Five to Receive ETHS Distinguished Alumni Awards

Evanston Township High School and the ETHS Alumni Association will honor five of its graduates with the annual Distinguished Alumni Award at a public ceremony on Dec. 8, in the fifth class of alumni to receive this recognition award. The program was established to honor alumni who are noted in their field of endeavor and/or recognized for their expertise and good works by their peers and others. To be nominated, alumni must have graduated from, or been enrolled at, ETHS at least 10 years ago and have distinguished themselves through achievement, service or contributions to society. Posthumous nominations were accepted.

A selection committee of alumni, students, community members, and current and retired ETHS faculty evaluated this year's nominations and selected the recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards. All nominations are kept on file and reconsidered for three years. After three years, a candidate must be renominated for consideration.

This year's class of award winners includes the following alumni:

Dr. Michael Chamberlin, '55

Dr. Michael Chamberlin is an award-winning biochemist and educator. While his numerous contributions to science are nationally recognized, he feels his true legacy is the students he has trained over the years.

After graduating from ETHS in 1955, he attended Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude and being elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. He went on to Stanford University's School of Medicine, earning his Ph.D. with honors in 1963. That same year, he joined the faculty at the University of California-Berkeley, where he served as a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology until retirement in 2001. He has published more than 150 scientific papers in biochemistry.

Dr. Chamberlin specializes in the replication and transcription of nucleic acids. His important discoveries relating to the biochemical properties of RNA polymerases were honored with the Charles Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry in 1974. In addition, he was elected to the National Academy of Microbiology, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology and has been tapped for numerous editorial boards and National Institute for Health study sections and panels.

Dr. Chamberlin believes, however, his greatest contribution has been to mentor more than 40 doctoral students, many of them now in important positions in our nation's most prestigious research institutions. His proudest moment came in 2001, when he received the Monie A. Ferst Award, given annually to a nationally prominent scientist who has inspired his or her research colleagues to significant scientific achievements. Ferst Award winners must be nominated by their former students.

David Cole, '76

David Cole is an attorney who ardently defends civil liberties.

A 1976 ETHS alumnus, Mr. Cole is a graduate of Yale University (magna cum laude) and Yale Law School and clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Arlin Adams. Since 1990 he has taught at Georgetown University Law Center. In addition, he is a volunteer staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, the legal affairs correspondent for The Nation, and a commentator on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis has called Mr. Cole "one of the country's great legal voices for civil liberties today." He has defended flag burners, performance artists, feminists, immigrants, homosexuals, and many others whose rights, especially first amendment rights, have been challenged.

Mr. Cole is also a prolific and award-winning author, who, since the events of 9/11, has written extensively on the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies. In 2003 his book "Enemy Aliens: Double Standards and Constitutional Freedoms in the War on Terrorism" was awarded an American Book Award and the Hefner First Amendment Prize.

His first book, "No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System," written in 1999, has also won several "best book" awards.

For his public interest advocacy, Mr. Cole has received numerous honors and awards from such organizations as the Society of American Law Teachers, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, the American Muslim Council, and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, among many others.

Gene Nora Stumbaugh Jessen, '55

Gene Nora Stumbaugh Jessen, ETHS Class of '55, is an award-winning aviator. While at ETHS, her Civil Air Patrol instructor told her she was a "natural." That was all she needed to turn flying into a life-long professional career.

After ETHS, Ms. Jessen paid her way through the University of Oklahoma by giving flying lessons and competing in intercollegiate flying contests. She earned a degree in English.

In 1961 she was among a group of female pilots who joined a research program designed to find out if women were fit to be astronauts. Dubbed the "Mercury 13," these accomplished commercial pilots passed the same grueling fitness exams given to male trainees, only to have NASA and Congress cancel the program for women in late 1961 on dubious grounds. Two years later the Soviet Union sent a woman into space, but NASA did not select any female astronaut candidates until 1978.

