D65 School Board Drops Race As a Factor For Magnet Selections and Permissive Transfers

By Larry Gavin

In the wake of the United States Supreme Court's ruling that limits the use of race in promoting the integration of schools, the District 65 School Board decided on July 17 to eliminate race as one of the five criteria used to select students for admission to the District's magnet schools for this year's selection process. Race will also be dropped as a factor in considering permissive transfers.

The District will reevaluate the applications of any students who were denied admission to a magnet school this year on the basis of race. Paul Brinson, director of information services for the District, said only a few students fell into this category.

The Board will hold discussions at a subsequent meeting concerning how to address on a long-term basis the ramifications of the Supreme Court's decision.

Dropping race as a factor
The District's attorney, John A. Relias, a partner with the law firm Franczek Sullivan p.c., provided the Board with an analysis of the Supreme Court's decision. He said the Supreme Court struck down student selection plans used by school districts in Seattle and Louisville because under their plans the school districts considered a student's race in deciding whether to admit a student into a particular school and, at times, the student's race "is decisive by itself. It is not simply one factor weighed with others in reaching a decision...."

He said that school districts would be permitted "to devise race-conscious measures to address the problem in a general way and without treating each student in a different fashion solely on the basis of a systematic, individual typing of race." Permitted strategies include the "strategic site selection of new schools; drawing attendance zones with general recognition of neighborhood demographics; allocating resources for special programs; recruiting students and faculty in a targeted fashion; and tracking enrollments, performance and other statistics by race."

Mr. Relias recommended that the Board change District 65's policies to eliminate any reference to the promotion of "racial balance," which he said raised a "red flag," and suggested instead that the Board consider substituting the word "diversity," which he defined as "a range of students from all socio-economic backgrounds within the District."

He also suggested changing the criteria for selection to magnet schools by deleting a preference if the student's selection would promote "racial…balance at the sending and magnet schools" to a preference that would promote diversity on a "socio-economic basis."

Mr. Relias said, "My suggestion is to attempt to modify your policies by going to another criterion of socio-economic status. Hopefully this will get you a diversity-rich student body at the schools and yet not run afoul of someone perceiving that your present policy or a variance of that would be based on race and subject to a challenge in court, which would entail a financial nightmare for the District."

Mr. Relias said he thought the District's current policy might be defensible if the District could establish that race was not a "determinative factor" but that it was only one of five factors and it was regarded simply as a "plus factor." He added, though, that the current policy "is fraught with the possibility of a challenge, because of the use of the words ‘racial balance.'"

Dr. Murphy said, "I think we're dancing around whether race is one of many variables. At some point race pops up as the determinative variable."

"The law is the law," Dr. Murphy added. "Unless we want to challenge it, I think the suggestion to take race out of the [criteria] is probably the appropriate one."

Mr. Brinson said he recommended removing race as a factor and not adding a preference regarding socio-economic diversity. Based on an analysis of available data with respect to Willard School, he did not think adding a socio-economic factor to the selection criteria would make much of a difference in the demographics of the District's schools.

Mr. Brinson said adding a socio-economic factor would also create a practical problem, because the District does not receive information concerning whether students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch until shortly before school starts, and it was questionable whether such information could legally be used in a student's assignment process.

The administrative staff presented a memo prepared by Lora Taira, which stated that the average poverty rate based on federal lunch data for District 65 is 40 percent. "There are only two schools, Oakton and Willard, which are more than 15 percentage points from the average, indicating that a majority of the District's schools are already economically balanced," the memo states.

The Board decided to eliminate race as a factor in magnet selections and permissive transfers and not to add a socio-economic factor for this year.

Policy for the long-term
Board president Mary Erickson was hopeful that the Board could deal with the Supreme Court's decision "without going through a big change in philosophy, because I think our philosophy has done pretty well by us." But other Board members called for further analysis, community meetings and a broad discussion on race.

Mary Rita Luecke said further analysis was needed because "the decision to switch to socio-economic status would be a significant shift in our District."

