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School Board News Bulletin
November 1995

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Funding from AT&T will put schools across the nation on the information superhighway, including the Internet. The company has announced it will to commit $150 million to help put the nation's 110,000 public and private elementary and secondary schools on-line. The program reprsents the single largest commitment AT&T has made to education, said company Chairman Robert E. Allen.

AT&T will make available, at no charge, some of its newest services and extensive education support to every school in the United States. The company will provide each school free dial-up Internet service, browser software and 100 hours of free usage, giving students access to the information and people they need for class projects. The company also will offer free use of its forthcoming national voice-messaging service for three months so educators can broadcast messages to parents and students.

After schools meet the threshold for receiving services at no cost, the company will offer discounts on the Internet services and messaging service.

In addition, the AT&T Foundation will commit $50 million over the next five years to support the effective use of technology in teaching and learning.

The five-year program, called the AT&T Learning Network, begins next spring, at which time detailed information about the program will be available. To sign up to learn more about the program, call 1-800/809- 1097. Or, you can reach the AT&T Learning Network on the Internet at LearningNet@attmail.com.

AT&T recently entered into a partnership with IASB, providing support for the School Technology Fair at the Joint Annual Conference and for TECH 2000: Students for the Information Age.

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Technology questions vital: Report

The average student today spends a mere two hours a week using a computer at school, while only three percent of classrooms currently have access to the Internet. Yet the cost of wiring schools and operating computer technology across the nation is likely to be prohibitive in these budget- cutting times.

That is one finding from a Benton Foundation report documenting "what's going on" with respect to technology and education. The report is called "The Learning Connection: Will the Information Highway Transform Schools and Prepare Students for the 21st Century?"

The comprehensive report deals with action on the federal and state level, and in the private sector. It addresses four major issues related to sustaining the effort to connect schools to the Information Highway, and it contains a bibliography of resources and a list of major education web sites.

"The Benton Foundation believes that how we go about connecting schools in this era of converging media will be a major test of whether we can build a communications system that serves public needs and democratic values," the report states.

The authors identify several issues that must be addressed in the debate over school networking. They include: the movement to connect schools must be part of a larger discussion about what skills students need and how classrooms should function; school systems must invest more in human infrastructure so that schools make good use of computer networks once they are in place; public support for networking in education should focus on its educational value; and education leaders must ensure that telecommunications promotes equal opportunity.

The report says computers should not be used merely to reinforce traditional teaching methods, but should be used to enhance higher-order and critical thinking skills. This requires new assessment tools, as well, the report said.

A copy of the report is available free of charge from the Benton Foundation. Phone 202/638-5770 or access them on the World Wide Web at http://cdinet.com/benton.

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Help IASB update membership records

Superintendents may have received copies of IASB membership records for their district by now, along with a form for reporting new board members. Once the Association receives the names of a district's new members, IASB will send each new member a packet of information and materials.

Impact fees to pay for new school buildings

A private company developing 26,500 new homes north of Los Angeles has agreed to pay for six new elementary schools for the Newhall, California school district.

The district serves a fast-growing suburban area. In the past five years, two bond issues in the district have failed by narrow margins, according to Superintendent Michael McGrath.

Newhall, along with four other school systems and the city of Santa Claritas, already had negotiated a deal in which the developer agreed to pay $2.72 per square foot to help the districts. That deal would have provided schooling in Westridge, an 800-acre development planned for construction in 1997.

The Newhall district withdrew from that agreement, however, because the school board found it would not provide adequate impact aid to the school system. "We wanted the developer to provide a school for every new student," said McGrath. "We felt we could succeed in getting the county to refuse to grant approval to the developer." After six months of further negotiations, the Newhall Land & Farming Co. agreed to provide the land, utilities, and construction costs for six schools in Westridge and also in its huge 24,700-unit Newhall Ranch project.

"We stuck to our guns on 100 percent mitigation" [of the impact of development], McGrath said. He credited the district's success to the school board, particularly board members Gonzalo Freixes and Candice Fleece, who attended nearly every negotiating session.

