D65 Board Balances Professional Development vs. Instructional Time and Parent Schedules

By Larry Gavin

A majority of District 65 School Board members said on Feb. 19 that they would support seven "early release days" for professional development next year, which is two more than this year but two fewer than the administration wanted. The debate presented difficult questions on how to provide time for professional development without disrupting classroom instruction and unduly impacting working parents' schedules.

In a revised calendar presented to the Board on Feb. 19, the administration proposed nine "early-release days," on which students would attend school in the morning, and be dismissed one and one-half hours early in the afternoon so teachers could attend professional development courses provided by the District. This school year's calendar (2007-08) provides for five early-release days.

Parents' Concerns
Rhonda Present, a parent representative on the District's calendar committee, said, "The [proposed] increase to nine early dismissals blatantly disregards (or shall I say, dismisses) the needs and concerns of families in our community." Ms. Present said the calendar affects working parents' schedules and childcare arrangements and detracts from the amount of time spent on instruction in the classroom.

Working parents who opposed the increase to nine days said they have to skip work or make childcare arrangements when their children are dismissed early from school. Becky Kass said the proposed calendar places a hardship on working parents, scheduling only 17 five full-day weeks of school in the 41-week year.

Jane Grover, a District 65 parent, said at an earlier meeting that five early-release days was a "tipping point" for many parents. She added that many parents have told her scheduling early-release days on Fridays would be less disruptive to their working schedules than Wednesdays, as proposed in the calendar.

In the last week more than 230 parents have signed an on-line petition urging the Board to adopt a calendar that increases the number of five full-day weeks of instruction and gives the teachers the professional development they need without adding more early- release days.

Need For Professional Development
Superintendent Hardy Murphy said on Feb. 19 that the early-release days were important to enable the District to provide training to teachers on three major initiatives: Differentiation and Enrichment; the Unified System of Delivery of Instruction, including Response to Intervention; and Technology. He said professional development would also be provided in the areas of leadership, the curriculum, instructional practices, classroom management and environment, and cultural sensitivity.

In addition to the early release days, the District would provide two "institute days" which are two full days of training before school begins, and two "in-service" days in which the afternoons will be used for teacher meetings or for school improvement planning.

Dr. Murphy said comprehensive and continuous professional development is essential to successfully implement the District's new programmatic initiatives. He said the literature says that professional development is the key to improving academic improvement.

"I understand that parents say this is a hardship," said Dr. Murphy. "But they're getting it done in other places."

Ms. Grover challenged Dr. Murphy, saying, "My gut tells me the single most important factor [in student achievement] is instruction and teaching. And the more the better...We have some extraordinary educators in this District, in the schools. And I really want my children to spend more time with their teachers, rather than less time. It's difficult for me to see how student achievement improves as instruction time shrinks."

Majority Goes With Professional Development
Katie Bailey, Bonnie Lockhart and Mary Rita Luecke opposed nine early-release days. Ms. Bailey said if nine early-release days were included in the calendar, there would only be, by her count, 13 weeks with five full days of school in the school year. She said she thought consistency and a routine were important for both parents and students.

"I find nine a little over the top," Ms. Luecke said. "There's only so much you can absorb in a year. I think we should stick with what we've got - five." She added it would be helpful to hear what the District Educators Council (the teachers' union) thought about nine early-release days.

Ms. Lockhart agreed with keeping the number at five. "I feel to go from three to five to seven to nine is too much. I feel there are other ways the education can be done," she said. "I think we as a Board need to be sensitive to what we're hearing from the community."

"I would like for us in the future to increase the school day to compensate for the loss of instruction time. Other districts are doing this...and in some ways we're behind."
--Andrew Pigozzi, District 65 School Board Member

A majority of the Board, however, said they would go along with at least seven early-release days.

Board President Mary Erickson supported nine, saying, "I think we need to have a lot of professional development to get some of the things we want to get done, done." She explained, "I want to see the work of the differentiation and enrichment committee really take hold. I really want to make sure there's plenty of time to get these new programs off the ground when they're developed...so every teacher knows what the District is aiming for and how to implement these new ideas in their classroom."