Katie Bailey said, "What is our goal? Is diversity our goal? Is racial balance our goal? I think we need to answer that question before we just substitute something into policy."

Bonnie Lockhart said, "I also feel strongly we have to have a discussion with the community before we make any decision about the guidelines or how we're going to define our goals and our philosophy as a District. This is a huge change potentially for Evanston. We have to take into consideration what the community is asking for."

Sharon Sheehan agreed that any long term change in the Board's policy needed more analysis. With regard to the suggestion of substituting a socio-economic criterion for race, she said, "I've raised the issue over the last couple of years that maybe we should be using socio-economic status anyway, for educational reasons, not just for diversity reasons, but that schools should be diverse economically for the education of our students."

Jerome Summers proposed a broader approach. "The image of ourselves and the reality of ourselves are somewhat different, from my point of view," he said. "This gives us an opportunity to have a hard and long overdue discussion about race and about how we feel about diversity in our community or the lack thereof." 

Mr. Summers added, "When I think of all the northside schools diversifying on the backs of the kids in the Fifth Ward…There's zero diversity in that community. All strong communities in America have a school. That does not exist in the Fifth Ward at this time. [Students there] are dispersed to the four winds.

"We might want to consider a bigger conversation that encompasses other possibilities than just what we have now," he said.

According to an analysis prepared by the District in October 2002, about 400 students in the Fifth Ward attended Willard, Orrington, Lincolnwood or Kingsley schools, which are located in predominantly white areas in northern Evanston. See story above  regarding the closing of Foster School.

Judith Treadway, education chair of the Evanston branch of the NAACP, said in the public comment section that the 60 percent guideline "has not fulfilled the ideal integration of schools. It has only been the dollhouse effect of integration." She said, "The [Supreme Court's] ruling is not limited to the magnet schools because black students are forced to integrate predominantly white schools. All elementary schools in Evanston will be affected, because the unconstitutional one-way busing of black students to predominant white schools will be on the table too."

She offered two options: first, "building a school on the west side of Evanston;" second, "stop the forced busing of black students and give choice to their parents to be bused or not bused."

In response to Mr. Summers' comments, Ms. Erickson said, "We've had detailed and long discussions about race." She said the Board has considered the efficacy of the 60 percent guideline, the effects of busing children, and the possibility of establishing a school in the Fifth Ward. "I don't want to cut off discussion on this, but I think we need to get some credit. We've struggled with this for a long time. I think we need to build on what we've already done instead of going back."

In October 2003 the District prepared a report containing busing and achievement information to help focus the Board's discussion on whether to maintain the 60- percent guideline. The report concluded that redrawing school attendance areas is unlikely to reduce the number of children being bused, that there is no way to draw attendance areas that are equidistant from the schools and balance student enrollment, and that in terms of riding time on the buses, "It does not appear that any one group is unfairly bearing the burden of the current busing configuration."

According to the District's "Opening of Schools Report," 1.625 students were bused in 2006-07. Of those, 614 were black, 552 were white, 304 were Hispanic, and 132 were Asian.

Last year, a total of 21 white students and 65 black students who resided in the Oakton School attendance area attended one of the magnet schools or received a permissive transfer.

The potential impact of dropping race as a factor
"After running for office, what I do know is that many citizens of Evanston say that they moved to this great City for diversity…A lot of them feel strongly about that. I am not saying that's where I am," Keith Terry said. "But how does the complexion of the District look two years out if we removed race as a criterion?"

Mr. Brinson said that deleting race as a factor in the selection process would not make much difference in the demographics of the schools. Referring to the first two criteria used for selection to a magnet school, which are "neighborhood preference (20 percent of new admissions)" and "overcrowding and staffing at the sending and magnet schools," he said, "We seldom get beyond the second of the criteria before we are able to make a selection. Race was seldom a choice or a decision-maker. It was very seldom a decision-maker."

When challenged with the question, "So for a white family at Oakton applying for a magnet school, race is rarely looked at?" Mr. Brinson said, "Correct. It is rarely the deciding factor." He added, "That's not the perception, but that's the reality."

