Saturday, December 29, 2007

Eau Claire property tax analysis

Folks,

Bob Schwartz, an EC resident who loves data and does lots of analysis has put together a pretty interesting analysis of EC property tax data over the years. You can look it over at the following site:

http://www.bobschwartz.us/node/46

Happy New Year to all!

Maria

Dec. 18, 2008 Work Session on the BUDGET

FYI: This special work session was not well attended by BOE members or staff. Absent were: Comm. Bollinger, Kneer, Craig, G. Butler, Patti Iverson and Jim Kling.

The presentation began with another sobering presentation by Mr. VandeWater about the 5 year budget projections. At the VERY BEST the ECASD faces 5 years of budget shortfalls beginning in school year 08-09 of $1.3 mill., $2.2 mill, $2.9 mill., $4.2 mill., and $5.8 million dollars!!! The 5 year total for this OPTIMISTIC scenario is $16.3 million. This does not include ANYTHING for Facilities or Technology. By varying percentage increases for salaries and benefits or Purchased Services to more likely increases the projected shortfalls increase dramatically and could be closer to $38.2 MILLION over 5 years. All BOE members in attendance were appropriately sobered by this information. (I digress: WHY was this simple accounting exercise NOT done in the past several years???)

(I apologize for the annoying capitalization but I hope readers get the idea that this is real, it is now and it is not going away.)

BOE members held a lengthy discussion for soliciting community input and ultimately support to address this situation. Dr. Leary was not present for the presentations by the outside consulting firms in June who offered a couple of different options for this activity. The cost of hiring professionals would be in the neighborhood of $10,000. It was suggested that the ECASD could seek out a community sponsor for such an activity. Dr. Leary is meeting on Jan. 3rd with Don Liftow (sp?) of School Perceptions to refine the needs of the ECASD. He commented that he only had Comm. Craig's copy of the presentation materials. (Again, WHY was he not given a FULL COPY of all 3 presenters' material from Dr. Klaus who left the week after the presentations??? Is this stuff simple or is it me?)

Comm. Faanes seemed very animated and committed to having the ECASD put together a framework of our needs and then have them respond to our needs. In addition, he said that we should ask about their ability to turn around the request. Excellent! Ken, we need a lot more of your wisdom and participation to get this process activated and pointed in the right direction and moving forward. Comm. Wogahn lapsed back into his "anecdotal mindset" and went on at length about his church conducting a survey with the bottom line being: "Hire a professional." Pres. O'Brien indicated that the participation of the prior committee for the failed referendum (Save our Schools) could be explored. My comment: that was such a hasty hack job that we should not even bother unless certain individuals from the committee have expertise that we can still use now.

Mr. Van de Water then presented a summary of Facilities needs that are still being postponed. Mr. Charlie Kramer indicated that the annual funding for facilities maintenance should be approx. $2.2 million but we have only funded $600,000 in the last few years so that is in a major deficit and building every year. In all, the facilities needs could be $33 million in today's dollars. Mr. Van de Water indicated that his theory is to support annual maintenance and operations and then use bond money for long term capital items.

Comm. Cummins asked when the BOE could schedule a discussion on the capital needs because she still sees some facility items that are simply out of the question that are still on the list. Mr. Van de Water indicated that just because it is on the list does not mean it has the same priority as other items. Mr. V. indicated that due to the declining schedule of past bond issues that the ECASD is in a good position to take on additional debt and continue to have a declining debt schedule. Two alternatives: 1.) borrow a lot of money less often or, 2.)borrow less money more often. He prefers option #2 becuase option #1 does not allow you to re-prioritize as the federal rules of arbitrage require the $'s to be spent of the money earned on interest must be refunded. IF the community would support smaller referenda every few years the ECASD would be better able to manage the projects and priorities. We would need solid justification for each item to get community support.

Comm. Cummins again re-iterated the need to have facility funding linked to programming needs as well as ongoing requests for referenda money would put pressure on legislators to reform the school funding formulas. Pres. O'Brien indicated that rates are low now so maybe we should borrow more $ now. Dan V. reminded him that organizations, just like homeowners, can refinance when interest rates drop. "So we are a little behind the curve here already..." YUP.

Mr. V. put up a possible schedule of election dates and a proposed timeline for communities considering a referendum. The timeline indicated that this discussion begins NO LATER THAN 180 days PRIOR to the election, unlike the 5 week crash and burn program we had last April. This generated a lot of discussion about potential advantages and disadvantages of holding a referendum during a regular fall election when turnout is higher vs. Spring elections or special elections. Dr. Leary indicated that naming the committee is important. Something like "the Committee for Quality Education" is good. (You mean better than SOS(?!?!) which implies that we need the taxpayers to rescue our district?) All members agreed that an April '08 date was not possible which means that the need to cut $2.8 million out of the '08-'09 budget must occur. Comm. Cummins was conserned about the effect of another round of reductions and if a Sept. 08 primary date would be reasonable. Mr. V said it would be "problematic" because of the deadlines for staffing decisions. She indicated that the district was planning to use $3.4 million of the fund balance last year that was not required and maybe that should be a consideration while a community supported referendum is prepared. Mr. V. was concerned about this approach as the Fund Balance is a finite resource. Preferable would be to "reduce the scope of our operation and live within the budget."

Another lengthy discussion about controlling health insurance costs ensued with Comm. Faanes asking how other districts manage these costs. Mr. V. : "I don't know." Dr. Leary commented that the Chippewa Falls district is self insured. This area has lots of possibility for analysis, in my opinion. Comm. Cummins final comment: We need to go back and add teachers not cut more of them.

There was an abbreviated discussion about alternative funding sources such as Naming Rights, etc....Pres. O'Brien said it would be good to explore this but cautioned about the need to not exploit students. There could also be some advertising in school newsletters but, again, caution is warranted. Comm. Faanes cited examples at Carson Park, Hobbs Field, and the gym floor in Stillwater being "sponsored". Comm. Wogahn went on at length about not allowing tobacco products or Coca Cola "although Coke did give my wife a scholarship." (!?!?)

Comm. Cummins noted that it was interesting that all the examples they discussed were for sports and that that would indicate that community funding of athletics is much more feasible than sponsors being willing to fund classes for French or other academic subjects.

Adjourn!!

Dec. 17, 2007 BOE Meeting

I was unable to attend this session so Adam Shiel, who is a faithful presence at most BOE meetings, took notes and passed them on to me to post on the blog. Thank you, Adam!

