1623 Sterns Road l Temperance, Michigan 48182  l   (734) 850-6000 l Fax (734) 850-6099 l www.bedford.k12.mi.us

August 16, 2011

Dear Parents and Community Members:

We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2010-2011 educational progress for the Bedford and our schools. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and some requirements of state laws; however, our staff is available to help you understand this information. Please contact Jonathan Whan for district information or your building principal for help if you need assistance.

The AER report contains information and data regarding:  Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Student Assessment Data− Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), Michigan Merit Exam (MME), Michigan’s Alternative Assessment Program (MI-Access), National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and Teacher qualification data.

The AER is available for you to review electronically by visiting this web page or you may review a copy at the Administration Building on Sterns Rd. or in the principal’s office at your child’s school.
Additionally we are required to report on the following topics.

PROCESS FOR ASSIGNING PUPILS TO THE SCHOOL

In 2009-2010 as well as the 2010-11 school year the process of assigning students was the same.  Bedford Public Schools consisted of five (5) elementary buildings (K-6th), one (1) Jr. High School (7th-8th) and one (1) Senior High School (9th-12th).  Elementary students are assigned to an elementary building according to geographical boundaries that are determined by the district.  Population demographics/density is one variable considered when developing the boundaries. Consideration is given to elementary building transfer requests within the district.  Young Fives and specific special education programs and are housed in various elementary buildings throughout the district.  Bedford Public Schools host Monroe County Intermediate School District cross categorical special education programs at both Douglas Road Elementary and Jackman Road Elementary.  These programs service students from around the county as well as Bedford resident students.

All 6th grade students who will be remaining in the district for the following year will attend the Jr HS for 7th grade.  All 8th grade students who will be remaining in the district for the following year will attend the SHS for 9th grade.  Bedford Public Schools host Monroe County Intermediate School District cross categorical special education programs at both the Jr. High School and Senior High School.  These programs service students from around the county as well as Bedford resident students.  Students, Kindergarten through 12th grade seeking Schools-of-Choice within Monroe County may enroll according to the guidelines. 

For the 2011-2012 school year, there will be four elementary schools housing Kindergarten through 5th grade due to the closing of Smith Road Elementary.  Redistricting of the geographical areas for Elementary attendance areas was completed in the early spring.  Beginning with the 2011-12 school year the Jr.HS will service 6th through 8th grade students. These will be the only changes to the pupil assignment process.

THE STATUS OF THE 3-5 YEAR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

The 2010-2011 school year was the initial year of our newly created district-wide school improvement plan.  Bedford Public Schools accomplished the major feat of receiving district wide accreditation in all seven global standards during the 2009-10 school year and completed our last 3-5 year school improvement cycle.   As a result of our Quality Assurance Review during the 2009-2010 school year, we made adjustments to our plan.   One area of focus will be the alignment of our curriculum to district common assessments.
District Goals:

1. All students will improve their ability to infer in reading.
2. All students will improve their ability to solve problems in the number system and operations strand.
3. All students will be able to effectively communicate their ideas in writing through a variety of genre.
4. All students will demonstrate responsible behavior to improve the learning environment.
5. All students will improve their ability in the area of physical science.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH SPECIALIZED SCHOOL

PLEASE NOTE:  There are no specialized schools within the Bedford school system.  We do have an alternative education program that is a branch of the SHS to meet the needs of expelled students and/or students wishing for a non-traditional school setting.

IDENTIFY HOW TO ACCESS A COPY OF THE CORE CURRICULUM

Copies of the core curriculum are available through the principal’s office and at the Michigan Department of Education website:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MichiganCurriculumFramework_8172_7.pdf
The new Common Core Standards
http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/mathematics/
http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards
(You may also find the parent friendly Common Core Standards documents on our district website.)
Our curriculum is aligned and implemented according to the Michigan Curriculum Framework.
We are in the process of transitioning from the Michigan Curriculum Framework to that of the more national Common Core Standards.  We are focusing on essential standards, objectives and skills to meet the needs of our students for academic success in the classroom, on state and national assessments.

AGGREGATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS FOR ANY LOCAL COMPETENCY TESTS OR NATIONALLY NORMED ACHIEVEMENT TESTS

The district uses a variety of ways to measure and report on student progress and achievement.  Developmental progress is recorded through samples of student work, teacher observations, Michigan Literacy Progress Profile (MLPP), District Common Math Assessments, and the MEAP.  Detailed MEAP information is provided through the link in paragraph one.  One of our challenges and focus points from our NCA QAR visit is to develop a data collection and management system for all of our different local and state data.  Currently we are working with Pearson Corporation with the Inform and Limelight products but are not at a place where we are able to easily and effective compile district wide data. 
The Senior High School uses the Pre-ACT (Plan), ACT, PSAT and the SAT.  The specific breakdowns of these scores are reported on the H.S. annual report for the years of 2009, 2010 and 2011.

IDENTIFY THE NUMBER AND PERCENT OF STUDENTS REPRESENTED BY PARENTS AT PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES (PTC)

We value the ongoing participation and support of our parents. 
Parent-teacher conferences at the elementary level are extremely well attended.  Teachers schedule meetings with the family of each of their students in late fall.  The meetings focus on student progress to that point in time of the year and areas to focus on for the remaining part of the school year.

PTC attendance: (2009-2010) 99%          (2010-2011) 99%

Parent-teacher conference attendance at the Jr.H.S. does show a decrease from the elementary as parents try to provide more opportunities to their children for independence.  We strongly encourage all parents to attend PTC to maintain the contact and consistency of communication.

PTC attendance:  (2009-2010) 60%          (2010-2011) 60%

Parent-teacher conference attendance significantly decreases at the SHS.  We would prefer parents, especially those of students who may be struggling academically to attend.

PTC attendance: (2009-2010) 13% (Approx.)          (2010-2011) 17%

Recap of the Annual Year Progress for Bedford Public Schools

For 2010-2011, all of our Elementary buildings as well as the JrHS “Met Adequate Yearly Progress” (Met AYP) in English language arts and mathematics. 

For the 2010-11 school year the Senior High School did not meet the AYP requirements.  Specifically our subgroup of approximately 45 students with learning disabilities did not achieve the 10% growth target in the area of reading as required by the State.  This group did see an increase of 5% during the year.  We are addressing our instruction and intervention plans to support this group for next year’s assessment.

It is important to remember that the Senior High School has earned AYP over the past two years.  We also feel it is important to keep in mind that an entire building is labeled as not meeting AYP even if only one subgroup in one area does not meet the growth target.  pr> Overall the Bedford Public School District did achieve the “Met Adequate Yearly Progress” for the 2010-11 school year.  While we are pleased to have reached this important goal at the District, Elementary and Jr.H.S. level, we will not sit back and rest on our success; we will continue to work for improvement at all levels and in all buildings. We appreciate the continued support of parents, staff and our community in this effort.  We are proud of the professional team of individuals who provide instruction and the achievement of our students.   We are looking forward to additional growth in student accomplishments in the 2011-2012 school year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ted Magrum
Superintendent of Education
Bedford Public Schools