Under the provisions made by the No Child Left Behind waiver, a whole new accountability system is making some key changes that will take into consideration proficiency rates, student growth and the identification of schools that need improvement in certain areas.  This new system now has five categories: priority, focus, developing, rising and reward. Schools are put into a category based on their accountability index scores.

Below is an excerpt from the Washington Post article published today:

“Priority schools — which include both DCPS and charter schools — are those with the lowest overall performance and growth. They have to write a plan that shows how they’ll implement seven “turnaround principles,” such as ensuring strong leadership and curriculum.

Priority schools will also have to decide in the next year whether to adopt one of the federal government’s four “turnaround models,” which include closing the school, replacing its principal and half the staff and restarting the school as a charter.

According to the waiver application and officials with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, parents are supposed to be included in making that decision.”

Here are the priority schools:

• Aiton ES
• Amidon-Bowen ES
• Anacostia SHS
• Browne EC
• C.W. Harris ES
• Drew ES
• Dunbar SHS
• Eastern SHS
• Garfield ES
• Johnson MS
• Kelly Miller MS
• Kramer MS
• LaSalle-Backus EC
• Luke C. Moore Academy HS
• Malcolm X ES
• Maya Angelou Public Charter School – Evans Campus
• MC Terrell ES
• Moten ES at Wilkinson
• Options Public Charter School
• Prospect LC
• Roosevelt SHS
• Savoy ES
• Spingarn SHS
• Stanton ES
• The Washington Metropolitan High School
• Woodson H.D. HS

How do you feel about these changes?  Read the full Washington Post story here.