Major Flaws Found in ETHS Computer Services; Changes Are in Process

By Jennie Berkson

An audit of the Evanston Township High School Technology Department operations has found major flaws in services and procedures, according to a report conducted by School Technology Services (STS), a consulting company based in Elmhurst.

The audit, ordered last February at a cost of $20,000, determined that there is  universal concern among administrators, teachers and support staff that the student information system in the District "does not seem to be functioning properly." 

In addition, the audit found that there "appears to be a lack of understanding of the mission and/or function of the school district: servicing the educational needs of staff and students." This resulted in "systems being down and critical education programs not being available to students and teachers when needed."

The audit did find that the technology department staff has "the knowledge to complete most, if not all of the functions of a school-district technology department and that all of the individuals are truly concerned with the end users."

The study found problems in virtually every area of the department's operations. For example, the department was criticized for not training staff effectively, for having a work schedule that did not coincide with the hours of support needed for before- and after-school activities and for not properly operating the help desk, which addresses user problems with both hardware and software.  Finally, the audit found that the lines of supervision and management in the department "have not been clearly delineated, nor do they provide for an effective work environment."

The audit took three months to complete, said William Stafford, chief financial officer, who joined ETHS after the audit was in process.  "Everyone in the information technology department was interviewed, as were all the administrators and at least a dozen teachers," he said. 

Vince Julian, head of the technology department, could not be reached for comment about the report. 

The results of the audit and its accompanying recommendations were presented to the District 202 School Board at its Aug. 14 meeting. In response to the negative findings, Superintendent Eric Witherspoon said, "Technology should never be a barrier to productivity. Technology should increase accuracy, not raise questions about accuracy."

When Board President Ross Friedman asked if any problems with the accuracy of student records had been found, Dr. Witherspoon said that there had not.  But he said that ensuring accuracy had required an enormous amount of manual checking of information by staff, which would not have been necessary had the computer systems been reliable.

The STS team recommended that ETHS make a number of changes to improve information technology services. The District also hired the firm, at a cost of $18,750, to assist with implementation of the changes and improvements to service. 

STS recommended that the technology department be completely reorganized, "clearly defining new roles and functions for each position."  They stressed that the focus of the department must be client service and that all positions should be cross-trained "so that the District is never without the ability to provide any service due to absence, vacancy or unavailability of a technology staff person." 

The team also recommended ensuring that the director of the department have a "deep understanding of the business of education and appropriate technology solutions to education problems as well as a technical background" and having the department head report directly to the superintendent rather than to the CFO. 

"We agree with the STS recommendations for department reorganization," said Mr. Stafford.  "We will be working with department personnel over the next few months to implement these changes."  Mr. Stafford said annual expenses for the main technology service divisions, information services and network administration are $1.2 million and that approximately 15 people work there.

 The recommendations discouraged the routine use of consultants to perform key functions and strongly suggested the full utilization of the help desk to track, assign and close all technology support issues. 

In addition, they directed the technology department to work with other departments to "review or create and disseminate procedures and calendars for all critical functions such as grading-period reports, scheduling, discipline reports and state reports. These calendars should indicate all critical dates necessary for the timely completion of the designated task."

Mr. Stafford said work has already begun on the recommendations suggested by STS.  "We have asked the staff to provide and extra effort, and I'm really pleased to say that they have stepped up willingly. This will be a year of transition," he said.

"We have a strong plan in place," Dr. Witherspoon told the Board.  "I think you'll see noticeable improvements by the time school starts."

D65 Board Adopts Goals

By Larry Gavin

At its Aug. 21 meeting, the District 65 School Board adopted goals for the 2006-07 school year, relating to student achievement, elementary bilingual education and special education. While not included as Board "goals," the District will continue the implementation of certain strategies to improve the academic achievement of students, implement enrichment programs, and strengthen the District's financial health.

Academic achievement
 The first goal is to "ensure that all No Child Left Behind (NCLB) student subgroups in all schools and District-wide meet the NCLB adequate yearly progress (AYP) requirement." This year the AYP requirement is that 55-percent of each student subgroup meet or exceed state standards on the 2007 ISATs. Results for the 2006 ISATs have not yet been reported, but on the 2005 ISATs a number of subgroups fell short of the 55 percent mark.

