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Herkimer, N.Y. —
There will be no classes at the high school during January Regents examination week, high school Principal Terry Dangle told the school district’s board of education last week.
That’s because too many district teachers — possibly about 11 of them — will be busy that week either proctoring Regents exams or grading the regional examinations scheduled for Jan. 15 to 17.
The regional examinations are new this year and are required by the state under the Annual professional performance review plan. Because the state no longer permits teachers to grade their own students’ standardized tests, the completed exams will be sent to BOCES. Some teachers from each of the component school districts will be assigned to go to BOCES to grade the exams.
“BOCES is coordinating the scoring,” Interim Superintendent Theodore Kawryga explained during a telephone interview Thursday. He said codes, rather than names, will be used so the teachers will not know which school’s tests they are scoring. All grading will be done in a secure location at BOCES.
Dangle told the board it would not be possible to hire enough substitute teachers to cover classes during Regents week as all of the other area school districts will be in a similar situation.
He said information was slow in coming about when the regional exams were to be conducted, so he worked out a schedule for Herkimer that would have met the requirements without creating scheduling difficulties. He recently received word, however, the exams had to be administered according to the following schedule:
• Jan. 15: High School Health, Family and Consumer Science 8 and Social Studies 12 and Government.
• Jan. 16: Health 8 and Family and Consumer Science 7.
• Jan. 17: Technology 8.
Regents week runs Jan. 22 to Jan. 25.
School board President John Cipriano noted the week prior to Regents exams is a time teachers could be using to help prepare their students for those tests.
“Now they’re yanking them out of the classrooms,” he said. “Brilliant.”
Dangle said the scheduling problems are likely to be even more difficult when the regional and Regents exams come up again in June.
He also reported to the board that the district’s foreign language instructors are in the process of producing a Languages Other Than English Regional Assessment, which will be administered sometime in late May or early June to students taking French and Spanish.
Between Jan. 2 and 9, seven new students enrolled at the high school, Dangle reported. Four more were expected to enroll during the next couple of days.
There will be no classes at the high school during January Regents examination week, high school Principal Terry Dangle told the school district’s board of education last week.
That’s because too many district teachers — possibly about 11 of them — will be busy that week either proctoring Regents exams or grading the regional examinations scheduled for Jan. 15 to 17.
The regional examinations are new this year and are required by the state under the Annual professional performance review plan. Because the state no longer permits teachers to grade their own students’ standardized tests, the completed exams will be sent to BOCES. Some teachers from each of the component school districts will be assigned to go to BOCES to grade the exams.
“BOCES is coordinating the scoring,” Interim Superintendent Theodore Kawryga explained during a telephone interview Thursday. He said codes, rather than names, will be used so the teachers will not know which school’s tests they are scoring. All grading will be done in a secure location at BOCES.
Dangle told the board it would not be possible to hire enough substitute teachers to cover classes during Regents week as all of the other area school districts will be in a similar situation.
He said information was slow in coming about when the regional exams were to be conducted, so he worked out a schedule for Herkimer that would have met the requirements without creating scheduling difficulties. He recently received word, however, the exams had to be administered according to the following schedule:
• Jan. 15: High School Health, Family and Consumer Science 8 and Social Studies 12 and Government.
• Jan. 16: Health 8 and Family and Consumer Science 7.
• Jan. 17: Technology 8.
Regents week runs Jan. 22 to Jan. 25.
School board President John Cipriano noted the week prior to Regents exams is a time teachers could be using to help prepare their students for those tests.
“Now they’re yanking them out of the classrooms,” he said. “Brilliant.”
Dangle said the scheduling problems are likely to be even more difficult when the regional and Regents exams come up again in June.
He also reported to the board that the district’s foreign language instructors are in the process of producing a Languages Other Than English Regional Assessment, which will be administered sometime in late May or early June to students taking French and Spanish.
Between Jan. 2 and 9, seven new students enrolled at the high school, Dangle reported. Four more were expected to enroll during the next couple of days.
