The Greater Amsterdam School District > About Us > Contract for Excellence Plan 2022-23

Contract for Excellence Plan 2022-23

The Contracts for Excellence (C4E) Program was established in 2007 to provide additional accountability for increased State Aid for low performing school districts. C4E is a comprehensive approach to targeting fiscal resources to specific allowable programs proven to raise the achievement of students with the greatest educational need. Districts required to enter a contract must document the schools, programs, and student subgroups to be targeted for funding, along with specific, achievable performance improvements that will result. 

The following information was submitted to the New York State Department of Education:

2022-23 Contract Amount: $2,578,283

Amsterdam High School

  • BEDS Code: 270100010010
  • Accountability Status: Focus
  • Time on Task: $32,777
  • Class-size Reduction: $417,776
  • Teacher/Principal Quality: $1,033,549
  • Grand Total: $1,484,102

Marie Curie Institute of Engineering and Communications

  • BEDS Code: 270100010019
  • Accountability Status: Focus
  • Time on Task: $42,912
  • Class-size Reduction: $15,939
  • Teacher/Principal Quality: $67,151
  • Grand Total: $126,002

R.J. McNulty Academy

  • BEDS Code: 270100010006
  • Accountability Status: Focus
  • Time on Task: $20,353
  • Class-size Reduction: $85,666
  • Teacher/Principal Quality: $246,507
  • Grand Total: $352,526

Wilbur H. Lynch Literacy Academy

  • BEDS Code: 270100010009
  • Accountability Status: Focus
  • Time on Task: $90,015
  • Class-size Reduction: $187,747
  • Teacher/Principal Quality: $127,953
  • Grand Total: $405,715

William B. Tecler Arts in Education

  • BEDS Code: 270100010018
  • Accountability Status: Good Standing*
  • Time on Task: $104,467
  • Class-size Reduction: $15,939
  • Teacher/Principal Quality: $26,903
  • Grand Total: $147,309

William H. Barkley Microsociety

  • BEDS Code: 270100010003
  • Accountability Status: Focus
  • Time on Task: $15,939
  • Class-size Reduction: $8,800
  • Teacher/Principal Quality: $37,890
  • Grand Total: $62,629

Totals

  • Time on Task: $306,463
  • Class-Size Reduction: $731,867
  • High School or Middle School Restructuring: $0
  • Teacher/Principal Quality: $1,539,953
  • Full Day K or Pre-K: $0
  • ELL Programs: $0
  • Experiential Programs: $0
  • District-wide Programs: $0
  • Grand Total: $2,578,283

Remaining Contract Amount (must equal $ 0): (-$47,016)

Program Narrative

Please address changes in your existing C4E programs, including any redesign or reallocation. Also, describe how activities support the Regents Reform Agenda.

The Greater Amsterdam School District will maintain Time on Task by focusing on aspects of the instructional core and providing targeted instruction and intervention to students. We hired Teaching assistants and additional AIS Math and AIS Reading teachers so they can assist classroom teachers with providing targeted small-group tutoring as well as individual instruction, and we will continue to support literacy and numeracy skills for students who are underperforming in reading and math.

Targeting Narrative

Please address both student educational needs and building-level accountability status as reflected in the attached Targeting Matrix. Explain how the district and school Comprehensive Plan supports the program.

The NYS Education Department has given all schools identified for improvement a different avenue to follow using a new framework for the 2021-2022 school year. Due to significant changes in NYS schools due to COVID, this year’s DCIP and SCEP plan focus is not only on learning deficits, but also by looking at needs related to social-emotional learning, parent engagement, equity, leadership, teaching, and inclusive learning.

The school SCEP teams focused on student well-being, academic learning, engagement, social-emotional learning, and inclusion. In each plan, the team used surveys, data, assessments, teacher feedback, and student focus groups to develop their commitments. SCEP teams developed plans considering four core principles from NYSED:

  • Welcoming and affirming environments
  • High expectations and rigorous instructions
  • Inclusive curriculum and assessment
  • Ongoing professional learning and support

C4E funds continue to support the academic needs of students at the elementary level by providing staffing for early intervention programs to better prepare students for the educational environment and the demands of K-12 instruction, Academic Intervention Services for struggling learners, the Response to Intervention model as a structure for individualized and adjustable academic services, support for class size reduction to maintain the best possible student/teacher ratios, data analysis for improved understanding of student and instructional needs, as well as a focus on Social Emotional Learning to account for the concerns that emerged during the COVID Pandemic implemented through district programs including PBIS and/or Leader in Me.

At the Secondary level, curriculum leadership is provided to help guide the advancement of the curriculum as it is written, taught, and assessed; alternative methods of instruction are provided to reach students who struggle by providing additional support in areas of academic weakness, language processing, and areas affected by individual disabilities. An additional English as a New Language teacher is employed to support English Language Learners entering the United States later in their youth; support is utilized for class size reduction to maintain the best possible student/teacher ratios in a challenging economic climate; and data analysis is supported for improved understanding of student and instructional needs.

Performative Narrative

Describe the district’s expected performance targets for the accountability criteria and disaggregated groups for which the school has failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the past year.

The Greater Amsterdam School district is identified as a Target district. Some of our schools are identified as either TSI schools or CSI schools. While our graduation rate increased this past school year due to Covid Exemptions, the percentage of students not graduating prior to COVID in four or five years is approximately 25%.

Our schools are in Need of Improvement for English Language Arts and Math achievement for the subgroups of students with disabilities (SWDs) and English language learners (ELLs) and economically disadvantaged students. The percentage of students living in poverty continues to increase each year with more than 76% of our students qualifying for free or reduced meals during the 2020-21 year. Approximately 18% of our K-12 students are identified as students with disabilities and over 10% of our students are English Language Learners. These high-risk factors are challenges faced by all of our schools in our district and our community as a whole. As a result, many interventions or initiatives that are implemented are District-wide to improve student achievement in all classrooms.

Our struggling students need access to a variety of instructional materials for differentiation and supplemental learning, as well as more time and intervention to close achievement gaps through after-school programs, tutoring, and summer school. The increase of ELA, math AIS teachers who use differentiated instruction to meet the needs of these at-risk students, including those with disabilities and ELLS, will better support all students toward graduating from high school to be college and career ready.