New ETHS Initiatives Address Achievement Concerns

By Jennie Berkson

A variety of educational interventions and support programs for ETHS students designed to address shortfalls in achievement for both the short and long term were proposed to the District 202 School Board on Nov. 19.

The school has recently been placed in restructuring status under the No Child Left Behind Act. The administration's proposals were provided in response to an earlier Board request about what it would take for the school to "make AYP" in the 2007-08 school year.

"We understand that there is no crash course for meeting adequate yearly progress. It really is a compilation of many years of learning," Superintendent Eric Witherspoon reminded the Board in his introduction to the proposal of eight overlapping components. Some of the components have already been put into place, and some would be implemented this year, pending Board approval in December. Some of the programs require additional funding.

"What I'm proposing here is not [only] a short-term effort from a school's point of view. Whereas No Child Left Behind has made this [the Prairie State Achievement Examination] pretty high stakes at the end of the junior year, that's really not our ultimate measure. Our ultimate measure is how much we can help our students achieve and learn in the full four years at ETHS," Dr. Witherspoon said. "But that's not to diminish the fact that we have to pay attention to AYP."

Under persistent questioning by Board President Martha Burns, Dr. Witherspoon acknowledged that even with the proposed interventions it would be difficult for the District to meet next year's required level of 62 percent of all subgroups meeting standards in both math and reading.

"If you look at the amount of gain that we've made over the past five years, statistically, we're not going to going to make it this year. But we're trying to make past not be prelude," Dr. Witherspoon said.

Ms. Burns asked if there was a possibility that ETHS could make AYP under "safe harbor" provisions. If a school succeeds in reducing the number of students below proficiency by at least 10 percent from the prior year, the school still makes AYP under "safe harbor."

"That is our goal," said Dr. Witherspoon.

Dr. Witherspoon emphasized that the administration was incorporating a wide variety of approaches and that "what we're doing is pretty out front." Ms. Burns agreed.

The eight components to Dr. Witherspoon's proposal are as follows:

• System of Supports - The new school-wide program aids both students in danger of failing and students who wish to improve already satisfactory performance.

• Make-up Instructional Time (MIT) - Students who are late to class must serve a 30-minute MIT session either before or after school within 5 days. Increasing penalties are levied for repeat infractions.

• Achievement Now - The literacy work spearheaded by Dr. Alfred Tatum will be implemented in all history, English and Special Education classrooms. Dr. Tatum is the Northern Illinois University professor who has been working with ETHS in recent years.

• Mathematics Support - Two qualified math assistants will be hired so the math study center can be open for extended hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They will assist teachers to serve the 100-200 students who use the center every day.

• Test prep - Juniors recently took a "retired" ACT test to practice for the upcoming PSAE. Students who did not meet standards on that test will be identified for a mandatory test preparation class for credit. "If more classes . . . and schedule changes are required, that will be done by second semester," said Dr. Witherspoon.

• Summer School - The budget will be increased to fund students who cannot afford the classes and who need the intensive interventions that the school provides to help bring students up to grade level. Summer school will be viewed as a three-year sequence, supporting students each summer "as they raise their achievement at ETHS," the Superintendent said.

• More students in more challenging classes - Identify minority students who can successfully move into more accelerated classes even as early as second semester. In addition, the co-teaching model will facilitate more special needs students in general education classes. Curriculum revisions will add more rigor to regular-level classes.

• Personalization and building relationships - All teachers are being asked to use System of Supports to build and strengthen relationships with students. A special education social worker has been added. Senior administrators are working with students who have been assigned A.M. support but have not attended.

"When the principal calls you in and asks you why you haven't been going to A.M. support," it has an effect, Assistant Superintendent and Principal Marilyn Madden told the Board.

Board members were particularly interested in confirming that specific students had been identified as not having met standards on the practice ACT and that they specifically would be receiving test prep support. Ms. Madden Judith Levinson, director of research, evaluation and assessment, said this was the case.

Board member Missy Fleming asked about the increased expenses associated with the new programs.