Some Board members speculated that white parents in the Oakton community do not apply for admission to a magnet school because they know they would not be let out of the school.

Next Steps
The Board will discuss a vision and direction for the District at a working Board meeting, and then likely refer the matter to the Board's policy committee to hammer out a recommendation.

The National NAACP Supports Desegregation Efforts

On the national level, the NAACP stated in an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court in the racial balancing cases, "The NAACP supports the use of reasonable race-conscious measures, including voluntary desegregation plans, in public schools (K-12). The nation cannot afford to abandon the goal of school integration at this critical phase when many communities are facing the challenges of resegregation and continuing inequality of educational opportunities."

The NAACP also argued, "Diversity in the classroom can increase the likelihood that students will discuss racial or ethnic issues and be more likely to socialize with people of different races. Diversity also brings different viewpoints and experiences to classroom discussions and thereby enhances the educational process. Diversity is thus a valuable resource for teaching students to become citizens in a multi-racial/multi-ethnic world."

Following the Supreme Court's decision, NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Julian Bond said in a prepared statement, "There is hope that the two affected districts and others can find ways to alter their plans and overcome the court's decision. School districts nationwide – particularly those who have yet to acknowledge their responsibilities to provide an equal education for every child – should embrace the court's challenge and find ways to make the promise of Brown a present-day reality."

NAACP Interim President and CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes said, "We can learn from the opinions and work to develop and implement plans across the country that pass constitutional muster. We will continue to pursue tools of integration."

The Closing of Foster School

As part of the District's desegregation plan implemented in 1967, Foster School (which was 99 percent African-American and located in the Fifth Ward) was closed as an attendance-area school and converted into a magnet school to draw white students from throughout the District and thereby desegregate the school. About 450 black students who attended Foster and Dewey schools were reassigned and bused to predominantly white schools throughout the District to desegregate those schools. About 400 white students who applied for the magnet program were bused to Foster School to desegregate that school.

In the latter part of the 1970s, the District closed seven schools in light of declining enrollment; the attendance areas of many schools in the District were redrawn to adjust for the school closings and to maintain racial balance. One of the seven schools was Foster School; the magnet program at Foster was transferred to Skiles, now King Lab School.

The other six schools that were closed were College Hill, Miller, Noyes, Kingsley (which reopened in about 1990), Central, and Timber Ridge (which reopened as a magnet school in about 1993 and is now known as Bessie Rhodes).

For prior stories about District 65's historical efforts to desegregate and to racially balance its schools, see the on-line edition of the      RoundTable.

Safety Survey Has Reassuring Results; Some Concerns Remain

By Jennie Berkson

Most students, faculty and staff at Evanston Township High School say they feel safe while they are in the building, but there are more concerns about student safety outside and after school, according to two studies conducted over the past year and released just a week and a half after the afternoon murder of an ETHS student one block from the high school.

Along with presenting the study results to the District 202 School Board on July 16, Frank Kaminski, ETHS director of safety, told board about the various programs instituted by the Safety Department since he assumed his position last fall. He also discussed the high school's response to the murder. 

One of the studies, which surveyed ETHS seniors, was administered and evaluated by Dr. Judith Levinson, ETHS director of research, evaluation and assessment.  The other, which surveyed faculty and safety, was conducted by University of Illinois at Chicago graduate students under the direction of Professor Dennis Rosenbaum of the U.S. Criminal Justice Department.

Eighty-five percent of seniors responded that they feel safe most of the time at school. But only 55 percent said they feel safe after school.  Students said they feel most safe in the classroom (93 percent) and least safe outdoors (61 percent).

Seventy-nine percent of faculty feel safe at school, although 63 percent feel that safety is either a moderate or big problem at ETHS.  In general, teachers are less confident about student safety, although a majority of teachers feel that students are safe in the building.  The worst time for students, say teachers, is after school.  Only 40 percent of teachers consider students to be safe then.  Also of concern are outdoor areas, which only 40 percent of teachers consider to be safe. 