Part of the achievement goal is to "adopt and begin implementation of the Unified System of Delivery [of instruction] that ensures shared responsibility of all staff for all students so that 1) all students have access to the general education curriculum; and 2) more effective instruction and supports are implemented in regular education classrooms."

Superintendent Hardy Murphy said the unified system takes into account the needs of all students, including students with an Individual Education Plan (IEP).

Location of TWI
The second goal is to "develop and adopt recommendations and plans that can be supported by District resources for the long-term placement of the Two-Way Immersion (TWI) program, taking into consideration this placement has on the District, and to develop and adopt recommendations and plans for additional research-based program options, if necessary."

This year the TWI program will expand to eight kindergarten classes and a total of 29 classrooms. If the program holds at eight classrooms per grade level, the program will need 48 classrooms in five years.

During the last six months, the administration and Board members have mentioned a range of possibilities to address the TWI program, all of which would have different spill-over effects. The possibilities mentioned include retaining TWI as the sole bilingual program; adding a second bilingual program such as one-way immersion and capping the TWI program; and placing the TWI program in one or more "language academies."  The goal is drafted to give the Board flexibility to consider all of these options.

Jonathan Baum suggested that the Board determine what it would like the configuration of the District's schools to look like (i.e., what mix of attendance area and magnet or choice schools) and then to choose a bilingual program that fits best into that system. He was unable to convince three other Board members to incorporate this concept into the TWI-location goal.

 Special education
The third goal is to "ensure that students with special needs are provided an educational experience that enables them to realize their full potential." Subparts of this goal include providing professional development for teachers, meeting the IEPs for all students, increasing the number of students receiving services in less restrictive environments, and addressing or correcting items cited for corrective action in a special education compliance audit.

Dr. Murphy said about 1,300 to 1,400 District 65 students have IEPs.

Other items
Jerome Summers urged that the Board consider addressing early childhood education as a goal. Sharon Sheehan suggested that, since the Board is scheduled to discuss early childhood education next February, they could develop a goal addressing early childhood education for the 2007-08 school year.

Stating that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide the constitutionality of balancing schools by race and may strike down the practice, Mr. Baum suggested the Board consider adopting a policy to minimize concentrations of poverty in any school. He added that the District faces the strongest academic achievement challenges in schools where there are high concentrations of poverty. The Board was not willing to adopt this as a goal but expressed interest in reviewing research on the issue.

D65 Approves Tentative Budget

By Larry Gavin

School District 65 will balance its operating budget for the fifth year in a row, Superintendent Hardy Murphy reported on Aug. 14 at a special Board meeting. The District will do so while adding staff positions, implementing several new programs and implementing the reading adoption.

 Dr. Mary Brown, the District's new chief financial officer, presented the tentative budget for 2006-07 which projects operating revenues at $86.6 million, up $5.3 million or 6% over the prior year. Operating expenses are projected at $84.8 million, up $4.2 million or 5% over the prior year. The tentative budget shows a surplus for the year of $1.8 million.

The Board approved the tentative budget on Aug. 14 and will hold a public hearing on the budget on Sept. 18. The Board is scheduled to adopt a budget for 2006-07 on Sept. 25.

Key budget assumptions
On the revenue side, property tax revenues earmarked for operations are expected to increase by 4%. Property taxes make up about 74% of the District's operating revenues. State and federal grants are expected to increase by about 11%, due in large part to the receipt of payments in 2006-07 that were earmarked for the prior year. State and federal grants account for about 17% of the District's revenues.

On the expense side, student enrollment is projected to remain constant. The budget assumes the District will add five new support positions: one curriculum coordinator, two parent liaison positions, and two technology positions. It also assumes that four support positions will be eliminated in the childcare program. The budget also reflects the cost of new programs and initiatives, including the African-Centered Curriculum, bilingual programming and the reading adoption.

Salaries and benefits are pegged at $68 million, up $3 million or 4.5% from the prior year. Salaries and benefits account for 79% of the District's operating budget.

