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School Board News Bulletin
August 1997

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RESEARCH REPORTS: facts and figures for school leaders
Violent kids learn empathy, self­control
Class size impacts performance in early grades
Next generation distrusted

FEDERAL UPDATE
Student records notice required by law
Panels debate national test plans
Religious freedom law overturned

WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS
Intergenerational technology workshop set
Education technology leaders to convene

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS
National ADA home page now on web
Make telecommunications accessible to hearing & speech disabled
Population projections available soon
Schools extend their usefulness with community learning centers

NEWS FROM IASB
WCSIT and ISDA experience high membership renewal rates
IASB has school finance materials
Illinois Association of School Boards Fall Division Dinner Meetings 1997

THE NATIONAL SCENE
Schools are safe haven in troubled area
Schools become virtual YMCAs
At Exchange City, students are in charge
Got milk? Enough milk?

Illinois School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus
Classified ads
Recent mailings from IASB

State enacts standards for student learning

The Illinois Learning Standards set state expectations for what students should learn in the areas of English and language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, physical development and health, and fine arts. A set of advisory standards was approved for foreign languages, as well.

Standards are important because they provide a common learning foundation for students no matter where they live, said State Superintendent of Education Joseph Spagnolo.

Local schools and communities retain the flexibility and control to decide how and when that learning takes place and whether there are additional content and skills they want their students to know and be able to do, Spagnolo said.

Each standard is linked to a State Goal for Learning, a broad statement of knowledge and/or skills in a subject area. Standards are specific statements of knowledge and skills within a goal that together, according to the state board, define the learning needed to meet that goal. Each standard is expanded into benchmarks, showing how student learning builds from early elementary grades to late elementary, middle school or junior high, early high school and late high school.

Most important for improved learning, however, will be the local assessments, checks on student achievement that teachers perform nearly every day in their classrooms and the testing that local districts will use to measure learning success, Spagnolo said. In addition, by 1998­99, the State Board is required to develop a state assessment system that will provide a big­picture perspective of student and school progress toward fulfilling the standards.

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Illinois ACT scores remain unchanged

The national average composite score on the ACT increased to 21.0 this year from 20.0 last year, as positive trends continued with:

* Comprehensive improvements in minority scores
* Score improvements in mathematics
* Score improvements for women in science and math
* Composite score improvements for males.

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Other states standards in development

Only 17 states (including Illinois) have standards in math, science, social studies, and English that give a clear picture of what children should know. But progress is being made: 29 states have clear specific standards in at least three of the subjects, up from 21 a year earlier. All the states except Iowa are working on common academic standards.

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Some expenditures linked to academic achievement

Specifically, districts that spent a high portion of their funds on district office administration and instruction were shown to have higher scores on the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Meanwhile, districts that spent heavily on school­based administration, construction and maintenance, and teacher education did not obtain higher student achievement.

ETS explained that positive results flow from spending that directs more money to the classroom. For example, spending more on instruction lowers the student­teacher ratio, and spending on district­level administration also helps push more money to classrooms.

Larger, better­financed district offices may be more successful than principals or other administrators in ensuring that dollars actually reach the classroom, wrote ETS researcher Harold Wenglinsky.

Student­teacher ratios matter most to students in poverty, according to previous research on class size.

The ETS study, When Money Matters: How Educational Expenditures Improve Student Performance and How They Don't is $9.50 from Educational Testing Service, Policy Information Center, Mail Stop 04­R, Rosedale Rd., Princeton, NJ 08541­0001; phone 609/734­5694; e­mail at pic@ets.org; or through the Internet site http://www.ets.org.

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Pekin district wins salute

The Pekin district was selected along with districts in New Jersey and California from a nationwide network of leaders in school technology. District 108 reportedly has devoted considerable resources to thorough technology planning.

Representatives from all Pekin schools researched, designed and implemented a model for the classroom of the future. Their efforts and the board's leadership resulted in a vision statement for an instructional program using technological applications to manage, deliver and access instructional standards.