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Those Who Excel winners named

IASB congratulates those board members recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education's Those Who Excel program. A list of winners:

Sanford Alper, Niles Township High School District 219; Roger Angelly, Harrisburg C.U. District 3; Jeff Basler, Oregon C.U. District 220; Kathy Benard, Lombard District 44; Patricia Bounds, Frankfort C.C. District 157C; Tony Brunson, Rich Township High School District 227; Sheila Collins, Brookwood District 167; Susan Collins, Moline District 40; Donald Debolt, Stewardson-Strasburg C.U. District 5A; Susan Farmer, Township High School District 211, Palatine; William Frazier, Mt. Vernon District 80; Thomas Hannigan, Mundelein Community High School District 120; David Harvey, Marseilles Elementary District 150; Jill Hruban, Mt. Prospect District 57; David Lauschke, Alton C.U. District 11; Hallie Lemon, Monmouth Unit District 38; Stan Morgan, Bismarck-Henning C.U. District 1; Pete Novacich, Granite City C.U. District 9; Richard Percy, McLean County Unit District 5; Marge Persico, New Lenox District 122; David Ransom, Libertyville Community High School District 128; Michael Rosenberg, Skokie District 69; Howard Schone, Scott-Morgan C.U. District 2; Don Shaffer, Edwardsville C.U. District 7; William Steinke, Naperville C.U. District 203; Robert Swade, North Berwyn District 98; Donna Swanstrom, Crete-Monee District 201U; Barbara Untch, Woodridge District 68; and Ronald Voelker, Altamont C.U. District 10.

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"Even though the number of crimes on school campuses has remained about the same for the last few years, recent statistics indicate that crimes committed at school are more serious in nature, the age at which children are committing these crimes is becoming younger and younger, and the frequency of assaults is increasing," reports Ronald D. Stephens.

Writing in Safe Schools: A Handbook for Violence Prevention, Stephens argues that developing and implementing a school safety plan is a basic part of creating a school climate conducive to learning, and free of fear.

Stephens says the first step in developing a safe school plan is to establish a planning team made up of a wide array of community stakeholders. Before planning, the team should conduct a safety assessment to determine the needs of the school community and the course that planning will take.

First, the team should determine whether the school has in place an adequate means of maintaining records of on-campus crime. The second component is a site review that includes questions on vandalism, truancy, racial incidents, etc. Third, team members should survey students, teachers, parents, and staff regarding behavioral and safety issues. The fourth component is to talk directly with students, individually and in focus groups. The important thing, the author suggests, is to get the students talking and to establish trust.

Once the team has determined the extent of the problem, it can outline measures that might resolve identified problems, including:

• Establishing a parents' center. Possible activities include helping to supervise trouble spots, visiting classrooms or participating in special events.

• Establishing ongoing professional development and inservice training. This includes training for teachers and principals in classroom management, breaking up fights, and handling disruptive parents and classroom intruders.

• Creating an active student component. Students should be actively involved in their own safety and in safety planning, including learning conflict resolution techniques.

• Establishing a close law enforcement partnership. Bringing officers into contact with children in the early grades allows the officers to establish a sound relationship with students in the school.

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Get help on math, science reform

Want to learn more about math and science reforms? One place to begin is a new software program and paperback guide on using the software, both available from the Annenberg/CPB Project.

Called "The Guide to Math & Science Reform," the primer package was initially offered free (while supplies last) from the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project, P.O. Box 2345, South Burlington, VT 05407-2345; phone 800/965-7373. An updated version will be available for $9.95. Customers must specify Macintosh or MS-DOS/Windows computer format.

The primer is also offered on the Internet at the following World WideWebURL(address) http://www.cpb.org/annenberg/k12mathsci/guide/guide.html

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Booklet a call to action for the future

A new publication, How Students Have Changed: A Call to Action for Our Children's Future, places the children of today in the context of their world and the historical forces that have shaped our country during the past 50 years.

The 40-page booklet includes statistics and information gleaned from interviews and surveys, to help school administrators understand and articulate some of the major factors influencing their students today. It includes the insights of state finalists in the competition for 1994 Superintendent of the Year, as well as psychologists, researchers, authors, teachers, law enforcement officials, business people and others. Their insights can be shared with all these groups, as well as parents in local communities.