Safety Department staff were also surveyed.  Their responses were generally more positive about safety at the high school than were those of teachers, although they agreed that students were most vulnerable before and after school.

The most significant safety problem cited by both teachers and safety staff was gangs.  More than 60 percent of teachers and safety staff also said verbal disagreements, physical fights and theft were a problem.

In a separate interview, Mr. Kaminski told the RoundTable he would like to see a better system for collecting statistics about incidents that happen on the school campus.  "Sometimes these things get referred to the deans and sometimes to us," he said.  "We need to collect the information in one place to determine how many incidents really are taking place.  Certain things, like locker break-ins, are easy to identify, but fights are a different story."

Over the past year, Mr. Kaminski established a mission statement for the Safety Department, updated the camera systems inside and outside the school building, wrote new directives for the school crisis plan and conducted nine drills.  He also initiated the Positive Presence Program, which uses clergy and representatives of community groups to "create a positive adult presence in and around the school to deter inappropriate behavior."  Other efforts in the planning stage include a restorative justice program that uses peer mediation and a peer jury as alternatives to suspension, legislation to expand the school safety zone and gang awareness training and materials.

After Darryl Shannon Pickett was murdered a block from the high school, Mr. Kaminski said that his department was able to provide information about the altercation that preceded the murder because it had been recorded on ETHS external cameras.  The high school also offered counseling to students and staff and other members of the community after the murder.  In addition, ETHS held a forum for parents to discuss safety issues at the high school and to get input (see related story).

"I see this [the report] as very helpful and very informative," said Martha Burns, president of the District 202 School Board.  "There is a perception that things are really worse than they are.  Parents say, ‘you're not letting us know what's really going on.'  If we could spread this [the report] around the community, it would really be helpful." 
"This is a good benchmark for us," said vice president Rachel Hayman. She also pointed out that she believes the community and parents have a perception that things are more negative than the reports portrayed. "[We should use] as many opportunities as we have to let the community know that we are doing all these very deliberate and positive things to keep our students safe," she said.  "An event like we just had ignites all of our insecurities throughout the community."

Parent Safety Forum Provides Answers, Asks for Cooperation

By Jennie Berkson

About 100 parents and students gathered in the Evanston Township High School auditorium on July 12 for a forum set up by administrators in the wake of the murder of a student one block from the high school campus.

"We want to inform parents about what we've been doing and what we are doing going forward to make sure that the school is safe," said Marilyn Madden, assistant superintendent/principal.  We want to partner with parents and answer their questions and concerns."

Superintendent Eric Witherspoon told parents that "the advantage we have is that this is a community.  Time and again when we find out about something that could be a problem, it comes from the students themselves. The best protection we have is each other. Students are devastated that any one of them was shot."

Some parents asked what kind of security measures were employed before and after school. Frank Kaminsky, ETHS director of safety, described the special deployment of Evanston Police Department personnel, ETHS safety department patrol vehicles and cameras outside the building as well as the Positive Presence program, using community leaders and clergy along with ETHS faculty and staff to provide additional adult presence at those times.

Vernon Clark, dean of students, encouraged parents to join the effort.   "You are our most powerful ally," he said.  "I need your help.  Be present with the young people."

Other parents requested that more information be provided to the public about incidents which occur on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood.  "What are the hot spots?" asked Marianne Kountoures, ETHS parent and former District 65 School Board member.  She suggested that such information could be placed on the school's website and could help "dispel rumors."

Associate Principal Bruce Romain said that a report of all the incidents that happen in the building might be difficult to provide but that "when something serious happens," parents were certainly informed. 

There were also questions about the number of gang members at ETHS.  Officer Carl Fowler, school liaison officer for the Evanston Police Department, said that gangs were "not a huge problem at ETHS."  He said there were about 40 admitted gang members at the high school and about another 100 "hangers-on" and that those numbers had been pretty consistent. "We know who the hardcore kids are who are here and we want to deal with the kids on the fringes appropriately," Fowler said.