Andrew Pigozzi said, "If our goal is higher achievement, if we truly want to close the gap, if we want to bring up the lower achievers, then we have to pay the price somewhere. We have to improve what we're doing if we're going to expect a better result. And the way to do that is with additional training."

Jerome Summers supported nine early-release days, but said, "I would like to see a way to make that hour and a half productive for children without burdening parents and so we could send the children home at the same time."

Keith Terry suggested the District use an e-learning model or another model for professional development. He also questioned what would happen if the District did not have nine early-release days.

Dr. Murphy said, "We would not be able to put together an instructional program that's as robust as we would like to put together and that we would be able to put together with more professional development time. One of the single most important factors in school improvement is professional development time."

Mr. Terry said he would go along with seven days.

Long-Term Solutions
Several Board members proposed that the District consider making strategic changes in future years to create time for professional development.

Ms. Bailey said the District should consider implementing a model like the one used by Oak Park. "I kind of like one a week, having an early release once a week like Oak Park and Madison, but, of course, what they do is make their days longer and kind of make up for it," she said. "The other thing Oak Park does, as Rhonda Present mentioned, is they do this wrap-around programming, where on early-release days there's chess clubs, there's Spanish clubs."

Mr. Pigozzi supported this approach. "I would like for us in the future to increase the school day to compensate for the loss of instructional time," he said. "Other districts are doing this...and in some ways we're behind."

Ms. Erickson suggested the Board consider reducing the number of scheduled holidays, such as Pulaski Day and Columbus Day, which would increase the number of five-day weeks that she said many families prefer. She acknowledged that this might mean the school year would end sooner unless the District could find additional funds to add attendance days.

At the Board's strategic planning meeting on Feb. 23, consultant Bill Attea said many school districts are looking at extending the school day. He also suggested that professional training models provide for "competence exits," and if a teacher demonstrated competency in an area, the District would not need to require the teacher to keep attending training sessions in that area.

The proposed calendar for next year has 176 student days, the minimum required under State law. Dr. Murphy said in an earlier meeting that the cost of adding an extra day, for either instruction or staff development, would be about $220,000. The District is currently projecting a budget deficit of about $1 million for next year unless new revenues are found or cuts made.

Next Steps
The calendar committee is continuing to meet. Ms. Present told the RoundTable that parents, teachers and administrators are trying to find some common ground to enable teachers to receive professional training and not to have so many chopped up days in the calendar. She said the calendar committee is scheduled to meet again on March 5.

Ms. Present said she plans to give the Board at the working Board meeting scheduled for March 4 a copy of the on-line petitions signed by parents. In a memo dated Feb. 15, Dr. Murphy said the plan was to present the final calendar to the Board for approval on March 17.

For future years, Dr. Murphy said the District needs to set its priorities. "We need to establish our priorities, what we're going to focus on in this District so that with the professional time we have, we need to make sure we target it and focus it in the most productive manner," he said. "We are not going to be able to do everything, every time something comes up."

D65 Strategic Planning

By Larry Gavin

The District 65 School Board met on Saturday, Feb. 23, in the Jordan Teacher Center to begin the process of preparing a five-year strategic plan for School District 65.

Bill Attea, chairman of the consulting firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, Ltd., led the meeting and recommended a structure for the strategic plan. Mr. Attea was formerly a superintendent of a school district in Glenview for 24 years. He has worked with many school districts throughout the country in developing strategic plans.

In preparing the strategic plan, Mr. Attea told members of the Board, "Follow the KISS approach - Keep It Strategically Simple. The simpler it is, the more likely it will guide the District. The more complex it is, the more likely it will become a doormat."

He said it was important to ensure there is broad input from parents, administrators, teachers and the community. "Generally you can't have change from the top down," he said. "You need to engage people." The strategic plan is "a roadmap to the future," and unless there is buy-in from all these groups, "the strategic plan won't be the driving force of the District."

Mr. Attea also cautioned, "The best districts are those that change slowly. Change in social culture, which a school is, comes slowly and requires a lot of energy. Districts that try to change overnight often implode."

