Six Trenton schools upgrading from priority status

Six schools in Trenton were recently informed by the NJ Department of Education that they are eligible to exit Priority/Focus Status as of June 30, 2018.

“Columbus School Staff works extremely hard focusing our instructional practices, based on data and standards, to provide students with intentional experiences in the classroom that foster success”, states Principal Dewar Woods.

In 2012, the Department of Education launched a plan to work with schools found to be in need of improvement by the state’s school accountability system.

These schools were classified as either “Priority”, which are some of the lowest performing, or “Focus”, which are schools with room for improvement.

While some schools were identified as needing more support than other schools, that fact that a large number of schools have shown remarkable improvement is a big deal.

The hard work of school leaders, their staff, along with staff from the Department of Education, has shown that when there is focus on education, real progress can be made. Congratulations to the school leaders, school staff and school communities:

1. Columbus ES

2. Franklin ES

3. Grant ES

4. Washington ES

5. Hedgepeth-Williams MS

6. Trenton Central HS — Main

A letter from Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D., Commissioner of Education for New Jersey stated, “I applaud your efforts to close achievement gaps and encourage you to continue supporting all of the students in your school and to maintain a cycle of continuous improvement in order to remain on a positive trajectory.”