Expenditures by function
Under the tentative budget, the District's total expenses for 2006-07, including both operating and capital expenses, are projected to be $95 million. A budget summary prepared by Dr. Brown and Kathy Zalewski, comptroller, states that the $95 million will be spent as follows:

· $44.7 million, or 47%, will be spent on instruction, which includes general K-8 instruction, special education, bilingual education and remedial education.
· $14.7 million, or 16%, will be spent on support services, which includes social work, psychological and speech services, food and transportation services, staff development, curriculum improvement and education media services.
· $9.5 million, or 10 %, will be spent on administration, which includes administrators, principals, assistant principals, secretaries, business services, human resource services, research, and data processing.
· $8.8 million, or 9%, will be spent on facilities services, which includes building operation and maintenance services.
· $7.8 million, or 8%, will be spent on debt service.
· $3 million, or 3%, will be spent on community services, which includes community childcare and before- and after-school childcare services.
· $6.5 million will be spent on other miscellaneous items.

FY 2005-06 finishes with a surplus
The District is reporting on an unaudited basis that it finished the 2005-06 year with an operating surplus of $752,079. At fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, the District had a cash balance of about $19 million in its operating funds (which includes $11.5 million in its working cash fund). The cash reserves are equivalent to about 80 days of operating expenses. 

Superintendent Eric Witherspoon Welcomes Everyone to the New School Year

Welcome to the 2006-07 school year.  Our Evanston Township High School staff is eagerly awaiting the arrival of our students on Aug. 30.

Our students will learn and grow in the coming academic year, experiencing the extraordinary opportunities that distinguish an ETHS education. 

Our challenge is to assure that every student is achieving and meeting our high academic standards.  We are committed to having high expectations for every student and for ourselves, seeking more effective ways to help each student succeed at ETHS. 

Our school must be a caring, personalized place.  Parents and guardians are welcome and encouraged to be active partners at ETHS.  We need to get to know you, and we need your help so we will know your child better.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Our school must be safe, a place conducive to learning.  We ask parents to talk with their children about the importance of good behavior, to support our determination to raise expectations for appropriate student behavior and to encourage children to report anything that could jeopardize the safety of others.  

Our school must be a place where every student, regardless of race or economic status, achieves academically.  We need parents and guardians to partner with  teachers, administrators and counselors to make sure each child is getting the necessary support.

 ETHS continues to excel as one of the elite schools in the country. Hard work in the classroom was rewarded last year in many ways: Students of Latin and German earned national recognition for high achievement; journalism students won a first-place prize for The Evanstonian in a major newspaper contest; and ETHS was honored nationally for its entire music program in March by being named a Grammy Signature School for the second time.

Extracurricular endeavors were honored as well: The JETS academic team finished eighth in the nation, the chess team placed second in Illinois, and we all cheered when our girls track team accomplished a four-peat as number one in the state. Also outside of the classroom, students and staff showed their compassion by raising well over $5,000 to benefit the tsunami and hurricane victims.

We know how important it is to have high expectations for all of our students.  This year, for example, we have raised the standards for promotion.  Students will be required to take a minimum of six classes each semester and earn a minimum of 12 credits each year for promotion to the next grade.  The goal is to improve student academic achievement.  We will inform students and parents/guardians of any academic deficiencies and offer resources for improving academic performance and options for earning needed credits to meet graduation requirements.

There is no better place to get a high school education than ETHS.  But we also know that many of our students struggle academically and are not yet achieving at a high level.  We know that our students want to do well in school and are capable of completing a rigorous academic program.  We also know that when teachers work together to improve instruction, our students respond and their learning accelerates. 

In an effort to improve student learning, teachers in all departments will be a part of a Professional Learning Community (PLC), a team of teachers that teach the same course.  One way we will support these teacher teams is to have a B-Day late start on Mondays throughout the school year.  School will begin at 8:55 a.m. on B-Days, providing all teachers with time to work together professionally to monitor student learning, to plan for re-teaching essential content that students are struggling with, and to develop new instructional approaches to better meet the needs of our students.

Just as this will be the first year at ETHS for the freshmen, this will also be my first year here.  We'll learn together. 

We'll depend on the seniors to provide positive leadership.  We'll honor the contributions of the sophomores and juniors.  And we'll learn.  We'll learn about the rich traditions at ETHS.  We'll learn about the extraordinary teachers and staff who are dedicated to keeping the standards high and raising them even higher. 

We'll learn about the extraordinary athletic and arts programs, and the many extracurricular and community service opportunities at ETHS.  We'll learn about the importance of personal responsibility and the importance of participating in a community.  We'll learn how we can each personally contribute to improving ETHS.  We'll learn about the ways an ETHS education prepares each student for a lifetime.  And, yes, we'll learn the school song. 