Maria

12/17/2007 Working Session
Review proposed ECASD Charter School Policy.

The proposed policy can be found at

http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/charterschoolpolicy/charterpolicystatement.pdf
This is a summary and omits some of the debate and isn’t in chronological order.
Both Commissioners Cummins and Keener didn’t like point 8. Cummins had gotten several emails saying it would be nice for every other school to have this too and wouldn’t be fair for the charter schools to have an inside track to the school board. This point was dropped from the policy.
Commissioner Cummins thought that point 6 was too vague. Mr. Van De Water suggested changing the wording to “opportunity for resources.” The intent is to have program driven budgeting, which means funding can vary from year to year depending on the needs of the program.

Point 7, regarding providing transportation, was the subject of a lot of debate. Commissioner Faanes was concerned about committing the district to a large financial obligation in the future. There was some discussion as to if transportation would be provided at all, since open enrollment students are required to provide their own transportation. The consensus was that transportation should be provided since it excludes the part of the population that can’t provide their own transportation and charter schools provide a different educational opportunity than a conventional school, where as open enrollment students are choosing between the same program offered at different schools. Deputy Superintendent Buttler recommended that policy say that the area of enrollment for charter schools be the entire district. This wording would cause the least disturbance to the existing transportation policies.

For reference, state law required parochial students to be transported by the district at tax payer expense.
Two items were referred to the administration: have the proposed charter school contract template be reviewed and to verify with DPI as to whether the BoE should be able to appoint members of the charter school boards.

At the end of the meeting there was a brief discussion of some of the charter school guidelines produced by the committee (Not online, as best I can tell), but time ran out and the board needed to have a brief closed session.




12/17/2007 Regular school board meeting

Meeting came to order.
Announcement from close session: four points of Dr. Klauss’ contract were clarified, all retirement related. The rest of the contract remains intact.
There was report on the Flynn Elementary Responsive Classroom. The principal Kim Hill and 3rd grade teacher Amy Detrick gave an overview of the program and demonstration with part of Ms. Detrick class. I’m not sure I can do justice in this space – contact me if you’re interested.

Announcements:
1. Winter break from December 22, 2007 until January 1, 2008.

2. School board nomination papers are due January 2.

3. The appointment of a school board member to the Montessori Board was skipped due to discussion in the previous working meeting.

Deputy Superintendent’s Report:
1. The central office is closed December 24, 25, and 31, as well as January 1.

2. The district received an award for excellence in teacher induction. There were twelve districts in the state given this award. The four criteria used for judging were the support to, the mentoring program, orientation activities, and seminars provided to new teachers. This work is done almost exclusively by current teachers.

Superintendent’s report:
1. Received a request from the Institute for Wisconsin Future for a date to meet with the ECASD BoE, county board, and city board to discuss options and ideas for revenue generation. The other two groups have agreed to meet on January 17th from about 4 to 5PM privately with a public meeting the next day. No site has been chose yet. The public session with be a forum for asking questions and sharing ideas.

2. WASB superintendent search update. The board will review credentials of candidates January 28 and 29, possibly extending to the 30th if needed. Need to choose six. Board members can come in on their own to review the credentials, but the credentials are not available to the public. Interviews will then be in the second week in February. Just for reference, there are 12-15 other districts in Wisconsin looking for superintendents.
No public comments.
Minutes and employment report approved.

Financial report from 7/1/2007 to 11/30/2007 approved.

Payment of bills and net payroll for November, 2007 approved.

Approved motion to extend administrators contracts. This was for the 09-10 school year. It didn’t include financial terms, and I’m not sure it included a commitment for a specific job. There was some concern by a couple board members that this was so far in the future and would limit options for reducing administrative positions. By the current contracts, layoff notifications for 08-09 would have to be given by Jan 1, 2008. With the current contracts, one full time position could be eliminated after the contracts were approved. There are also three probationary principals that could contractually be eliminated.
Approving the contracts doesn’t prevent the restructuring of the administration, but it sounds like any positions eliminated would have to be paid through the end of the contract or some separation package would have to be negotiated.

Adjourned to committee meeting.
Approved three year contracts with the cooks and custodians. There were minor changes to each contract, but the most significant was the increase in salary and benefits (aka total package) the groups agreed to. Both agreed to increase

2.5% for 07-08

3.6% for 08-09

3.6% for 09-10
Both groups had previously approved the contracts, so these are now in effect. Back payments should be made by the end of the year. Commissioner Craig noted that these were below the QEO. President O’Brien thanked the groups for their cooperation.

Discussed public input policy.
1. There’s still a 30 minute limit

2. Community members will be allowed to ask questions, request clarification, or request relevant information from the board after board discussion of “items for discussion”.
3. Language allowing public to provide relevant information as removed.
Needs assessment update will be going up on the web site along with a note of how the data was collected and how to interpret it.

Discussion of community survey:
1. Have talked with two groups that do phone surveys of registered voters in the district.
2. One (and maybe both) would survey 400 people for a confidence interval of +/- 4.5%
3. It’s likely the board would develop the questions to use, but not sure what the right number of questions to use is. Lacross put their survey results up on the web so that might be a useful resource.

4. Not sure on the timeline.
Presentation of staffing decisions at high schools, by the principals (Tim Leibham and Dave Valk? Sorry – I didn’t get their names). The presentation was extensive, and I’m not sure my description here is going to do it justice. Feel free to post corrections, or pass them to me and I’ll try to get them posted.
1. Registration runs from October to December. Staffing decisions are from December to February.
2. 228 courses are offered, the same at each high school. Course changes can be made until sometime in October.

3. After the have enrollment, the principals start with the classes with the smallest enrollments that can’t be combined. I’m not sure exactly when they stop.
4. Then generate staffing sheets. Average class size is now 27, up from 25 previously.
5. There was some concern on the board about a “consumer driven” approach to what classes were run. There hasn’t been any revision in this scheduling system in at least 15 years (when one of the principals joined. He hasn’t done it any other way).

Legislative update
1. A study comparing public versus private school results was published. Both types of schools produced the same results

2. Head start has been reapproved. Eligibility has been increased to 130% of the poverty level from 100%.
The Clear Vision community planning group will meet again January 3 and 24.