During the research process, the district's planning team visited other districts in search of best practices and methods. From this, the district adapted and now promotes what they call the RAP instructional model: Research, where the student gathers instructional material and information related to a topic; Authoring, which calls on a student's problem­solving and critical­thinking skills to organize the information into a meaningful product; and Publishing, where the student develops a multi­media presentation that can be measured for learning results.

Partnerships with a local cable provider, which donated 108 miles of fiber optic cable to the district, and the local telephone company, which collaborated to assist with the installation of all local area networking, have given the district a network that connects schools, homes, and community resources.

Within the school, the network provides each classroom teacher with a laptop computer docking station, large­screen classroom monitor, five student workstations, telephone and printer.

Pekin's clear vision and strong commitment to human and fiscal resources have allowed the district to maximize its technology programs, according to an NSBA spokesman. The district has used its funding to reinvest in its plan by providing staff training incentives and community outreach.

A video salute highlighting these accomplishments will be presented during one of three General Sessions of the Technology + Learning Conference. For information on the conference see Education technology leaders to convene in this newsletter on page 5.

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School leaders must know facts about testing

What they really want to improve are student achievement and the quality of education that students receive in their schools.

Few educators and even fewer school board members have training, however, in the technical aspects of testing and the interpretation of test scores. Thus, real gains in individual student achievement may go unnoticed when district test scores are announced.

Students take two kinds of tests: aptitude and achievement. Each serves a different purpose and provides different information.

A school district leader needs to know the purpose of student testing and understand what the results of tests do and do not tell about the district's curriculum and instructional program. It also is important how these results are used by district and school staff to make improvements.

Aptitude tests are intended to predict a student's probability of academic success.

The ACT and SAT, for example, predict a student's chances for success with college work. Elementary students often take a test like the Otis­Lennon, a predictor of basic skills achievement. The Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB) tests readiness skills of students entering the first grade.

Achievement tests are intended to measure student progress in specific academic areas. When achievement tests cover skills that are important parts of your curriculum, the scores reflect the effectiveness of your instructional program.

The National Assessment of Educational Performance (NAEP) is sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education. NAEP is taken by students nationwide at randomly selected public and private schools at ages 9, 13, and 17. Tests are given in reading, history, geography, mathematics, science and the arts.

Advanced placement tests (AP), nationally administered tests developed by the College Board, measure student achievement on certain course content. High school students making a 3, 4 or 5 (the highest score) earn college credits.

Source: Critical Issues, South Carolina School Boards Association, Spring 1997.

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Underground Storage Tanks deadline nears

Under regulations issued by the USEPA eight years ago, Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) installed before December 22, 1998, must be protected against corrosion, spills and overfills by the federal deadline date of December 22, 1998. Unprotected USTs must be upgraded, replaced or properly closed by that date. Tanks installed after December 22, 1998 must have those protections in place at the time of installation.

OSFM will be sending letters to owners and operators of underground storage tanks reminding them that the deadline is near. USEPA will not extend the deadline, and the state of Illinois does not have the authority to extend it. OSFM inspectors will also visit facilities over the next several months to help get the word out.

The longer you wait to upgrade your tanks, the more likely it is that they may leak and contaminate the environment, said Jim McCaslin, OSFM's Director of Petroleum and Chemical Safety. Waiting also increases the risk of delays in getting your system upgraded, which can mean higher costs.

OSFM is committed to working with UST owners and operators to achieve compliance with these requirements. I must emphasize, however, OSFM is committed to enforcing those requirements where UST owners and operators ultimately fail or refuse to comply, stated McCaslin.

For more information on the 1998 deadline or if you would like a speaker to make a presentation on UST rules and the 1998 date for compliance for your group or school district, call Jim McCaslin, OSFM Division of Petroleum and Chemical Safety at 800/851­2119.

