From an analysis of the data, observations of schools, and interviews with
school department officials,
the SchoolMatch Audit team makes the following
recommendations:
The Portsmouth School Department provides educational programs to a socio-economically diverse population. Evidence of this diversity is found, for example, in the huge range in kindergarten readiness at the elementary schools. There is also evidence that points to groups of students who are underserved by the schools. Data supports the conclusion that, for a school system exhibiting a high degree of academic success, other proxy or contributing measures could be better. For example, student attendance rates at some schools should be higher when compared with similar cohorts. It could be concluded that Portsmouth is providing most of its students with outstanding academic programs, but more attention must be given to low-achieving students who tend to be from low-income and minority families.
A. Diversity recruitment. A concerted effort should be made to increase the diversity among the teaching staff. This can be achieved through recruiting at institutions that have a high minority enrollment, establishing a program to assist qualified minority candidates who may be working in various support positions within the school system and community to earn their teaching credentials, and developing exchange programs with neighboring school departments that have a more diverse staff.
B. Induction program. All new staff in the school department would benefit from a formal induction program to ease their transition into the Portsmouth Schools. The site team recommends that a three-day intensive orientation program be required of teachers new to the Portsmouth Schools prior to the start of the school year. During the orientation the mission of the schools and the instructional strategies, which are used to achieve the mission, would be presented. Additionally, outstanding teachers in each building should be identified and assigned mentoring duties to provide each new staff member with personalized, individualized assistance and support in becoming familiar with the programs, personnel and processes in place in the Portsmouth Schools.
C. Alternative compensation. The site team recommends that the Board consider empowering the Superintendent to provide marketplace incentives in the employment of teachers in areas of critical need as identified by the New Hampshire Department of Education. Such incentives could take the form of initial hiring bonuses or advanced placement on the salary schedule to acknowledge work in the field (e.g., work as a scientific researcher for a science teacher).
D. Media specialists/librarians. The Portsmouth School Department has an abundance of specialists to assist students in specialized areas such as art, music and special education. Research indicates the importance of skilled media specialists/librarians to support student and teacher research and learning. The site team recommends that the administration consider staffing all library/media centers with fully certified/licensed professionals.
Discussions with computer instructors in the schools, classroom teachers, students and administrators leads to the conclusion that somewhere between 25 and 30 percent of Portsmouth students do not have computers available for their use at home. Although the Portsmouth School Department has attempted to supply a good number of computers in the schools, an elementary student still has about an hour of instruction on the computer a week.
It is important for the future learning needs of youngsters to develop appropriate computer labs, transportation to and from lab sites and expansion of the concept of "check-out computers" and summer personal computer loan programs, at least for those students eligible for free and reduced price lunch.
Research indicates "time on task" is a critical variable in increasing student achievement. Likewise, professional staff members need additional time to continually improve their skills. To provide additional time for teaching and learning, the Site Visit Team recommends:
A. The School Board should work with the local Teachers Association to consider lengthening the school year by 10 days for students and at least 13 days for professional staff as a means of increasing student time-on-task, school system services, and community confidence in the investment. The lengthened school year could be presented to the state legislature or public via referendum as a reason to increase funding for the school system. Without such additional funding, of course, the school department could not reasonably implement this recommendation. (The State of Arizona recently increased state funding for the 70,000-student Mesa Unified School department as an outgrowth of that school system’s willingness to extend its school year by five days.)
B. It is recommended that orientation for new professional staff be extended by at least 3 additional days.
C. It is recommend that full-day kindergarten be instituted at all elementary schools.
While the Site Visit Team was encouraged to learn of the major building program for students in grades 9-12, a similar need for students in grades 6-8 is evident. Built in the 1930’s and last renovated in the 1970’s, the current middle school structure is not conducive to the middle school teaming concept, lacks flexibility of use, may not meet current code requirements, lacks an auditorium (removed during the 1970 renovation) or similar multi-use space, and is showing signs of general deterioration. In a schooling environment where the emphasis is clearly on individual student growth and success, an appropriate facility designed to extend and support the middle school concept is clearly needed. The Site Visit Team recommends that efforts be initiated to address this increasingly critical facility need.
A. To supplement the New Hampshire Educational Improvement and Assessment Program for Grades 3, 6 and 10, it is recommended that other student assessment data be collected periodically. Norm referenced tests are advisable at each grade level, along with teacher initialed benchmark evaluations to prevent learning gaps at each grade level.
B. In addition, current efforts to accommodate multiple intelligences and learning styles need to be continued in the assessment programs.
During the site visit, the Audit team observed positive measures developed by the new administration to strengthen communication within the schools and community. The Portsmouth School Department is encouraged to continue current initiatives to forge strong channels of communication by broadening the means of delivering information to all stakeholders in the Portsmouth Area Community. Channels to consider include a more robust web site, an informative periodic newsletter, information and district news updates on local cable TV channels, and a graduate follow-up survey to gain feedback on the effectiveness of the school department’s programs.
A. Enhance the AP program by formalizing programs for the gifted and talented; developing policy to require students taking AP course to also take AP exams; paying fees for the AP exams; and increasing acceleration, for example, increasing the percentage of eighth grade students taking algebra and ninth grade students taking geometry.
B. All AP courses should be taught by appropriately trained and credentialed professionals. Do not have interns teaching these courses.
The district is encouraged to redouble efforts to improve data collection, aggregation and disaggregation to ensure the ability to examine important factors related to educational effectiveness at both the district and individual school levels.
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