Communication to the Superintendent/Board President

1. The public comment session for the Little Red study group will be January 3.
Adjourned to closed session.

Dec. 3, 2007 BOE meeting

On Dec. 3rd at 5:30 p.m. there was a special Work Session held to review the Needs Assessment Survey results. You can go to this blog and click on the Label of Needs Assessment to see the original survey document. This was a list of 112 items that were used to survey the following groups and determine priorities for our district. The survey was completed by the 7 members of the BOE (note their responses were given a double dose of priority for scoring so it looks like there were 14 responses), 14 top administrators in the district, 16 elementary employees, 19 secondary employees and the 22 members of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC). Items were ranked by priority (#1 being the highest priority) and also scored as to their perceived cost (high or low) and whether or not their implementation would involve Management effort. The results of the top 60 items is posted on the ECASD website (transparency!) at the following links:

Interpreting the Survey: http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/distinfo/SurveyReview.pdf
Survey Results: http://www.ecasd.k12.wi.us/distinfo/SurveywithPAC.pdf

The results were extremely "tight" in that the responses across the groups (BOE, PAC, Admin, etc...) all prioritized the top 15 responses in approx. the same way. Dr. Leary commented that the top 15 items could be broken down into 4 "clusters" in that 5 were related to money, 5 were related to students, 3 were related to schools and the community and 2 were process oriented. The top 30 priorities had 10 related to money, 8 related to students, 5 to school and community relations and 7 related to the process. Dr. Leary said that this "tightness" of response is not common with this number of stakeholders. (So, at least we can stop fighting about what might be priorities and start working on them!)

Comm. Cummins commented that there is some spread between the BOE and the rest of the district and Comm. Bollinger responded that the top 20 responses are "normalized" and it would be scary if everyone was in lock step. There was some discussion about the responses not really including the "community" to which Dr. Leary replied that is was "not possible to get reliable data." Also, I was not certain if the responses from the elementary and secondary groups included teaching and other staff members. Comm. Wogahn indicated that it would be interesting to see the top 60 items put out to the community and maybe distill responses to get the community's top 12 or 15 items. Comm. Craig indicated that Dr. Leary did not want to venture beyond an "internal" assessment at this time so "Now what?" Dr. Leary indicated that a series of 10 to 12 questions could be developed before a referendum went forward to assure that the priorities align with community support. A lengthy discussion followed about whether or not to go back to the Comprehensive Community Planning presenters who had expertise in such matters. BOE members seemed to be in agreement that reliable community data was important enough to use professionals.

Work Session adjourned.

Regular Meeting of the BOE called to order.

No action from Closed Session reported by Pres. O'Brien. NOTE: The ongoing closed session Agenda item labelled "Compensation Issue Involving District Employee" has been the source of much outrageous speculation. Immediately prior to attending the Work Session detailed above I received an amazing phone call from our former Superintendent, Dr. Klaus, who attempted to explain the situation to me. The only comment from my husband (who heard the phone conversation as well) is straight from the movie "The Big Lebowski": "Dude, new s*#t has come to light." Much more on this to come.

More announcements about other Work Sessions scheduled on Dec 17th and 18th, the dates of the schools Winter Break and WASB convention.

Dr. Leary's report consisted of an update on the Superintendent search which he characterized as "either the most popular or least wanted position" in the state since there are so many districts on the hunt. Dennis Richards from WASB will do a statewide compensation analysis. The ECASD position will be posted starting today until the deadline of Jan 18th. Comm. Craig commented that based on the salary data she looked at the wages are phenomenal and quite intimidating for a district like Eau Claire. Then there was an announcement that the ECASD has been honored by some organization for their Annual Report.

Public Comments: Gretchen Beckstrom, a teacher at Northstar and North HS extended an invitation to BOE members to come and visit classrooms. She noted that Commissioners Craig and Cummins are planning to attend and hoped others would choose to visit as well.

A couple of people (Todd Pauls and Dr. Dwight Watson) were appointed to the Montessori Charter School Board.

Jim Kling indicated that the Administrator contracts must be extended for the 08-09 and 09-10 school years. Comm. Craig had a few questions about how this approval might be affected if budget reductions are needed in this area. Kling responded that the Board is approving the position, not the $ amount.

There was a discussion about the Public Input guidelines that Comm. Craig asked to modify to allow citizens to ask clarifying questions after a presentation or discussion (not an action item). Mr. O'Brien indicated that if BOE members agreed they could modify the guidelines that night and then approve. Comm. Cummins noted that the Montessori discussion was respectful and open. Mr. Kling indicated that that was a "Report to the Board". Comm. Craig indicated that her motion would include Reports to the Board as well as Action and Discussion items. Members decided to rework it and bring it back next meeting.

Legislative Issues as reported by Pres. O'Brien included the information that sales tax revenue is down and counties and cities depend on that for their budgets. However since Gov. Doyle is very "pro" education he could help in some way. (Sorry that I am a really bad secretary!) On a federal level, Pres. Bush vetoed funding for Labor and Health and Human Services so if there is no override there is a lot of money lost for Special Ed., Title I and services to the poor.

Comm. Cummins gave an update on the Clear Vision Planning process and said they are doing the community "scan" of trends and conditions. Lots of information on the web at: clearvision eauclaire.org

She said that the region is experiencing only 1% growth and enrollment projections are only approx. 500 students in the next 10 years. The population is becoming more elderly and there is uneven growth with the south and west sides of EC growing more than others. The top employers in the community were Menards and the ECASD and also UWEC and CVTC were in the top 10. But only ECASD depends on the voters for money. Also our community has higher than average poverty levels. None of these indicators bode well for additional $'s for the district.

Comm. Bollinger asked that Board Docs be a future agenda item and he asked about an update on the Little Red committee (isn't Comm. Bollinger on that committee??). Comm. Craig said that they are done gathering info. and have met 5 times and can't just view Little Red in a vacuum since there are so many other impacts on the south and west sides of the city. She said they will begin deliberations on Dec. 6th, have follow up discussions on Dec. 13th and on Jan. 3rd there will be a Public Hearing. Comm. Craig indicated that she has been very impressed with the quality of the conversations and that final action on this will be no later than Feb. 4, 2008. All meetings are open to the public and comments can be made on the link on the ECASD website. Pres. O'Brien thanked her and all the participants for their hard work.

Adjourn!

