The rural, one-school Romulus (N.Y.) Central School District has measures to produce and keep highly qualified teachers, and now is starting to look at ways to maintain adequate yearly progress. Included: A small district's approach to professional development.

The Romulus (N.Y.) Central School District has been fortunate to have all its teachers meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act criteria for being highly qualified in recent years, because the state of New York requires teachers to obtain master's degrees within five years from when they begin teaching. As a result, teachers who are new to the profession are working toward their final certification. The teaching staffs in both the elementary and secondary divisions are fairly stable, and teachers with more than 30 years of service are not uncommon.

The district has a three-pronged approach to professional development for its teachers. First, the district pays for a portion of the coursework toward the required master's degree for its teachers. Second, teachers receive extensive training in test analysis and the use of assessment data to connect instruction to specific student needs. This training is carried out through the regional Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), which serves 25 districts. Third, in-house "experts," teachers with expertise in various areas, such as reading, math, technology, and differentiation of instruction, are utilized to work with their peers in meeting the academic needs of students.

Romulus officials have taken steps to not only recruit well-qualified teachers for any vacancies that arise, but also retain them. Romulus has established an extensive mentoring program that taps the expertise of retired teachers by matching them in mentor relationships with new teachers. The retirees are paid stipends for their work, and district staff members consider their work to be invaluable. Turnover is not high, but the district hired six teachers for 2003-04, and each was assigned to an experienced mentor. Mentoring continues for more than one year. This pairing is working very well, according to superintendent Casey Barduhn, who initiated the program along with the administrative team.

The district may face challenges with other aspects of NCLB. The subgroup requirements for making adequate yearly progress (AYP) could cause problems in the future.

Although the district has no ethnic subgroups of any size and no English language learners, it will still be responsible for making AYP for two subgroups: low-income students (25 percent of the district's enrollment) and students with disabilities (11 percent of enrollment). If the elementary and secondary school divisions are counted separately for AYP purposes, the subgroups may not be large enough to count, but in total, the subgroups will count for district AYP. (Romulus has one school, divided into two divisions, one for elementary and one for secondary students.)

A concern also may surface about student achievement in mathematics. The district is examining the connection between the state math assessments and standards and the district math curriculum. The integrated math curriculum that the district uses through eighth grade is under review to make sure that it prepares students to reach higher expectations for achievement in math.

Fitting extra academic assistance into a student's schedule without forcing that student out of other classes or elective courses also is a challenge. The 580 Romulus students live within a geographic area that covers 150 square miles, and most of the students are bused to school. Because of the complex busing schedules, most students do not have opportunities to stay after school for extra instructional assistance. Nor can the students come to school before the start of the regular school day or attend Saturday sessions. Students who do stay after school for help and/or tutoring are limited to those times when bus runs are available. If more after-school time is needed, funding for transportation as well as teacher help will be an issue.

SOURCE: Center on Education Policy

To read the full report, see A Look Inside 33 School Districts: Year 2 of the No Child Left Behind Act.