In 1962 Ms. Jessen landed her "dream" job as a sales demonstration pilot for the Beechcraft factory, an unusual feat for a woman at the time. She flew all Beechcraft models, initially as one of the "Three Musketeers," an introductory formation flight over the contiguous 48 states over a 90-day period.

Ms. Jessen met her husband, Bob, at Beechcraft, and they moved to Boise, Idaho, to set up an aviation dealership. Over the years, she has been a flight-school chief pilot and charter pilot, newspaper aviation columnist, aviation insurance agent, and has competed in several transcontinental air races. She has served on the Boise Airport Commission and as president of the Ninety-Nines, a women's pilot organization; helped found two aviation museums; and raised two children.

Among many awards and honors, Ms. Jessen was inducted into the International Women in Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2005 she joined four members of the Mercury 13 who were recognized for their pioneering roles by Chicago's Adler Planetarium. As one writer put it, they "had the right stuff - but at the wrong time."

Arthur McZier, '54

Arthur McZier is a business expert, whose long-standing career focus has been on improving opportunities for minority-owned businesses.

A 1954 ETHS alumnus, Mr. McZier attended Loyola University, where he earned his degree in commerce, did graduate work in business management and finance, and was elected co-captain and Most Valuable Player of Loyola's basketball team.

After working in sales and marketing in the early 1960s, Mr. McZier began a career in government in 1968 at the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Foreign Direct Investments. In 1969, he was appointed assistant administrator for minority enterprise at the Small Business Administration (SBA), a position he held during both the Johnson and Nixon administrations. In that capacity, he developed a national program to assist minority-owned businesses that now annually provides over $250 million to minority business enterprises.

In 1976 Mr. McZier founded National Business Services Enterprises (NBSE), Inc., in Washington, D.C., which specializes in food service management and concessions operation for commercial properties such as the Washington Convention Center and Orlando International Airport. Over the years NBSE has expanded to include management and technical assistance in areas such as security, maintenance services, business development and transportation.

Dedicated to public service, Mr. McZier and NBSE have donated resources to the community, including innovative job training and placement for District of Columbia welfare recipients and a computerized information system for more than 100 Job Corps Centers across the United States. He has also served on the boards of the United Negro College Fund, the Ellis Island Centennial Commission and business-related boards at Loyola and Howard Universities.

For his business and humanitarian work, Mr. McZier has been honored with the Robert Russo Moton Leadership Award from the National Business League, the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service (the SBA's highest award), an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Daniel Payne College, and the Award of Merit from the National Economic Development Administration.

The late Major General Mitchell J. Waters, USMCR, '53

Major General Mitchell J. Waters, USMCR, who passed away in 2005, was a businessman, a philanthropist, and, above all, a distinguished Marine Corps Reserve officer.

After graduation from ETHS in 1953, Maj. Waters attended Colgate University, where he joined the Marine Corps his junior year and was commissioned a second lieutenant at graduation. He retired from active duty after three years and immediately joined the Marine Corps Reserves, in which he continued to serve until 1993.

As a reserve officer in the 1960s and 1970s, Maj. Waters commanded four rifle platoons and three infantry companies, as well as the first Marine Corps Reserve unit, an infantry battalion, to take part in a NATO exercise. The battalion's performance earned Maj. Waters the Meritorious Service Medal. During the 1980s, Maj. Waters served on the Secretary of the Navy's Marine Corp Reserve Policy Board, ultimately as board chairman, and was national president of the Marine Corps Reserve Officers Association and chairman of its foundation.

In 1992 at the request of the Marine Corps Commandant, Maj. Waters undertook a major transformation of the reserve. In six months he gained a reputation as the "Father of the Modern Marine Corps Reserve" by creating programs that integrate active-duty and reserve Marines, innovations that have served our country well following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As a civilian, Maj. Waters was sales and marketing manager, as well as president and CEO, of several successful business firms. He served on Colgate University's alumni board, receiving both the Football Coaches Award and Maroon Citation for outstanding alumni contributions.