Friday, December 7, 2007

High School Reform

This is an article from my college alumni magazine, The Carleton College Voice. How can we begin this discussion here in the ECASD? Comm. Cummins has brought it up multiple times at the BOE Meetings but it never goes beyond that. Anybody out there who would like to begin to make some of these changes here in Eau Claire?

Maria

Redefining the American High School

By Elizabeth Larsen
Designed for a different era and economy, our outdated high schools are leaving far too many young people ill equipped to face the future. But a growing trend shows promise: Educators and communities are creating dynamic learning environments designed to prepare all students for success in today's world.

In Rebel without a Cause, Grease, The Breakfast Club, and other movies, the iconic American high school is portrayed as an institution where the smart get smarter and those who struggle take shop or drop out. When language arts teacher Jennifer Budenski '94--who currently teaches at the Hopkins Alternative Program in Hopkins, Minnesota--started teaching at a suburban Twin Cities high school in 1998, she realized that this is not just a Hollywood plot device.

"The curriculum seemed to prepare the talented students for college and to house the other kids," Budenski says, referring to the school's one- to four-star rating system that spelled out which courses were for the brains and which courses were for kids who simply were trying to graduate. "Struggling students would sign up only for one- or two-star classes because they were choosing the easiest possible way to get through high school. But then they were bored and often would get in trouble. The system was most damaging to the kids who didn't have the family support, value system, and experience to choose to challenge themselves."

The result can be a bleak future for the young people who fall through the cracks. As the gateway to college, the workplace, and life, American high schools must prepare students to succeed in a global economy and to become responsible citizens. Whether they go on to college or join the workforce, all young people need basic analytical and communication skills. To develop these skills, high schools must not only stay in step with the innovations and changes in the culture at large but also nurture students' ability to interact with others productively and respectfully.

In the past, many states didn't track those outcomes adequately. But since 2005, when the National Governors Association adopted a common formula to measure graduation rates, the quality of state data is improving. The facts we now know are sobering: The United States has one of the lowest graduation rates in the industrialized world. A 2006 report states that each year almost one-third of U.S. high school students drop out, and nearly 50 percent of African American, Hispanic, and Native American kids never get their diplomas. Those who drop out are at greater risk than their peers to be unemployed, live in poverty, receive public assistance, go to prison, and become single parents of children who themselves drop out of high school.

Those who do graduate, both top-performing and average students, complain that their education is not challenging or relevant to their interests. Nationally, more than a quarter of high school graduates who continue on to college have to take remedial courses in their first year, and some students find themselves ineligible for appropriate post secondary education because they failed to take prerequisite courses.

The failure of high schools to prepare students adequately for college is one reason the United States also is falling behind other industrialized nations in the percentage of young adults with a college degree. And the number of engineering, math, and science degrees awarded in the United States has declined by about a third since 1960, threatening our nation's ability to satisfy the demands of an expanding economy.

The ranks of Carleton alumni are filled with large numbers of high school teachers and administrators. Those we spoke with have much to say about the state of America's high schools, and they are invested in finding solutions to this crisis.

The Dropout Epidemic
Joe Nathan '70

Title: Director of the Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota
Skills Set: “Research has shown that participation in what we call extracurricular activities—debate, drama, journalism, speech, music, or the arts—is a key factor in predicting success as an adult. By relegating these activities to after school, we downgrade their importance in developing life skills. They should be integrated into what we do in the mainstream day of a high school.”

Education policy experts have their own perspective on why so many students fail to graduate. "There is a myth that suburban high schools are doing a great job," says Joe Nathan '70, director of the Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. "In many cases they are doing a good job with the top 20 to 25 percent of students. But the current structure of high school was designed when we did not expect all students to graduate with strong skills because many middle-class jobs required only a high school diploma. Today many schools operate much like they did 15 to 20 years ago, even though most middle- and upper-income jobs now require at least some education beyond high school."

Nathan says these problems are compounded by the fact that many educators believe that there is relatively little they can do with students from low-income and troubled families, despite numerous examples of schools that are producing terrific results with such students. (See sidebar on page 36.) "In too many cases, educators have not had the opportunity to learn about schools that have been successful with low-income and limited-English-speaking students," says Nathan. "Teacher and administrator preparation programs sometimes contain too much theory and not enough practice. Educators often comment that they wish they had learned more about how to manage and motivate students."

Another challenge facing high schools, says Nathan, is the fact that our society gives more acclaim to sports stars than to those with academic or artistic accomplishments. This gives young people the wrong messages about what's important.

That assessment rings true to Jane Youngquist Berliss '68, an English teacher at the United Nations International School in New York City. "The United States doesn't value teaching," she says. "Every teacher has heard 'Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.' Therefore, it is difficult to attract teachers and, because our salaries are so low, many teachers can't afford to stay in the profession."

And what do the dropouts themselves have to say? In a recent report on perspectives of high school dropouts, students cited a number of reasons for not finishing school, including family challenges, a need to make money, and having a baby. But many students also said their school experience failed to interest or inspire them.

Time for a Change

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says American high schools are in need of a serious overhaul. "Training the workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It's the wrong tool for the time," he told the nation's governors at the National Education Summit on High Schools in February 2005.

In an effort to spur innovation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested more than $1.5 billion to improve high school education since 2000, including support for more than 1,800 high schools around the country. The money is aimed primarily at redesigning the "one size fits all" model of enormous, district-wide high schools. Grants fund the start-up of new, smaller schools as well as the conversion of large high schools into more personalized learning communities so that families have more options within public school systems.

A recent report on the first seven years of the Gates Foundation's education grantmaking finds that results take root most quickly in new schools, while changes in the expectations and culture of struggling schools happen more slowly because they require the collaborative effort of students, teachers, parents, and leaders. Additional findings show that schools need comprehensive support from their districts to succeed and that supportive federal and state policies are essential for lasting school change. Future grants will focus on expanding the impact of the most promising approaches and solving the remaining problems.

Using funds from the Gates Foundation, the Center for School Change worked with the Cincinnati school district to improve high school graduation rates. After seven years of collaborative effort, the district's graduation rate increased from 51 percent to 79 percent, says Nathan, and the graduation gap between white and African American students, once more than 20 points, has been eliminated. "Cincinnati is not nirvana, and no one is satisfied with a 79 percent high school graduation rate," he says. "But the progress is encouraging."

Despite the challenges, some schools have identified workable solutions, and education reformers are looking to them as models for the future.

