The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • A11

THE MORNING CALL FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 NEWS 11 PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENTS POLLED Response to flooding boosts Corbett's approval ratings Fifty percent of Pennsylvania voters approve of Corbett's job performance now, the poll shows, compared to the 44 percent in August. In three Quinnipiac polls conducted between February and June the most intense months of debate over the state budget Corbett's approval rating hung steady at 39 percent, while his disapproval rating grew from 11 percent to 38 percent. Corbett's approval rating in historically VlCWSfllD more conservative voters in hard-hit central Pennsylvania, northeastern Penn-which was also hard sylvania like Gov. hit by flooding, re- Tom Corbett more mained unchanged, than in August. Fifty- seven percent of mid-state residents approved of Corbettin Today approve of the poll, compared to Corbett 5 6 percent last month.

OJg Forty-five percent of the state's female In August disapproved of Corbett voters approved of inb nprfnrm- Source: Quinnipiac University iorDeix jod perrorm poN of 370 PennsyVania ance, an improvement voters sept. 21-25. Margin of .1 1 1 error is plusminus 2.7 from the Upside-down percentage points. 37 charged in drug bust at Boeing plant in Delaware County By Sophia Pearson Of Bloomberg News PHILADELPHIA Federal prosecutors have charged 37 people with operating an illegal prescription drug ring at a Boeing Co. plant in Delaware County, where the Chinook military helicopter is manufactured.

All but one person was a current or former employee at the Ridley Park plant, which also makes the V-22 Osprey, U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger said at a news conference Thursday in Philadelphia Chicago-based Boeing reported the suspected ring to federal authorities four years ago, he said. Of those charged, 23 were indicted for distributing drugs including Actiq, Oxy-contin and Xanax. Fourteen others who weren't indicted face misdemeanor charges of possession. "This investigation and prosecution focused not only on the sellers but also on the users because of the critical role that these employees play in manufacturing military aircraft," Memeger said.

No quality or safety problems were found in aircraft being built at the plant, he said. FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided the plant Thursday, arresting 27 people, Memeger said. Nine others were arrested elsewhere, he said. Memeger wouldn't comment on the 37th person's whereabouts. Boeing said it monitored the employees, who worked in production areas, beginning in August 2007 as part of the federal investigation.

Of those arrested, 33 were current employees, said Damien Mills, a Boeing spokesman. More than 6,000 people work at the plant, he said. "We took appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our employees and the absolute integrity and quality of the products we produce for our customers," Mills said. He declined to give details on how Boeing monitored the employees. by his office.

"The governor has said the No. 1 role of the state is public safety," administration spokesman Kevin Harley said Thursday. "He understands that role as governor, and he wanted to get out of the way of first responders and make sure they had the tools they needed to do their jobs." Corbett's personal likability may also have aided him. Unlike Florida's Rick Scott or Wisconsin's Scott Walker, two fellow Republican governors who have provoked deep anger in voters, 53 percent of Pennsylvanians say they like Corbett as a person. That warm feeling extends to many Democrats, with 39 percent saying they like the governor (41 percent of Democrats were undecided).

From Sept. 21 through Monday, Quinnipiac pollsters sampled the opinion of 1,370 registered voters statewide, yielding a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. The sample of 163 voters from northeastern Pennsylvania had a margin of plus or minus 8 percentage points. Nonetheless, the complete flip in public opinion was a "significant jump" in Corbett's popularity in a section of the state that has been hard-hit by the faltering economy, Malloy said. Unemployment in the ScrantonWilkes-Barre metropolitan area in August was 9.6 percent, according to the U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national rate in August was 9.1 percent. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate in August was 8.2 percent. Despite the warm feelings, statewide voters are split on Corbett's policies: 42 percent approve and 37 percent disapprove. Forty-five percent of respondents gave a thumbs-down to his handling of the budget, compared to 40 percent who approved.

john.micekmcall.com 717783-7305 Fifty percent of those polled approve of governor's job performance now, compared to 44 in August. By John L. Micek Call Harrisburg Bureau ARRISBURG If you were a central or northeastern Pennsylvania resident who lived through September's historic flooding, it was tough to get away from Gov. Tom Corbett. For about a week, it seemed, the Republican was everywhere from doing flyovers with Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan to accompanying Vice President Joe Biden on a tour of flood-stricken communities.