It is available for $3.50 for postage and handling (Stock No. 21-00527) from AASA, 1801 N. Moore St., Arlington, VA; 703/875-0748. Bulk orders are available.

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Report urges conflict resolution

While violence seems to be growing rampant among today's young people, it is not easy to pinpoint the exact source of hostile attitudes. What is clear is that schools can help prevent violence.

Ann B. Stephens writes in the recent American Association of School Administrators publication, Conflict Resolution: Learning to Get Along, that although schools cannot be blamed for the growth of hostilities, they are one of the most logical places to tackle problems associated with conflict. With their ties to community resources and access to students who need to learn conflict resolution skills, principals and other school leaders are in a unique position to establish and facilitate a system of conflict resolution in their schools.

Schools should take a holistic approach to resolving hostility, Stephens suggests, teaching adults and students the causes of individual and group conflict, and laying out strategies for making peaceful settlements. Schools need to: promote the establishment of a conflict resolution program, including training for adults; take a multidimensional approach, incorporating lessons across the regular curriculum and offering mediation centers and/or counseling; as well as partnerships with business and community organizations; and lectures by police or social service agencies. Conflict Resolution: Learning to Get Along (28 pages; AASA Stock number 21- 00507) is available for $2.50 for single copies, plus $3.50 postage and handling, from AASA, Members/Customer Information Center, 1801 North Moore Street, Arlington, VA 22209-9988. Phone: 703/875-0748. Fax: 703/841-1543.

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The Small Schools Workshop at the University of Illinois Chicago has released a report summarizing a "compelling" body of research which indicates that students perform better in smaller schools. Small schools offer intimate learning communities and have been shown to boost grades, standardized test scores, student safety, attendance, and dropout reduction efforts, the report said. Small schools also encourage teacher innovation, and are a boon to special needs student services, and the educational performance of nonwhite and female students.

The report, "Small Schools: The Numbers Tell a Story," is free from the Small Schools Workshop, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education, 115 S. Sangamon Street, 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60607; phone 312/413-8066.

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States persist in Goals 2000 reforms

Despite Congressional efforts to slash funding for the federal Goals 2000 program a majority of states are forging ahead with reforms called for in the Goals 2000 agenda. So said a recent report from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

The report found 45 state have instituted or are working to institute the national standards on academic content called for by the Goals 2000 initiative. That number is up from 39 states last year.

State government agencies have made strides, as well, on statewide assessments, according to John MacDonald, the author of the report. MacDonald is the state leadership coordinator for the CCSSO.

Forty-six states have instituted statewide assessments, the report said. Meanwhile 41 states have moved to reorganize state education agencies (SEAs), and 39 have toughened their policies and requirements on teacher preparation.

The Congress has moved to cut funding for the Goals 2000 program, which was the cornerstone of the Bush and Clinton administration's education agendas.

Copies of, "Status Report: State Systemic Education Improvements" are $10 from the Council of Chief State School Officers. Contact CCSSO, Publications, 1 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001; 202/336-7016.

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School breakfasts relatively rare

Illinois ranks 41st among the 50 states in offering morning meals at school under the federal school breakfast program, a national study has determined. The participation rate in Illinois is growing at about the national average.

Roughly 1,900 Illinois schools now offer federally subsidized school breakfasts, up from 1,509 last year. Participating schools serve breakfasts to about 26 percent of the students eligible. To be eligible for free or reduced price breakfasts under the program, students at participating schools must reside in homes with incomes no greater than 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

The report, "The School Breakfast Scorecard, 5th Edition," was issued by the Food Research and Action Center. For more information contact the Center at 202/986-2200.

To learn more about beginning a subsidized breakfast program, call the Illinois State Board of Education at 800/545-7892.

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Schooling pays dividends

People with more education rely less on welfare and public assistance, reports the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Education Department.

In 1992, 17 percent of high school dropouts ages 25 to 34 received AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) or public assistance. Only 6 percent of the high school graduates in that age group who did not go to college received AFDC or public assistance.

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