ETHS Seniors Create a Middle Ground

By Claire Bryant

Middle Eastern politics, discussions about Iraq and presentations on Saudi Arabia are not the usual lunch period content for most high schoolers, but for Evanston Township High School seniors Rob Fiffer and Dan Esrig, they typify their organization, Middle Ground.

The organization formed when the two were sophomores enrolled in a Middle Eastern studies class at ETHS taught by history teacher Aaron Becker.

They developed a fascination that grew far beyond the classroom and decided to gather other students to share their desire to learn about the Middle East.

"We wanted to create a group of students who were interested in the Middle East, not just politically, but culturally and socially," said Rob.

Rob and Dan also formed a newsletter that discusses global issues, written by members of Middle Ground, and distribute 400 copies once a month.

After every issue students approach members of Middle Ground to ask questions and to learn about the issues, said Dan. The group has continued through their junior and now senior, years. Once a week during their lunch period they meet to discuss the contents of the next issue and other world happenings. Middle Ground has hosted guest speakers such as Doug Cassel, formerly a professor at the Northwestern University Law School, and most recently, New York Times reporter Stephen Kinser. Dr. Kinser discussed his new book, "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq," and held a question-and-answer session with the participants.

"He talked about traveling and how he immersed himself in world culture. The students had a lot of energy and asked great questions," said Dan.

In addition to bringing in speakers, Middle Ground has held events that celebrate Middle Eastern culture with music and food.

Although the group began with just three or four "core members," as Dan called them, meeting attendance is now around 30 students.

To learn more about Middle Ground or to read their monthly newsletter visit www.ethsmiddleground.org.

D65 Outlines Plan to Increase Parent Involvement

By Larry Gavin

One District-wide strategy to improve achievement of African-American students that the School Board approved on March 20 is to increase parental involvement, specifically by participating in the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University.

The administration put some teeth into this strategy at the Board's Program/Policy Committee meeting held on April 3. Ellen Fogelberg, director of literacy, presented a policy and plan to increase parental involvement, which she said is required at Title I schools (schools with a high percentage of students from low-income families) under the No Child Left Behind Act and regulations of the State Board of Education. She said the administration was going beyond these requirements and recommending a more comprehensive plan to increase parental involvement at all of the District's schools.

The plan is consistent with recommendations made by members of the District's African American Achievement Committee, Ms. Fogelberg added.

Two key parts of the plan are to participate in the Johns Hopkins Partnership and to require students, parents, teachers and principals at all schools to sign a "Partners in Learning" compact.

Ms. Fogelberg said the new policy "recognizes that we need to do far more" and added that the Johns Hopkins Partnership "will give us the tools to do a better job."

Board president Mary Rita Luecke said, "The thing I like about the plan is it puts the focus – in terms of parent involvement – on the parents being involved in their child's learning, as opposed to helping out in activities at their child's school."

The Johns Hopkins Partnership

An underlying premise of the Johns Hopkins Partnership is that, "school, family, and community partnerships are essential for student learning and success in school."

Superintendent Hardy Murphy said the District chose to use the Johns Hopkins Partnership model to improve parental involvement because "it has a track record of having an impact on school community partnerships and working with parents."

Ms. Fogelberg said the model will provide a framework and resources for evaluating the current status of parental involvement at each school, for identifying barriers to increasing parental involvement, for developing one- and three-year action plans for each school, and for evaluating the effectiveness of each school's parental involvement plan.

The model describes six types of parental involvement that schools should use as a guide in developing and tailoring a parental involvement program to meet the needs and interests of each school's students, parents and teachers. The six steps are as follows:
• Parenting: Assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, and setting home conditions that support children as students.
• Communicating: Communicate effectively with families about school programs and student progress.
• Volunteering: Involve families as volunteers at the school or in other locations to support students and school programs.
• Learning at home: Involve families with their children in learning activities at home.
• Decision-making: Include families in school decisions through PTAs, committees, etc.
• Collaborating with the community: Develop ways for families, students and the school to provide services to the community.

In accordance with the Partnership's model, Ms. Fogelberg said each District 65 school will have an "Action Team" comprised of administrators, teachers and parents. The Action Team will analyze their schools parental involvement activities, identify barriers that may inhibit parents from being more actively involved and develop a one- and three-year action plan for improving parental involvement at the school, using resources available through the Partnership.

In addition to implementing the Johns Hopkins Partnership model at each school next year, the District plans to provide workshops and conferences to teach parents ways to help their children to improve literacy skills. In addition, the District will train principals, teachers and staff on ways to reach out to parents.

