April 11, 2018

Dear Parents, Guardians and Members of the Glassboro School District Community,  

I am proud of Glassboro School District. Our schools provide students with hands-on learning opportunities and a rigorous curriculum designed to prepare our students for the future.  

Our Professional Development School partnerships with Rowan University bring additional classroom support, professors in residence, and professional development opportunities into our schools. For 2018/2019, four out of five of our schools will be Professional Development Schools.  

Our fifth school, Glassboro Intermediate, is benefiting from a five-year, multimillion dollar grant. The grant has already funded new programs and laptops for all Glassboro Intermediate School students. This year, students in grades seven through twelve have their own laptops. The 2018/2019 school year budget expands that initiative to encompass grades three through twelve.  

We also collaborate with Rowan University to offer the Fine and Performing Arts and STEM academies. The STEM Academy expanded this school year to include a Biomedical tract. We also offer a Business Academy in partnership with Rowan College of Gloucester County.  

I am pleased to share additional information with you through the New Jersey Department of Education’s School Performance Reports.  

Since the 2011-12 school year, New Jersey’s School Performance Reports have provided families, educators and the public a picture of overall school performance. As part of New Jersey’s accountability system, the performance reports provide valuable information across many elements, including school-wide academic achievement and progress, demographics, school climate, chronic absenteeism, and college and career readiness.  

This information can be used to compare a school’s performance to other school, district, and statewide results, and to find a school’s strengths and identify areas for improvement. The NJDOE encourages all members of the school community to use the performance reports to help start local conversations by asking questions such as: How is our school doing relative to other schools? Are all of our students making progress from last year?  

The School Performance Reports were developed with, and are continually improved by, the feedback from stakeholders like you. Here are some of the improvements for the 2016-17 School Performance Reports based on feedback:  

New Jersey School Performance Summary Reports

For the first time, one-page Summary Reports for each school and district are available. The Summary Reports are a more reader-friendly companion to the full New Jersey School Performance Reports, and provide a high-level summary of how well a school or district is performing with data that address questions such as: Are students on track for success? How much are students learning? Are students graduating? Are students going to college? The NJDOE has also made available a guide to explain the different data points on the Summary Reports. 

Over 25 New Data Elements

The 2016-17 New Jersey School Performance Reports include 26 new data elements, including:

·         Full and Half Day Pre-K and K;

·         Student Growth – by Grade, Subgroup, Progress to Goals;

·         Chronic Absenteeism – by Grade, Subgroup, Progress to Goals;

·         In-school and Out-of-School Suspensions; and

·         School Start and End Times.  

Additional Feedback Requested

The NJDOE continues to seek your input on how to further improve the readability and usability of these reports. Please fill out the feedback survey or email the NJDOE Report Card to share your thoughts. 

Also, feel free to reach out to your school principals with any questions you have about your child’s school. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mark J. Silverstein 
Superintendent
Glassboro Public Schools