By ERIK SOKOLOWSKI
The 2009–10 state school report cards are in, and for both the Voorhees Township Public Schools, and Eastern Regional High School, there is much to celebrate.
In the Voorhees Township Public School system, NJASK5 testing, the elementary schools were clearly focused on ratcheting up math scores from 2008–09, with each elementary school boosting its percentage of Advanced Proficiency students to over 50 percent.
“We’re so pleased with the results,” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Fran Collins said. “The program we instituted two years ago was designed to make our students better mathematic thinkers, rather than just good at arithmetic.”
Collins added the program focuses on problem solving and thinking.
“It’s conceptually based,” Collins said. “It has students doing a lot of mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Instead of being methodical, they think it through.”
The elementary schools were below the state averages in language arts partial proficiency, greatly above the state average in proficiency, and only Osage and Signal Hill fell below the state average in advanced proficiency.
Class size at the middle school level continues to remain above the state averages.
“The governor made schools become more fiscally responsible,” Collins said. “This forced us to cut positions, so class sizes will be somewhat higher. We are trying to maintain elementary class sizes, but the middle school classes have grown.”
In spite of the large class sizes, Collins said that the dedicated and experienced staff provides the students with a quality education.
Median district salaries for teachers, $84,704, and administrators, $138,162, remained well over the state average, yet the cost per student at VTPS was down about $200 over last year, to $14,262, right in line with the state average.
Eastern remained one of the leaders in SAT scores with the release of the 2009–10 School Report Cards.
The school was fourth overall in the 51-school district, tri-county region, and third in Camden County, behind only Cherry Hill East and Haddonfield Memorial High School. Eastern also remained below the state averages in partial proficiency in language arts and math, and well above state averages in advanced proficiency.
“The SAT mean scores for the Class of 2010 compared favorably to the state and national mean scores,” Eastern Principal Robert Tull Jr. said in his Report Card Narrative. “The total mean score for the Class of 2010 was 1646 compared to a state mean score of 1506, and a national mean score of 1509.”
Tull also noted the achievements of Eastern students in 2010, with over $1.5 million being awarded in the form of grants and academic and athletic scholarships. In addition, five students were identified as a National Merit Finalist, five students were identified as a Semi-Finalist, 21 were Commended Students, 40 were New Jersey Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars, and three were identified as a Robert Byrd Scholars.
Spending per student, $15,572, at the high school level remained about $1,000 lower than the state average, at $16,937. Median district salaries were just above the state average for administrators, $122,386 to the state average of $119,066. Teachers earned about $2,000 less than state average, $64,651 to the state average of $66,220. To view the report from each individual school visit education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/index.html.
By ERIK SOKOLOWSKIThe Voorhees SunThe 2009–10 state school report cards are in, and for both the Voorhees Township Public Schools, and Eastern Regional High School, there is much to celebrate.In the Voorhees Township Public School system, NJASK5 testing, the elementary schools were clearly focused on ratcheting up math scores from 2008–09, with each elementary school boosting its percentage of Advanced Proficiency students to over 50 percent.“We’re so pleased with the results,” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Fran Collins said. “The program we instituted two years ago was designed to make our students better mathematic thinkers, rather than just good at arithmetic.”Collins added the program focuses on problem solving and thinking.“It’s conceptually based,” Collins said. “It has students doing a lot of mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Instead of being methodical, they think it through.”The elementary schools were below the state averages in language arts partial proficiency, greatly above the state average in proficiency, and only Osage and Signal Hill fell below the state average in advanced proficiency. Class size at the middle school level continues to remain above the state averages.“The governor made schools become more fiscally responsible,” Collins said. “This forced us to cut positions, so class sizes will be somewhat higher. We are trying to maintain elementary class sizes, but the middle school classes have grown.”In spite of the large class sizes, Collins said that the dedicated and experienced staff provides the students with a quality education. Median district salaries for teachers, $84,704, and administrators, $138,162, remained well over the state average, yet the cost per student at VTPS was down about $200 over last year, to $14,262, right in line with the state average.Eastern remained one of the leaders in SAT scores with the release of the 2009–10 School Report Cards. The school was fourth overall in the 51-school district, tri-county region, and third in Camden County, behind only Cherry Hill East and Haddonfield Memorial High School. Eastern also remained below the state averages in partial proficiency in language arts and math, and well above state averages in advanced proficiency.“The SAT mean scores for the Class of 2010 compared favorably to the state and national mean scores,” Eastern Principal Robert Tull Jr. said in his Report Card Narrative. “The total mean score for the Class of 2010 was 1646 compared to a state mean score of 1506, and a national mean score of 1509.”Tull also noted the achievements of Eastern students in 2010, with over $1.5 million being awarded in the form of grants and academic and athletic scholarships. In addition, five students were identified as a National Merit Finalist, five students were identified as a Semi-Finalist, 21 were Commended Students, 40 were New Jersey Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars, and three were identified as a Robert Byrd Scholars.Spending per student, $15,572, at the high school level remained about $1,000 lower than the state average, at $16,937. Median district salaries were just above the state average for administrators, $122,386 to the state average of $119,066. Teachers earned about $2,000 less than state average, $64,651 to the state average of $66,220. To view the report from each individual school visit education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/index.html.