Maj. General Mitchell J. Waters is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

D65 Committee Recommends Single Strands of TWI at Six Schools and Current Selection Criteria

The District 65 School Board is moving closer to a decision on the long-term placement of the Two-Way-Immersion (TWI) program. The Board's Program/Policy Committee, composed of four of the seven School Board members, decided on Dec. 4 to recommend placing single strands of TWI - one classroom of TWI per grade level - at six schools. Under this recommendation, Washington School would be reduced from two strands of TWI to one. The Committee will also recommend using the current selection criteria for admission into the TWI program, instead of changing to criteria proposed by the administration.

While the Committee did not identify the six schools at which TWI will be placed, there appears to be consensus that TWI will remain at Dawes, Dewey, Oakton, Walker and Washington, in accord with the administration's recommendation. The Committee could not reach agreement on the sixth school. The administration recommended Willard, but Board member Julie Chernoff questioned whether the sixth location should be Kinsley School.

The Board has scheduled a public forum to receive community input on the proposal for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave. The full Board is scheduled to reach a decision on Dec. 18.

Board members Sharon Sheehan, Jerome Summers and Mary Rita Luecke attended the meeting, but were not permitted to vote because they are not members of the Committee.

Willard or Kingsley?
Nine Willard parents lined up to present opposing views about keeping the TWI program at Willard School. TWI was established at Willard at the kindergarten grade level this year.

Two parents argued the program should be dropped at Willard, saying that general education classes would increase in size if TWI remained at the school, and that the school was not large enough to house the program.

Seven Willard parents urged the Board to keep TWI at the school. Anna Maria Anderson, a parent of an English-speaking student in the TWI program, said 75 native Spanish-speaking students reside in the attendance areas of schools that feed into Haven Middle School, and that the TWI program belongs in one of the north Evanston schools. In defending the administration's recommendation to keep TWI at Willard, she said, "Willard is not as diverse as other schools. It's something I long for, for all the kids on the playground. And now that TWI's there, you can feel it. By the time kids go through a full strand of TWI, the playground will be rich with more culture and more diversity."

Gabriela Estrada, a parent of a native Spanish-speaking student in the TWI program, spoke on behalf of parents of six of the native Spanish-speaking students at Willard. "We do not want to be moved from Willard school," she said. Responding to a suggestion that Spanish-speaking students in the Fifth Ward be sent to Dewey or Walker, she said, We don't feel the distance to Willard is very far...By attending a school in the Haven attendance area our kids will have a better transition to middle school."

Ms. Chernoff said she did not understand why Willard was selected instead of Kingsley School. Almost all of the native Spanish-speaking who reside in the attendance areas of one of the Haven feeder schools reside south of the canal, she said. "I can't understand why Willard was chosen when it's a smaller school than Kingsley and it's further away."

Superintendent Hardy Murphy said Willard was chosen because it had "a great deal of support" from the parents of English-speaking students at Willard, and only a few Kingsley parents expressed an interest in the program. Assistant Superintendent Susan Schultz said the administration took into account that the TWI program would improve diversity at Willard and that the number of applications of English-speaking students demonstrated it was a school "where we could have a viable program."

Ms. Chernoff said the TWI program was designed for Spanish-speaking students and that the location of English-speaking students should not determine the location of the program. "It's not the English language parents that should determine it. It's the Spanish speakers. That's who should determine it."

Ms. Chernoff voted against the recommendation to continue the TWI program at Willard, saying she wanted more input from families of Spanish-speaking students on the location they preferred. "I would like to see a school in one of the north feeder schools, but I'm still struggling with Willard," she said. "I'm seeing the migration of the number of [native Spanish-speaking] families into the Fifth Ward, and I think we need to address that in some way. I think a strand in one of the feeder schools on the north side will address that and allow those kids to go through school together and end up at Haven together."

One TWI Strand at Washington
The Committee recommended reducing the number of TWI strands at Washington School to one strand by a three-to-one vote. Washington currently has two TWI classes at the K-4 grade levels and three at fifth grade.

