On May 6th, the NJ Education Commissioner William Librera announced an ambitious program of middle and high school reform in Abbott districts. The initiative seeks to raise academic achievement and graduation rates, and provide students and staff support to reach those goals. It puts New Jersey at the forefront of a vigorous national debate on secondary reform.

The Abbott Secondary Initiative calls for middle and high schools to provide college preparatory curriculum and small learning community environments for all students by 2008. Large schools will be reorganized into smaller units led by interdisciplinary teams of teachers who remain with the same group of students for several years. Curricula will be reviewed to make sure all courses in core subject areas, such as math and language arts, are aligned with state standards and prepare students for college level work.

Commissioner Librera called the program an "important initiative that will extend the success many Abbott districts have had improving literacy and achievement in the lower grades into the middle and high school years." The Commissioner added that the program is urgently needed to lower the high school dropout rate.

The goal of the smaller structures is to provide more personalized, improved instruction that will engage students and raise achievement. More student and family support will also ensure each student has an adult advocate in the school.

Curriculum themes will also be developed based on state standards. Themes such as "Communications" or "Health and Medicine" will be integrated into the courses and activities of the small learning communities, connecting the skills required for graduation with areas of student interest and real world application. These theme-based small learning communities will also offer choices for students and staff. To make these changes, teachers will receive extensive professional development and at least two hours of common planning time per week.

Four districts -- Jersey City, Orange, Elizabeth and Bridgeton -- will lead implementation. These "phase one districts" were selected based on their readiness and interest in moving ahead with secondary reform. Other districts, including Pemberton, East Orange and Plainfield, have received federal "small learning community" grants to pursue similar reforms. All 31 Abbott districts will begin planning next fall for implementation by September 2008.

The Commissioner also announced that his assistant, Penelope Lattimer, will lead a team of NJDOE personnel to provide support to districts. The DOE will also use national consultants with a track record of success in secondary reform. In accepting the assignment, Ms. Lattimer stressed the importance of collaboration between state, district and community stakeholders, noting that the initiative reflects "best practice" about what schools need to improve.

The Initiative is based on recommendations from the High School/Middle School Workgroup established by the June 2003 Abbott X mediation agreement between ELC and the NJDOE. Those recommendations are now codified in the Abbott regulations.

This Initiative reflects an emerging national consensus about the changes needed to better prepare students for success after high school. Improved curriculum and instruction, higher academic expectations, and smaller, more personalized school environments have been increasingly cited as the keys to improving the nation’s high schools, most recently at the February National Governors Summit on High School Reform.

Prepared: May 9, 2005