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School Board News Bulletin
June 1995

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The General Assembly adopted a state budget in late May that provides $196.9 million in new funding for elementary and secondary education, including a boost in general state aid totalling $40.9 million. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) projected foundation level for Fiscal Year 1996 is $2,960, an increase of $97 per child over last year's level of $2,863.

The $40.9 million (1.8 percent) increase in general state aid is roughly $70 million less than the amount proposed by the ISBE.

Most line-items in the state education budget were funded at last year's levels. Exceptions included a $9 million increase for pre-school education of children considered at risk, and a $31 million increase for orphanage tuition. Both items were contained in Governor Jim Edgar's budget plan this spring.

The troubled downstate teacher retirement system received the largest funding boost over last year's level, totalling $59.5 million.

Other significant increases benefitted various special education categories, including $12 million for personnel reimbursement, $10 million for extraordinary services, and $3.6 million to pay for private tuition of severely disabled special education students. Lawmakers also boosted funding of the Technology for Success learning program (up $10 million), and Project Jumpstart ($2 million). Project Jumpstart is intended to aid the 200 schools where student academic performance is the weakest. Nearly 70 percent of the eligible schools are in Chicago.

Lawmakers provided an additional $7.3 million in this year's budget for school improvement block grants, and $3 million more for school improvement support.

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Legislature dissolves Chicago board

Lawmakers have adopted legislation to dissolve the current 15-member school board in Chicago and replace it with a new board appointed by the mayor.

This new five-member board of trustees would have broad powers to overhaul windy city schools under legislation adopted in May, which is expected to be signed soon by Governor Edgar.

To accomplish their reform mission, trustees would be given strong financial control over the district, with state aid provided in two block grants instead of categorical funds. The Chicago School Finance Authority--which had been in charge of district finances--would be suspended for four years. Trustees would have the authority to intervene in failing schools.

The legislation also revamps the city's collective bargaining. Specifically, it bans employee strikes for 18 months and removes from contract agreements such issues as layoff procedures, class sizes, and instruction time.

The new board is seen as an experiment that would give Mayor Richard Daley more authority over the city's school system.

Other provisions of the bill include the following:

• Trustees will appoint a four-person top management team to oversee daily operations of the school system.

• Principals will be given more control over their schools, and trustees will be free to develop their own educational management structure.

• Local school councils--consisting of parents, teachers, community members, and principals elected to serve as a school's policymaking body --will be given expanded oversight of school-based budgets. They also would receive funding at this year's level.

• A new Academic Accountability Council will evaluate the performance of city schools and recommend to trustees a strategy for improving or closing schools that fail to meet academic standards.

• The new board could adopt four-year contracts, instead of being limited to three years like the former board.

Safe Ride law gives kids new protections on school buses

A "Safe Ride" school busing law passed by the General Assembly and signed into law last year, will become effective July 1. "The bill gives better protection to children by preventing individuals with criminal records from getting behind the wheel of a school bus," according to Secretary of State George H. Ryan.

Ryan says the "Safe Ride" law completely changes the school bus licensing process to make sure individuals who should be disqualified from the application process are unable to obtain school bus driver permits.

In the past, the State Board of Education, regional superintendents, local school districts, and the secretary of state's office all were involved in the licensing of bus drivers. Ryan says the old system was chaotic and confusing. "More importantly, the system lacked a strict enforcement mechanism to guarantee that the criminal background check was completed and the applicant cleared before a permit was issued.

"Under the new system, which will be in place for the start of the 1995-96 school year, all school bus driver licenses and permits will be issued through my office," Ryan said.

The "Safe Ride" law mandates the fingerprinting of all new school bus driver applicants, allowing the Illinois State Police and the FBI to conduct a thorough criminal background check.

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Lawsuit remains alive

The Committee for Educational Rights, the group of school districts suing the state over funding inequity, is still waiting for its day in court. The Committee filed a brief with the Illinois Supreme Court in February. The Illinois Attorney General's office then had until May 30 to file its brief. The Committee had 14 days to file a response. After receiving all the papers, the state's high court will set a date for oral arguments. Eventually, the court will rule about whether or not the case receives a hearing. Any developments will be reported here.

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Chicago reform accomplishments touted

Do you think Chicago school reform efforts have been fruitless? Consider this: school violence has dropped 46 percent in the years since the Chicago reforms were instituted in 1990-91. Meanwhile the number of weapons confiscated on school property declined 61 percent, with gun recoveries down 68 percent.