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RESEARCH REPORTS: facts and figures for school leaders

Violent kids learn empathy, self­control

Second Step, developed in 1986 by the Committee for Children in Seattle, is used in 10,000 schools in the United States and Canada. It involves 35­minute weekly or biweekly sessions designed to teach empathy, problem­solving, and anger management to students in preschool through grade 9.

In a typical lesson, children are shown a picture of a frowning child and are asked to describe how that child is feeling. Or they are shown a picture of two boys fighting over a ball, then asked to identify the problem and devise solutions.

The study published in the medical journal involved 790 second and third graders in Washington. Students at six schools were taught the Second Step curriculum over a 16­to 20­week period, and their behavior at school was compared to students at six schools who did not take the course.

Students were evaluated before the program, two weeks after it ended, and six months later. At the final evaluation, those who had taken the course exhibited about 30 fewer acts of aggressive behavior every day than children who didn't.

The researchers also found that aggressive behavior increased in students who did not take the course.

For more information, contact: Joan Cole Duffell, director of community education, Committee for Children, 206/343­1233.

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Class size impacts performance in early grades

Those findings, along with results from the first three years of a program to introduce smaller class sizes in Tennessee, were discussed in the July/August, 1997, issue of The Harvard Education Letter: The results of the first three years of this program, called Project Challenge, have been encouraging. In the smaller classes, the children from these districts [the 17 Tennessee school districts with the lowest per capita incomes] are performing better on both standardized and curriculum­oriented tests than pupils in the same districts in earlier years.

Indeed, their end­of­year performance has raised their district ranking in arithmetic and reading from far below average for all districts to above average, the Harvard publication stated.

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Next generation distrusted

Two­thirds of the adults surveyed for Kids These Days: What Americans Really Think About the Next Generation called teenagers rude, wild, and irresponsible. Nearly half called younger children spoiled.

Only 37 percent of adults said they believe the country will be improved by today's children.

Americans are convinced that today's adolescents face a crisis not in their economic or physical well­being, but in their values and morals. The survey is available for $12.50 from Public Agenda, 6 East 39 St., New York, NY 10016.

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FEDERAL UPDATE

Student records notice required by law

1. inspect the student's education records;

2. request amendments to those records if they are believed to be inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights;

3. consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's records (except to the extent that the law allows disclosure without consent) and

4. file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education if they feel that the district is not complying with the FERPA law.

Panels debate national test plans

The tests will use National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scoring methods: advanced, proficient and basic. Panel members will study information gathered by various committees and vote their recommendations in mid­September.

Written comments about the voluntary tests can be sent to: Wayne Martin, Council of Chief State School Officers, 1 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001­1431; phone 202/408­5505.

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Religious freedom law overturned

The 1993 law exceeds Congress, power, the high court ruled June 25, concluding Congress had tried to alter the meaning of the U.S. Constitution's protection of the freedom of religion. The law protected a wide range of religious practices from undue government interference.

For example, one court ruling under the law upheld an injunction against a school district's no­knife policy when it affected one group's religious belief that even young boys must carry a sword at all times.

The court required a grade school, under a plan of accommodation, to allow Sikh children to carry seven­inch swords to school, if they were worn under clothing and sewn into sheaths.

Source: NSBA's School Board News, July 8, 1997.

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WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS

Intergenerational technology workshop set

It will feature round table discussions and hands­on student demonstrations.

Intergenerational programs will be highlighted, including computer partners (students teaching computers to seniors), living history programs, and tech prep laboratories.

Those interested, including people interested in sharing information about how they use technology in their Intergenerational program, should contact: Barbara Kurth, Field Middle School, 2055 Landwehr, Northbrook, IL 60062; phone 847/272­6884.

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Education technology leaders to convene

Sponsored by the NSBA's Institute for the Transfer of Technology to Education (ITTE), the event is co­sponsored by more than 20 other national education organizations. The three­day Technology + Learning Conference will offer school leaders an overview of the technology programs, equipment, services, and ideas that will shape K­12 education in the 21st century.

