School Board Hears Report On Standardized Tests

By Eliza Hallabeck

The second presentation on standardized test results from last year’s school year was presented to the Board of Education during its meeting on Tuesday, September 15. The school board also heard an update on the Newtown High School expansion project and more during the meeting.

At the start of Mr Dumais’ presentation he explained the SAT measures a student’s aptitude, while the ACT, which has been growing in the number of Newtown students who take it in the past couple of years, measures a student’s readiness for college. Participation in taking the ACT test stayed at the same rate as last year; about 50 percent of Newtown High School seniors took the ACT. While about 72 percent of seniors took the SAT, a percent which dropped from about 85 percent last year, according to the presentation.

Mr Dumais’ presentation covered the results from the CAPT, ACT, SAT and Advance Placement Tests at the high school. (The full audio recording from Mr Dumais’ presentation to the school board can be found on The Newtown Bee’s website, NewtownBee.com.)

Summer School Update

Newtown Continuing Education Director Elissa Gellis reported on Summer School 2009, before NHS Principal Charles Dumais gave the presentation on testing.

“This year’s program experienced a dramatic decrease in overall enrollment from last year’s program,” according to the report.

Ms Gellis said the decrease could have reflected the program’s late start, and by the time summer school was announced parents could have made other arrangements.

“We thought overall it went well,” said Ms Gellis.

She also said there were mixed reactions from parents over the summer school’s move to Reed Intermediate School for kindergarten through the elementary levels.

“(Ms Gellis) makes this look very easy,” said Assistant Superintendent of Schools Linda Gejda. “There is a lot of coordination, particularly this summer with the high school closed down for part of it. (Mr Dumais and Ms Gellis) and a lot of the staff made it seamless.”

NHS Expansion

After his presentation on the test scores, the school board asked Mr Dumais to give a Newtown High School expansion update.

There is more removable material, either usable or unusable soil, than the town knows what to do with, he said, and the town requires the material to stay within five miles of where it was displaced.

“Now because we can’t use the front entrance of the school they have to go out Oakview, and the five-mile radius has gotten shorter,” he said.

During the last expansion, he said, the material was placed near the back of the school.

“The one thing that slowed this project down by one to two weeks is the discovery of a significant amount of organic material just behind the rest of the gym,” said Mr Dumais.

It is hard to say now whether the project will end on time, because the project could start to make up time, Mr Dumais said.

The new natural gas line has been brought in, the plumbing and electric is coming in, the foundation for the ground level from the cafeteria and culinary rooms to where the faculty offices will be is complete and the main transformer for the campus has been changed over.

The new building is scheduled to be finished September 2, and the main wing of the building, including the current nurses’ office and Nurtury program, will then be worked on with a scheduled finish date of January 2.

After Mr Dumais finished the NHS expansion update, Interim Director of Finance Diane Raymo explained why the school board may see some differences in the most recent Budget Summary Report.

“We are in the process of encumbering,” said Interim Director of Finance Diane Raymo. “When August came in to play, I emphasized the need to encumber in this school district because I did not see the use of a lot encumbering in the prior fiscal year. My practice is to encumber what I know I have obligated.”