D65 Formally Drops Races as a Factor in Magnet School Selections

By Larry Gavin

The District 65 School Board formally changed the District's magnet school admission and permissive transfer policies to eliminate a student's race as a factor in the selection process. The change was made to comply with the Supreme Court's recent decision that precludes school districts from considering a student's race on an individualized basis in order to racially balance schools.

For almost 40 years, School District 65 considered the race of a student in deciding whether to admit the student to a magnet school as part of an effort to desegregate and racially balance the District's schools.

Going forward, when selecting students for admission to magnet schools, District 65 will consider gender balance and over-crowding at both the attendance area and magnet schools. Sibling preference and neighborhood preferences will remain in effect.

The Board may revisit the policies after this coming year's selection process. It is anticipated that more parents may apply for admission to the magnet schools and for permissive transfers if they know race will not be a factor in the selection process. (See Dec. 12 issue of the RoundTable.)

The Board approved numerous other changes to the District's policies, all of which were recommended by the Policy Reference Education Subscription Service of the Illinois Association of School Boards, said Katy Bailey, chair of the Board's Policy Committee. The changes fall into two general categories: 1) changes required by new legislation; and 2) updated language changes.

One of the changes allows the Superintendent to recommend "a program of non-vocational single-gender classes and/or activities to provide diverse educational opportunities and/or to meet students' identified educational needs." Participation in any such classes or activities must be optional.

The District's policies were also amended to prohibit bullying, including "cyber-bullying both on and off school facilities."

Board Strategic Planning Meeting Deferred to February

The District 65 School Board decided to put off its strategic planning meeting scheduled for Jan. 26 to late February. Board president Mary Erickson said deferring the meeting would enable staff to provide Board members with information they need to conduct a productive meeting, enable Board members to attend a seminar being offered by the District's lawyers on Jan. 26, and enable the Board to obtain a facilitator.

Keith Terry pushed to go forward with the meeting on Jan. 26, saying, "I think it's important to start it."

Bonnie Lockhart said, "I really feel strongly that as a District we need to try to be proactive and do things." She cautioned, however, "This is a program we really haven't decided how we want it to look, we haven't decided how we want the public to be involved, and it really takes some planning and especially processing, how we want the [meeting] to go."

Katie Bailey said, "We need together to come up with a vision." She agreed, though, to defer the meeting to February but added, "We just can't put this off."

Ms. Erickson suggested that two teams of Board members composed of Mr. Terry and Ms. Bailey and Ms. Lockhart and Mr. Summers meet separately and consider what the agenda for the strategic planning meeting should look like and how to include public comment. The two teams will present their ideas to the full Board on Jan. 8, at which time the Board will discuss an agenda for the strategic planning meeting.

Majority of ETHS Students Getting Extra A.M. Help Through SOS

By Jennie Berkson

Two-thirds of Evanston Township High School students have been assigned to the AM support service of the new System of Supports ("SOS") initiative, according to a report presented to the District 202 School Board on Dec.10.

"It's hitting kids at all levels," Assistant Superintendent Marilyn Madden told the Board at their first update since SOS began last fall. "I believe that kids want help," she added.

SOS was conceived as a way to "structure to assist all students in improving academically and becoming responsible, self-directed learners," according to the ETHS SOS User's Guide. AM support, one of the key elements, is intended for students who are deemed "in danger of failing," that is, receiving a grade of less than a C.

"We are striving to be a school where failure is not an option for our students," Superintendent Eric Witherspoon told the RoundTable. "We are focused on being more personalized and offering more early interventions, so fewer students in the future will be at risk of failing."

David Wartowski and Matthew Walsh, ETHS teachers and SOS coordinators, told the School Board that in the first cycle of SOS, which began Oct. 2, more than 1,200 students were assigned to AM support. The trend has continued, with 1,451 assigned to AM support beginning Dec. 11, totaling 1,914 enrolled in AM support since the beginning of the year.

The classroom teacher determines the student's need for AM support. The User's Guide states that the teacher selects no more than two days a week per student, allowing other teachers who want to provide support to choose other days. A day chosen by the student and teacher to meet remains the meeting time for the duration of the cycle - normally three weeks. For example, if a teacher enrolls a student on Mondays then that student and teacher will meet each of the three Mondays in that cycle.

"Since this is our first semester to offer AM support, we are just learning how many students will need help in each cycle," Dr. Witherspoon told the RoundTable. "Identifying a high number of students needing extra support may reflect teachers' genuine concerns about their students. When teachers see students who are falling behind in their classes or struggling with important skills or concepts, they use their best judgment regarding who needs AM support," he added.

Mr. Walsh said his experience indicated that students have registered and stayed in more challenging classes, because they knew additional support would be available if they needed it. "Many students who are taking AP classes for the first time have told me that if it weren't for the support, they wouldn't be able to handle the AP class and would have dropped out of the class," he said.

He also described a student who had started the year with "a 30-percent [grade]. With the help of AM support, the student had soon earned a 60 percent in the class and is now earning an A minus," and has stayed in AM support, Mr. Walsh said.