Board President Mary Erickson said Washington has served many children from outside its attendance area and has been very crowded compared to other schools in the District. She said, "I think going to this one strand configuration will put Washington back into an equality position with the other schools in the District.
She added, "I think there's a real tipping point when you put two strands of TWI at a school in terms of what happens to your general education program. We're finding that out as it goes along, and I think going back to one stand makes a lot of sense."

Julie Chernoff took a different approach. She said, "I have been a proponent of the two strands...I'm just being realistic looking at the numbers going forward." The number of native Spanish-speaking students has declined in the Washington attendance area, but increased in the Fifth Ward. She reiterated that she preferred to place a sixth strand of TWI in the north end of town to accommodate the growing number of Spanish-speaking families in the Fifth Ward.

Jonathan Baum said there was not room at Oakton School for many native Spanish students who resided in the Oakton attendance area. He urged the Board to keep two strands of TWI at Washington, because it was the next closest school for these students. He voted against reducing Washington to one strand of TWI.

Selection Criteria
The Committee voted to recommend using the current selection criteria for admission into the TWI program, rather than changing to the criteria recommended by the administration. Currently children who have an older sibling in the TWI program are given a top priority. Children in the attendance area of a school are given the next priority.

The selection criteria recommended by the administration would have enabled the District to balance the race, gender and size of the TWI and general education classrooms In addition, English-speaking students in the attendance area of a school were guaranteed a minimum of 20 percent of the spaces, and sibling preference was listed as the fifth priority.

Dr. Murphy said if the Board wanted to make sibling preference and neighborhood preference a higher priority, the administration "was comfortable with that." He added, if the Board changed the selection criteria, "The classrooms will look a little different."

"The reason for the proposed change in the selection criteria was to manage the general education program," said Lora Taira, assistant director of information services. She added, "If there's only one strand of TWI at Washington, the current selection process would be very workable."

D65 Board Approves Issuing $10 Million In Bonds

The District 65 School Board approved issuing $10 million in bonds to finance improvements to school buildings that were recommended during an architectural audit of the buildings last spring. The improvements include replacing plumbing, ventilation systems and boilers.

Under the repayment option selected by the Board, the bonds will be repaid at an estimated 4.5-percent interest and will be repaid by 2010. The District estimates the total increase in property taxes will be $450, or an average of about $70 per year, on a home with a market value of $260,000.

Bessie Rhodes Expands Art Program to the Internet

By Nick Churchill

The fine arts department at Evanston's Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School has begun a new program that allows students and their parents to view their artwork online. Fine arts teacher Mary Beth Koszut has teamed with Artsonia (www.artsonia.com), a website that bills itself as "the world's largest kids' art museum." With artwork from children in over 100 countries around the world, Artsonia allows art teachers to post pictures of their students' work online to make it more accessible to the students and their parents. [Started in 2000, Artsonia's arts educator is another Evanston teacher, Lincolnwood's Anne Strandberg.] Ms. Strandberg's role in the organization is to develop curriculum-based art projects.

As of now, Bessie Rhodes has about twenty pictures up on the web, drawings and paintings by children from kindergarten, first, fourth, and sixth grades. "It's a great way to get the kids' artwork online and in the public," says Ms. Koszut, who was turned on to Artsonia by a parent. Ms. Koszut had thought of creating her own page for Rhodes students, but says that Artsonia was an even better option. Bessie Rhodes' page has already been viewed by 357 visitors, and one student, Luke787, has had his work seen 91 times. The website allows parents and family to purchase items like t-shirts and greeting cards with their child's artwork printed on it, and gives 15 percent of the returns to the schools. "Creating the products provides a lot of benefits," Ms. Koszut says. Bessie Rhodes, just started, has sold $19 worth of products and has a listed goal of $500.

Artsonia's core goals are to integrate technology in the classroom, develop multi-cultural understanding and increase parental involvement in their children's education. So far, Rhodes School's use of the website seems to be accomplishing all of these things. On the website, students create a username so their artwork can be identified by parents. Classmates can look at each other's artwork and join fan clubs for their favorite artists or friends. "It creates a visual dialogue," says Ms. Koszut, who says she has already received a lot of positive feedback from parents who have gotten more involved.