"We're going to have to adjust this year's budget," said Dr. Witherspoon. "Fortunately we have been able to realize some savings this year. We actually believe we will be able to afford it out of the current budget."

Board members were impressed overall about the proposal, while acknowledging the continuing concerns about AYP and asking for ongoing reporting of results.

"It sounds like a total package," said Ms. Fleming.

"It's a fundamental change in the way we're approaching the education of our children," said Board member Omar Khuri.

"How do we measure whether or not we're making progress?" asked Board member Mary Wilkerson. "I don't want to just be biding time and then [find out] it's not working."

While agreeing with her fellow Board members about the value of the proposed programs, Ms. Burns appealed to them and the administration to be more positive and concrete when speaking about the academic achievement of minority students.

"When we talk about students of color," she said, "it's always with trepidation and vagueness and not being assured of what we're doing. We never seem to be able to come up with the same kind of scientific methods as when we work with white students. I'm just trying to push us to say what we believe in ... that all kids can learn and we can quantify that to some degree and not be afraid of the commitment in those numbers."

AVID, STAE and Project Excel To Merge at ETHS

By Jennie Berkson

Three ETHS academic support programs, Project Excel, STAE and AVID, are now being merged under one umbrella entitled Special Programs. In addition, Project Excel and STAE have been revised to reflect more of the AVID curriculum to bring continuity to support programs offered to students.

District 202 Board members heard a review of the three programs and plans for the future from Marcus Campbell, special programs coordinator, and other administrators at the Oct. 22 Board meeting.

AVID, STAE and Project Excel serve different populations in the school, but Mr. Campbell says, there are many advantages to bringing them all under one roof.

"Being all housed in (Room) W201 provides continuity and community for all the programs," Mr. Campbell told the RoundTable. "When one program gets pizza, they all get pizza." Some of the more substantive advantages he cited were "movement between all programs and the opportunity to give Excel students support after sophomore year." Mr. Campbell also indicated that the coordination of the three special programs would be useful in moving more minority students into honors classes, an ongoing concern of the School Board.

Incoming freshman are invited to participate in one of the three programs based on their EXPLORE test scores, teacher recommendations, and some other requirements, depending on the program.

Project EXCEL
Project EXCEL, the newest of the three programs, was originally proposed as an outgrowth of a Board discussion in spring 2004, when the Board was considering not accepting its annual grant of $132,000 in federal Title I funds, receipt of which requires compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. However, in September 2004, the Board agreed to consider a proposal that would use the funds, along with additional District money, to support a "program of mandatory academic interventions for students" deemed to have a "high probability that they will struggle to meet standards on the Prairie State Achievement Exam."

Students invited to participate in Project Excel typically have composite scores on the EXPLORE test between the 30th and the 49th percentile. A score of 14 would put a student at the 50th percentile.

Mr. Campbell outlined some of the plans for Project Excel for the coming year and beyond. The program recently hired its first certified reading specialist and English teacher. Academic coaches, peer tutors and a math specialist will continue to provide additional academic support, and mentoring programs are being offered or are in development.

Plans to develop Project Excel into a for-credit college prep course are also in the works. Previous reports on the program indicated that some parents hesitated to enroll their student in the program because it was non-credit. "Project Excel will also be offered as a bridge to AVID," said Mr. Campbell.

Board members were disappointed that more parents of Project Excel students had not attended meetings set up specifically for them and wondered if sufficient outreach had occurred. Opening Parent Night there were only 17 parents representing the 72 students in the program; ten parents came to parent-teacher conferences, and 12 parents came to the parent/student study-skills seminar. Mr. Campbell acknowledged that the lack of parent involvement was a concern and that plans were underway to increase outreach.

