By Kaitlyn Kanzler, Special writer
CRANBURY — The school district received the results of its New Jersey State Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) monitoring, which took place on July 11.
The results were presented at the Aug. 21 meeting, where the district received a high performing rating, according to Business Administrator Joyce Picariello.
QSAC is the Department of Education’s monitoring and evaluation system for public school districts, according to the state’s Department of Education website. It combines and includes the monitoring requirements of related state laws and programs and balances federally required improvements. According to the website, the focus is based on key factors found in effective school districts. These key factors used are instruction and program, personnel, operations, fiscal management, and governance, according to the state.
The system shifts the monitoring and evaluation focus from compliance to assistance, capacity building and improvement, according to the state.
”Having an outside source come in that’s not looking for issues, but making sure that the school is up to standard, really helps us,” board member Evelyn Spann said.
According to Ms. Picariello, the Cranbury School scored a 98 percent out of 100 percent in the areas of instruction and program. The district scored 100 percent in the areas of personnel, operations, governance, and fiscal management.
”The district did exceedingly well,” Ms. Picariello said.
According to Ms. Picariello, the system is very time-intense, but it helps the school district figure out what it is doing correctly and what it needs to improve on.
”We are very proud of this score. It shows the dedication of the entire Cranbury School faculty and staff,” Chief Business Administrator, Susan Genco, who was unable to attend the Aug. 21 Board meeting, said this week.
There is a maximum of 100 points the district can score in the various categories, according to Ms. Picariello.
”It probably comes down to a matter of opinion,” board member Kevin Fox said, when addressing the loss of the two points in the areas of instruction and program.
The district recently hired Bill Osman as the new supervisor of curriculum and instruction, whose work has focused on data-informed instruction in preparation for designing a curriculum that meets New Jersey’s Common Core State Standards.
According to Ms. Picariello, the program is initially self-reflective, leaving the district to self-assess the areas that it feels needs improvement or an area where it can exceed expectations.
”These scores are reflective of the district’s commitment to excellence,” Ms. Picariello said.
The board was notified about its score on July 18, Ms. Picariello said.
The Evaluation of the Performance of School Districts was re-adopted in the state with several amendments to execute a monitoring and evaluation system for public school districts and county vocation school districts on March 7.
According to the statue, the goal of QSAC is to ensure that all public school districts are operating at a high level of performance.
Every school district is required by law, to submit a QSAC report every three years and is subject to a comprehensive review by the commissioner of education, if they determine that the conditions within a district negatively and significantly affect the educational program during the years between reviews, according to the state.
Districts that score between 80 and 100 percent are considered high performance districts, while districts that score between 50 and 79 percent are required to develop an improvement plan to address the performance indicators that make up QSAC evaluation. This improvement plan is reviewed every six months, according to the state.
Districts that score below 50 percent are required to receive an in-depth evaluation of its performance and capacity. The state’s commissioner of education may also order the board to show why an administrative order placing the district under partial state intervention should not be put into effect.
The Department of Education uses these scores to determine the type and level of oversight and technical assistance and support a district receives, according to the state.
According to Mrs. Picariello, the Cranbury School also scored well on its facilities review.

