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School Board News Bulletin
January 2000

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Wayne Sampson announces retirement; Board launches search for successor

States launch bidding war to combat teacher shortages

Ohio voucher program overturned in federal court

High Court rules on Vermont tuition plan

Private schools don’t have an edge

THE NATIONAL SCENE

State standards debate rages on

States rethinking passing grades on standardized tests

Connecticut students attend parent-teacher conferences

States narrow per pupil spending disparity between school districts

NEWS FROM IASB

Three IASB divisions elect new Directors

IASB to hold multicultural job fair for teachers and administrators

1998 Illinois school law survey book sold out

Cary Williams, Michelle Cox join IASB staff

RESEARCH REPORTS

TIFs are a drag on economic development: Report

Schools are safe and getting safer

Students lack adequate college preparation

More computers used in schools

Dropout rates are topic of new report from NCES

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

Book aims to ease technology into curriculum

Report addresses standards challenge for middle schools

Get school health guidelines reflecting CDC recommendations

WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS

NSBA invites school leaders to technology meeting

Hope Foundation conference to address school leadership

Free technology nights offered in Chicago area

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Legislative crunch time will come early

Update on teacher recertification

Wayne Sampson, executive director of IASB since 1989, will retire in the summer of 2000. The IASB Board of Directors is launching a search for his successor.

Sampson first joined the Association staff in April, 1988 as assistant executive director for governmental relations. He accepted the CEO position the following year when Harold Seamon moved to the National School Boards Association staff. Prior to joining the IASB staff, Sampson was a professor of agriculture at Illinois Central College and served nearly 12 years on the school board at Morton C.U. District 709. While on the Morton board, he served two terms as president of IASB (1986 and 1987).

The IASB Board has created a committee to launch a nationwide search and screen applicants for a new chief executive to lead the Association's 50-member staff and oversee its $5.5 million budget.

President Jerry Eiffert has announced that applications will be accepted through March 3, and the search committee expects to produce a short list of finalists by mid-May. The Board is expected to make its choice in time for the new executive director to come aboard at least a month before Sampson retires on August 31.

Eiffert said the IASB Board seeks candidates who have appropriate education and experience in organizational leadership and working with a volunteer board; knowledge of major issues facing public education; strong communication skills; and ability to work with diverse constituencies in rural, suburban and urban areas.

The executive director's responsibilities include, among others: executing policies of the Association; administering personnel, fiscal, and other operations of the Association; serving as a liaison for IASB with state government, other organizations, and the public; serving, in conjunction with the president of the Association, as IASB's spokesperson; and providing leadership in developing programs and services to meet the needs of Illinois school boards.

Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications but will not be less than $120,000. The executive director's office is in Springfield.

Prospective candidates may request a brochure describing the position and an application form from: Jerry Eiffert, IASB President, P.O. Box 108, Carlinville, Illinois 62626-0108 or download them from the Internet at http://www.iasb.com/execdir.htm.

Applications must be postmarked no later than March 3. All applications will be treated confidentially.

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New York Governor George Pataki recently asked state legislators to subsidize tuition costs for student teachers who agree to teach in low-performing public schools. Only hours later, California Governor Gray Davis asked California lawmakers to up the ante. Gov. Davis wants California legislators to offer teaching candidates who pledge to work in selected schools $10,000 loans to buy a home, $30,000 bonuses to acquire advanced teaching certificates and $11,000 incentives to repay loans for college.

Both New York and California face teacher shortages. Two years ago statistics began to show an unparalleled surge in teacher retirements. In the interim, 20 or more states have begun paying bonuses of up to $6,000 per year to teachers who passed a new, stiff national certification exam.

Illinois teacher shortages have been found in certain areas, as well. State Superintendent of Education Glenn W. McGee recently stated that teacher shortages are seen in some special education teaching jobs statewide, and in foreign language teaching positions downstate.

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A federal judge in Ohio recently made permanent his own temporary order overturning that state's school voucher program, which has been operating in Cleveland. U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. ruled that "the program has the effect of advancing religion through government-supported religious indoctrination," which he said is unconstitutional. "Because of the overwhelmingly large number of religious vs. nonreligious schools participating in the voucher program, beneficiaries cannot make a genuine, independent choice of what school to attend," Judge Oliver's decision said. The State of Ohio will appeal the ruling to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, but attorneys for the anti-voucher side say there is a good chance the case will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court that bars rural school districts lacking their own high school from paying for students' tuition at parochial schools. A group of parents who wanted the Rutland, Vermont school district to pay for their children's tuition at a Catholic school had sued the state, but the state's highest court found that such payments would violate the state constitution by subsidizing religion. The new Supreme Court ruling allows districts to continue to pay the tuition at private - but not religious - schools. Last month the Justices rejected a similar appeal from parents of religious school students in Maine.

