Joanne Megargee's Blog

Leonia Board of Education

Posted on Friday, March 9, 2012 Meet Bryan Respass

Moving Every Student Forward in Leonia Schools

Bryan Respass, a math teacher at Leonia Middle School, previously worked as computer programmer prior to transitioning into teaching. As a result, in addition to teaching Algebra and Pre Algebra, he has also found a niche in performing data analysis for the district—collecting, analyzing, aggregating and distributing data on the progress of all students to teachers, counselors, and administrators to meet NCLB requirements. In the exchange below, he discusses how the use of data is changing Leonia’s schools. 

What is NCLB?

NCLB, an acronym for No Child Left Behind, is a federal law passed in 2001. The law requires all US public schools to annually assess students in Math and Language Arts in grades 3-8 and 11 and in Science in grades 4 and 8. Schools are then measured based upon the pass rates of students on these standardized assessments. By 2014, the current law requires that 100% of students achieve proficiency on these assessments. Any school without a 100% proficiency rate will be labeled as failing to meet Annual Yearly Progress.

Is NCLB good for schools?

NCLB has required states to develop Read more...

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Posted on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Data Use in Leonia

Greetings All:

Recent articles in Education Week and The New York Times prompted me to ask our administrators and supervisors about the data use in their content/subject/grade level cohort.  After our lively discussion and tons of supporting evidence, Nick Bernice addressed the same topic in his weekly newsletter to his staff.  I thought you would enjoy his piece.

Joanne Megargee

A few weeks ago at the Administrative Council meeting, the Superintendent asked the district administrators about our use of data to inform both placement and instruction.  The consensus is that throughout the district, data is used in a variety of ways. It was then noted that Education Week recently featured an article touting Kentucky’s use of reporting data. The article suggests that Kentucky performs at the top, providing timely information about graduation and college-admission rates, as well as student performance based on race and income

I could not help but chime in and share positive thoughts regarding the middle school’s use of data.  I assert that the entire Leonia School District is miles ahead of our Read more...

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Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 Welcome to February, 2012 and to the Leonia Public Schools

It is my pleasure to welcome guest blogger, Board of Education President, Mr. Jeffrey McCartney.

From Board President Jeff McCartney:

I want to thank Superintendent Megargee for her continuing efforts to reach out to the Leonia and Edgewater school communities.  This “Superintendent’s Blog” and “Superintendent’s Vodcasts” are two new ways for our school administration to keep the public informed.  I’m delighted that the blog and vodcasts have been so well received, and that I was asked to be a guest blogger from time to time! 

As such, I am responding to several queries that the school district has received from the community in the past few weeks on our recent bond refunding of the 2001 and 2003 projects and on the 2009 project that is still underway.

On the recent bond refunding:

The BOE recently took action to refinance two construction bond issues (from 2001 and 2003), which will result in a savings of over $700,000 over the next 12 years.

Comment: The bond refunding is good news!  But, how do we know that any proceeds will be returned to the taxpayers? Read more...

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Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 Welcome to January

Welcome to January 2012 and to the Leonia Schools.    

The New Year always brings the hope of new beginnings.  Resolutions are made, new goals are set.  School districts celebrate their New Year at a different time – September.  This past September, our administrators set goals for their building or their programs – goals such as preparing for our QSAC – state monitoring inspection, goals on student achievement and academic growth, on teacher training, schedule changes and pilot studies.

The districts administrators will be reporting mid-year progress on their goals – some at this weeks’ Board meeting, some at next week’s Board meeting.  We invite you to ask “an administrator” for a copy of their building or program goals.  Inquire about the progress of each goal.

One of my goals has been to increase communication to our district’s constituents.  If you are enjoying my vod-casts or blog, please let me know.  Are you receiving my “tweets”, if not, why not sign up to follow the Leonia schools on Twitter.

Such exciting times are happening in the Leonia Schools.  Please join us as a partner as we usher in the second half of our new year.

Have a great Read more...

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Posted on Friday, December 2, 2011 Guest Blogger - Dr. Nicholas Bernice

Greetings - I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Nicholas Bernice, Principal of Leonia Middle School as our "guest blogger".  Enjoy his writing -

See you on the blog,

Joanne Megargee

From Dr. Nick Bernice:

Last week, the country paused to reflect on the things for which we are most thankful. As a school community, we foster the concept of giving thanks through food donations and monetary contributions that aid those less fortunate. This holiday season gives us yet another opportunity to reflect on what is most important. 

The US Census Bureau indicates that, currently, 25% of children are born into poverty and that more people are living in poverty than ever before (15.1% of the US population).  This number continues to increase over time, as economic woe plagues not only this nation but also the world over.

Families are subject to economic hardships at all times of the year. In the Leonia Public Schools nearly 15% of our students are on the free or reduced meal plan. If you discover that a child is not eating breakfast or lunch Read more...

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Posted on Monday, November 14, 2011 American Education Week

On October 20th, The National Council of Teachers of English, along with Figment.com, New York Times Learning Network, Edutopia, and NWP Radio celebrated “the why of writing” with their annual National Day of Writing. As shared in their introduction, “Writing has been fundamental to human civilization since the first hieroglyphs, and it becomes more important everyday in our world that streams with emails, text messages, tweets, and blog posts. We are all writers, yet the why of writing is a topic of continual exploration.”

Here in the Leonia Schools, students understand that the “why of writing” is communication, spiraled in each grade level and in every content classroom.  Students quickly learn that the developed written word brings authenticity to their argument and color to the landscape of their message. From the Pre-K through our twelfth grade, students develop and hone their writing skills through classroom or homework activities that encourage developed voice – voice that is moved through the written word.

Let’s take a tour through our schools,

Teachers and students at ACS are in their third year of a balanced literacy approach to reading and writing.  With support and professional development from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, teachers meet to master differentiated instruction, Read more...

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Posted on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 See You on the Blog

Greetings and welcome to our new and soon-to-be interactive Superintendent’s Blog.  We have decided that if we are asking our students and teachers to move technologically into 21st Century thinking, in their methods of teaching, learning and transmitting, then so must we in our communication venue.  This first issue is our “introduction piece”. 

This blog can take many turns.  Our primary focus is to provide our community with greater understanding as to why and how “we do the things we do” – clearer understanding of how we implement core subject areas such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, to name a few; the importance of fine and performing arts as core subjects and blends within curricular strands; special “happenings” in the schools; insight into the preparation of the school budget; the latest mandates that shape our schools (HIB, etc.) and topics of interest to Leonia and the community at large.

We will begin as a “mono-blog”, informational pieces from the Superintendent.  We will then open our blog to allow you to respond for comments, support or additional questions.  This is a learning experience and a pilot for us both.  Let’s enjoy the “tour” together.

Next, expect a “twitter” from the Superintendent – or is it a “tweet”? Read more...

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