Welcome to Lakeland Schools

Educational Terminology


Here are some of the most commonly used education terms, along with the most parent-friendly definitions.
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This page will assist you in deciphering educational jargon, buzzwords, acronyms and abbreviations.

AIMSWEB- this is the name of a product we subscribe to that is used for administering and recording universal screening assessments to students 3x/year. These assessments are very short and are designed to measure very general skills, like oral reading fluency (ORF), which are useful indicators of student progress.

AIS- Academic Intervention Services are a requirement written in the NYS Commissioner’s Regulations. 

APPR- Annual Professional Performance Review, the NYS-mandated teacher and principal evaluation process.

AYP- Adequate yearly progress represents a student performance target set annually for each school and district as part of the NCLB requirements. 

CARE- Cooperation Accountability Respect Empathy, part of the character education/positive behavioral intervention approach used in many of our schools.

CCLS- Common Core Learning Standards

CSE- Committee on Special Education

DASA- Dignity for All Students, NY’s anti-bullying legislation outlining school responsibilities.

ELL- English Language Learner

ESEA- Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the official name for No child Left Behind.

ESL- English as a Second Language, describing students enrolled in specific classes to learn English.

ESOL- English to Speakers of Other Languages, the teacher certification area for those teaching ESL.

IDE-Innovative Designs for Education, a consulting company we have had a long term engagement with.

LATIC-Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom, an instructional model developed by IDE that we have adopted as a way to approach planning & instruction.

LCSD - Lakeland Central School District

LEP- Limited English proficient

NCLB- No Child Left Behind, the federal education policy that mandates annual testing and other accountability measures for states and schools.

NYSED/SED- New York State Education Department.

ORF- Oral Reading Fluency, the number of words by a student correctly in a minute in a standard passage. 

PARC - (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers)

The PARCC tests are high quality, computer-based K-12 assessments in Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy).

PBIS- Positive Behavioral Intervention System, an approach to school-wide culture and discipline.

R-CBM- Reading Curriculum-Based Measure (see ORF)

RTI- Response to Intervention, a systematic approach to identifying and meeting students’ academic and behavioral needs.

RTTT-Race to the Top, the 2009 federal grant program to states who agreed to specific education reforms, including adoption of the CCLS and APPR.

Title I- federal grant intended to help level the educational playing field for students living in poverty.

Title II- federal grant intended for teacher and principal professional development.

Title III- federal grant intended for programs for immigrant and LEP students