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Private schools in America have no inherent edge over public schools because the major differences between them stem from social, cultural, and economic factors rather than issues of basic quality, says the Economic Policy Institute, as reported in Education Daily. Thus, the institute said, private schools offer no distinct and transferable practices that public schools might adopt in order to improve.

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THE NATIONAL SCENE

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State standards debate rages on

Public education foe Chester E. Finn, Jr., and his colleagues at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation recently released a report grading the states, A to F, on the quality of their educational standards and the accountability measures that accompany them (or don't). The Fordham Foundation report concludes that 42 states: "hold mediocre to miserable expectations for their students."

The report, released January 6, faced harsh criticism from public education advocate Gerald W. Bracey.

Bracey notes that "the five states that make the report's ‘Honor Roll' are all among the lowest scoring states on assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP] and on international comparisons . . . . on the other hand, many of the states that the report calls ‘irresponsible states' score extremely high on both NAEP and international tests."

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States rethinking passing grades on standardized tests

Faced with the possibility that large numbers of students might fail new state tests required for high school graduation, the Massachusetts Board of Education last month voted 8-1 to set the passing score on the tests at a low level–just above the "failing" range.

Meanwhile across the nation other standards-based reform initiatives are being given a second look:

• After 89 percent of last year's sophomores in Arizona failed a new state math test – a test the class of 2002 must pass to earn a high school diploma – the Arizona Board of Education agreed to re-examine the test at its January meeting.
• Bowing to complaints from parents and its own state education department, the Wisconsin legislature last summer reversed plans to base promotion and graduation decisions solely on test scores.
• After reviewing the academic abilities of their students, state officials in New York set the passing grade on the Regents exams, a prerequisite to high school graduation, at a minimal 55 out of 100.
• The Los Angeles school board recently scaled back plans to eliminate social promotion after it was discovered that upwards of 40 percent of the children tested–perhaps as many as 280,000–would fail to meet the new academic standards.

Critics of high-stakes testing say they are not surprised by this turn of events. Setting higher standards – without providing sufficient staff training, technical support, and funding–never was going to live up to its promise, they say. The obstacles – sizable populations of disadvantaged and limited-English-speaking students, a shortage of qualified teachers in urban areas, and limited remedial opportunities – are too great.

Source: NSBA.

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Connecticut students attend parent-teacher conferences

Parent-teacher conferences at Sedgwich Middle School in West Hartford, Connecticut, include an element often left out of these regular meetings at other schools: the student. Principal Jamie Y. Newman says Sedgwich started involving students a few years ago because it seemed odd to leave out the most important person. "We know so much more about students these days," he says, mentioning learning styles as an example.

"Our belief is that the child can set goals," Newman says. "We encourage the teachers to include the child in the dialogue. They can view the teacher and the parent working together. And this does a lot to motivate the child." For more information, contact Jamie Y. Newman at 860/521-0610.

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States narrow per pupil spending disparity between school districts

States have narrowed the disparity in instructional expenditures per pupil from one public school district to the next. That is the finding of a study called Trends in Disparities in School District Level Expenditures Per Pupil, published in December by the National Center for Education Statistics. The new study analyzed seven aspects of per pupil expenditures to gauge disparity trends within states from 1980 to 1994, based upon Census Bureau data. A similar report was last released by the NCES in 1978. The new study shows spending disparity decreased in most states. "Most state superintendents…have done a good job decreasing disparity across districts," said the co-author of the report William Sonnenberg. A copy of the report is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000020 .

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NEWS FROM IASB

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Three IASB divisions elect new Directors

Three IASB divisions have elected new Directors to serve on the IASB Board of Directors. The new Directors are Roger Edgecombe (Abe Lincoln), Wesley Stellhorn (Southwestern) and David Barton (Two Rivers). Three other divisions, Northwest, Starved Rock and West Cook, have vacancies and will be electing new Directors for the year 2000. Those three Directors will be chosen at the upcoming governance meetings for their respective divisions. The next meeting of the IASB Board of Directors is Saturday, February 19, 2000 in Chicago.

