Fifty Edison High students seek transfer to J.P. Stevens High

EDISON -- About 50 Edison High School students have asked to transfer across town to J.P. Stevens High in the three weeks since parents learned the school fell short of state academic standards.
It’s a controversial, confusing issue that drew hundreds of parents to a recent meeting with school officials, wondering whether Edison High is performing poorly.

Under federal guidelines, students are allowed to transfer to Stevens — a school in the more affluent section of town that passed requirements last year — because Edison High did not meet the standards for two years in a row.

Nearly two dozen students applied to transfer in the first week.
But school officials say the test results are skewed. John DiMuzio, Edison’s acting schools superintendent, said he plans to speak with Congressman Frank Pallone about changing the federal No Child Left Behind guidelines.
“I am very upset about this happening,” DiMuzio said today.
The issue, he said, is that Edison High missed only one of the 41 state testing criteria: language arts for special education students. State education officials say that’s a common area to fail. Nor is it unusual for districts to miss requirements: 29 percent of New Jersey schools did not meet standards last year, said Kathryn Forsyth, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.
Typically, schools that fall short are required to use federal funds to provide extra tutoring. But Edison — the largest district in Middlesex County, with about 14,000 students — is unique because it has two high schools, and one passed the state standards.
DiMuzio said he will ask Pallone to push Congress to eliminate the transfer option and instead provide money for the students who missed the requirements.
Meanwhile, the students who have applied to transfer to Stevens will make the move this year.
But school officials are trying to finalize the students’ schedules before switching them.
None of the students from the failed criteria group has asked to transfer, DiMuzio said.
One fear, officials said, is that there won’t be enough space in Stevens if too many students apply. But as of now, DiMuzio said,the district should be able to accommodate all those who have applied.

http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2009/10/50_edison_high_students_seek_t.html