Norwood News

At a sparsely attended meeting near Fordham Road, Department of Education officials said state money designated to programs for students with special needs will remain the same as last year.

The program, called the Contract 4 Excellence (C4E), was developed by the state in 2007 to provide programs and assistance for students with specific educational needs.

At the meeting, a special hearing conducted by the District 10 Community Education Council (CEC) on Sept. 29, a Department of Education (DOE) slideshow detailed the proposed C4E plan. “Given the severe economic downturn faced by the state and the nation, New York State held state foundation aid flat.” Since no new money is coming in to the program, the DOE has planned on a “maintenance of effort” to keep C4E funds in the same places as they were the previous year.

The C4E program designates funds to schools depending on how many students are English language learners, disabled, impoverished or considered “at risk of not graduating.”

Funds selected for each school are then used to reduce class size, create before- and after-school programs, restructure middle and high schools, provide full-day kindergarten programs, support English language learners and more.

The proposed 2009–10 C4E will give $19,581,149 in discretionary funds to schools in District 10, which includes most of the northwest Bronx.

Most of this money will be used to reduce class size (over $12 million), but a considerable amount of money will also be spent on before- and after-school programs ($3 million) and dedicated instructional time where instructors provide supplemental programs in class ($3 million).

The principal of the Jonas Bronck Academy middle school, Donalda Chumney, said, “Our C4E money was spent reducing class size and developing teacher skills.” Jonas Bronck Academy used their $186,297 in discretionary funds last year to focus on reducing math class sizes by placing two teachers in every math classroom and paying a veteran math teacher to coach two new math teachers.

These initiatives paid off. Chumney reported that last year 100 percent of Jonas Bronck seventh graders made more than one year of progress in math and 23 eighth graders passed the integrated algebra Regents exam.

Most schools in District 10 received more discretionary funds than Jonas Bronck Academy. For instance, PS 8 in Bedford Park received $685,080 and PS 20 on Webster Avenue received $647,813 for C4E programs.