The Smaller the Better

Whether by reducing the overall size of schools or by shrinking class size within larger school settings, educators want to create intimate learning communities where teachers and students can develop personal relationships that foster individualized education and accountability. Studies show that students in smaller schools are more motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel safer, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers.

St. Paul Open School English teacher Leo Bickelhaupt '90 endorses the concept of smaller learning communities. For a public school, Open School is small--approximately 400 students in grades K-12. Students call teachers by their first names. Report cards replace traditional letter grades with narrative evaluations in which teachers discuss a student's ability to write a news lead or analyze how Brave New World relates to real life. Each student chooses an adviser, who acts as both homeroom teacher and guidance counselor and has a say in the student's curriculum choices.

"Students don't feel anonymous here," says Bickelhaupt. "We consider our students carefully and on an individual basis, and we think about what they need both academically and emotionally to succeed."

Nathan, who helped start and worked for seven years at the St. Paul Open School, points to considerable evidence that shows that among similar groups of students (comparing urban-urban, suburban- suburban, rural-rural), most students do better in smaller schools.Larger schools--which may offer more amenities, extracurricular activities, and diversity than smaller schools--are fostering intimacy by creating schools within schools. The students at Crosswinds East Metro Arts and Science School in Woodbury, Minnesota, a year-round public school that follows the academically challenging international baccalaureate (IB) program for sixth through tenth grade, are divided into six "houses" that share a gym, auditorium, and cafeteria. The approximately 50 tenth-graders take core curriculum courses with the same four teachers.

Crosswinds drama teacher Tinne Rosenmeier '83 thinks the small-school structure nurtures relationships between students and teachers, which in turn allow teachers to push their students to challenge themselves academically--a key factor when it comes to the rigor of the IB curriculum. "Our students are incredibly focused," she says.
Below the Surface

It's not just size that matters. Reformers insist that in an era when many jobs require analytical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills, high school students must know more than a set of facts about a variety of topics: They need to learn how to explore subjects at greater depth. That's not an easy task when you consider that testing has become paramount to determining a school's success and, ultimately, funding. But even the rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) programs have been called into question because they emphasize breadth over depth. "The National Academy of Sciences has criticized some AP classes for focusing so much on the end-of-course exam," says Nathan. "Some courses are a mile wide and an inch deep. They don't always prepare young people for the challenges they will face in college."

A recent American College Testing program survey shows that nearly two-thirds of college instructors across the country say that state standards prepare students poorly. College instructors expect deeper understanding of fundamental skills in a few key disciplines--such as math basics, science process and inquiry, reading proficiency, and basic grammar and usage--while high school teachers tend to emphasize knowledge of specific content across a broader range of skills and topics.

Social studies teacher Amie DeHarpporte '95 supports this challenge to motivate her upper middle school students to think independently and do more than the rote work necessary to earn an A. At the Blake School in Minneapolis, a private college preparatory school, DeHarpporte and several of her colleagues embrace a pedagogy called Teaching for Understanding, an approach that forgoes the memorization of dates, facts, and minutiae in exchange for deeper conceptual understanding of big ideas, themes, concepts, and skills.

"What you have to do is go deep instead of broad," she explains. In her ninth-grade world cultures class, DeHarpporte has thrown out large chunks of the traditional curriculum in favor of a yearlong course organized around the theme of conflict and compromise. "We look at examples of conflict--from the conflict between Islam and the West to the ethnic struggles in South Africa and Tibet--and ask big questions: What are the roots of conflict? Why can't we get along? What would enable people to reach solutions? What can we do to get along better?" DeHarpporte's students know their way around an essay test, but they also earn marks by simulating South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission or by running a peace conference.

"At the end of the year, we will be able to give the students a new conflict that they know nothing about, and they will be able to research it, ask intelligent questions, and draw conclusions about why it occurred and how to solve it," says DeHarpporte. "That is the test of true understanding--when you can approach a novel situation and conquer it in an intelligent way."

The concept of in-depth exploration is taking off in some public schools. At Boston Arts Academy, which specializes in the arts, and the School of Environmental Studies, located at the Minnesota Zoo, and High Tech High in San Diego, students learn critical thinking skills by pursuing their interests.

"Many high school kids don't see much connection between their school's curriculum and the world in which they live," says Nathan. "The majority of kids who graduate from specialized schools don't go on to pursue careers in the arts or zoology or biology. But the schools engage students in something that interests them and allows them to broaden their skills and knowledge."

Nathan endorses programs that allow students to explore their personal interests while they're learning how to research, analyze, and organize data. But he also notes that there are some things that all teenagers need to know "to be active citizens in our society. For example, they should understand the evolution of American history, key struggles, and debates over things like civil rights and liberties, both resolved and unresolved."

It Still Takes a Village

In an age when emotional intelligence is essential not only to land a job but also to live a happier life, communication skills matter. "We don't have enough going on in high schools to help students learn how they can make a difference in the world and work cooperatively with other people," says Nathan. To that end, he advocates putting public high schools not on self-contained campuses but in multipurpose facilities that informally connect schools with social services, day care centers, nursing homes, and even businesses. Shared facilities not only support students' emotional and physical needs but also give them opportunities to interact with people of different ages in a community setting.

While it's not part of a multipurpose facility, Loudon Valley High School in the small town of Purcellville, Virginia, has the community support that Nathan envisions. "The school is a rallying point for the town," says Susan Ross '80, Loudon Valley's principal. Ross credits the community's high level of support and involvement for the fact that 80 percent of Loudon Valley students go on to college. Elderly community members attend football games and plays. High school students mentor kids at the local elementary schools. "Our school is a point of civic pride, and that pride translates to the students," says Ross. "Our coaches and teachers make it very clear to the kids that they are representing the school to a wide variety of people in a variety of situations."

While Loudon Valley is successful in preparing its students for college, staff members don't overlook the kids who choose a different path. To make sure those students graduate with skills that make them employable, Loudon Valley gives juniors and seniors the option to take classes at the district's technology center, where they can study anything from prenursing to baking to automotive repair skills. The center also offers on-site programs in prearchitecture, small-business ownership, and graphic design, which allow postsecondary students to forgo a four-year degree in favor of a two-year option.