Ms. Koszut says the change in attitude for her students is already discernible. The increase in the visibility of students' work maintains their interest and motivates them creatively. "It breeds an excitement, bolsters their pride, gives them an extra incentive to work on their projects and take art more seriously. It helps students see how to be professional."

D65 Revises Policy On Public Comment

On Nov. 20 the District 65 School Board revised its policy on receiving public comment at Board meetings. The Board will continue to reserve up to one hour for public comment at the beginning of Board meetings but will no longer limit the number of speakers to the first 20 persons who sign up to speak. If fewer than 20 persons sign up, they will each be allowed three minutes to address the Board. If more than 20 persons sign up, they will receive a prorated portion of one hour. Persons may only sign up to speak at a Board meeting after the agenda for that meeting is posted, and they may sign up until noon of the day of the meeting.

New Courses Proposed for ETHS

By Jennie Berkson

District 202 is proposing to add or revise 10 courses for the 2007-08 school year, including an elective for incoming freshman to help orient them to Evanston Township High School, a philosophy course for seniors and an "Introduction to Engineering Design" course. The District plans to drop two courses.

Past years have seen many changes to the curriculum. In 2005-06, 44 courses were added, revised or dropped; in an average year, 20 changes are made.

The freshman orientation elective will be called "Access ETHS." It is a revision of an existing class, "Becoming a Better Student: Study Skills and Test Taking."

According to the presentation given to the School Board on Nov. 20, the new course will include "more critical information for incoming freshman students."

In addition to basic study skills, students will learn how to access student supports such as math lab, test preparation skills and basic school operations. Students will also become familiar with the ETHS handbook, "The Pilot," and will learn conflict-resolution skills, how to use a textbook, how to listen in the classroom and how to evaluate a website.

Finally, the curriculum will include college and career planning and community service opportunities. Senior students will help with the transition of freshman students as another feature of the class.
"Students will be able to take this course in a full-morning three-week session or a half- morning six-week session so that they will also be able to take keyboarding or art in the summer," said Brian Cadogan, ETHS counselor and course coordinator. Keyboard and art are popular summer school classes for incoming freshmen.

Mr. Cadogan also emphasized the value of having seniors involved in the course's instruction. "They will give the freshmen an idea what they are working towards," he said. Seniors will receive community service credit for their participation in the class.

Board member Margaret Lurie asked how the course would be marketed.

"We're contacting the District 65 and the middle school PTAs to let 8th graders know about the course," said Mr. Cadogan.

Board member Mary Wilkerson said she did not feel that contacting the PTAs would be sufficient strategy. "Sometimes students who need to take this class the most have parents who are not connected to the PTAs," Ms. Wilkerson remarked. She suggested that other community organizations, such as Family Focus, might also be useful contacts.

Another course being changed is mechanical drawing. The new course, "Introduction to Engineering Design," is the first course in a series of five pre-engineering course to be offered as part of the "Project Lead the Way" program.

The course proposal said that "Project Lead the Way is a four-year sequence of courses which, when combined with traditional mathematics and science courses in high school, introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering prior to entering college."

The course will use computer modeling software (AutoCAD) to teach students about the process of product design. It will be available for all students but will be specifically marketed to freshmen and sophomores "in the hopes that they will continue on to "Principles of Engineering.'"

Another course proposed for change is "Computer Applications." The new course will teach Microsoft Word in the first semester and Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint in the second semester. Students who complete the new courses will be expected to take the Microsoft Office Specialist examination, which will qualify them for certification if they pass.

Philosophy will be a senior elective in the history/social studies department. Logic is offered currently as a senior elective; the philosophy course will replace logic.

According to the New Course Proposal, students will read "works by the most famous philosophers" and students "will explore their own understanding of . . . concepts" such as good and evil, the best form of government and the meaning of life.

