Annual Professional Performance Review
New York State Education Law requires each classroom teacher and school principal to receive an annual professional performance review (APPR) that results in a composite effectiveness score and rating.
Requesting APPR Quality Ratings
All parents/guardians have the right to obtain the APPR quality ratings and composite effectiveness scores for their child’s current teacher(s) and principal(s) once they are available. To initiate this request, please contact Superintendent Joseph Mariano, Jr.
Teacher Qualifications
In accordance with Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), parents/guardians have the right to request information regarding the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers, including:
- Whether a teacher has state certification for the grade levels and subjects he or she is teaching;
- Whether a teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;
- Whether the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher;
- Whether their child receives services from paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications; and
- Whether their child has been taught for four or more weeks in a row by a teacher “who does not meet applicable state certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.”
Parents/guardians may request their child’s classroom teacher’s professional qualifications by contacting their child’s school principal.
For more information on ESSA, please review NYSED’s Upcoming 2025-26 School Year Accountability System Fact Sheets and Understanding the New York State Accountability System under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for 2023-24 Accountability Statuses Based on 2022-23 Results.
More About ESSA:
Schools are held accountable for several indicators, including academic performance, English language proficiency and absenteeism. High schools are also held accountable for graduation rates.
These measures are evaluated at the schoolwide level, and also among sub-groups, such as by racial identity, disability and income level. Based on these indicators, all schools receive one of the following designations:
- Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) refers to schools experiencing low overall performance across all student groups.
- Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) are identified every three years (i.e, 2025-26, 2028-29 school years), using the same scenarios used to make CSI identifications. A subgroup identified for TSI that meets any scenario used to identify for CSI will be identified for ATSI.
- Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) applies to schools or districts with specific subgroups of students experiencing low performance.
- Local Support and Improvement (LSI), formerly Good Standing, indicates that all students are meeting expectations for performance.
The state Education Department previously identified some schools demonstrating high performance and/or rapid improvement as Recognition Schools. The state did not designate any schools as Recognition Schools using 2022-23 or 2023-24 results. Future use of the Recognition School designation is currently under review as part of the state’s proposed updates to its ESSA accountability system.
Stillwater CSD has been designated a district in “Good Standing” for the 2025–26 school year by NYSED, based on data metrics from the 2024–25 school year. This designation indicates that the district has met the required performance standards and does not require targeted or comprehensive support.
For more information about the district’s accountability designations, please contact Superintendent Joseph Mariano, Jr.
ESSA Complaint Procedures
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of ESSA-Funded Programs has established a process for resolving complaints alleging that a local educational agency (LEA), grantee, or NYSED has violated a law, rule, or regulation in administering a “covered Federal program” under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
These procedures provide parents and other stakeholders with a process for filing complaints and ensure their timely resolution. Complaints may be filed by parents, public agencies, and other individuals or organizations.
To learn more about ESSA complaint procedures, please visit the NYSED website.