The strategy addresses the reality of the current economy. "The high-paying, low-skill jobs that were outsourced to other countries probably will not be coming back to the United States," says Nathan. "Therefore, some education beyond high school is critical if people want a middle-class life. A student's goal should not be just to graduate from high school, but to prepare for some sort of postsecondary education, whether it's a four-year or a two-year program." Ross agrees: "These programs help students understand that what they're learning will apply to life after high school," she says.

Although schools that embrace the Loudon Valley model exist in districts nationwide, they are few and far between. Experts say the key to fixing the high school crisis in the United States is to ensure that all young people receive the best education possible. And that means educators, communities, and legislators must be willing to think creatively and strategically about how to serve an increasingly diverse population and meet the challenges facing our nation in the future.

According to Gates, "The success of one school is not an answer to this crisis. You have to be able to make systems of schools work for all students. . . . If we can focus on three steps--high standards for all, public data on our progress, turning around failing schools--we will go a long way toward ensuring that all students have a chance to make the most of their lives."

America can't afford to settle for less.

Elizabeth Larsen is a freelance writer who lives in Minneapolis.

KIPP It in the Budd

Education reformers say it's time to retool American middle schools, too.

Kelly Wright '96 was teaching fifth grade at a San Diego public elementary school when she learned that 0 percent of the students at the local middle school had passed the state aptitude test. "That alarmed me because it meant that all of the hard work we had been doing [in grade school] would be lost once our kids got to middle school," says Wright.

Wright's solution was to found the KIPP Adelante Preparatory Academy, a charter school in San Diego for grades five to eight that is free and open to all students who apply. The instructional program is based on the success of the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) model, a national network of free, open-enrollment public schools in underfunded communities whose mission is to put students on the college track.

KIPP was founded in 1994 when two teachers launched a fifth-grade public school program in inner-city Houston after completing their commitment to Teach for America. In 2000 the teachers formed a partnership with the founders of Gap Inc. to replicate the success of the original KIPP Academies across the country through the nonprofit KIPP Foundation. Currently, 57 KIPP public schools in 17 states and the District of Columbia enroll more than 14,000 students.

Begun in 2003, KIPP Adelante takes the view that sweating the small stuff prevents larger problems down the road. KIPP students wear uniforms. They walk to class in single-file lines. Homework planners have to be signed by a parent or guardian every night. No junk food is allowed on the premises.

Visitors comment on how calm the school is, Wright says. That atmosphere allows teachers and students to focus on learning instead of discipline. The 7:30-to-5:00 school day provides time for enrichment classes as well as a mandatory foreign language program and a string orchestra. An end-of-the-year trip to San Francisco or another city combines sightseeing with tours of local colleges.

The KIPP formula--based on the principle that all students can achieve when schools set high expectations, demand results, and provide opportunities for students to excel--is working. When the school's first eighth-grade class graduated last spring, 47 percent went on to local college preparatory high schools and 43 percent earned scholarships and other financial aid to attend high-performing schools outside their districts. "We have tried to create a small, supportive atmosphere where it is okay to work hard and care about your studies," says Wright. "Our students feel safe here, and they can be who they want to be."

--E.L.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Early Childhood Education

Excerpt from a recent press release by
the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families

For a pdf file of the complete report with charts and graphs go to
http://www.wccf.org/pdf/making_the_grade.pdf


The last quarter century of research on brain development
suggests that the nurturing and learning
experiences available in the first few years play a
strong role in shaping a child's development. Babies are
born with a remarkable intrinsic ability to learn. The foundation
for a child's intellect, personality and skills is established
in the first five years. Today, a vast majority of
Wisconsin's children under the age of six have all parents
in the workforce, and early care and education have become
a routine part of many children's young lives.
A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that investing
in the education of our youngest learners may be
one of the most promising ways to prepare children for
school and strengthen the future economic position of
states and the nation.

A series of longitudinal studies have
established that high quality early education is a cost-effective
investment, yielding the highest returns when children
from disadvantaged backgrounds are targeted. The
largest expense in any early care and education program,
and the one that research has shown has the most significant
impact, is human resources: the adults who guide and
teach young children.

Why do we think teacher qualifications are the key to
quality? Researchers have found that education and training
of the adults who guide children's development in out of-
home settings changes the way they relate to children.
They are more responsive to children, provide active learning
experiences, interact more, focus on each child's
progress, and intentionally design their programs to enhance
healthy development and learning.
It makes sense to expect that better educated teachers have
more knowledge and skills to individualize lesson plans and
analyze and solve problems. Better-educated teachers are
likely to expose children to a richer vocabulary and to provide more
stimulating learning activities and environments.
Most studies have found that teachers with two- or
four-year degrees, combined with specialized training in
early childhood development, provide significantly higher
levels of quality for children in their care, as measured by
positive interactions with children and stimulating learning
environments.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Nov. 19, 2007 BOE Meting

The Nov. 19th BOE meeting opened with an announcement about Closed Session that 2 North HS students were expelled.

There is also a WASB convention in January and School Board election paperwork will be available after December 1st.

Dept. Sup. Butler announced that there is no school on the Wed., Thurs., and Friday of Thanksgiving week. Also some announcement about WAHPERD (some statewide group about Physical Education and Health?) gave a teaching award to a Delong teacher. Dr. Leary recently attended the Real Life Academy and was VERY IMPRESSED with the process and the support from the community. Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes and P. Iverson also attended.

Interesting note on the approval of the budget: Pres. O'Brien and Comm. Faanes abstained from voting (because their spouses are ECASD district employees but Comm. Kneer approved the expenditures even though she, herself, is a district employee. Go figure.

There was a very comprehensive report to the BOE froom the Montessori Charter School (Todd Johnson, Principal, Johanna W., staff and Maureen McGraith, parent). There was an Annual Report for audience members to review. I am NOT a Montessori expert but the group did a good job in laying out the Goals for the program, the Student Assessment, Program Assessment Measures and Accomplishments. I am unable to know if these are reasonable Goals and Measures for a Montessori Charter School or not. It was clear that retaining students for the upper grades is a concern as there seemed to be only a couple of 4th and 5th graders who have stayed with the Charter School. BOE members had several questions concerning teacher attrition, the expense of teacher training, transitioning Montessori students to middle school, Special Education services and the screening process used for students.

