1. +
Figure 1. Woodside Avenue School (FLPTA, 2013)
School Culture & Climate Presentation:
Woodside Avenue School, Franklin Lakes Public Schools –
“our vision for continued improvement”
Cindy Cipriano
Montclair State University

2. + “By helping students grow into critical thinkers that possess
outstanding character, their lives will be rewarding as they
contribute positively to the world.” – Woodside Avenue School
Philosophy of Education

Since opening its doors in 1972, Woodside Avenue School has
maintained a reputation of fostering a caring, supportive
educational environment that reflects the community’s high
value on education

The Franklin Lakes community is described as affluent. In
2012, the median house value was $867,200, and the cost of
living was 149.50% higher than the US average (Sperling’s Best
Places, 2012). Median household income in 2011 was $140,493
(compared to the state average of $67,458) (City-Data.com, 2012)

At Woodside School, there is a student to teacher ratio of 9:1,
and 0% of students are economically disadvantaged (State of
New Jersey Department of Education, 2013)

Elizabeth Barbagallo,
Woodside Parent,
discussing the Woodside
community
(click for video)
Students, parents, and staff consistently state that they enjoy
and value Woodside School’s positive learning environment

Community support is impressive in that residents raise funds
through generous donations and fundraisers to help add
additional programs and resources to the school beyond the
limitations of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education’s budget
(Franklin Lakes Education Foundation, 2014)

3. +
At Woodside Avenue School we
have a lot to be proud of!
According to the New Jersey School Performance Report for
2012-13:

Woodside Avenue School’s overall academic performance
outperforms 72% of schools in New Jersey

Woodside’s student growth performance outperforms 86% of
New Jersey schools, meeting 100% of its performance targets
in this area

Woodside students are meeting progress targets under
NJDOE’s NCLB waiver in math and science, with 56% of
students being advanced proficient in math, and 91% being
proficient and above
(State of New Jersey Department of Education, 2013)

4. + As we move forward in our mission to
continually progress and grow, where can we
improve?

Although Woodside School outperforms 72% of schools in
the state, it lags behind schools in its peer group in academic
performance

In language arts literacy, our students had a school wide pass
rate of 77.3, missing the NCLB progress target of 85.3

25% of students at Woodside are only partially proficient in
language arts in grade 3, and 31% are only partially
proficient in grade 4

Of the three elementary schools in Franklin Lakes, Woodside
School scores the lowest in language arts proficiency
(State of New Jersey Department of Education, 2013)

5. A comparison of NJASK Language Arts Proficiency between the Franklin
Lakes Elementary Schools, FLOW Schools (Franklin Lakes, Oakland, &
Wyckoff Districts), District Factor Groups, & the State of New Jersey
Fig. 2
In 2013, the Franklin Lakes Elementary Schools scored below district factor groups
in grades 3&4, as well as below the other elementary schools in the FLOW district.
What factors account for this lag in language arts performance?
Figure 2. Franklin Lakes Public Schools. 2014. Curriculum and instruction: NJASK test score presentations. Retrieved from
http://curriculumand.districtweb.franklinlakes.k12.nj.us/modules/locker/files/get_group_file.phtml?gid=2146613&fid=23368261&sessionid=d1f5102f734
451461b73fc605fb5bc80

6. Fig. 3

By comparing more specific data, we see that
the special education population of the
Franklin Lakes School District has a significant
impact on our overall NJ ASK performance
scores in Language Arts

When special education classes are removed
from the data, Franklin Lakes’ lowest
performing grade level (4th grade) still
outperforms other schools in the state by
14.9% and scores below district factor groups
by only 3.9%

Our special education students as a whole
perform below district factor groups in 3rd
and 4th grades, and below other schools
across the state in 4th grade

What do we know about specific instructional
challenges within our 3rd and 4th grade special
education classes? What can be done to help
our students improve?
Figure 3. Franklin Lakes Public Schools. 2014. Curriculum and
instruction: NJASK test score presentations. Retrieved from
http://curriculumand.districtweb.franklinlakes.k12.nj.us/modules/locker/files/ge
t_group_file.phtml?gid=2146613&fid=23368261&sessionid=d1f5
102f734451461b73fc605fb5bc80

7. + What do we know about Woodside School’s special
education population that is relevant to this data?