Corbett's handling of the crisis has apparently translated into a complete reversal in his approval rating among residents of northeastern Pennsylvania In a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, 48 percent of the historically Democratic region's residents said they approved of Corbett, compared to 30 percent who did not. In a Quinnipiac poll released on Aug. 3, 48 percent of northeastern Pennsylvanians disapproved of the first-term governor, compared to 31 percent who approved. "Anybody with a family in that area has to have come away with the impression that the state and the governor did a good job," Quinnipiac pollster Tim Malloy said. "And his numbers have had a significant jump in that area." Better approval ratings in the northeast and among the state's female voters statewide have given Corbett the best poll numbers of his nearly 10 months in office.

Corbett endured criticism for months over his deep cuts to education and social welfare programs. 37 percent to 41 per- cent disapproval rating Corbett received in the Aug. 3 poll. Male voters' approval was 55 percent to 30 percent, compared to 51 percent to 31 percent in August. Leadership in a time of crisis is a key test of voter popularity.

Voters "expect their leaders to be visible and be a strong presence," said G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor and pollster at Franklin Marshall College in Lancaster. Corbett was visible during the crisis. During the most intense days of the floods Sept. 9 and Sept 10 he toured flood zones in northeastern and central Pennsylvania On Sept.

16, he returned to northeastern Pennsylvania with Biden, according to scheduling details providing GOING DOWN A look at Lehigh Valley schools that saw their state ratings drop in 2011. NORTHAMPTON COUNTY BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Broughal Middle: School Improvement 2 Donegan Elementary: Corrective Action 2 East Hills Middle School: Warning Fountain Hill Elementary: Corrective Action 1 Northeast Middle: Warning EASTON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Cheston Elementary: Warning Easton Area Middle: 5-6: Warning Easton Area Middle: 7-8: Corrective Action 2 PEN ARGYL AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Wind Gap Middle: Warning WILSON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Warning "School got warning first year it opened. Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education Data analysis: Eugene Tauber, database editor LEHIGH COUNTY ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT: Jefferson Elementary: Warning McKinley Elementary: School Improvement 1 Mosser Elementary: School Improvement 2 EAST PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT Emmaus High: Warning Macungie Elementary: Warning NORTHERN LEHIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT Northern Lehigh Middle: Warning PARKLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT Parkland High: School Improvement 1 Jaindl Elementary: Warning SALISBURY SCHOOL DISTRICT Salisbury High: Warning WHITEHALL-COPLAY SCHOOL DISTRICT Steckel Elementary: Warning Whitehall High: Warning Whitehall-Coplay Middle: Warning HARRY FISHERTHE MORNING CALL Allentown School District third-grader Evin Harris (foreground), 9, takes an assessment test at Muhlenberg Elementary School on Wednesday. TESTS serves some of the city's poorest students, made AYP for the first time. "We are pretty proud of that," Allentown acting Superintendent Russ Mayo said.

Educators for years have lauded the law's ideals of forcing schools to focus on the weakest learners, but have complained about the punitive labels if schools miss the cuts. Last week, Obama cited the increasing standards and 2014's 100 percent proficiency goal as reasons why he will change the law without congressional approval. In announcing changes to No Child Left Behind, Obama said if states implement some of his administration's education reform plans, the U.S. Department of Education will grant "flexibility to establish Continued from NEWS 1 speak English as a first language, who scored worse this year than last year. However, the federal grading system which President Barack Obama called unfair last week did cause isolated problems for schools, especially those in suburban districts.