"Follow the KISS approach - Keep It Strategically Simple. The simpler it is, the more likely it will guide the District. The more complex it is, the more likely it will become a doormat."
-- Bill Attea, District 65 Consultant

Mr. Attea said three key components of the strategic plan were to define the District's mission, vision and core beliefs.

"Every Board member, administrator and teacher should know the mission statement," said Mr. Attea. "Every parent and every child fourth grade and above should recognize it." The mission statement should be simple, such as, for example, "Success for every child every day."

The vision statement should set out, "what you want to see the District look like in the future," he said. "We like a five-year strategic plan, but we look five to ten years ahead for the vision statement."

Mr. Attea said the Board should use the core beliefs to prioritize the District's work. "District 65 can do anything it wants to do, but it can't do everything.... You don't have unlimited resources; you have to prioritize," he said. "This is where the core beliefs come in. They are what is going to drive your decision-making."

Long-Term Goals
Mr. Attea said the strategic plan should provide for stability in leadership and governance, organizational focus, continuous improvement and continuous review. In order to provide organizational focus, the plan should identify about 20 long-term goals to achieve the District's vision, and each year the Board should pick out two or three goals to focus on, he said. The administration should prepare an action plan to meet the goals.

He recommended that the Board select the annual goals at a retreat, open to the public, and said generally a Board should consider new programs only at the retreat so all the proposals can be considered in relation to each other.

He said the goals need to be specific. "If you don't determine what your product is at the end of a goal, then you don't have a goal." He added that every person who has a role in achieving the goals needs to be evaluated and held responsible. As an example, he said, for a reading goal the superintendent, the assistant superintendent of instruction, the principals and the teachers need to be held accountable. He said goals often expect people to do things differently without preparing them to do things differently. He said the District will need to provide training and effective implementation and should hold every person accountable.

"Everyone in the organization needs to change for the education of kids," he said.

The Process
Mr. Attea recommended that the Board appoint a strategic planning committee composed of 30 to 60 persons to prepare the strategic plan. While the Board discussed a number of variations, there appeared to be consensus that the committee would consist of all of the members of the Board, administrators from the central office, an undetermined number of principals and teachers (who would represent elementary, middle and magnet schools), and one parent from each of the District's 16 schools.

In order to move the process forward, Mr. Attea will prepare a draft "job description" for committee members, which will set forth their role and the expected time requirements, and an application for prospective committee members. Both documents are subject to Board approval. A majority of Board members and administrators favored holding the meetings on Saturdays.

Various timelines were proposed that ranged from completing the strategic plan by the end of this school year to completing it no later than December. A number of Board members expressed concerns that additional time may be needed to get input from all segments of the community and in light of other time requirements of the Board, including the time needed to negotiate a new contract with the teachers union.

Mr. Attea suggested that if the committee met on two Saturdays in both April and May, it could complete a substantial portion of a strategic plan by the end of the school year and it could hold public hearings in September. No definitive timetable was set.

Freshman Humanities Proposal Engenders Wide-Ranging, Challenging Community Conversation

By Jennie Berkson

A respectful exchange of strongly held opinions on challenging subjects took place on Feb. 27 during a "Community Conversation" about the proposed changes to the Freshman Humanities program at Evanston Township High School.

The gathering, which drew a crowd of about 200 parents, teachers, students and community leaders to the ETHS auditorium, was organized by the administration in an effort to further explain and get feedback on the proposal (see story on page 35), which has already been debated at some length at two Board meetings and in a variety of other venues.

Under the new system, the regular level of the Freshman Humanities class will be eliminated, leaving three levels: straight honors, mixed and enriched.

The proposal's focus is to "increase the rigor in next year's Humanities classes, thus increasing the number of students, especially students of color, who can meet the more difficult requirements for honors credit," according to ETHS administors. Minority students at ETHS have historically been underrepresented in honors level classes and overrepresented in regular level classes, so the proposal will provide more opportunity for academic diversity in the classroom as well as more racial integration, they said.

Diverse Classrooms
Some people applauded the value of racially diverse classrooms to enhance the educational experience. "I was challenged, I had great discussions, because the class was so diverse," said one student of her mixed-level Freshman Humanities course. "When I went to my sophomore honors class ... we read some really powerful books, and the conversation was so limited because the majority of the class was white."

