School district gets high marks on self-test from state

Hardyston — A self-assessment program has passed the first hurdle in Hardyston. The Hardyston Township School District has completed its first run at the Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC), which is the state’s method of evaluating schools. New Jersey changed its evaluation method last year, so this year was the first time that Hardyston’s staff and teachers were exposed to the new method. There are five sections to the report: operations, instruction and program, governance, fiscal management and personnel. Within the sections there are subcategories for which the district must give itself points on. In Hardyston, this was done by a committee made up of staff, teachers and board members, who divided themselves into five groups to tackle each section. With over 300 subcategories on the list, it no small thing to work through, even when it’s divided five ways, said Superintendent Martin G. Sumpman, but it’s a positive process. “It’s not a kind of a gotcha thing. It’s supposed to make you stop and reflect on how things are going.” Every district is required to get at least 80 percent of the total points required; if there are 120 points in a section, the school would have to get at least 96. But according to Sumpman, Hardyston has no worries. “The committee felt that we achieved more than the 80 percent,” he said. “In fact, the committee thought we were close to 100 percent in all of them.” The next step is submitting the report to the state, according to Sumpman, and on Dec. 21, representatives will come out, meet with the committee and review the report. The district will have to provide backup for all of its answers and the representatives will be taken on a tour of the schools, after which they will then fill out the evaluation themselves, and see how the district’s assessment matches up to theirs.