One incoming freshman girl suggested that while adults could be helpful to students, "older kids as mentors" would be a useful model as well.

Bonnie Lockhart, parent and current District 65 Board member asked about reported problems occurring in the school's bathrooms.  She also asked what kind of safety staff was on duty after school, and what the school was doing to secure points of exit and entry in the building.

Mr. Clark said there had been "two or three bathroom issues" in the past year that had been dealt with immediately.  "We were able to identify the people involved because cameras see who is going in and out of the bathrooms ... in the time frame.  Most of the time we are successful with catching those folks who do the things in the bathroom."  However, he did point out that budget cuts have resulted in fewer staff available to monitor problem areas.

Mr. Kaminsky said safety staff are on duty seven days a week, 24 hours a day at the high school.  "We are working on the points of entry. We have over 50 doors in this building,"  he said. He went on to describe that after all the students are in the building, doors are locked electronically and there are only two ways a person can enter the building.  "In the fall, we will be implementing a lobby guard system which will check the ID of anyone coming into the building and will help us identify whether or not they should be in the building."

"That's a pattern," said Ms. Kountoures referring to the problem in the bathrooms. "If parents knew that, they could warn their children ... don't be afraid to give us information, even bad stuff."  She continued by asking if the school was ready to consider metal detectors.  Given the fact that one student had obtained a gun and allegedly murdered another," she said. "What's to prevent someone from bringing a gun into the school?"

"We're not closing the door on any options," replied Dr. Witherspoon. But he  said in this particular situation, given the fact that it took place off campus, if the school had had metal detectors, it would not have prevented Darryl Shannon Pickett's murder.

Mr. Clark assured parents that "we are making changes at ETHS for the best. Every effort we undertake is designed to first educate your children and secondly to keep them safe.  Does that mean we will get it right every time?  No it doesn't.  But it does mean that we will keep on trying until we can master it.  We know we have an awesome task.  But we also know that it can't be done by us alone."

Fifteen athletes from Fonseca Martial Arts

competed in the Amateur Athletic Union National Championship Tournament this past week, bringing home an impressive 32 medals – 10 gold, 6 silver and 16 bronze. Competitors include, from left to right: (front) Kai Gerberick of Evanston, Dakota Erwin of Evanston, Max Segal of Deerfield, Noah Seidan of Glenview, Alexander Bunker of Chicago, and Matthew Jen of Glenview; (middle row) Scott Plonsker of Deerfield and Tito Fernandez of Skokie; (back row) Sensei Elisa Au, instructor of Fonseca Martial Arts, Elliott Taylor of Wilmette, Katie Plonsker of Deerfield, Jilly Plonsker of Deerfield, Jack Pressman of Wilmette and Sensei John Fonseca, chief instructor of Fonseca Martial Arts.  Not pictured are Erin Petry of Wilmette, Amanda Hight of Chicago and Steve Jaffe of Hawthorn Woods.

Sports Teams Returning to District 65 Middle Schools This Fall

By Joe Linstroth

At the July 16 school board meeting, the Board gave an unofficial nod to go ahead with a three-tiered proposal that will restore boys and girls soccer, volleyball and basketball teams at Haven, Chute, Nichols, Bessie Rhodes and King Lab Schools.  It is expected the board will officially approve the proposal at its August meeting.

Since 2003, District 65 has partnered with the McGaw YMCA to provide the middle school sports program.  The partnership began three years ago largely out of concerns over the league's competitiveness and the unequal distribution of resources between the schools.  According to the proposal, "one purpose of the [YMCA] partnership was to address the variances in program implementation." 

"It wasn't fair throughout the district," Liz Brieva, a District 65 parent who has spearheaded the new proposal, said of the program prior to 2003. 

 

But Ms. Brieva, who coached volleyball and basketball in the YMCA program, also noticed the more athletically gifted kids were not as engaged in the current program.  "It didn't seem like they were having fun," she said. 

