Groton Schools Ahead Of State Trend, But Still Need Improvement

Test scores at Fitch Senior High School, Fitch Middle School and Mary Morrison Elementary School improved well enough to have the schools and the district removed from the state's list of schools needing improvement, according to 2011 test scores released by the Connecticut State Department of Education.

The schools had been labeled "in need of improvement" by the state due to low student proficiency scores on the Connecticut Mastery Test and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test prior to 2011. Fitch Senior High School was on the list for four years.

"The high school made safe harbor for the first time in five years," said Superintendent of School Paul Kadri. "It's very very difficult for a single high school in a diverse community to make it."

A school or district is considered in safe harbor after making significant gains over the the last year. Proficiency in math at Fitch Senior High School increased from 74.7 percent of studentsd in 2010 to 82.6 percent in 2011, for instance. Proficiency in reading at the high school increased from 83.8 percent of students in 2010 to 86.6 in 2011.

The minimum requirement for subject-area proficiency was increased statewide by 10 percent last year from approximately 80 percent of students proficient in math and reading to 90 percent. Statewide, 53 percent of school districts achieved the targets and in Groton, 64 percent of the district met the target proficiency rate.

"We have weathered the increase in requirements very well relative to the state," Kadri said.

Four Groton schools are still in need of improvement, according to the state report. Claude Chester Elementary School, Pleasant Valley Elementary School, Catherine Kolnaski Magnet School and West Side Middle School did not meet the state recommended targets for having 89 percent of students proficient in reading and 91 percent of students proficient in math.

Kadri said new math and reading programs along with scheduled time, called the x-block, which allows teachers to collaborate, probably played a big role in the district's gains this year.

"We believe the impact of the x-block and some of the reading initiatives put in place two years ago has helped," he said.

Catherine Kolnaski Magnet School has been in need of improvement for three years, but Principal Christine Dauphinais, who stepped into the job this July, said that new programs plus a data-driven assessment and diagnostic approach to teaching is how the staff will increase proficiency among students.

"Instead of saying that a student needs some extra support in reading, we're actually drilling down to where the specific breakdown is in their reading skills."

Dauphinais said they are able to do the same thing with a student who is having trouble advancing in math. Kolnaski students will be given a math assessment three times a year, which will identify students' strengths and areas of need.

"We've got a lot of initiatives and we're moving forward with the district," she said. "The schedule allows us to have collaboration and intervention time, the schedule really works so we have multiple teachers available for collaboration and flexible intervention groups."

The results of the specialized assessments, along with day-to-day assessments by teachers will inform the staff where interventions are needed.

"The needs of our students are just as varied as the population is," Dauphinais said.