Those numbers were reported by the school reform organization called Designs for Change. The information was contained in an eight-page insert to the Chicago Sun-Times, published May 16, and sponsored by Designs for Change and the Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform. The story quoted a Catalyst magazine analysis of Chicago Police Department records.

Other good news on Chicago reforms, according to the report: major educational improvements have been documented in about 60 percent of elementary schools in the city, and the high school dropout rate has dropped substantially.

To obtain a copy of the 8-page report entitled "School Reform's Heroes; Join Them," phone: 312/857-7556.

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Gang prevention tips for educators, parents listed

According to a report from the Chicago Crime Commission, street gangs are no longer a problem only in urban areas. The report, Gangs: Public Enemy Number One, contains the following list of suggested questions to ask about a child's gang involvement: 1) Do you know any gang members?; 2) Do you know where you can buy drugs?; 3) Do you know where you can buy a gun?

"Ask your child to be completely honest with you and...don't be surprised when your child answers yes to any or all of the questions," the report advises. "Gang involvement begins as early as elementary school," it adds.

The chilling report--copies of which were mailed recently to superintendents in IASB member districts in the Chicagoland area--is available at a discount to schools in quantities of 25 or more. For copies call the Chicago Crime Commission at 312/372-0101.

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Confederation offers handbook on religion in public schools

Religious leaders, conservatives and progressives have joined together to produce a handbook of guidelines on religion in public schools.

The handbook results from an earlier pledge by a wide variety of groups to tone down their rhetoric and cooperate for the sake of children. Seventeen groups--from the conservative Christian Coalition to the liberal People for the American Way--signed the pledge in March.

They pledged to work to solve disputes before they become lawsuits, and improve communication and mutual respect for one another's positions. The groups endorsed six principles on religious liberty and public education, principles aimed at establishing "civic ground rules" for addressing conflicts. The six principles are:

• Every person has the right to religious liberty.

• Citizens in a diverse society must accept differences while seeking public policies that are in the interest of all.

• Public schools must involve all interested parties, including those with dissenting views, in setting policies.

• Parents have the primary responsibility for their children's upbringing, including education, and should work with their children's schools.

• Public disputes about the schools should be conducted through constructive dialogue, not personal attacks and ridicule.

The handbook, Religion in the Public Schools; A Joint Statement of Current Law, is available for $5 from the American Civil Liberties Union at 202/544-1681; the American Jewish Congress, 212/360-1545; the American Muslim Council, 202/789-2262; or the National Association of Evangelicals, 202/789-1011.

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Schools test innovations in battling drug abuse

School boards that want to mount successful anti-drug programs should include the youngest children, work with community groups, and target parents along with children.

That is some of the advice from a U.S. Department of Education guide, Success Stories '94, which details the programs of schools selected as national models by the department's Drug-Free School Recognition Program.

Educators interviewed for the report all agreed that "a strong prevention program is not a one-time activity," the report says. "It takes an integrated approach, fused into the curriculum, reinforced by the `teachable moments' a class experiences every day."

The report says prevention programs should begin in kindergarten, because by the time students reach fourth grade, some already are using tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. It advises schools to have clear, strong "no use, no exceptions policies" on tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

Policies should identify reasonable consequences for breaking the rules. Policies should also cover drug use off campus during non-school hours.

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School health resource guide is now available

School Health Programs--A Time for Action, grassroots advocacy resource guide, is available from the National School Health Education Coalition (NASHEC).

The guide contains information on available funding for school health programs, the process for tapping into those funds, and strategies for advocating successfully within the political environment that currently governs school health issues.

Federal funding streams and issues addressed include:

• the Block Grant movement;
  
• entitlement programs;
  
• Goals 2000;
  
• Title I;
  
• safe and drug-free schools and communities;
  
• education for homeless children and youth;
  
• coordinated services programs;
  
• special education;
  
• Head Start;
  
• Medicaid/Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Programs; and
  
• Maternal and Child Health Block Grants.
  

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Book pinpoints leadership skills

The National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) has published a comprehensive description of what principals need to know and be able to do for successful school administration.

Principals for Our Changing Schools organizes the knowledge and skills that principals need into 21 "domains" identified by NPBEA. The domains are skill-oriented (such as leadership and information collection), programmatic (curriculum design, staff development), interpersonal (motivating others, written expression), or contextual (policy and political influences).