The keynote speaker will be Sherry Turkle, professor of Sociology of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As one of America's leading authorities on people's relationships with technology, Turkle will reveal the important role of the Internet in today's and tomorrow's society. She will discuss how students with different learning styles can use computers with equal success.

Alvin Poussaint, clinical professor of Psychiatry and faculty associate dean for student affairs at Harvard Medical School also will speak, exploring how to create a more stable environment for at­risk students by applying technology to modern family issues.

The meeting offers school leaders an opportunity to share success stories and exchange practical tips on technology implementation with their colleagues nationwide.

More than 100 school district workshops will address education technology solutions from how to plan for, purchase, and manage technology, to methods for enhancing basic instruction.

For registration information about the technology conference, visit the Technology + Learning web site at: www.nsba.org/T+L. You can also call 1­800/950­6722 to register or call the Technology + Learning Conference fax­on­demand line at 1­888/267­5394 for more program details.

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TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

National ADA home page now on web

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Make telecommunications accessible to hearing & speech disabled

The center managed by the Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation (ITAC) assists in phone communications to and from speech and hearing disabled individuals. A growing number of businesses, including banks, restaurants and hotels, use Relay daily.

One bank vice­president in Springfield says he has brought 10 new clients to the bank over the past few months with the help of Relay. Relay makes communication as easy as using standard voice phones, he says.

At the Relay Center, specially­trained Communication Assistants (CAs) relay conversations between people who use TTYs telephones that scroll conversation text and people who use voice phones. When a person using a voice telephone speaks, the CA types the information to the TTY caller. When the TTY caller responds, the CA reads aloud the typed information to the person using the voice telephone.

Relay is a revolutionary link that's easy to use and free, said Trudy Snell, ITAC executive director. Communication with associates who are deaf or who have speech disabilities across the state or country and around the world has never been easier in Illinois.

Schools may also break down barriers by publicizing the news in newsletters, for example that they are familiar with the Relay process and would welcome calls via the Relay Center.

Those who would like more information about the Illinois Relay Center may call ITAC at 800/841­6167. To use Relay, call 800/526­0857.

Since 1988, ITAC has made telecommunications accessible to disabled Illinoisans. The non­profit agency manages state and federally mandated programs such as Relay and a TTY Distribution Program on behalf of local phone companies. A monthly line charge on all telephones in Illinois funds ITAC programs.

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Population projections available soon

The report offers population projections by age, sex and race (white and non­white) and Hispanic origin for the entire state. For all counties, the report contains projections by age and sex; in addition, 17 counties have added projections by age, sex and race (white and non­white) and eight counties have added projections by age, sex and race (white and non­white) and Hispanic origin.

The new publication is offered free of charge. To request a copy, send your name, organization, and mailing address. Requests may be sent by mail, fax or e­mail to the addresses below:

* Mail: Population Projections, Illinois Bureau of the Budget, 605 Stratton Bldg., Springfield, IL 62706.

* Fax: Population Projections, Illinois Bureau of the Budget, 217/524­4876.

* E­mail: popproj@bob084r1.state.il.us (0 is zero; 1 following r is the numeral one).

Schools extend their usefulness with community learning centers

A new guidebook by the U.S. Education Department offers school officials advice on how to develop after­hours school programs. The book says a community learning center can provide tutors to help young children learn to read and mentors to help older children with mathematics and science, offer learning activities in the arts, and provide a safe place for sports and play.

Because public schools often provide a low­cost accessible location, they are uniquely suited to provide these services, the guidebook notes. Extending school hours will allow communities to take advantage of their largest capital investment, which otherwise is left unused up to 65 percent of the time.

To create a successful community learning center, the guidebook offers the following recommendations:

* Establish vision and focus. Set clear goals and objectives.

* Address needs in an appropriate manner. Help children and families understand that learning never ends. Programs should never be holding tanks; they should address neighborhood needs, such as tutoring, arts enrichments, mentoring toward college and jobs, teaching strategies for preventing drug abuse and violence, and should focus on the needs of individual children.

