding to extend the academy programs at RBR to the entire student body.
The grant money comes from the federal Smaller Learning Communities Program and is authorized to be dispensed over the first three years for $695,000, according to the press release. The program must then be reauthorized by Congress in order to receive the remaining grant money in years four and five, according to the press release.
“We are incredibly delighted over this grant award for it substantiates all our hard work and makes our aspirations for the continued improvement of this high school realizable in the very near term,” said RBR principal Jim Stefankiewicz, who led the research and writing of the grant comments.
According to the school’s press release, “The Red Bank Regional (RBR) School District has always been on the vanguard of cutting-edge programs to promote educational excellence. In particular, RBR is touted for its commended academies in the arts, finance and technology in which 20 percent of the students are enrolled.”
RBR is one of only 38 recipients nationwide to be awarded the grant and a total of $86 million was awarded for the first three years. Union City was the only other New Jersey school district to receive the grant, according to the press release.
“The purpose of creating a smaller learning environment will be to better engage the middle 70 percent of the student population – those students who don’t necessarily enter high school with an idea of career goals or even of areas in which to concentrate their studies,” said Stefankiewicz. “Career based, small learning communities for all students will provide them with an academic career focus; maximize their potential and raise their self-esteem and personal expectations.”
The actual academies will develop over the next two years, by which time the incoming freshman class of 2009 will be expected to make an academy choice. Academy changes will be allowed in the sophomore year, but not beyond the junior year, according to the press release.
“Winning this grant also validates the vision of our Board of Education in having originally supported the academy concept,” said RBR Superintendent Dr. Edward Westervelt.
The development of the smaller learning communities was discussed with RBR’s School Improvement Committee, which is a standing committee of the Board of Education composed of administrators, parents, teachers and students formed to explore programs and initiatives to improve education at RBR, according to the press release.
This plan is part of a five-year strategic plan to expand existing programs as well as create new ones, according to the press release.
According to the press release, “Compiled with survey input from the student body, the school district is investigating an academy configuration as the following: the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (virtually unchanged from what is currently offered) with its major offerings as dance, drama, vocal, piano, commercial art, photography, etc.; the Academy of Business and Technology with majors in engineering, media production, aeronautics etc.; the Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences with majors in literature, history, law, education, etc.
Also, the Academy of Sports Medicine and Management Majors with majors in athletic training, EMT, physical therapy, nursing, etc.; the Academy of Global and Cultural Studies with majors in international studies, French, Spanish, etc., and includes an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, which will be implemented within two years; the Academy of Math and Science with majors in mathematics, biotechnology, life science, etc.
The concept of creating smaller learning communities to maximize academic success is strongly supported by educational research and formed the impetus for RBR’s implementation of the first phase of its freshman academy this year.
In September the almost 300-student ninth-grade class was divided into three groups of approximately 100 students who share the same core teachers. These teachers share a common planning period to better follow students and integrate curriculum.
“An essential component to the implementation of these programs is teacher training, which will also be supplemented by the grant money. Additionally, we are ecstatic to realize the hiring of a reading specialist, something we always desired but were unable to fund through our local budget,” said Westervelt.
“The specialist will help realize a major goal of the grant – to graduate students ready for college and not in need of further remediation,” added Stefankiewicz.
The second phase of the implementation, which will include a more physical compartmentalization of the academies, will be aided with the grant dollars, according to the press release. Additionally, the supporting enrichment and tutoring programs will utilize the grant funding to expand freshman success.
This includes the implementation of the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program, a mentoring program that begins this year in the Red Bank Middle School, according to the press release.
The AVID program’s mission is stated as “To assist students – especially in the middle – to succeed in a rigorous curriculum and enroll in a four-year college.”