Paterson schools toughen rules on gaining credits for graduation

By: Joe Malinconico
Paterson Press

PATERSON - City education officials are imposing new levels of accountability on a "credit recovery" program sued by several hundred students every year to pas the classes they need to graduate from high school.
..... In the past, Paterson high school students needing to pass certain subjects for graduation could take Online classes through credit recovery.
..... Students were allowed to skip ahead through the Online portal and take a computerized test to pass the subject. That practice raised concerns among education advocates, who wondered whether the Paterson teens were learning the material.
..... Under the district's revised credit recovery program, students will be required to spend a total of 60 hours in a classroom getting in-person instruction from a teacher for each course they take, officials said
..... Students won't be allowed to skip any lessons before they take an in-person test in a classroom with a teacher present, officials said.
..... "The difference in this process is accountability," Shenita Davis, the district's director of secondary education, said during last week's [12/13/2023] school board meeting.
..... Davis and Assistant Superintendent Melissa Espana gave a detailed presentation on credit recovery showing that 297 Paterson 12th graders, or about 22% of the district's seniors, are in the current credit recovery program to try to graduate on time.
..... Each of those 297 seniors need to make up an average of about three classes apiece from the lower grades to graduate, according to the presentation.
..... In addition, 457 11th graders, or 32% of the district's high school juniors, are in credit recovery, officials said.
..... School districts throughout new Jersey use their own version of credit recovery to provide students with a way to get credits they need for their high school diplomas.
..... In Paterson, school board members and education advocates said teens were using the district's loosely monitored credit recovery program to bypass taking and passing their regular classes. In some instance, students were using credit recovery in their senior years to make up for as many 12 classes, officials said.
..... "The assistant superintendent identified some areas that needed to be improved, and now we're taking steps to improve them," said board of Education member Manny Martinez.
..... "This is a step in the right direction," said board member Ken Simmons.
..... Paterson Press asked education advocates if imposing tougher standards in credit recovery will reduce the school district;s graduation rate.
..... "If they do go down, said Rosie Grant, executive director of the Paterson Education Fund advocacy group.
..... Grant said far too many Paterson students have been depending on credit recovery to attain high school diplomas.
..... She told the school board last week [12/13/2023] that increased emphasis needs to be placed on teaching Paterson's youngest students to read. She said recent data showed that just 13.7% of the city's third graders are reading at grade level.
..... "Unless we address that," Grant said, "we're going to be dealing with this issue of credit recovery into the future for a very long time. Please give some attention to that issue so we don't keep repeating the cycle of kids failing in high school."

..... Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press email editor@paterosnpress.

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