STAE
Steps Toward Academic Excellence (STAE) has been in existence for 20 years and is an ETHS-developed program. According to the ETHS Program Planning Handbook, the STAE Program "is committed to helping high-potential 9th- and 10th- grade students achieve success in the honors English and/or mathematics curriculum." Like students in the other two programs, STAE students receive invitations to participate. In order to qualify for the STAE program, students must have a composite score between 17 and 20 on the EXPLORE test and successfully complete a summer school program prior to freshman year. Students do not receive credit for participating in STAE, but they receive the following supports:

• Small study halls

• Monitoring of student progress by grade-level coordinators twice each quarter

• Special events that focus on study skills; motivational speakers

• College visits for sophomores and juniors

• ACT prep course for juniors

Mr. Campbell said STAE had been updated this year with the addition of weekly "Monday Methodologies." Students complete academic summary reports weekly as well.

"Monday Methodologies are a combination of reading, note-taking and study skill strategies that enable kids to do well across the content areas," Mr. Campbell told the RoundTable. "We equip students with a list of methodologies that they can pull from whenever they are taking notes, studying for tests or reading difficult passages in English, Mr. Campbell added.

"We used to pay a great deal of attention to the number of students of color who were in STAE," remarked Board member Mary Wilkerson. She observed that most students in STAE are white and that she had no objection to the numbers of white students in STAE but wondered if "we are being as aggressive in identifying students of color to put them in STAE."

Mr. Campbell responded that he was not sure what the previous procedures to identify students were, but that the process would be looked at for the future.

AVID
Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) just celebrated its ten-year anniversary and, Mr. Campbell said, can found in schools not only across the United States but also globally. Students with a composite EXPLORE score of 15 to 17 are invited to take AVID for elective credit for four years.

According to the ETHS Program Planning Handbook, the specific AVID curriculum focuses on note-taking skills, the Socratic method of inquiry and knowledge acquisition, and the collaborative learning process. Students are supported in the AVID curriculum by teachers and college students who are specifically trained in AVID methodology.

Beginning as second-semester freshman, AVID students visit colleges each semester through their senior year. All AVID juniors participate in a seven-session ACT-preparatory program as well as in grade-level, College Board test-readiness units.

Ms. Wilkerson expressed concern about the consolidation of the programs. She pointed out that the purpose Project Excel was different from that of the other two. In addition, she advocated for follow-up and assessment of the programs. "Sometimes we initiate programs and then don't follow up," she said.

Preschool- for-All Grant to D65

School District 65 received a state grant to establish a "Preschool-for-All" program this year, said Susan Shultz, assistant superintendent, at the Board's Nov. 19 meeting. The program will serve about 40 children, 20 in a morning session and 20 in an afternoon session, she said.

The District applied for the grant after the Board decided to drop the pre-K childcare program last April. The Board dropped the childcare program because lower income families were priced out of the program, and the District hoped to offer educational opportunities in an alternate program that was more heavily subsidized by the state.

Preschool-for-All has the goal of providing pre-school for all three- and four- year olds in the state. Families earning less than four times the poverty level qualify for the program.

Minority Student Achievement Network Conference.

Students from ETHS who traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the eighth annual Minority Student Achievement Network Conference met with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, in addition to visiting monuments, memorials, the White House, the Capitol and the Library of Congress. The theme of the conference was "The Power of Your Voice: Inspiration, Knowledge, Action." The Minority Student Achievement Network is a coalition of 25 multiracial, urban-suburban school districts whose mission is to discover, develop and implement the means to ensure high academic achievement for African-American and Latino students. Pictured are adviser Terri Sowa, Vicki Garcia, Jonathan Davis, Greg Johnson, Fernando Garcia, Congresswoman Schakowsky, Ruth Suarez, Betoya Bryant, Marcus Miller, DeJauna Jackson and adviser Aracely Canchola.

ETHS Accepting Nominations for Hall of Fame

The ETHS athletic department is seeking nominations for the Class of 2008 Athletic Hall of Fame. Nominees must be ETHS graduates and have demonstrated outstanding athletic achievement during their high school careers or after graduation. The ETHS Athletic Hall of Fame was established during the 1994-95 school year in order to honor outstanding former high school athletes from Evanston Township High School.

Teams as well as individuals may be nominated to the Hall of Fame. Teams must be varsity level, must be from an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) and ETHS-sponsored sport, and have state or national ranking.