Jerane Ransom said her son had been the only black student in his honors-level class, which was "difficult," but that what made mixed classes good for her daughter was "the diversity, the conversation."

On the other hand, another student told of her more negative experience in mixed-ability classes, "where the discussions were less in-depth than in an honors class" and where the academic demands were "regular, with extra homework for me [taking honors credit]."

Teaching Challenges
Numerous people described their experiences with the realities of teaching a wide range of student capabilities in one classroom. Some saw that as a problem; others, as a challenging but positive part of the job.

"I deal constantly with an enormous range of talents," said Larry Marks, adjunct professor of psychology at Oakton Community College. "It is the single most difficult aspect of teaching. I'm going to bore the hell out of my top students, or I'm going to lose my low-end students."

Rich Kaplan, ETHS math teacher, agreed that "teachers will have to work twice as hard ... It's not easy.... but I think that's why a lot of teachers came to ETHS, because we want to teach diverse, integrated groups of kids.... I think we should be hopeful."

Pace of Implementation
Parent Richard Sandler said he thought, "This is a big move in a short period of time" and suggested that perhaps "a pilot program" might be instituted.

Superintendent Eric Witherspoon pointed out that mixed classes have been taught at ETHS "for over 20 years," and several teachers and administrators reported their long experience with teaching mixed classes.

"This is a very small step," said Jennifer Fisher, History Department Chair. "Every class in the history department, with the exception of AP classes, is mixed level."

"Every single class we teach is a mixed level," said Judith Ruhana, English Department Chair. "There's no such thing as a straight anything. A good teacher teaches every student in his or her classroom."

Just a Beginning?
Several speakers suggested the proposal did not go far enough. "I am actually in opposition to there being an upper echelon of 5 percent," said English teacher Hilda Raisner. Others questioned whether being in a straight honors class meant a higher level of achievement.

"Some of them are there because they did a great job on the EXPLORE test," said Ms. Ruhana, referring to some straight honors class students. "They never do homework and they never open their mouth and they contribute nothing to the class. So what is that?"

Need to Ensure Support
History teacher Chala Holland emphasized the need to provide adequate support for students who may have been disadvantaged by the educational system in the past. "Equality doesn't come from placing kids in honors," she said. "We need to own and take responsibility to make sure that all students who move to honors have the tools that it takes to be successful at that level."

Paula Frohman, Media and Instructional Technology Services Department chair and former history teacher, outlined the resources that will be available to students taking on the challenge of honors credit in Freshman Humanities.

"The stars are aligned. We have an entire school with the System of Supports.... The different support programs (STAE, AVID, Project Excel) ... a commitment to resources to make this happen.... Class size will be 21-24. Two teachers will teach at the same time for 80 minutes."

Talking About Race and Community
"There's a conversation about race that really needs to happen," said ETHS history teacher Makota Ogura, summarizing much of the undercurrent of the meeting. "I'm listening to that in the ways that people are talking."

"Very powerful comments tonight," said Superintendent Eric Witherspoon, visibly moved by the range and nature of the evening's discourse. "A small step like this needs to open the door to a deeper conversation and examining who we are as a community and what we can truly become. Because as great as we are, I think we heard enough in the room tonight ... that we can do a lot better. This is what makes a community stronger, and this is what will make a stronger school for our children."

The District 202 School Board will vote on the proposal at its meeting on March 10

---

Freshman Humanities Proposal Facts and Figures

• The Freshman Humanities program is being revised to expose more students to rigorous work earlier in their high school career, to provide more diversity in classrooms and to comply with restructuring requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act.

• The Freshman Humanities program will have three ability levels starting next fall: straight honors, mixed, enriched.

• Students will be placed in a level based on their test scores (MAP and/or EXPLORE) as well as teacher and principal recommendations. Parent input will be considered in placement as well.

• Students testing at the 95th percentile and above will be placed in straight honors (about 20% of ETHS students)

• Students testing below the 40th percentile (about 14% of students) will be placed in the enriched level, which provides additional supports for students who are reading and writing below grade level.