* Coordinate efforts. Programs should coordinate with and complement the curriculum and should take advantage of the school's resources, including computer labs and recreational equipment.

* Establish a system of accountability. Continuous monitoring can guide management and ensure parent and participant satisfaction.

The guidebook also includes concrete suggestions for how to: estimate costs, develop a budget, conduct a community assessment of needs and resources, find qualified staff, and evaluate accomplishments.

Drugs, violence, lack of supervision these are the realities for many children today. A community learning center housed in the neighborhood school can be a safe after­school and summer haven for children, a place of caring and friendship in a building removed from the violence and drugs that permeate some communities in America, concludes the guidebook.

Keeping Schools Open as Community Learning Centers is available by calling 800­USA­LEARN; Internet: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/LearnCenters/havens.html.

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NEWS FROM IASB

WCSIT and ISDA experience high membership renewal rates

The WCSIT is endorsed by both the IASB and IASA and provides workers, compensation coverage to approximately 400 school districts in Illinois. As one of the most financially sound workers' compensation self­insured pools in Illinois, the WCSIT began the 1997­98 program year with most members continuing to purchase their workers' compensation coverage through WCSIT.

With approximately 175 members, the ISDA provides competitively priced property/casualty coverage, as well as access to loss control services and low­cost property appraisals to its members. The ISDA is also endorsed by the IASB.

Kimberly Kobos, Vice President of Hinz Professional Insurance Program Managers, Inc., the program administrator for the pools, attributes this recent success to the overall coverage packages the WCSIT and ISDA provide their members. Illinois school districts can't find better coverage packages than the WCSIT and ISDA, which provide a variety of coverages that Illinois school districts need at competitive prices or as benefits of membership, Kobos said.

In addition to competitively priced workers' compensation coverage, qualified WCSIT members receive the Guaranteed Dividend Plan, which provides dividends to qualified participants until the year 2000. Further, the WCSIT has waived the possibility of assessments from its inception in February 1982 through June 30, 1998, and has never assessed or charged supplemental contributions to members.

As benefits of membership qualified members also receive Treasurer's Bonds and School Board Legal Liability coverage valuable coverages in addition to coverage for workers' compensation.

Illinois school districts have become more savvy in purchasing their coverages and realize that self­insurance pools, like the WCSIT and ISDA, not only provide excellent coverage, but are vehicles in which districts can invest taxpayers' money for the future, Kobos said. We have proven this theory by the WCSIT guaranteeing dividends into the 21st century and experiencing such a high membership renewal this year.

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IASB has school finance materials

* Funding for justice: money, equity, and the future of public education. Rethinking Schools, 1997

* It's your money: paying for public schools. Videotape. Part of a kit from the PBS series The Merrow Report, which also includes the brochure, The ABCs of investing in students performance, from the Education Commission of the States. [1995?] Check out http://www.scetv.org for more information on the series.

* School finance: how and what do schools spend? NSBA, 1996.

* School finance: state efforts to reduce funding gaps between poor and wealthy districts: report to congressional requesters. United States General Accounting Office, February 1997.

* State, local and federal financing for Illinois public schools, 1996­97. ISBE, 1997

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Illinois Association of School Boards Fall Division Dinner Meetings 1997

Kishwaukee Wed., Sept. 24 Crystal Lake HS
Abe Lincoln Mon., Sept. 29 Riverton
Cook (N. W. & S.) Mon., Sept. 29 Marriott Hotel, Oak Brook
Three Rivers Mon., Sept. 29 Joliet
Northwest Tues., Sept. 30 Forrestville Valley District
Two Rivers Tues., Sept. 30 Carrollton
Illini Tues., Sept. 30 Arthur
Kaskaskia Mon., Oct. 6 Vandalia
Shawnee Mon., Oct. 6 Johnston City
Western Mon., Oct. 6 LaHarpe
Corn Belt Tues., Oct. 7 Forrest
Egyptian Tues., Oct. 7 Mt. Vernon
Southwestern Tues., Oct. 7 Cahokia
Lake Thurs., Oct. 9 Warren High School
Wabash Valley Tues., Oct. 14 Dieterich
Starved Rock Thurs., Oct. 16 Ottawa
DuPage Tues., Oct. 21 Glen Ellyn
Central Ill. Valley Wed., Oct. 22 Tremont
Blackhawk Thurs., Oct. 23 Orion