All nominees must be from the graduating class of 2002 or before. Nominations are due Dec. 21.

Please call Ann Carra in the athletic department at 847-424-7299 to obtain a nomination form, or download one from the ETHS website at athletics2000.com/evanston.

D65 Board to Discuss A Strategic Plan

Toward the end of the Board's Nov. 19 meeting, Board member Keith Terry asked, "When are we going to have a strategic planning process for the Board?"

Bonnie Lockhart said, "We do need a Board vision, a Board plan." Mary Rita Luecke added, "I agree with Keith that what we need is a long-term vision."

After discussion on how to approach the issue, the Board tentatively scheduled the last Saturday in January to begin discussing a strategic plan. The discussion may carry over to a working Board meeting.

The Board last adopted a five-year strategic plan in June 2002.

Boy Scouts Back at D65

School District 65 will no longer require individuals or organizations to sign a non-discrimination statement before they are allowed to use school facilities for education, civic, cultural, and other non-commercial uses.

Earlier this year local troups associated with the Boy Scouts of America informed District 65 that they could not sign the District's non-discrimination statement which included an agreement not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. While the local troups said they do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, the Boy Scout's regional offices said they could not sign the statement.

A federal law known as The Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, which was passed as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, prohibits school districts that make their facilities available for public use from denying equal access to any group affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America and any other youth group listed as "patriotic society." The federal law expressly states that school districts may not deny access "for reasons based on the membership or leadership criteria or oath of allegiance to God and country of the Boy Scouts of America..."

School District 65's attorneys provided a legal opinion stating, "the District must provide the Boy Scouts equal access to school resources, and may not deny the Boy Scouts access based on their failure to sign a non-discriminatory policy that counters its association criteria." The opinion stated the District could risk losing federal funds if it failed to comply with the Act.

Rather than exempting the Boy Scouts from signing a non-discrimination requirement, the District 65 School Board decided to adopt the recommendation of its Policy Committee to drop the requirement altogether. Superintendent Hardy Murphy said the rational for dropping the requirement was it would eliminate the need to determine if an organization desiring to use school facilities was affiliated with the Boy Scouts or was listed as a "patriotic society," and the District could enforce State and federal laws prohibiting discrimination without the statement.

Under the revised policy statement, organizations desiring to use school facilities will be required to conduct their business and activities in accordance with the District's educational mission and policies.

Barbato to Head D65 Foundation

On Nov. 19, the District 65 School Board approved the appointment of Patricia Barbato to serve as President of the District 65 Educational Foundation. Superintendent Hardy Murphy said, "Ms. Barbato has brought a lot of energy and a lot of ideas to the Foundation's Board."

Before serving on the Foundation's Board, Ms. Barbato worked in marketing and communications and subsequently taught in the Chicago Public Schools.

Ms. Barbato said the Foundation has funded 48 projects and reached over 5,000 children and parents in the District. She said she hoped to build on the past success and embark on a strategic planning process in 2008.

The Board honored Don Tarkington, who stepped down as president of the Foundation's Board. Dr. Murphy said the Foundation's program of making grants to teachers for specific projects has matured under Mr. Tarkington's leadership and it has provided teachers tremendous support and promoted creativity. "Don has lovingly and generously given his time to this endeavor," Dr. Murphy said.

Mr. Tarkington said, "The honor was mine....I think the Foundation will grow and have a significant impact on the community going forward."

Winter Break Camps Spice Up Holidays

Whether it is basketball, tennis, chess or art that captures a child's imagination, parents can probably find it at one of the 13 winter-break camps offered this holiday season by the City of Evanston's Recreation Division. With options that range from drop-in programs to those that meet for one week or two, half-day or full-day, there is a camp to meet almost every interest and schedule. Choose from such specialty camps as the Ecology Center's EcoFreeze Camp on global warming or the Young Artists Program (YAP) for youth age 12-15. There are also camps devoted to specific sports, including Winter Soccer with ETHS's Marx Succes and the Youth Holiday Tennis Camps. Most camps start Dec. 26. Call 847-866-2900 or visit www.cityofevanston.org.