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IASB to hold multicultural job fair for teachers and administrators

IASB will hold its Fifth Annual Multicultural Job Fair for Teachers and Administrators Saturday, March 11, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel Chicago/O'Hare. The Purpose of the Fair is to bring candidates for teaching and administrative positions together with hiring authorities from school districts across the state. Junior and senior education majors and experienced teachers and administrators seeking to make a change are invited to attend. In its first four years the Job Fair has enabled hundreds of teachers to be placed in schools throughout the state. Job Fair Coordinator is Sanetta George-Jackson, IASB Director of Field Services.

Illinois school districts looking for assistance in identifying candidates for their personnel applicant pool should visit the IASB website to download recruiter information regarding school district registration fees and procedures. Or contact Bridget Trojan at IASB by email at btrojan@iasb.com or call 630/629-3776 ext. 1236. Space is limited.

There is no charge for those wishing to take part in the Fair as job seekers, but advance registration is required, and participants are asked to bring 25 copies of their resume for distribution. Participants are asked to register via email by sending their name, address, phone number and college to btrojan @iasb.com. Reservations may also be faxed to 630/629-3940 or call Bridget Trojan at 630/629-3776, ext. 1236.

Four Points Hotel Sheraton Chicago/O'Hare is located near O'Hare International Airport, just off I-294, at 10249 Irving Park Road at Mannheim Road, Schiller Park. For directions and more information about the hotel, visit its website at www.khconline.com/chicago.htm.

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1998 Illinois school law survey book sold out

The last available copy of the 1998 Illinois School Law Survey was sold in December, according to IASB publications staff. There will not be a reprint of this particular edition, however the new edition should be available in May 2000.

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Cary Williams, Michelle Cox join IASB staff

In recent weeks there have been two additions to IASB staff, with Michelle Cox joining the Springfield office as Receptionist, and with Cary Williams joining the Lombard office as Technical Support Specialist. "We are pleased to welcome both Michelle and Cary to our staff," said IASB Executive Director Wayne Sampson.

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RESEARCH REPORTS

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TIFs are a drag on economic development: Report

Critics who doubt the economic value of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) incentives, tax schemes designed to stimulate economic development, will find support for their position in a paper authored by two visiting economists at the University of Illinois. The paper, released by visiting professors Richard Dye (Lake Forest College) and David Merriman (Loyola University of Chicago), argues that TIFs in the Chicago metropolitan region have actually depressed economic development in the area. A summary of their paper was published in a recent issue of the Engineering News Record, an important construction industry journal. The paper may be ordered online for $1.50 at http://library.northernlight.com/LH19990802480000132. html?cb=7&dx=1005&sc=0#doc . Source: IGPA Newsletter, Institute of Government & Public Affairs, University of Illinois, Fall 1999.

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Schools are safe and getting safer

Seeking to place the national debate about school safety in perspective, the NEA recently compiled current data that indicates school violence is on the decline. The NEA-compiled data shows:

• The number of students who reportedly carried a weapon on school property decreased 28 percent from 1991 to 1997 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 1999)
• The number of youth who reported getting into a fight at school decreased 9 percent between 1991 and 1997 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 1999)
• School expulsions for carrying firearms on school property dropped by almost one-third between 1997 and 1998 (U.S. Department of Education)
• A total of 25 children die by violence in the United States every two days (Children's Defense Fund, 1998), yet 99 percent of children's deaths occur away from school (Washington Post, Justice Policy Institute).

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Students lack adequate college preparation

High school requirements are not rigorous enough in many states to prepare students for success in either college or the workplace, according to a new study issued by the Education Trust. The study, A Ticket to Nowhere: The Gap Between Leaving High School and Entering College and High-Performance Jobs, found significant gaps between the course and testing requirements for high school graduation and those for admission and placement in college.

For example, the report notes that most colleges expect students to have mastered the content of intermediate algebra. Yet, only about 47 percent of graduates have taken college prep courses such as intermediate algebra. That rate drops to 43 percent for blacks, 35 percent for Hispanics and 28 percent for low-income students. The report also notes that the overall percentage of graduates going to college or trade school has risen dramatically to 72 percent. The data is similar for English and science.

The Education Trust offers four recommendations for states and communities:

• Ensure that everyone - teachers, students and parents - know and understand what students need to know and are able to do in order to meet the challenges and demands of college-level course work.
• All high school students should complete a rigorous, college-preparatory course of study.
• Eliminate redundancies and mixed messages in assessments at the junction of high school and college.
• Reward high-performing students by enabling them to begin college work early; provide extra time and help for high school students who are struggling.

