http://evanstonroundtable.com en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 21:17:26 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7284 Walker Elementary School hosted a traveling museum called “A Journey Back in Time” for their annual Pioneer Day on May 14. Schools Thu, 23 May 2013 14:23:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7280 On May 20, the District 65 School Board approved resurfacing the asphalt/concrete for an outdoor basketball court and bicycle rack/cage at Haven Middle School, at a cost of $72,000. Parents at Haven have already raised $43,000 to pay for an outdoor running track at the school, which will be installed at the same time the other work is being performed. The track is intended to be open to the community. Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 21:23:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7279 In April, the District 65 School Board approved seeking bids to establish a secure entrance at Chute Middle School. On May 13, John Castellana of TMP Architecture told the Board’s Finance Committee the bids could be obtained in June and presented to the Board in August, and the work could be completed by mid-November. He said he thought the work, estimated to cost about $127,000, could be done after school started without any disruption at the school. Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 21:19:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7276 Recognizing the importance of being able to read by third grade, the District 65 School Board has adopted third-grade reading goals on numerous occasions during the last 10 years. The District’s current strategic plan contains the goal, “Ensure, by the end of third grade, that students enrolled in the District for four continuous years are reading at grade level.” Over the years, the District has implemented many programs in an attempt to achieve these goals. Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 21:01:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7275 The District 65 School Board opened discussions about how to go about preparing a new multi-year strategic plan this fall. The current five-year strategic plan was adopted in March 2009, and covers the school years 2009-10 through 2013-14. One of the three-year goals adopted by the Board on Aug. 2011 is to prepare a new strategic plan to commence with the 2014-15 school year. Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 20:59:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7274 At the May 20 meeting, District 202 administrators presented the strategies they plan to use to implement the Board’s six goals. Referring to a 29-page report detailing the strategies, Dr. Eric Witherspoon highlighted several recognitions that Evanston Township High School has received recently and stressed the need for a community-wide goal of reading. Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 20:57:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7273 Superintendent Eric Witherspoon began the May 20 meeting of the District 202 School Board by announcing national recognition achieved by some Evanston Township High School students. The math team of Maggie Davies, Caroline Duke, Laura Goetz, Katie Latimer and Dina Sinclair, all ETHS seniors, was named one of six national finalists in the Moody’s Mega Math (M3) Challenge, an applied math contest that is organized by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The only finalist from Illinois, the ETHS team was selected from more than 1,000 teams which represented a record number of competitors in the contest. The ETHS second team was composed of Marc Bouchet, Jay Honnold, David McDonald, Sam Miller and Austin Schilling; math teacher Mark Vondracek coached both teams. Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 20:54:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7272 Mental Health services dominated Citizen Comment at the May 20 District 202 Board meeting. Cari Levin, founder and executive director of CASE, Citizens for Appropriate Special Education, said, "May is National Mental Health Awareness Month. … I am speaking to you tonight about our concern regarding the mental health needs of ETHS students. ..." Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 20:51:00 GMT http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=7271 On May 15, the District 65 School Board discussed student discipline. They explored whether there was a way to reduce the number of student suspensions, so students would not be pulled out of the classroom and lose valuable instructional time. This continued a discussion that began at the May 13 meeting of the Board’s Policy Committee, attended by six of the seven members of the Board. Schools Wed, 22 May 2013 20:43:00 GMT