NPBEA Executive Director Scott Thomson says the handbook is useful for reforming education leadership programs in universities and for groups revising licensing standards.

For ordering information, call Technomic Publishing Co., 800/233-9936 or 717/291-5609.

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Guide to free videos printed

More than 2,600 videotapes are available on a free-loan basis through the pages of the new 1995-96 Educators Guide to FREE Videotapes--including 514 new titles.

The 42nd annual Guide points you to thousands of free-loan videotapes covering subjects like accident prevention, aerospace education, consumer education, environmental education, geography, history, religion, science, and sports. The judicious use of bold print has made the Guide easier to use, the publishers say.

Thoroughly indexed by Title, Subject, and Source--the 545-page book provides complete descriptions for all of the materials listed and tells you who offers them on a loan basis.

Available on a 15-day free trial basis, the Guide sells for $27.95. For more information, write or call, Educators Progress Service, Inc., 214 Center Street, Randolph, WI 53956; 414/326-3126.

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Model elementary school defined by Carnegie Foundation study

A new report by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching offers a comprehensive plan for elementary schooling.

A model elementary school should emphasize four key priorities: the school as community, a curriculum with coherence, a climate for learning, and a commitment to character, according to The Basic School: A Community for Learning.

The push for school renewal should start with elementary education, says the report's author, foundation President Ernest L. Boyer. "No sector should be neglected," Boyer says. "But school failure starts very early, and if all children do not have a good beginning, if they do not receive the support and encouragement needed during the first years of life, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to compensate fully for the failure later on."

In referring to the school as community, the report says, "the separate classrooms are connected by a sense of purpose, in a climate that is just, disciplined, and caring, with occasions for celebration."

The goals of such a school are focused on the whole child, on the educational, social, emotional, physical, and moral needs of children. The report says the school must teach children to communicate effectively, to acquire a core of knowledge, to be motivated learners, to have a sense of well-being, and to live responsibly.

Building community requires "teachers as leaders" and "parents as partners," Boyer says. "The principal in the Basic School is lead teacher, the one who guides the institution more by inspiration than directive."

The crucial components of the curriculum are the basic tools of learning-- English, mathematics, and the "language of the arts," as well as a core of knowledge and measuring results.

Proficiency in the written and spoken word is crucial, Boyer writes. Every student "must learn to read with understanding, write with clarity, and effectively speak and listen."

The Basic School would have an integrated curriculum framework that links traditional subjects and other topics to be studied around eight "human commonalities." The report defines these as "essential experiences that are shared by all people."

The eight themes are: the life cycle, the use of symbols, response to the aesthetic, membership in groups, a sense of time and space, producing and consuming, connections to nature, and living with a purpose.

"By focusing on common human experiences, children not only acquire a core of knowledge," Boyer says, "they also discover relationships across the separate subjects and begin to see how what they study in the classroom actually relates to them, to their lives."

In promoting character, the report suggests schools affirm these virtues: honesty, respect, responsibility, compassion, self-discipline, perseverance, and giving. To order the report, call 800/777-4726 or 609/883-1759.

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Expanded hours, closings for IASB offices listed

Effective July 1, IASB offices in both Springfield and Lombard will open at 8:00 a.m. weekdays, 30 minutes earlier than in the past. Offices will close at 4:30 p.m. as usual.

To help offset the longer day, both offices will close on three Fridays during the summer. This summer, closings will occur on July 7, 14 and 21.

Anyone who needs to call or visit an IASB office during July should make note of those three days when both offices will be closed.

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IASB TELEPHONE GUIDE

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays

Springfield Office Receptionist -- 217/528-9688
Springfield Office Automated Service -- 217/528-9679 (to direct dial an extension from a Touch-Tone telephone)

Departmental Extension Numbers (217/528-9679):

Lombard Office -- 708/629-3776 -- for:

• Field Services
  
• IASB General Counsel
  
• Legislative Education Network of DuPage
  
• Policy Services

IASB board accepts 1995-96 budget

The IASB Board of Directors met in Springfield May 12-13 and reviewed and accepted a budget for 1995-96. In other Board action:

• committee charters were approved for the Executive, Nominating, Resolutions and Audit committees (charters establish the committee charge and procedures for each committee);

• a recommendation to invite seven business firms to become new members of IASB Service Associates was approved; and

• an annual calendar for receipt of monitoring reports was approved.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors is set for August 25-27, 1995.