For more information, contact the Education Trust; 1725 K Street NW; Suite 200; Washington, D.C. 20006; phone 202/293-1217; http://www.edtrust.org .

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More computers used in schools

A recent report by Market Data Retrieval, a national research firm that markets school statistics, says the number of computers used for instructional purposes in public schools has doubled over the past five years to 8.2 million. An additional 600,000 computers are used for administrative purposes.

Public school technology expenditures exceeded $5.5 billion in 1998-99, or $119 per child, the company reports. Of that amount, 69 percent was spent on hardware, 17 percent on software, and 14 percent on staff development.

In other findings:

• More than 90 percent of schools report at least some computers in classrooms, and a higher percentage of the computers are now in classrooms (52 percent) than in computer labs (39 percent).
• For the first time, personal computers (PCs) claim more than half of the K-12 market: 55 percent of school computers are PCs; 44 percent are Apples.
• More than 50 percent of schools report that the majority of their teachers use the Internet for instructional purposes.
• Fifty-five percent of schools report virtually all of their teachers have school-based e-mail accounts.
• Just over a quarter of schools subscribe to a fee-based online curriculum.

To contact Market Data Retrieval, phone 203/225-4736.

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Dropout rates are topic of new report from NCES

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in December released an update on high school dropout and completion rates that shows dropout rates have decreased and high school completion rates have increased slightly since the early 1970s. Only about 4.8 percent of high school students dropped out in 1997-98, the report found, similar to the rate reported over the past 10 years but representing a slight decrease from the early 1970s. Meanwhile, roughly 85 percent of all 18- to 24-year-olds not enrolled in high school had finished high school, a slight increase since the early 1970s. Dropout Rates in the United States: 1998 is available online at http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000022 .

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TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

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Book aims to ease technology into curriculum

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) project has announced the release of a new guide to the nitty-gritty work of integrating technology into curriculum, National Educational Technology Standards for Students – Connecting Curriculum and Technology. The book presents 36 lesson plans that guide teachers' integration of technology standards in pre-K-12 classrooms. It contains grade level-sequenced lesson plans that list suggested resources and address national standards for specific disciplines. NSBA's technology leadership program is among the partner organizations involved in developing the standards and the new NETS publication. Copies of the book are available for $29.95 from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and may be ordered online at http://www.iste.org or by phone at 800/336-5191.

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Report addresses standards challenge for middle schools

A new report and how-to video series describes how schools can raise requirements and expectations, boost school leadership, and strengthen teacher skills and knowledge to improve student learning. The Edna McConnel Clark Foundation prepared the report, called Figuring It Out: Standards-Based Reform in Urban Middle Schools. It contains six case studies of successful standards implementation in various school districts. The accompanying video series and support materials detail the precise steps educators should take to enlist the help of their peers and parents to garner understanding and support for standards. To learn more, contact the foundation by phone at 212/551-9100.

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Get school health guidelines reflecting CDC recommendations

School leaders interested in advancing policies that support the national Centers for Disease Control school health guidelines, should contact the National School Boards Association (NSBA), which houses the School Health Resource Database. Whether the issue is food vending machines in schools, after-school physical activity programs, or any of the dozens of other health policy issues facing schools, the NSBA database has materials that can help inform and motivate education policymakers. The database contains more than 2,800 items, including sample policies, articles, audio-visual materials, and training tools. Online abstracts of selected items in the database are available on a variety of topics including physical activity, healthy eating, tobacco use prevention, HIV/STDs, teen pregnancy prevention, and comprehensive and coordinated school health programs. For more information, contact NSBA, 1680 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314; fax: 703-548-5516; phone: 703-838-6169.

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WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS

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NSBA invites school leaders to technology meeting

School leaders are invited to join NSBA technology network experts in Orlando March 31-April 1, just before the NSBA Annual Conference & Exposition, for a "Technology and Student Achievement" meeting. Participants will review how recent court decisions affect technology use in schools and what recent research says about technology's impact on student achievement. For more information, send e-mail to ITTE's Susan Booth at sbooth@nsba.org .