Ms. Lurie asked why logic was being dropped and philosophy added. Jennifer Fisher, history and social studies department chair, said that although "logic has been an extremely popular course, it has a very narrow focus. The course we are proposing is much broader and will incorporate the elements of logic necessary to the understanding of philosophy and philosophers."

Ms. Fisher also emphasized that the broadening of the course material would make it more interesting to African-American and Latino students, who had not traditionally taken the course in representative numbers.

Other proposed new courses are "Broadcast Production: KIT-TV News," "Summer Pre-Portfolio" and "AP Psychology." The course "French Language and Culture," a course for French native speakers with low or no enrollment for many years, will be dropped.

ETHS Kudos

Stage Door

ETHS Speech Arts will present "Stage Door" at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 14, 15, and 16 in the high school's Upstairs Theatre. This classic comedy by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman tells the stories of aspiring New York stage actresses - their lives, loves and dreams - who board together at the Footlights Club.

Reserved-seat tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens. Call the Fine Arts Hotline, 847-424-7848 to reserve. The Upstairs Theatre is handicapped accessible by elevator, and audio devices are available for hearing-disabled patrons (inquire at the box office the night of performance).

Empty Bowl Project at ETHS

On Dec. 6, the Empty Bowl Project returns to ETHS for its fifth year to benefit several different local soup kitchens. Students raise money by selling bowls of soup - bowl and all - to ETHS students and staff. The bowls are handmade by ceramics students; culinary arts classes prepare the soup.

In past years, local potters have donated bowls and other pottery, some of which will be auctioned off to raise additional funds for the soup kitchens. Any ceramic artist who would like to donate handmade bowls or other pottery goods is asked to contact the ETHS Community Service office, 847-424-7570.

Great Debater

ETHS junior Ellen Lebow scored a double victory - first in team standings and top-ranked individual speaker - at the recent 41st annual Homewood-Flossmoor Invitational debate tournament. In Lincoln-Douglas debate, she argued whether the use of deadly force during domestic conflicts could be justified. ETHS junior Chelse Uselding placed 7th in the individual competition at this tournament.

KIT-TV News

The ETHS "KIT-TV News," which runs daily on Cable Ch. 18 (ETHS's cable TV channel), was among 10 programs to be honored as "Best in Show" at the recent Journalism Educators Association National Convention. More than 100 broadcast programs entered the competition. The awards were given at the convention, which was attended by over 4,000 people from across the nation. New this year, "KIT-TV News" is produced by students taking Broadcast Media Independent Study this year under the guidance of ETHS teacher Todd Rubin.

ETHS Chess Team

The ETHS Chess Team recently won the first major team tournament of the year. Evanston was the host for 20 high schools and 10 junior-high teams. ETHS, which has won the state chess championship three times in the past six years, defeated Niles North, the current defending state champions.

As a team, out of a possible 32 individual games, ETHS won 20, drew 8 and lost only 4. All ETHS players finished in the top 10 on their boards. In the open section for extra players, two Evanston players - Solomon Miller and Aaron Damashek - tied for First Place.

Baker Demonstration School Hosts Artist-in-Residence Program.

 Baker Demonstration School students studied tribal heritage through music and interactive art. Under the guidance of David Stocker, visiting artist-in-residence at Baker, students developed their skills of abstract thought and problem-solving. Canjos, flutes, drums, shakers, guiros, and dijeridoos were created throughout the six-week program. Each grade learned about the traditions associated with their instruments.  Activities included assembly, animation, decoration and the playing of their handcrafted instruments. As they decorated their instruments, the students also explored the symbols and pictographs of various cultures, including Australian aboriginal dreamtime symbols, the Native American picture dictionary and African Adinkra symbols.
  
"Creating working instruments empowers students," said Mr. Stocker. His program focuses on establishing a connection to the past for students through storytelling, singing and the creation of tribal instruments.
 
 This year's Artist-in-Residence program ended with a compilation of the students' reflections in a "Book of Baker Wisdom," from which students read at the concluding assembly, "The Gathering of the Tribes."