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Submit resolutions for Delegate Assembly

Plans are underway for the 1995 IASB Delegate Assembly. Forms were sent out recently to invite active members of the Association to submit proposed new resolutions, or amendments or reaffirmations of position statements. Although member boards have several weeks to submit proposals, the staff will be better able to prepare invaluable background material if the forms are returned early. The resolutions process is one of the most important undertakings of the IASB, with Delegate Assembly votes governing the future direction of the Association. You are urged, therefore, to take part in this essential representative process.

Reading results slip

Reading scores for 9 and 13-year-olds have not changed from 1992 to 1994, while scores for 17-year-olds show slight declines, according to preliminary findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

"These results are consistent with trend data from other sources, such as SAT verbal scores and state testing programs," says NSBA Advocacy Research Director Karen Anderson. "Additionally, since 1992 there has been an increase in limited-English proficient students that accounts for part of the decline in scores."

Researchers at the Department of Education also point to the potential role of societal factors, such as dramatic increases in the percentages of high school students working 20 hours or more a week, increased drug and alcohol use, and increased television viewing.

Success Stories '94 is free from the Education Department, by phoning: 800/624-0100.

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Study shows why kids fail

A study by the federal Department of Education shows that the average tenth grade student spends only a little more than four hours per week doing homework outside school. The average student spends only two hours reading. Meanwhile, the typical student works 11 hours at a regular job, and spends over 18 hours watching television. Source: IPA Newsletter, Illinois Principals Association, May 1995.

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Workshop set on violence, males & teen pregnancy

A professional development institute called "Violence, Males, Teen Pregnancy" will be held September 21 at Collinsville's Holiday Inn. Sponsored by the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health; the National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention, Incorporated; and the Ford Foundation, it will be led by Ronald F. Johnson. For more information, contact Bunny Shupe at 618/529-5253.

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IASCD conference on elementary education is scheduled for fall

The Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (IASCD) will hold the third annual IASCD elementary state conference, October 12-13 at the Bone Student Center, Illinois State University, Normal. "Exploring and envisioning elementary education: Looking beyond tomorrow," is the theme.

Registration is limited to 500 participants, and forms are due no later than September 25. Registration fees are $100 ($90 for IASCD members) for both days, or $50 ($45 for IASCD members) for one day. The cost to attend a dinner session on Thursday, featuring motivational humorist Tammy Hall, is $15.

For further information on the conference contact: Dr. Carole Hillman at 708/852-3613. For information regarding registration contact: Linda Sloat at 217/586-4995.

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Groups protest impact of proposed welfare cuts

The National School Boards Association joined with other local government organizations at a May 16 press conference to protest cuts in welfare under consideration in Congress.

"The current welfare proposals would have a major influence on the health and well-being of the nation's children and on their ability to learn at school," says NSBA Immediate Past President Boyd W. Boehlje. "If children can't eat at school because Congress eliminates school lunches, and children can't eat at home because Congress cuts their mothers from welfare, these children will be unable to learn and the cycle will just repeat itself."

The welfare reform bill advanced by the House in March would not guarantee school lunches for children in need and, in some states, school nutrition programs could be cut by as much as 20 percent.

"These abstract numbers translate into millions of hungry kids and millions of kids who won't be learning the basics so they can get jobs and be productive members of society in the future," says Boehlje, a school board member in Pella, Iowa.

The Senate has not yet acted on welfare reform legislation. Both houses of Congress are considering budget resolutions that could result in drastic funding cuts in school nutrition and education programs.

NSBA and other organizations representing city and county officials also are concerned that provisions in the House bill to convert welfare and school lunch programs to block grants to the states could result in significant funding reductions.

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Feds rev up for big study on elementary students

The federal Education Department is gearing up to initiate a comprehensive study of elementary students' academic, social, and physical development. A pilot study for the major Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) will begin this fall. This pilot study will involve only about 200 children in 12 schools, but it will lead up to a study involving 23,000 children in 1,000 schools throughout the nation.

For more information, contact the Education Department, National Center for Education Statistics, 555 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Room 417B, Washington, DC 20208; phone 800/424-1616.

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Focus vision on science instruction

America's schools should stress science education in the early grades and revamp the way it is taught in middle and high schools, concludes a panel of science experts who recently released draft national science standards.

