Paterson superintendent wants to give parents choice in elementary schools
Thursday, August 29, 2013
BY LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Paterson Superintendent Donnie W. Evans said he wants to give parents citywide more say in which elementary schools their children attend, starting in September 2014.
Parents would name their top choices and when too many want the same spots, lotteries would decide who gets in. Currently, most children in pre-K to Grade 8 in the district attend schools in their neighborhoods.
Evans said the elementary-choice program would resemble the high school version that grew two years ago to encompass all district students in Grades 9-12. Last year, 35 percent of teenagers got their first pick and 60 percent got their second, according to the district. Evans said letting students enroll in smaller high schools with themes, such as culinary arts, science and health, had kept more of them engaged. The district had a 66 percent graduation rate last year, up from 64 percent the year before.
The elementary choice plan would add another round of reorganization to a system that has seen repeated restructurings over the years in efforts to raise its low test scores. Last year, 63 percent of third-graders failed state tests in language arts, and six of Paterson’s 38 elementary schools ranked among the bottom 5 percent in achievement statewide. Evans said unofficial results from last spring’s state tests showed some growth but not as much as he had wanted.