Following the Montessori presentation was an update to the Board from the Head Start Program by Paula Wainscott. Again, a very comprehensive handout was included for audience members. Again, I am not an expert but I found the report to be very informative and staffed by very dedicated professionals who care deeply about the children and families they work with. Of course, inadequate funding is an issue. There was a brief digression to the EC4 Tomorrow (4 year old kindergarten) program which is limited to 4 year olds who are already in a daycare setting and have adequate transportation which can be a barrier to participation. Pres. O'Brien thanked the presenters and board members expressed their appreciation as well.



Other updates: No update for the Clear Vision process. Comm. Craig expressed her concern that the district realistically assesses when a discussion about referendum could be held. Dr, Leary indicated that at the Dec. 3rd meeting he will report on the Internal Needs Assessment process. Also Budget discussions are beginning for Operations, Facilities, etc... Comm. Craig indicated that the district is looking at an additional $5 to $6 million in cuts over the next 3 years and there is NO PROCESS in place to involve the community.

Pres. O'Brien indicated that there will be a Charter meeting on Dec. 17th and G. Butler indicated that Board Policy revisions will be discussed Jan. 21st. Other meetings on Dec. 18th from 6:30 to 8:30 and Dec. 17th from 5:30 to 7 before the regular BOE meeting. I think people should check the ECASD website for topics and times of these meetings as it was pretty confusing with so many times and dates flying around.

Comm. Craig indicated that the Parent Advisory Council has a new brochure and that the Montessori Charter School is now a member of PAC.

Adjourn!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Oct. 22, 2007 Budget Hearing and Regular BOE Meeting

On October 22, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. there was a special Public Hearing about the 2007-08 budget. The meeting began with Mr. Van de Water presenting a comprehensive Power Point overview of the annual budget process which began on Oct. 6, 2006 with the information that the ECASD would be facing a $7.6 million shortfall in the next school year. In Feb. 2007 the BOE proposed cutting only $2.1 million and asking for $21.6 million for the next 3 years to cover operations. In April 2007 the referendum failed and the reductions were made. Mr. Van de Water also went through the revenue components of the budget and some expenditure comparisons. He also reviewed the tax levy process. The audience had copies of the presentation as well as a very informative Executive Summary including many supporting schedules. For those who would choose to inform themselves about the process, this information was valuable and extremely well done.

Public comment consisted of JoEllen Burke noting that the decision "to raise class size" signified a loss of more than 40 teaching positions and G. Butler added that total staff cuts were 60 positions. Ms. Burke indicated the need to address the state funding formula. She also encouraged BOE members to visit schools and classrooms and see all the good things that are happening and that teachers and staff are very appreciative of such visits.

I stood up and thanked Mr. Van de Water and noted that the cuts were damaging to students, teachers, parents and the community. I also expressed my concern that the reduction process did not seem to address and educational priorities and that the high school cuts were based on nothing more than class enrollments. I thanked them for the open process being used for the Little Red Study Committee and that information, meetings, minutes and the ability for the public to comment is all accessible via the website.

Comm. Cummins asked about the process for re-prioritizing such as funding the changes approved b the BOE for kindergarten. Mr. O'Brien commented that we are fortunate to have Mr. Van de Water and that the whole process is much better and more understandable. (My question: "So why didn't you ask questions and get the information you needed in the past?") He also claimed that re-prioritization has been occurring in that they have discussed what to cut. Comm. Cummins said that she has not seen it in the 2 years she has been on the board. Her comment: "Good accounting does not have anything to do with what are our priorities. The public needs to trust that the budget is both accurate and accurately reflects our priorities."

Carol Galloy (Art Teacher at South MS) commented that the proposed list of cuts that was initially generated in October did not change after all of the public hearings. She hoped that next year the public input would be considered. She also asked if a referendum was being considered anytime soon.

Comm. Craig responded to Mr. O'Brien's comment that the ECASD is in a much more "stable" position now. She asked how we can consider our position as "stable" when we are still looking at a nearly $2 million deficit for next year? She indicated that the community MUST BE ENGAGED to gain support for a future referendum.

Dr. Leary commented that normally it takes 2 years to "recover" from a lost referendum. He indicated that it is nearly impossible to ask the community for referendum money to "maintain the status quo." A successful referendum will depend on the district's ability to show what will be BETTER for the schools and the community.

Pat Telisak, a teacher at Lakeshore, asked that the district relate the costs to parents, and community members in terms of kids and their home expense and that discussion should be in layperson's terms. She indicated that the failing state of computers at Lakeshore now results in 1/2 of the computers have no ability to connect headphones because of a broken part.

Comm. Bollinger indicated that the entire facilities needs have not even been discussed yet and continued delay only drives costs higher. Comm. Cummins reiterated her position that facilities needs MUST BE LINKED TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.

Comm. Craig stated that planing for all this is a long term process but the district must find a way to address the short term planning immediately as we are facing a $2 million deficit NOW. Pres. O'Brien indicated that the Nov. 5th meeting will include a 5 year projection of the deficit. Dr. Leary indicated thet Mr. Van de Water is available to do his financial presentation to any school or group who is interested. He also said that it is important to look ahead but also to look in the past to see where there were pitfalls and weak spots in decision-making and make improvements.

Pres. O'Brien thanked people for attending.

Public Hearing session adjourned.

Regular Session began at 7:00 p.m.

Announcements: Pres. O'Brien said that there were no announcements from Closed Session. He also said that there would be a couple of Community Focus Groups for the New Supt. search on Oct. 29th and 30th that the Public could attend.

Dept. Supt. Butler told BOE members that the information about the Little Red Study Group is available on the district website and has everything like the Goals, a Timeline, Membership, Agenda and a Public Comment Form. Comm. Cummins was amazed and asked "Where did this come from?!" and he credited Sandy LaValley and the IT folks. Pres. O'Brien thanked Comm. Craig for her leadership of the group.

Dr. Leary indicated that the Needs Assessment data from the Parent Advisory Committee is complete and being summarized. Also a Chamber of Commerce Expo was well attended and the ECASD was represented. WEAC is also doing a Public Relations video at Lakeshore School.

There was another very lengthy and complicated presentation from Mr. Van de Water about the tax levy. Comm. Kneer's comments: "This is too much for the average citizen to absorb. I can't absorb it. Just give me A for Apple and B for Banana...." Comm. Bollinger: "I understood everything you said but the average citizen won't."