Watch your mail for details about the dinner meeting in your division. For information about the meeting in any other division, call Field Services at the IASB office nearest you: Springfield, 217/528­9688 or Lombard, 708/629­3776.

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THE NATIONAL SCENE

Schools are safe haven in troubled area

Housed in three elementary schools in high­crime, low­income communities, the program provides homework help, academic enrichment, arts and crafts, supervised games, physical education, and field trips for more than 200 children. Staff is provided by the recreation department.

Each school also incorporates its own approach to conflict resolution by linking after­school activities to in­school strategies, such as peer mediation and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program.

As the program enters its third year, Safe Haven schools report improved attendance, better homework completion, and reduced conflicts during after­school hours.

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Schools become virtual YMCAs

At each Virtual Y, 50 second, third and fourth graders will take part in activities aimed at building strong values, improving academic performance (especially in reading), and promoting healthy lifestyles.

To ensure collaboration among families, schools, and the community, school principals must commit to providing security; provide the use of classrooms, gyms, libraries, and other facilities; designate a liaison between the YMCA and the school; and get written approval from the PTA, superintendent, and teachers union. The centers are staffed with a mix of full and part­time professionals and volunteers. Funding comes from a variety of public and private sources.

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At Exchange City, students are in charge

Exchange City, a one­day event, includes a workforce of 85 gifted and talented fifth and sixth­grade students from the PLUS (Personalized Learning for Unique Students) program at Westvale School.

Sponsored by Junior Achievement of Indiana, Exchange City is designed with real­life equipment to give students experience in carrying out jobs and running a city.

Exchange City preparation requires students to spend six weeks learning about business and economics to prepare for the big day.

Students campaigned for the posts of mayor and city judge and were elected by their peers. The other workers applied for their jobs with resumes and job interviews.

Student Daniel Wohlberg enjoyed his job as environmental agent, especially when he found several businesses violating environmental laws. This is something I would like to do in the real world, he says.

For more information contact: David Pike, PLUS teacher, at 314/641­2092.

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Got milk? Enough milk?

The largest discrepancy was found in Iowa, where more than 82 percent of the lots sampled in schools came up short.

In Texas, students are being shortchanged in six of every 10 milk containers in school cafeterias, the state's agriculture commissioner said. Of the milk tested in 15 schools and four supermarkets in Texas, an average of one ounce was missing from each gallon.

Although the underfilling came to tiny amounts per container, if all schools in Texas had the same failure rate, it would add up to 4 million pints for the school year.

The FTC report blames the discrepancies on poor quality control and lack of strict oversight by manufacturers and distributors. But state officials in Massachusetts accused several major dairies of padding their profits by slightly underfilling milk containers.

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Illinois School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus

More than $496 million was invested in the Fixed Rate program, at rates of 5.45 percent for a 30­day certificate to 5.88 percent for a one­year certificate. For more information about ISDLAF+, call, toll­free, 1­800/221­4524.

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Classified ads

FOR SALE: Nevco model 2000 scoreboard, used nine years, excellent condition, red. Contact Cliff Jones, Superintendent, Edwards County Schools, Albion, IL at 618/445­2814.

FREE: More than 100 student desks, fourth­grader size, lift­top, free to interested school or school district. Must pick up. Desks available early September. Contact: Emily Robertson, Principal, Gower West, phone 630/323­6446.

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Recent mailings from IASB

July 29: Interactive televised workshop announcement on upcoming event for board candidates, to board presidents and district superintendents.

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IASB School Board News Bulletin
Illinois Association of School Boards