April 30, 2019
Dear Catskill CSD Community,
The New York State Assessments for students in Grades 3-8 will be conducted on the
following days:
| Assessments | Administration Dates | Make-Up Dates |
| English Language Arts | April 2-3, 2019 | April 4-9, 2019 |
| Mathematics | May 1-2, 2019 | May 3-8, 2019 |
| Science – Written | June 3, 2019 | June 4-7, 2019 |
The District is fully invested to ensure that all students take the 3-8 New York State
assessments. Our middle school is designated as a “Targeted Support Intervention /
Focus School” primarily due to the student participation rate. We need 100% of our
student population to take the assessments. Ninety-five percent is the minimum student
participation rate required by SED to appeal to our “Targeted Support Intervention /
Focus School” designation.
Operation “Opt-In” is in full effect. Both schools have scheduled parent workshops to
review the changes in the assessments. The elementary school’s workshop is scheduled
for March 27, 2019 at 6:30pm, in the CES Cafeteria. The middle school’s workshop was
March 19, 2019 at 5:30pm, in the CMS Auditorium.
In closing, our graduation rate for the 2017-18 school year, which includes our August
graduates, was 94 percent. This data demonstrates that our students have the capacity to
complete assessments with proficiency. Again, we just need them to take the
assessments. The results from the assessments will assist us with the following:
1. Appeal to the State Department of Education to remove our schools off the Focus School designation list.
2. Serve as a source of data used to provide students with targeted intervention, instruction and enrichment.
As always, if you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at (518) 943-4696.
Regards,
Dr. Ronel Cook
Superintendent of Schools