According to the New Jersey School Performance Report, 17% of
Woodside Avenue School’s student population had a disability in
2013 (State of New Jersey Department of Education, 2013)

Woodside Avenue School is the only school in the Franklin Lakes
School District that has self contained special education classes

Woodside’s special education classrooms consist of students
from multiple grade levels with a wide variety of ability levels.

Students are frequently mainstreamed into academic subjects,
special area subjects, homerooms, and grade-level events (i.e.
birthday parties, assemblies, field trips), creating instructional
challenges for teachers

8. + What are some of the challenges our special
education teachers are faced with?

Each self-contained special education classroom includes
students from multiple grade levels with a wide variety of
needs. Within these classrooms:

Students have many different homerooms where they attend multiple
events throughout the week

Some students are mainstreamed into academic subjects, some are
mainstreamed into special area subjects, and some are not
mainstreamed at all

Scheduling challenges due to mainstreaming within multiple grade
levels, subjects, homerooms, and lunch periods make it difficult to
maintain a schedule or follow lesson plans

Teachers describe their classrooms as a “revolving door” of students
constantly entering and leaving throughout the day
 Although special education teachers struggle with meeting the instructional needs of
their students due to frequent mainstreaming, they recognize the social needs of their
students and are advocates in making sure they are involved with the general school
population

9. + Our plan to improve language arts
proficiency for our special education
students for 2013-2014:

Additional assessments will be established to assist teachers
with continuous review of student progress and goal setting

Teachers will be provided with additional time and resources to
guide them in analyzing assessment data and planning
instruction accordingly

Teachers will continue to differentiate for each child, focusing on
smaller group instruction based on the skill deficits that
additional assessments reveal

A consistent DAP (data assessment portfolio) will be established
for each child, showing assessment results, progress, samples of
student work, and modifications used in the classroom. The DAP
will be given to future teachers as students progress through
grade 12

10. + Proposed scheduling changes for Woodside School’s
self-contained special education classrooms (grades
3-5) for 2013-2014:
In an attempt to increase instructional time spent with students, while
still providing them with the needed benefits of mainstreaming, we
seek to adopt a schedule similar to the self-contained special
education classes at Franklin Avenue Middle School. Changes would
include:

All special education students in grades 3-5 will be mainstreamed into music, art,
physical education, and library classes, however they will attend these classes
together as a group (i.e. all special education students will go to music with Mrs.
Corage’s 5th grade class, art with Mrs. Henry’s 3rd grade class, etc. )

Students in special education grades 3-5 will attend one lunch period as a group

Special education students will continue to have separate homerooms based on
grade level, and will attend all social events, assemblies, and field trips with their
homeroom

These changes will be monitored, revisited, and possibly revised
throughout the year. A committee will be formed consisting of general
education, special area, and special education teachers that can provide
guidance regarding how these changes are affecting student
achievement, both academically and socially

11. +
References
City-Data.com. (2012). Franklin lakes, new jersey. Retrieved from
www.city-data.com/city/Franklin-Lakes-New-Jersey.html
Franklin Lakes Education Foundation. (2014). Franklin lakes education foundation: Funding
innovative education. Retrieved from www.flef.net
Sperling’s Best Places. (2012). Best places to live in franklin lakes, new jersey. Retrieved
from www.bestplaces.net/city/new_jersey/franklin_lakes
State of New Jersey Department of Education. (2013). NJ school performance report.
Retrieved from www.state.nj.us/education/pr/1213/03/031580030.pdf
Woodside Avenue School [photograph]. (2013). Retrieved February 2nd, 2014, from
www.flpta.org