Marcia Campbell, a parent of three District 65 students, said her oldest daughter, who will be a freshman at ETHS this fall, played in the YMCA program for one year.  "It wasn't what we wanted," she said. "There's nothing wrong with [the YMCA program], but she's an athlete and it wasn't competitive."

Last winter, Ms. Brieva formed a parent committee with representatives from each of the five schools to discuss the sports program.  She also enlisted the help of ETHS athletic director Chris Livatino after attending a meeting held in response to numerous student-athletes at ETHS who were dismissed from their teams for violating the code of conduct.

"Many of the comments that came out of that meeting were complaints that there weren't enough things for kids to do," said Ms. Brieva.    

In the months following, Mr. Livatino, Ms. Brieva and the parent committee devised a three-tiered plan to enhance the competition in the middle school sports program.  The group also sought to preserve the opportunity for any student at any skill-level to participate in organized sports and address the unequal distribution of resources.

According to the proposal, the Competitive level will offer the highest level of competition.  Kids will tryout for the junior varsity and varsity teams (basketball will have three teams-a sixth-grade, junior varsity and varsity team) and those who make a team will represent their school in eight-week seasons.  Games will be on Fridays and there will be two practices a week. Student-athletes will be required to attend an hour-long study hall prior to each of the practices and they must have an "effective effort report" signed by their teachers before they are allowed to play in the games.   The students will also be required to follow a code of conduct similar to the one the high school employs. 

The McGaw YMCA will offer its current program as the Intermediate level. Monique Parsons, vice president of programs at the McGaw YMCA, said "Whoever shows up and signs up will be part of a team."  There will be one practice per week and games will be on Saturdays.  In addition to basketball, volleyball and soccer, the YMCA program will also offer flag-football.  There will no longer be a formal partnership between the district and the YMCA, but coaches will encourage those who do not make the school teams to participate in the YMCA program, Ms. Brieva said. 

Intramurals make up the third tier, or Recreational level, and will be available everyday after school for any student who wishes to participate. Ms. Brieva told the school board "one wonderful thing [that emerged in the last three years] is that now every school has a structured intramural program.  That would not have happened if competitive sports continued at the schools."

In order to avoid the pitfalls that led to the program's shift to the YMCA, the proposal calls for the district to employ a middle school sports coordinator who will ensure the program is fair and equitable throughout the district.  Each school will also have an assistant sports coordinator, most likely a teacher in the school's physical education department Ms. Brieva said, to make sure each level is running smoothly and the student-athletes are performing academically.  Two representatives from each school's booster club will form a parent steering committee to provide oversight and input as well. 

"We tried to figure out a way so that this could be a district-based program instead of a school-based program," Mr. Livatino said.

As far as the budget is concerned, the new program does not require any additional funding from the school district.  Mr. Livatino said they looked at how to "create this [program] without spending an extra dollar."

The District plans to allocate $31,000 this year for the program, the amount that was already budgeted for the YMCA program, Mr. Livatino said.  Additional funding will come from student participation fees and booster club contributions.   Each student who makes the competitive team will be required to pay $125 for the season, but the proposal notes that of the 1260 students expected to participate, 40 percent will be eligible for free or reduced lunch and will not be required to pay the fee. The intramural program is free for all students. 

Ms. Brieva said they are planning to hold a district-wide fundraiser as well. "[Fundraisers] are usually just for individual schools," she said. "We are trying to make it more even throughout and to build community." 

District 65 Superintendent Dr. Hardy Murphy remarked at the board meeting that this kind of program in the District "will do a lot for the climate in our schools and our school community ... Core students will have another activity to go to so they can bond together as a school community." 

Ms. Campbell said the new program "gives me, as a parent, comfort to know that [my children are] at school and have time to do their schoolwork." 

"We all want the same thing," said Ms. Brieva. "We all want kids to be involved and we all want them to have fun activities to be a part of."

District 202 Proposes Goals for 2007-08

By Jennie Berkson

Most people know the meaning of literacy; numeracy, the ability to think and express oneself effectively in quantitative terms, is a less familiar term.

