The state Education Department today identified several local schools and districts as being in need of improvement, as part of the No Child Left Behind education law.

The list includes: Yonkers, White Plains, Rye, Peekskill, Ossining, Mount Vernon, Port Chester, Greenburgh, East Ramapo, and North Rockland.

Schools and districts identified as being in need of improvement receive Title I funds and must take a variety of actions under federal law to boost student outcomes.

Under NCLB, schools that did not make Adequate Yearly Progress on state tests for two consecutive years in the same subject and grade level with one or more groups are designated as Schools in Need of Improvement.

Districts that did not make AYP for two consecutive years at both the elementary/middle level and the high-school level in the same subject are designated as Districts in Need of Improvement.

Sleepy Hollow Middle School is no longer on the list. The state requires at least 95 percent of students take state tests; they cited Sleepy Hollow in the past for being below that. The superintendent today said the school is off now basically because the technicality was corrected.

Stay tuned to the Hall Monitor for updates on this story as they become available.

Visit the state Education Department Web site for more information.