Although most students assigned to AM support have been attending, about 10 percent have not. Mr. Wartowski told the Board that the solution to that problem came right from the top. Senior administrators, including Dr. Witherspoon and Ms. Madden, were each assigned four or five students to "mentor" and monitor to make sure they were attending AM support sessions.

"Kids are blown away," Ms. Madden said. "They say, 'Wow, you sent for me.'"

The approach is apparently effective, as 93 of the 121 (the 10 percent) students have now begun to attend AM support as well. But Mr. Wartowski indicated the challenge will continue. "While we're helping the [original group], there are now other students taking their place, and they're non-attenders. I expect we'll continue this idea of mentorship and have them begin going [to AM support] as well," he said.

Even if they are not in danger of failing, students can take advantage of study centers in each core subject area as well as expanded opportunities for students to seek teacher assistance to improve their class performance.

"By far, the math study center is leading the charge in terms of attendance," said Mr. Walsh. He reported that an average of 131 students per day had come to the math study center in October. Other subject-area study centers are not receiving as much traffic, but Mr. Walsh says he believes that it is just a matter of time before students get used to the idea and begin to use them. "The math center has been in existence for ten years," he said.

To continue the work of SOS, a steering committee has been established. "Twenty-two people representing various constituencies within the Evanston community have been convened to deal with current and strategic issues related to SOS," the report said. At each meeting this group, which includes students, parents, teachers and administrators, identifies major issues that require action and assembles "rapid response teams" to deal with the issues.

Mr. Walsh said the steering committee wants to "meet more and longer. It's not often that people want to do that. ... It's a very unique group."

Board members expressed surprise about the number of students who had been enrolled in AM support and also voiced concern that some students were remaining in AM support even though their grades had improved.

"My understanding was that you couldn't do that," said Board member Margaret Lurie. "I received some e-mails from parents whose kids were above C average and felt kind of gypped because they couldn't go in for the tutoring. So I'm not sure why you're allowing those kids [whose work has improved] to continue to get tutoring."

"AM support is still reserved for students who are getting a D or an F or at risk for that," said Dr. Witherspoon. But he also acknowledged that the structure was very new and changing.

Mr. Walsh explained that, although some students may have improved their grades through the AM support, they may not feel "on solid ground" and that teachers use their professional judgment to continue those students in AM support.
Student Board member Aon Hussain expressed a related concern. "Kids with A's and B's are being placed in AM support," he said.

Ms. Madden responded that this situation can take place if a student has missed work. "They have recourse," she said. "They can call me."

Mr. Hussain also said some students have reported showing up for AM support and finding the teacher was not prepared to work with them.

Mr. Wartowski reiterated that the process is new and in development. "We're in the first step of a journey. There isn't a school that has done this. No one has official training on how to do AM support. The problem will come if in a few months that teacher hasn't improved at all," he said.

Mr. Wartowski also said that a pending student survey would reveal a lot about the effectiveness of the process, as will students coming forward to talk about their experiences. In addition, he said, department chairs would be looking closely at which teachers were effective in providing AM support and would be sharing that with others through the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) that meet weekly on Monday mornings.

Dr. Witherspoon confirmed these sentiments. "In some classrooms we are seeing more success than with others," he said. "I believe that teachers are very open to learning from one another. The chairs are very active as well. Nobody is an island, and the expectation is clear. We are going to measure this in terms of student achievement."

D65 Receives Grant for Childcare Center

The District 65 Family Center has received a $212,000 grant from the State Board of Education to operate a subsidized childcare center for children six -weeks to three years of age who meet the requirements for subsidized daycare. The program will be housed at the Joseph E. Hill Education Building and will serve 24 children.

The goals include providing young children with early learning experiences that are important for future academic success.

Assistant Superintendent Susan Shultz said the grant is for three years, and the program will operate within the grant.

Bessie Rhodes Artists on Artsonia

Bessie Rhodes School students recently joinedthousands of students from more than 100 countries whose artwork is showcased on Artsonia.

Through the efforts of art teacher Mary Beth Koszut these students have their creations displayed on the world's largest online kids' art museum.

Anyone can view the school gallery online at www.artsonia.com/schools/timber5. Visitors can browse the artwork in the school gallery by grade level, or by specific exhibits. "This program is a wonderful way to get parents and family members more involved in art education," said Ms. Koszut.

All of Artsonia's one million pieces of artwork are viewable online, along with instructions about creating an online art gallery for a child or a school. Artsonia provides several online features, such as fan clubs and personal guestbooks, as a way for families to encourage the creativity and imaginations of their young artists.

In addition, family members can purchase keepsakes imprinted with the child's artwork, with Artsonia donating 15 percent of their annual product revenue back to
school art programs.

Chute Announces 'High-Flying Eagles'

Chute Middle School's High Flying Eagles" for the first trimester are exceptional students selected by the teachers at Chute because of their scholastic achievements, positive energy and Eagle Pride.