But these two competencies, along with well-being and finance, represent the four overarching goals proposed for the 2007-08 school year at Evanston Township High School.

District 202 Superintendent Dr. Eric Witherspoon presented a draft of the goals to the Board at their July 16 meeting. The broad goals were accompanied by particulars: measurable objectives, strategies, parties responsible for implementing the strategies and timelines.

"Our collective effort is all about our students, supporting them and raising student achievement in literacy, numeracy and well-being while managing our resources well," said Dr. Witherspoon in his report to the Board. "The true measure of our work is how much it benefits all students."

In past years, only one goal was set for student achievement. This year the goal for student achievement has been split between literacy and numeracy.

The literacy goal has two components: measurable academic gains in reading across the curriculum and improved student reading in academic courses.  The measurable objective for the first part of the goal is a 10-percent decrease in the number of students not meeting standards on the tests measuring adequate yearly progress as required by the No Child Left Behind Act.  The measurable objective for the second part of the goal is a 10-percent reduction in the total number of Ds and Fs in semester grades.

Numeracy, the second goal, has similar objectives, but is focused on student achievement in mathematics. Well-being, the third goal, focuses on providing support to enhance academic success and wellness for all students. 

Objectives for this goal fall into five categories:

Academic: Reduce by 10 percent the total number of reclassified students and the total number of Fs, Ds and NCs.

Wellness: Promote student wellness and personalization, including good nutrition, physical activity and social/emotional health, in ETHS education programs, and increase participation in athletic and extracurricular programs.

Behavior: Reduce the percentage of out-of-school suspensions.

Outreach: Increase the outreach of the School Board, administration, faculty and staff in involving parents and other adults in successfully educating all ETHS students.

Post-secondary Planning: Promote successful transitions from high school for post-secondary education/training and/or work.

The fourth goal focuses on finance to ensure that the District "remains financially solvent and that financial decisions consider student achievement and performance."  This goal has four objectives:

Develop a values-based budget to encourage budgeting decisions that support student achievement;

Use a financial planning model and financial policies related to those decisions to address long-term programmatic and capital needs to improve student achievement;

Monitor constantly both the budget and the best financial practices to improve use of District financial resources; and

Coordinate and further develop community resources to support the District's goals and objectives.

Some Board members expressed concern about the percentages and other levels of achievement outlined in the goals.

"I do think this is really ambitious; it makes me a little nervous," said Board member Jane Colleton. Board member Margaret Lurie agreed.

"It is ambitious ... but we really are trying to stretch ourselves," replied Dr. Witherspoon.  "We probably will come back falling short of some of these. But we'll just have to be honest and analytical of the areas where we do fall short," he added.

Much discussion centered on the issue of personalization within the well-being goal.  Administrators described a variety of ways that System of Supports (S.O.S.), the new approach to scheduling and resource provision being phased in during the coming year, will provide for more personalization. 

"The institution says ‘you must'," said Laura Cooper, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, referring to the requirement that students who receive a grade below a C- come for individual daily assistance under the new system. "But the individual teacher has to say, ‘I care. I really want you here, and let's sit down and figure out what you do understand and what you don't understand.'"

Particular focus will be placed on incoming freshmen who have been identified as being at-risk for having problems transitioning to high school work.  Marilyn Madden, assistant superintendent/principal, said that 40 students and their parents will receive home visits over the summer to understand those students' needs better.

Vice-president Rachel Hayman suggested that another way to achieve more personalization would be for all homebase teachers to call the homes of their students (about 15 per teacher) twice a year, just to make contact and tell parents how things are going and ask for input and questions.  "I know it's asking teachers to do one more thing," she said, "but I think it would be very well received and lead to a lot of sharing."  President Martha Burns agreed.  "It would be nice to get a call from a teacher or someone else in the building [throughout the four years] just to acknowledge that the student is here."

The Board will vote on the goals at the Aug. 13 meeting.