AMAO Letter to Parents

March 18, 2012

Dear Parents:

The Federal Department of Education is required by Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to establish annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAOs) for the English language acquisition and academic achievement of limited English Proficient (LEP) students.  Attached is a copy of Norwood Public Schools 2012 AMAO report for LEP students in grades K-12.

The results on the AMAO report reflect the results of the state MEPA testing that is administered in the Spring for all Kindergarten through Grade 12.  All students entering Grade 1, or new to Massachusetts schools in Grades 2-12, are required to participate in the fall MEPA.   The results of the Spring, 2012 administration are reflected in the attached AMAO report.

Title III requires that AMAOs are established for students in grades K-12, in three categories:
• Progress toward acquiring English language proficiency
• Attainment of English language proficiency
• Adequately Yearly Progress of the LEP subgroup in both English Language arts and mathematics

In the category of Progress, Norwood Public Schools students achieved a YES with the district target of 62%, attaining a district performance of 72%.  There were 176 students in the testing.

In the category of Attainment, Norwood Public Schools students achieved a YES with the district target set at 34%, attaining a district performance of 46%.  There were 229 students included in this area of the testing.

There are two sub-categories to the category of Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP), English Language Arts and Mathematics.  In the category of English Language Arts, Norwood Public School students achieved a YES. In the category of Mathematics, Norwood Public Schools student achieved a YES. 

Norwood Public Schools will be addressing the area of mathematics during the next few months and next year through professional development for staff, using the ELPBO standards documents, and modifying the curriculum to meet the needs of our ELL students and the new WIDA curriculum standards. 

Norwood Public Schools will continue to provide English Language Development instruction by certified ELL students, support within the classroom provided by classroom teacher trained in Sheltered English Instructions, and classroom support materials and curriculum to meet the needs of our ELL students.

If you have any further questions, please contact your child’s ELL teacher or your Building Principal.

Sincerely,

James Hayden
Superintendent of Schools