As the school district works to meet upcoming common core standards and search for a permanent superintendent, school officials and residents are saying they’re not settling for mediocrity.
by David Kilby, Special Writer
CHESTERFIELD — As the school district works to meet upcoming common core standards and search for a permanent superintendent, school officials and residents are saying they’re not settling for mediocrity.
At the Chesterfield Board of Education meeting Nov. 19, the board extended Dr. Leigh Byron’s contract as interim superintendent. The new contract, approved unanimously, is effective Aug. 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014.
The board is searching for a permanent superintendent, and invited the public to join an ad hoc committee that is being established for that purpose.
”If you’d like to throw your name in the hat for that you’re more than welcome do to that,” said Brian Miencke, board president.
The committee will also consist of representatives of different school groups and teachers. The board intends to close the search for a permanent superintendent by mid-December, Mr. Miencke added.
In his first report under his new contract, Dr. Byron discussed the new common core standards that the Chesterfield School District will be required to meet in upcoming years.
He noted the district’s standards are high, but there’s still room for improvement.
”The children here are loved,” Dr. Byron said. “They are cared for. You don’t have to be here long to see that.
”We’re looking on a relative scale how much better we can get,” he added.
The district, as of 2012, was at 79.8 percent efficiency in New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge test scores, and common core standards require that schools in Chesterfield’s peer group to be at 89.3 percent efficiency by 2017.
While acknowledging that the district has room to improve, Dr. Byron said to keep in mind that the 79.8 percent efficiency rate is according to scores recorded a year and a half ago.
He added that, according to the same 2012 results, the district met its targets for language arts and mathematics, but didn’t meet its target in the Caucasian student demographic.
The district is in the 64th percentile statewide, meaning its performance is better than 64 percent of the schools in the state, but is better than only 23 percent of the districts in the state with similar demographics, according to the school performance report on the district website, www.chesterfieldschool.com.
”At whatever level we are we want to get better,” Dr. Byron said. “We know we’re better than 18 months ago, and we keep getting better.”
Marty Cohen of Tudor Court, a father of three students in the district, said the district’s ranking in the college and career readiness category is very low.
He also said since Chesterfield’s kids are often competing for college against students from Peddie School, Hightstown and Lawrenceville Prep, the district’s standards need to be high.
Gino Sivieri, supervisor of curriculum and instruction, said in response that a K-6 district such as Chesterfield, student attendance is the only factor that is measured in reports that measure college and career readiness.
However, Mr. Cohen responded, “You want your kids in the top 10 percentile. A lot of times you have to be shown in black and white where you stand and make adjustments and do something about it.”