HFCS State Of The Schools Report

by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls School Board has released its “State of the Schools Report” for the 2011-12 school year. The results were mixed, with some solid improvement in SAT results but some weakness in seventh and eighth grade assessments in ELA and Math. The District’s rank on the Capital District Business Review ranking slipped six places from 29th to 35th, although this ranking is based on data from the 2010-2011 school year.
[private]Board Goals
The Board had set a goal for the Regents exam of a 90% passing rate and 40% mastery – and achieved it. Students did very well in English with 99% passing and 65% achieving mastery. The numbers are similar for Earth Science, and results for Living Environment also exceed the Board goals. Results in History are just slightly below the Board goals, and results in Physics, Chemistry and Math are well below the Board goals.
Another Board goal was to have a 90% graduation rate. The actual rate was 88%, but Schools Superintendent Kenneth Facin noted that students who graduated by taking a GED test and those who graduated using an  Individualized Education Program (IEP diplomas for special education students) are treated the same as dropouts in compiling these figures. He said this class really had only one “true dropout.”
Another Board goal was to have 90% of sixth-graders reading at grade level and 40% at least two grade levels above. This year 84% were reading at grade level and 50% were at least two grade levels above.
Another Board goal was to have 90% of the students participate in extracurricular activities, and this past year 77% did. One hundred percent of seniors completed the community service requirement, as did most underclassmen.
SAT scores were a bright spot this year. For the past few years average SAT scores of Hoosick Falls students have been at or slightly below the State average, but this year more students took the test (76 students, around 3/4 of the class), and scores were solidly above the State average.
Administrators were most concerned about student results on the seventh and eighth grade NYS assessment tests. In English the passing rates for seventh and eighth grades were 41% and 50% respectively, and in Math they were 64% and 44%. High School Principal Stacy Vadney said these results are “not at the standard we are seeking.” Facin termed them “unacceptable.”
The District is making more academic intervention services (AIS) available to this group and hopes to improve results over the coming year.
NYS assessments in Science, given in the fourth and eighth grades, showed an 84% passing rate, down slightly from previous years when the passing rate has been in the neighborhood of 90%. Facin said the State has increased the vocabulary and the rigor of the tests and “we have not kept up.”
Former Elementary School Principal Patrick Dailey, whose new job is called “K-12 Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment,”  said both the State tests and the local curriculum are in the midst of a major change as everybody transitions to the new common core curriculum. He said the District is going through “massive curricular change” and a “massive professional development effort” as teachers move toward a new and more rigorous curriculum. Just about every teacher in the school was hired for two days this summer to rewrite curriculum for their classes. Teachers in the High School attended over 60 conferences over the past year, and teachers in the elementary school attended over 30 conferences.
The District is also in the midst of a significant technology upgrade, adding 30 more “smart Boards” this summer to make a total of 80 in the District, integrating computer assisted instruction more widely into the curriculum.
The District student population has declined in recent years. There are now 1,179 students, which is almost 100 less than four years ago.  Director of Special Education Kristin Philpott said the District is classifying less students as Special Education students because of early intervention and extra help for those who are having trouble with regular classes. She said the special education population is stabilizing at about 14 to 15%.
Disciplinary referrals increased quite a bit in 2011-12 to a level not seen since the 2008-09 school year. Facin said the District is not using in-school suspension much anymore because he feels it does not work well. He said the most effective sanction is after-school detention, and most of the increase in disciplinary referrals has been for after-school detentions.
Course failures have almost doubled over last year’s rate, from 107 in 2010-11 to 209 in 2011-12 but are still lower than they were in the years before that. There were 272 course failures in 08-09 and 234 in 09-10.
The District has enriched its offerings with a larger number of clubs, assemblies and field trips in recent years. Twenty-five extracurricular clubs were offered in the high school this past year, and 52 field trips took place. There were 29 field trips in the elementary school and 20 assemblies. Many of these clubs, field trips and assemblies enjoy financial support from the Hoosick Falls PTA, and Facin was very thankful to the PTA for the substantial support that they provide.[/private]