"This will take a long time and tremendous commitment," said Richard Klausner, chairman of the standards project and chief of cell biology at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "We need to set a vision far from where we are now."

Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences and a panel member, criticized the current practice of teaching science. "We've killed all the curiosity," he said. "We're failing to communicate what science is."

The standards call for more hands-on instruction and less memorization of scientific theories and terms. Science should become a core subject in all grades, according to the standards. And students should be "repeatedly exposed to different fields of science during their school careers, rather than. . . being taught geology only in the eighth grade. . . then never again," the report says.

The new standards won support from the U.S. Department of Education. They still must undergo public review, however, and are not likely to be finalized until next year.

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Principals' organization opposes "privatization" of local schooling

School boards, educators, and community members must remain in control of the direction of public schools--not companies whose first aim it making a profit. So says a national school principals' organization.

"Decisions about how schools are structured and run must remain in the hands of communities, school boards, principals, and other school staff," reads a position statement adopted by the board of directors of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

"The bottom line for public schools must be student learning not financial profit, and . . . public funds designated for public education should be invested in schools--not paid to for-profit companies."

While there has been some effort to turn the management of individual schools or school systems over to for-profit companies, NASSP suggested that student performance can be improved in other ways. The NASSP believes, for example, in encouraging communities, locally-elected boards and existing school staff to use cooperative, creative approaches to boost student performance.

In a position statement adopted at its May meeting, the NASSP Board called upon "communities, school boards and educators concerned with the quality of education in their community to work together within the public school system to improve student learning for all students."

The position does not oppose the use of for-profit firms to provide such services as transportation, food service, custodial work, and other non- instructional matters. For more information contact NASSP at 703/860-0200, ext. 233.

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Golf for education

The Statewide School Management Alliance PAC has announced an effort to raise $30,000 to advance issues of concern to the school management community. The "Golf for Education II" fund raiser is scheduled for July 24 at Pekin's infamous Lick Creek golf course--one of Golf Digest's top-75 public courses.

Last year 220 golfers took part, and organizers say they plan to accommodate 288 this year. "And if more come...we'll punt," said event organizer Guy Cahill, of the possibility of facing a re-run of last year's overflow turnout.

Formed in 1993, the Alliance PAC works in support of the School Management Alliance. Money raised goes to help support the Alliance's legislative efforts in Springfield.

Returning as course sponsors will be industry giants Honeywell, Inc., and Magna Banks. "We're elated that our two Course Sponsors found this event to be such a success that they wanted to return in a similar capacity," Cahill said. "They have always been supportive of schools and our efforts to make a difference for our children," Cahill said.

"Honeywell has been a leader in identifying and communicating to the public the deteriorating state of our nation's school buildings," he continued. Honeywell underwrote the American Association of School Administrators'-commissioned study leading to the now famous "School House in the Red" report, organizers noted.

Cahill was no less enthusiastic about Magna Banks' participation. "Magna has recognized the importance of schools to the communities it serves and the bank as a whole," Cahill said.

Cahill said former State Superintendent Bob Leininger and Magna Bank have been aggressively pursuing programs to benefit the school community, including the underwriting of a new VISA card that returns moneys to the schools.

Franczek, Sullivan, Mann, Crement, Hein & Relias, P.C., once again is generously participating as a "nine sponsor." Joining in the golf outing at Lick Creek as "hole sponsors" are such corporate supporters of education as Chapman & Cutler, IASBO Research Corporation, Legat Architects, Data Control and Research, Air Filter & Equipment Corporation/Mammoth, Kirtley Technology Corporation, and Midwest Transit- Blue Bird Bus. Also returning from last year's event were AmTran/Ward Bus Company and CADRE Consulting Services.

New to this year's event as hole sponsors are Henry Bros. Company, ARCON Associates, Inc., D.P. Consultants/Tremont System Software, Wight & Company, and A.B. Dick/N.C.I. Late additions to the list are AmGas; VIRCO Manufacturers; Robbins, Schwartz, Nicholas, Lifton & Taylor; and Randolph & Associates.

"By no means have we closed the door to others wishing to be corporate sponsors," Cahill added. Those wishing to participate as a "hole" or "nine," or other sponsor, reportedly can contact Cahill during the day at 309/346-7276.

Formed to support the Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance, the Alliance PAC "Golf for Education II" event is opened to all school management personnel interested in fostering the ends of the Alliance.

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