• The remaining 65% of freshmen will be assigned to mixed-level classes, which will offer students the opportunity to sign up for honors or regular credit based on their scores.

• Many students (from the 40th percentile through the lower 80th percentile) will be assigned to different support programs (Project Excel, AVID, STAE) based on their testing level and profile.

• The additional cost to implement the program is estimated at $70,000. Approximately $45,000 will come from the Illinois Regional System of Support Providers, a state agency that provides technical assistance to schools under No Child Left Behind restructuring. In addition, ETHS budgeted over $30,000 for literacy improvement this year, much of which was a one-time expense.

There is additional information available about the program on the ETHS website: www.eths.k12.il.us/memos/communityconv/faq.pdf.

Special Gifts Theater Creates Special Needs Stars

By Allison Hagey

Disabilities are no deterrent to participants in the Special Gifts Theatre's "Annie." Photo by Allison Hagey

Special young thespians will soon be taking the stage in the production of "Annie" by Special Gifts Theater. Evanstonians Lauren Miller, Aaron Holzmueller and Nathan Holzmueller are involved in the production either as performers or through a peer mentor program.

Founded by Susie Field, Special Gifts Theater began as a way for young children with special needs to become involved in theater. Ms. Field began the program eight years ago after working for many years as an occupational therapist for adults. After seeing the positive experience theater brought her own kids, Ms. Field says she "wanted special- needs kids to be able to have that experience, too."

Special Gifts Theater involves special needs children with a wide variety of disabilities, occupational, physical, recreational and speech therapists, as well as special education teachers and theatre arts professionals. According to the theater's website, www.specialgiftstheatre.com, students involved range from ages 5-21, and the staff-to-student ratio is 1:3. This year, there are more than 100 students involved and two casts of the production of "Annie," as well as an ever-growing waitlist of students wanting to participate, says Ms. Field.

Lauren, 10, attends Orrington School and plays "Annie" in the second cast of the production. She says she is having "a lot of fun," and her favorite part of the show is "when I say, 'I'm not your baby!' to Miss Hannigan."

With help and encouragement from peer mentors, special needs kids can become stars. Photo by Allison Hagey

A unique component to the theater is the incorporation of peer mentors -- able children who are paired with students to help them learn lines, do choreography and provide encouragement. The mentors are on stage with the students, but Ms. Field says, "They are not the stars." Peer mentors have three weeks of training with the staff to learn their part of the program.

Nathan, 9, attends Bessie Rhodes Magnet School and got involved with the peer mentor program this year after watching his brother, Aaron, 7, also a student at Bessie Rhodes, in the theater's production of "The Wizard of Oz" last year. "I watched the play and thought it looked fun," says Nathan.

Birdy Holzmueller, Nathan and Aaron's mother, says the theater has been a positive experience for both her children. "It's so great to have my two children involved in the same thing," she says.

Katie Chang, 12, and a student at Skokie School, is Lauren's peer mentor. She says the best part of being a peer mentor "is not seeing them on stage, but when they start to get it, or when they give you that first hug." She says "seeing Lauren smile and succeed and being happy makes me feel successful."

Ms. Field says the theater tailors scripts according to what the students can do. "Last year, we did 'The Wizard of Oz' and had one child who could not talk. So we made him the 'Yellow Brick Road,' and the students would say, 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road!' and he would lead them off stage." Ms. Field said they made sure the student knew he was the most important part of the story; after all, "how else would Dorothy get to Oz?"

For choreography, the staff places students who struggle with a delayed response together on the stage and one choreographer does the movement a few beats ahead, says Ms. Field. Then, when the students perform the movement, they are in sync with the rest of the cast.

"When I started the theater, I thought it would be a great self-esteem thing - but I didn't know it would change them," Ms. Field says. She also said some former students have become involved in regular community theater after their involvement with Special Gifts Theater.

Ms. Field said that many parents are thankful for the opportunity Special Gifts Theater presents. "They say, 'I sat through so many other kids' dance recitals, and finally it is my child's turn.'"

Special Gifts Theater will perform "Annie" on March 8, 9, 15 and 16 at 2 p.m. at Skokie School, 520 Glendale in Winnetka. Call 847-564-7704 for tickets or more information.