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Saturday, October 24, 2009

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District works on progress

By JODIE TWEED

Staff Writer

The Brainerd School District has implemented a district-wide improvement plan as part of the requirement for not making Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, under the federal No Child Left Behind Act for two years in a row.

Nearly half of Minnesota schools did not make AYP, the state Department of Education announced in August.

The Brainerd School District did not make AYP for two years in a row in the special education subgroup in reading proficiency. Because the district receives federal Title I funds and didn't make AYP for two years in a row in the same subject, the school had to create an improvement plan.

Superintendent Steve Razidlo and Deb Lechner, director of teaching and learning, gave school board curriculum committee members Friday an overview on what the district is trying to do to improve test scores for its special education students on the MCA-II exams.

Razidlo said the district is required to set aside 10 percent of its Title I funding, or $90,160, and another 10 percent of federal stimulus funds, or $57,245, to implement the plan.

As part of NCLB Act, all students in the nation need to achieve 100 percent proficiency by 2014.

Razidlo discussed the eight elements of the distric''s improvement plan, which includes improving reading skills for special education students in grades 3-8 and 10th grade.

If a school has enough students within a subgroup, such as special education, free or reduced lunches or ethnic groups, then the majority of that subgroup must make proficiency or else the entire school fails to meet AYP. Razidlo said about 20 students usually make up one subgroup.

"Everyone must meet the same bar, and it's hard to do," said Razidlo.

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