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Hope Foundation conference to address school leadership

The Hope Foundation has announced plans for the Third National Summit on Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement and Safety: Courageous Leadership For School Success. The event will be held April 26-28 at the Ambassador West Hotel in Chicago. The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is sponsoring the meeting, along with the American School Counselors Association, and many other education-related organizations. The conference will focus on the following themes:

1. Creating climates that place all students' safety and success at the center of activity
2. Maintaining balance between management and collaborative, instructional leadership
3. Gaining community support for vital initiatives
4. Focusing and maximizing resources for better results
5. Meeting mandates and standards, while maintaining a focus on learning
6. Using data to drive decisions and continuous improvement; and employing "model" programs that work

School and community leaders who would like to meet and work on leadership skills with peers from throughout North America are invited – and are encouraged to bring along their leadership team and stakeholders – to the Ambassador West Hotel in downtown Chicago. For more information, see the website http://www.communitiesofhope.org or call Derek Richey, Director of Outreach and Communications, HOPE Foundation, at

812/355-6002.

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Free technology nights offered in Chicago area

Microsoft is offering a Family Technology Night program in the Chicago area to educate and inspire families about technology at school and about the latest technology tools to help children succeed. The events are free and schools get free software. Schools receive a free copy of Microsoft Office 2000 for hosting such a night. Microsoft offers this event to a very limited number of schools in selected urban areas. To find out if the events can be offered in your area go online at http://www.microsoft.com/family/ .

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

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Legislative crunch time will come early

The Illinois General Assembly reconvened January 12 for its spring legislative session. As lawmakers strive to meet their April 14 adjournment deadline, work will be fast and furious in February and March, ordinarily a quiet period in the Capitol.

Governor George Ryan called both the House and Senate in for two special sessions lasting two extra weeks in December. The subject was the Safe Neighborhoods Act, an act struck down by the Supreme Court and a high-profile issue that remains unresolved. Political wrangling over the gun control provisions of that Act are sure to be renewed during the spring session.

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Update on teacher recertification

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has entered the second phase of its effort to issue rules and regulations regarding the new teacher recertification process. In this phase, the draft rules agreed upon by the State Board of Education, the Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the State Teacher Certification Board have been sent to various interested groups for comment.

The Statewide School Management Alliance has responded to the State Board by making recommendations for change relating to the school district's responsibilities with the Local Professional Development Committee. Insiders say the Alliance's position remains that the rules should add no new responsibility that was not included in the statute.

According to the ISBE timeline, the State Teacher Certification Board is to recommend acceptance of the draft rules at its' January 21, 2000 meeting and a final draft is to be presented to the State Board of Education at its February 16-17, 2000 meeting. The rules would then be open for public comment, including public hearings, for a period of 45 days in March and April.

Lobbyists say the Statewide School Management Alliance has been misquoted as advising school districts to stonewall the recertification process. They say they have merely advised school districts to wait to create their Local Professional Development Committees (LPDC) until the rules and regulations have been finalized. Because the rules are not yet available, Alliance advocates have advised caution against moving too far too fast and thus running the risk of having to duplicate work.

The Alliance suggests that the school district's greatest impact on individual teacher improvement must happen in the school improvement process that occurs prior to the certificate holder's development of their recertification plan, not after the certificate holder has presented a plan to the LPDC. Locally elected school boards and their administrators can have the greatest impact on what a certificate holder proposes in their recertification plan, Alliance lobbyists argue, by making local school improvement meaningful. "The General Assembly recognized this fact by making local school improvement one of the three required components for recertification. Choosing members of the LPDC from outside the ranks of school administration would allow for the time, energy and expertise of local administrators to be spent on the school district improvement plans," said one Alliance lobbyist.

Finally, as to whom the district should appoint to the two positions it fills on the LPDCs, the Alliance says this is a local decision that must fit the specific district involved. The Alliance is urging school districts to consider the following when making their appointments to the LPDCs:

• the appointment decision must take into account the structure of the school district, the work load of its administrative staff, the availability of staff in the district and the willingness of community appointees to participate in a meaningful way;
• it may not be legally advisable to have the same person who evaluates or remediates staff serving on the committees that advise personnel in the continuing professional growth of those same staff members; and
• there are potential bargaining ramifications in having those who bargain for the district serving on committees that will make bargaining demands upon the employer.

"The General Assembly in drafting the bill recognized differences among school districts in Illinois and attempted to provide the flexibility for local school districts to make recertification workable on the local level," according to the School Management Alliance.

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IASB ARCHIVES HOME

Illinois Association of School Boards

2921 Baker Drive
Springfield, Illinois 62703