Partners in Learning Compact

Under Title I and regulations of the State Board of Education, Title I schools are required to enter into a compact with low-income families. At the April 3 Program/Policy Committee meeting, Board members concurred that the compacts would be required at all schools with all families.

The compact for middle school students would be signed by the student, a parent, a teacher and a principal. A proposed compact circulated at the meeting recites in the opening line, "We know that learning can take place only when there is a combination of effort, interest, and motivation," and the signatories "promise to work together."

In addition, each person agrees to do six things, tailored to their role in the learning process. For example a student agrees to "Work as hard as I can on my school assignment," and to "limit my TV watching and read books instead."

A parent agrees to "Provide a quiet study time at home and encourage good study habits," and to "encourage my child to read by reading to him/her and by reading myself.

A teacher pledges to "Provide motivating and interesting learning experiences in my classroom" and to "communicate and cooperate with each parent to ensure the best education possible."

A principal pledges to "Create a welcoming environment for students and parents" and to "ensure a safe and orderly learning environment."
The Board will likely vote on the policy at its next meeting.

Evaluations Mixed for District 202 Reading and Math Support Programs

By Jennie Berkson

Two programs designed to help underachieving students at Evanston Township High School improve their abilities in reading and mathematics have had mixed results, according to reports presented at recent School Board meetings.

The School Board goal, "Improve student achievement, particularly for students who are not yet meeting standards," was the impetus for revising the 1 Algebra curriculum and developing the freshman reading/enriched course. Extra class periods were added for some students and specially designed computer software packages – Agile Mind for 1 Algebra and Read 180 for reading – were incorporated into the curriculum.

Students taking 1 Algebra have either eight periods a week in first semester and seven periods a week in second semester or 10 periods a week for the entire year. Students who score below the 50th percentile on the EXPLORE test given to eighth graders take the 10-period Algebra 1 class. Students who score above the 50th percentile and who have not yet taken 1 Algebra take the class with the 8/7 periods.

Freshmen make up 90% of the 343 1 Algebra students; 60% are black and 15% are Hispanic. There is an equal number of males and females.

Assessment of 1 Algebra
Administrators compared final exam and first semester grades of students in this year's classes with those of last year's classes, in order to assess effectiveness of the new curriculum and schedule in 1 Algebra.

Students in the classes with 8/7 periods per week had better first semester and final exam grades than students who took the class in the 2004-2005 school year, which might be expected since last year's students had only five periods a week for 1 Algebra. Students in the classes with 10 periods showed only slight improvement over the previous year's students who also had a 10-period class schedule. Teachers reported that 10-period classes had more behavioral problems, which may have contributed to the lack of progress in those classes. They felt that the increased class sizes resulting from budget cuts made classroom management more difficult, especially in the 10-period classes.

Evaluation of literacy program
The Literacy Program for ninth and tenth grades at ETHS was implemented in the 2003-2004 school year. Students who score below the 42nd percentile on both the eighth-grade EXPLORE test and the Degrees of Reading Power test also receive some support in reading at the high school. The most intensive support is given to students who fall below the 29th percentile on both tests: They take a double-period reading class that includes the use of the computer software and an Enriched Humanities course that meets for 10 periods a week.

There are 51 students in the Humanities Enriched/Read 180 classes, 69% of whom are black and 23% of whom are Hispanic. To provide an initial evaluation of the inclusion of the Read 180 program, administrators compared first semester grades for the last three years. Many of the students were still lagging.

Dr. Laura Cooper, assistant superintendent for curriculum and Instruction said, "There are many variables that can impact student achievement." Jennifer Fisher, history department chair, said, "We don't know why F's and NC's [no credit] are increasing."

Among the suggestions for poor performance were absenteeism and a lack of understanding of what it takes to succeed in school.

"Many of these students do not have good study habits. They don't know the basics, that one should move from class to class, do homework, come to class every day, how to use study hall," said Judith Ruhana, English department chair.

Discipline in the classroom is not a problem, said Dr. Cooper. The Read 180 classes tend to be smaller than average, however, and there is a full-time aide assigned to the classes.

Board members were frustrated that discipline and absenteeism seem to be consistent problems affecting achievement. "It's cropped up in every report," said Mary Wilkerson, Board president. "We're spending money on support programs and still seeing this as a problem."

Summer school recommendations
The administration also presented recommendations for summer school which would address some of the students' limitations.

Board member Margaret Lurie asked if summer school could be made mandatory. Superintendent Allan Alson said that would be possible but questioned whether there could be meaningful consequences if students did not attend.

Board member Jane Colleton suggested that perhaps District 65 might withhold diplomas from students identified for the summer school program who did not register. Dr. Alson replied that maybe that could be arranged.

"It's time for tough love," said Board Vice-President Ross Friedman.