Testing ratings are based on overall scores as well as those of sub-categories that include race, socioeconomics, language skills and special education classification. Three of Whitehall-Coplay's schools Steckel Elementary and the middle and CRAIG KACKENMEISTERTHE MORNING CALL Muhlenberg Elementary third-grade teacher Diane Arosen monitors Mark Stauffer, 9, of Allentown, as he takes a standardized test on Wednesday. high schools fell into warning status because of scores posted by special education students. Data show special education students in one or both subjects caused numerous other schools in the ambitious but achievable goals in readinglanguage arts and mathematics to support improvement efforts for all schools and all students." States can begin applying for waiv- "One of the things I find in trying to teach math is that its a little more logical and sequentiaV, Pat Mulroy, Bangor Area superintendent HARRY FISHER THE MORNING CALL area to miss the cut, too: Emmaus High and Macungie Elementary in the East Perm School District as well as Parkland School District's Jaindl Elementary, which opened last school year. People at Parkland were not pleased.

"NCLB fails to consider the special education students," said Marge Evans, testing coordinator for Parkland, which also got its first warning based on the math scores of impoverished high school students. Bethlehem Area School District for the first time in four years missed AYP in large part because most special education students in the elementary and middle schools missed the cut The district's two high schools, Liberty and Freedom, failed to make the cut because of the results of various demographics, including minorities, the poor and special education students. Of the 35 school districts in the area, only Bethlehem, Panther Valley and Allentown did not meet AYP. However, buried within the districtwide results were slivers of hope worth celebrating for Allentown, the area's largest and poorest district, which has struggled the longest with meeting federal standards at all grade levels. The district's Central Elementary, which ers to the law's mandates in November.

It is not known whether Pennsylvania will apply. "I'm encouraged by what they were talking about," East Perm Superintendent Thomas Seidenberger said of the Obama administration. "I hope that our state at least applies for waivers so we can sit down and figure out a better way of measuring the progress of all students." Not every school district struggled. For the eighth straight year, the Catasauqua Area School District hit its AYP targets for the overall population and subgroups, which Superintendent Robert Spengler attributed to a strong emphasis on "mathematics, reading and writing skills." Northampton Area High School made AYP after a spending the 2009-2010 year in warning status. The rest of Northampton Area School District's schools also made AYP and are in good shape to do the same next year, despite benchmarks going up again, said Kathleen Ott, director of data, grants and special programs.

Ott pointed to a number of initiatives the district is implementing or continuing, including after-school tutoring, increasing the amount of time dedicated to math and reading at the elementary level, ongoing meetings to assess data, co-teaching and requiring each school to prepare an improvement plan based on the 2011 figures. Despite sharp reductions in instructional aides, Bangor Area School District hit its marks. Superintendent Pat Mulroy credited the watchfulness of her teachers, who are now trained to single out students who are falling behind and shuttle them toward intervention classes. Whether the same strategy will be successful in 201L one year and two dozen more staff cuts later, is to be seen. The state still says the district's high school and middle school need improvement, and Mulroy expects a struggle to raise reading scores, which have proved far more resistant to change than mathematics.

"One of the things I find in trying to teach math is that it's a little more logical and sequential," she said. "It's a little more easier for us to make those leaps. In reading, if you can't read, you can't read." AH schools in the Saucon Valley School District achieved adequate yearly progress. Saucon Valley's K-12 supervisor of assessment and instruction, James Deegan, said the district is "way ahead of the curve" but realizes it isn't going to reach perfection by 2014 if the law is not changed. Bethlehem Superintendent Joseph Roy said the elementary and middle school levels made 30 of 32 testing targets.

But because special education was the difference-maker at both levels, Roy said, staff is implementing a plan to improve special education instruction across grade levels. Robert Gross, Salisbury Township School District's superintendent, said the district's high school is going into warning status in math for the first time. He said district staff is still analyzing why llth-graders did not make the cut for the first time. "Our middle schools knocked the socks off the test and elementary schools knocked the socks off the test," Gross said. "Eleventh grade did not make the score for the first time.

We're zeroed in on that, but by the same token we're concerned about all subjects. But we're going to take a real close look at that." Reporters Patrick Lester, Arlene Martinez, Adam Clark and Andrew McGill contributed to this story..