District Administration - October 2008 - (Page 28)

DistrictProfile Nestled off the maiN road between groves of lush trees in a northern New Jersey hamlet, the campus of dwight morrow high school of the englewood Public school district evokes collegiate serenity. it may not even come as a surprise to hear that never-fail conversation starter: “What’s your major?” for francisco franco, the answer is performing arts. as a sophomore, he now studies dance and theater and attends specialized courses in his major-affiliated small learning community twice a week. on other days, he attends regular classes required by New Jersey state curriculum. This is just a slice of academic life for 289 freshmen and sophomores out of the district’s 1,000 total students. in the fall of 2007, school administrators introduced majors to the high school curriculum, funneling $250,000 toward a reorganization of the teaching staff. students choose from five majors: international studies, allied health, fine arts, sports leadership or communications. The Turn Around serving an area that includes several housing projects as well as million-dollar estates, dwight morrow is a high school straddling two worlds. affluent families in the area choose exclusive private schools, causing racial and socio-economic imbalance at the high school. in 2002, under a state mandate to improve racial balance, the district opened academies at englewood, a majors-based, advanced program on the same grounds as dwight morrow in an attempt to attract white students to the only high school in the district. in the beginning, the two entities— the 450 students at academies at englewood and dwight morrow’s population of just under 500 students—operated 28 October 2008 ENGLEWOOD (N.J.) PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT N.J. School Declares a “Major” Change By Danielle Gaines Journalism co-teachers Peter Mecca (left) and James Ferrara with Dwight Morrow High School students in the new state of the art Mac lab. independently. teachers and administrators said that dwight morrow students felt slighted by the attention focused on the academies. “The students were saying ‘Why are those kids entitled to special programs? how about us?’” recalls assistant superintendent michael Polizzi. at the start of this year, academies at englewood’s majors program was adopted by the high school. after approval by the school board, action was swift. teachers, students and administrators worked together to identify major subjects. Then principal James smith asked for faculty volunteers to lead the new programs and develop curricula. The shift in personnel yielded only modest funding needs—about $250,000. since the reform, the campus climate has improved dramatically, Polizzi says. The school now goes by the combined name dwight morrow academies at englewood; bell schedules are synched; sports teams, school dances and club meetings are combined; elective courses are available to all students; and, perhaps for the first time, students in the buildings have gotten to know one another. Unleashing the Passion With the introduction of majors at dwight morrow, all secondary students in the single high school district can major in one of 11 concentrations, including the five offered at the academies: biomedicine, finance, informational systems, law and engineering, though there is a more rigorous application process at the academy. “all of the programs are specialized but allow room for students to create their own niche,” said Polizzi. “for instance, a fine arts major could concentrate on costume design.” teachers say they have become more excited about their work. Peter mecca, an 11-year english teacher at the school and District Administration Englewood (N.J.) Public School District Interim Superintendent: Richard Segall Total high school and academy enrollment: 1,000 Students with declared majors at DMHS and the Academies: 733 Students per teacher: 18 Per-pupil expenditure: $15,660 Web site: www.epsd.org http://www.epsd.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - October 2008

District Administration - October 2008
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Technology
Facilities & Construction
Inside the Law
District Profile: Englewood (N.J.) School District
Choose to Stay
A Cure for Monolingualism
Virtual Worlds for Educators
DA Web Seminar Leadership Series
School Libraries Renewed
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Curriculum Books
Professional Opinion
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - October 2008