6th Grade
Deborah Adeoye, Luis Avila, Austin Bailey, Faith Bradford, Johanna Dezil, Otilia Felecan, Michael Gabriel, Joan Gibbons, Jennifer Gray, Oisin Heneghan, Dante Henley, Matthew Henry, Benjamin Henry, Lorena Jasso, Alexis King, Khuong Le, Emily Mathyer, Karina Melendez, Jackson Mihevc, Benjamin Moberly, Doriana Norwood, Xochitl Patino, Marlon Primous, Sydney Ransom, Whitcliffe Roberts, Erin Rosenfeld, Leo Rubenstein, Kamal Sehrawy, Valeria Stutz, Raven Tillett, Jaysha Wharton and Caroline White

7th Grade
Riyaz Ali, Nayelli Avila, Kiron Blackwood, Gustavo Campos, Nancy Cardenas, Michelle Darian, Ashley Dennis, Maquee Edwards, Sakari Greenwell, Naomi Guillaume, Joshua Hall, Teiko Hines, Violet Labrosse, Cierra Levy, Brandon Martinez, Brenda Martinez, Guadalupe Melendez, Aria Nebenzahl, Tina Nezic, Thomson Otis, Don Pham, Cody Samson-Sprague, Shannon Smith, Romeo Tran, Brandon Vamarasi, Amayrani Vargas, Alexander Vergara, Kathleen Vergil, Jessica Wong and Joycelyn Wynter

8th Grade
Carlos Berber, William Bermudez, Alejandra Campos, Miguel Coronel, Natalie Estrada, Matthew Graff, Christina Hildner, Frantz Jacques, Briana Jenkins, Jada Malone, Kevin Moore, Margaret Omori, Jennifer Rees, George Sabo, Daniella Salau-Alexander, Philip Strunk, Nathasia Williams, Alexander Wilson, Kathe Wright-Kaufman and Troy Zwolinski.

The Chimes of Liberty Rang 'Loud and Clear'

From the content of the winning entries in the Bill of Rights essay contest "Your Rights, Your Reasons," it appears that seventh-graders at District 65 support the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Though the First Amendment appeared to be the most popular, other portions of the Bill of Rights - the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution - resonated with the youth, who created videos, wrote essays or constructed artwork to demonstrate their support for the amendment they considered most important.

Sam Miller's winning video described the five freedoms of the First Amendment: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the right to peaceably assemble and the right to petition the government. Using the rights contained in the First Amendment, Americans have changed the Constitution, he said - for example, abolishing slavery (13th Amendment) giving women the right to vote (19th Amendment) and repealing Prohibition (21st Amendment).

The contest, conceived by Toni Gilpin, a District 65 parent and member of the League of Women Voters of Evanston, was intended to make the Constitution come alive for seventh-graders as they studied for the state-mandated Constitution test, she said. Ms. Gilpin enlisted the support of the District 65 administration. Ms. Gilpin, District 65 Superintendent Dr. Hardy Murphy, State Representative Julie Hamos and Erin Murphy, who teaches at Nichols School and serves as the social studies chairperson for the District, spoke at the exhibit and award ceremony on Dec. 1 at the District 65 administration building.

Rep. Hamos spoke about her family's escape from Hungary when she was a child: "There were no rights, no freedoms of speech or religion. There was no real vote, because there was only one candidate." She said she had heard "about a group of students who wrote down 16 demands that were very similar to our beliefs and rights, and now the entire country follows them. ... The revolution was started by students like you... This is what students are thinking," she said.

About 300 seventh-graders participated in the voluntary contest - nearly 100 percent of the eligible students at Nichols, Haven and King Lab schools, Ms. Murphy said.

Saying she was excited about the great district-wide participation, Ms. Murphy told the audience of about 75 persons, "Today you'll hear the chimes of liberty loudly and clearly."

Special Recognition awards went to the following teachers: Fayana Gayle, Justin Bishop, and David McDonald of Nichols; Alex Outlaw and Marcus Hampton of Haven; Henry Smith of King Lab; and Violet LaBrosse of Chute.
Each first-place winner received a $500 savings bond; each second-place winner received a $250 saving bond; and each third-place winner, a $100 savings bond. Teachers received a $20 gift certificate to Borders.

"Your Rights, Your Reasons" Winning Selections

Essay
First: Caitlin Adamson, Haven
Second (tied): Andrew Torma, Haven, and Rosa Novak, King Lab

Visual Arts
First: Esther Espeland, Nichols, "Tree of Knowledge," 9th Amendment
Second: Lily Lemieux-Jordan, Nichols, 1st Amendment
Third: Sarah Posner, Nichols, 1st Amendment

Performance
First: Sam Miller, Haven, "The First Amendment and Why It's Most Important," and Liam Lundy, home-schooled

Second: Katie Latimer, Haven, "The Scoop on Religious Freedom," 1st Amendment
Third: Armando Tovar, Darnell Span, Kevin Villegas, Federico Moreno, Nichols, "Step Up to My Level" 1st Amendment