We'll learn.  And that pretty much sums up the year ahead for all of us: a year of learning.  How fortunate we are.
- Eric Witherspoon, Ph.D., District 202 Superintendent

 

Superintendent Hardy Murphy Welcomes Everyone to the New School Year

Welcome to the 2006-07 school year.  As we reach late Aug. I sometimes think we can hear our community preparing for the new school year. 

Teachers are anxious to prepare their classrooms and welcome students. Many spent several days throughout the summer participating in summer curriculum projects, attending training sessions or workshops that will help ensure a smooth transition into the new school year. 

Administrators worked to ensure that our schools and classes are staffed with highly qualified teachers, that the fiscal budget reflects anticipated needs, that teachers and staff have opportunities for well-planned training and professional development throughout the year.

The greatest capital in the field of education is human capital.  District 65 believes in its people and continues to commit resources to this most valuable asset.  Professional development, training, online access to resources, as well as continuing opportunities for professional growth and recognition are among the goals for this school year. 

I am excited about new and continuing programs and services for our students.  Parents in more elementary schools have the opportunity to participate in the district's dual-language immersion program.  Interactive teaching and learning opportunities will be available at all elementary schools using Promethean boards in the school libraries or labs.

The District 65 website will have a facelift that will also include concentrated efforts to share facts and news to keep our community better informed about our school district.  In addition to information about programs and services, there will be online access to class syllabi and "curriculum on a page" documents.  Many schools are using their school sites to keep parents and students informed about class and homework assignments.  Families who value the experience of African cultural heritage have the opportunity to participate in the African-Centered Curriculum program in the primary grades at Oakton School. 

The culmination of a year-long middle school planning effort that included parents, teachers, staff and the community will result in improvements in middle school education this year.  We also anticipate more assertive implementation of strategies to improve the educational experiences of students with special needs.

Technology is important to our future, but the foundation of our school district is in the curriculum and teaching and learning that go on every day in our classrooms.  The new elementary reading series adopted for implementation this fall is one way to stay current with changing trends in reading instruction that allow the district to also employ proven practices and strategies to improve reading instruction for all children. 

The commitment to begin implementing a unified system of delivery to ensure that all students have access to the general education curriculum are among strategies that focus attention to the commitment of achieving academic growth for all children. Our goal is for all students to achieve at very high levels and we are making progress toward that goal.  

Two District 65 schools received special recognition as Illinois Honor Roll Schools.  Chute Middle and Lincolnwood Elementary Schools are among 306 schools statewide to receive notice of this recognition for academic achievement efforts.

This recognition is based on the schools' upward trend in state testing results and is a well-deserved acknowledgement of the dedication and support District 65 staff bring into our classrooms and schools every day - not just at these schools, but across our district.
- Hardy Murphy, Ph.D., District 65 Superintendent

Update on African-Centered Curriculum

The District 65 administration reports that 63 students have enrolled in the pilot African-centered curriculum program at Oakton School - 16 in kindergarten, 19 in first grade and 18 in second grade.

At the Aug. 21 School Board meeting, Dr. Hardy Murphy said, "The teachers are excited about the program." In response to a question from Board member Jonathan Baum, he said six applicants were not accepted into the program because they had IEPs (individual education plans) and have to be in self-contained settings in other places in the District."

The president of the Oakton School PTA, as well as Board members Julie Chernoff, Sharon Sheehan and Mary Rita Luecke, expressed concern that the ACC classrooms were placed in a separate wing of the school.

Ms. Sheehan said one of the reasons she had voted against the proposal was that "it was never clear how it was going to be implemented. The understanding of most of the parents and of at least two Board members was that the classes were going to be integrated [with the general school population]." 

Dr. Murphy said he had made that decision this month because it was in the best interest of the students to do so.

Yet Ms. Luecke said, "One of the concerns people had was separating the [ACC] students from other populations. The decision to place the three classrooms in this wing keeps these students away from the other students.... As a Board we said we did not want these children isolated; we wanted them to have several opportunities to interact with other children throughout the day."

Marianne Kountoures said when she voted to have the program at Oakton, she "understood that the Board would not mind if some of the students were separated if that occurred at only one school."

Mary Erickson said she thought the separation was necessary for proper implementation. "We'd be watering down the program if we integrated [the students]," she said.

Jerome Summers said he thought the separation constituted "incubation" rather than "separation."