There was an extensive presentation by Sue Steffes (Asst. Princ. at Memorial HS) and Michelle Wiberg (Asst. Princ. at DeLong MS) about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This is a coalition to halt increases in childhood obesity by 2010 and begin to reverse it by 2015 using programs for Student Nutrition, Student Physical Activity and Staff Wellness. 4 ECASD schools (Memorial, North, Delong and Lakeshore) participated and all 4 received Bronze recognition (of 300 schools participating only 26 were recognized and 4 were from Eau Claire!) This can be implemented at no cost to the district and will result in healthier students and staff and increased productivity. Ms. Steffes indicated that the program has now moved to be implemented in all district buildings and there is a wellness committee in each building. Comm. Craig asked about parental involvement and one of the student reps. asked about student involvement and they were assured that in the future that would be happening.

My comments: This was pretty amazing and comprehensive!

Other updates: The Legislative Report from Pres. O'Brien was :"This would be like kicking a dead horse." since the state budget is STILL not passed. Comm. Cummins reported on the Claer Vision Community Plan and said the first meeting was very impressive with good representation from the district. Many groups mentioned their concerns about education and the need for planned development and shared services. One of the student reps. also attended and thought there was a need for more student participation.

Adjourn.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

EXCELLENT Editorial about setting Goals before asking for $ from Taxpayers

This is an editorial by a MN Chamber of Commerce official about the need for school districts to set specific goals for student achievement before just asking taxpayers to fund more of the same programming with a referendum. Again, this piece was AWOL during the last ECASD referendum and the district still is years from making progress on this topic.

Maria

William Blazar: Before voting on a levy, know your district's goals

Taxpayers would be more likely to say yes if they knew the money would
produce measurable results.

William Blazar
Published: October 28, 2007

Next month, voters across the state will be asked to pay more taxes
for their local schools. The money is proposed to pay for a variety of
things, from everyday operating expenses to buildings to improved
technology.
These are important votes for all Minnesota employers and their
employees. Companies of all sizes and types need the best individuals
to compete in a global market. Parents want to ensure that their
children can compete for jobs. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, as
the state's largest business advocacy organization, has a keen
interest that schools have the resources necessary to meet our
workforce needs.

That's why we encourage voters to ask the logical question before
casting ballots: What are the district's goals for the additional
dollars in terms of measurable results in student achievement?

Newspaper stories across the state have carried the foreboding message
to "Vote Yes" or our children's education will suffer. And they
proceed to detail the ramifications of a "no" vote, such as larger
classes, outdated curricula and texts, and fewer teachers and support
staff.

All these elements may be important to teaching our children. But,
frankly, we're not sure -- for two reasons. First, most businesspeople
are not education experts. Second, today's world economy and diverse
school population say that the business community and voters should
not prescribe any one learning approach -- lower class size, for
example -- on any school.

We should leave the strategies to our teachers, encouraging them (and
giving them the flexibility) to do what works. School leaders should
make the cases for their referendums in terms of measurable student
results. Districts will benefit most -- and make the strongest cases
for passage -- if they focus their campaigns on clear achievement
goals.

Most districts, unfortunately, are silent on this.

The Crookston School District provides a shining exception in its
"Annual Report on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Achievement." As
noted in the Crookston Daily Times, the report contains 2007-08 goals
for student achievement that are "unprecedented in their specificity."

For example, the district aims to narrow the achievement gap in
reading -- by 3 percent on next spring's tests -- for Hispanics and
students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. The district
identified strategies to reach all its goals, and the report is posted
on its website.

And if goals aren't met? "Then we'll have to take another look at what
we're doing," the Crookston Times quoted Ione Swenson, the district's
curriculum, assessment and staff development director. "It's always a
work in progress."

Crookston is not seeking a referendum. But you can bet its chances for
passage would be greatly enhanced by its efforts to tell the entire
community where the district is headed on achievement.

A discussion of school funding is incomplete without acknowledging
that declining enrollment is at the root of many districts' troubles.
Schools are largely funded on head count, and it's admittedly a tricky
equation. A drop of, say, 60 students -- and the accompanying reduced
state aid -- cannot be recouped by simply eliminating two kindergarten
sections. The drops in student numbers are likely scattered among all
grades, with rarely a large enough block to eliminate an entire
classroom section.

At the same time, with our graying population, declining enrollments
are a fact of life. It's neither practical nor fiscally sustainable to
pay schools more money for educating fewer students. And so, we're
back to setting local goals for student achievement. By focusing on
results, districts have the flexibility to deal with their enrollment
and diversity issues. We should not presume that a solution that works
in one district will succeed in another.

School districts should make a pact with their communities. Share with
us what achievement results the new local money will buy and how
progress will be measured and reported. Set goals for educational
achievement within each community, and we'll be first in line to "vote
yes."

William Blazar is senior vice president of public affairs and business
development at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

(c) 2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

WEAC Analysis of the state budget

Here is WEAC's take on the completed state budget:

Governor signs 2007-09 state budget

The following summary of provisions was compiled by the WEAC
Government Relations Division:

K-12

Provides $76.8 million in general school aids in 2008-09.
Adds $53.6 million to special education categorical aid, which would
represent increases of 5.2% in 2007-08 and 5.4% in 2008-09. In
addition, provides $1.8 million in supplemental special education aid.
Increases the annual reimbursement rate for pupils transported over 12
miles from home and school from $180 to $220 beginning in 2007-08.
Provides $3.3 million over the biennium to increase the school
breakfast reimbursement rate from 10 cents to 15 cents per breakfast
served.
Makes no changes to the current-law inflationary adjustment to the
per-pupil adjustment, resulting in a per-pupil adjustment of $264 in
2007-08 and $270 in 2008-09.
Increases the low-revenue ceiling from $8,400 to $8,700 in 2007-08 and
to $9,000 in 2008-09.
Provides for 100% hold harmless for declining enrollment school
districts and allows the prior year's base to serve as a revenue limit
floor.
Provides $21 million over the biennium in a new aid program to
high-poverty school districts. The aid to Milwaukee Public Schools
would be used to ease the property tax burden for picking up 45% of
cost of the Milwaukee private school voucher program.
Invests $10 million in 2008-09 to boost student achievement in
Milwaukee Public Schools.
Provides $3 million for 4-year-old kindergarten start-up grants.
Expands the national teacher certification program to provide grants
to master educator licensees and award higher grants to those board
certified teachers and master educators who teach in high-poverty
schools.
Provides $3.6 million in 2008-09 in aid to small rural schools districts.
Provides $27 million to fully fund the state's commitment to increase
the SAGE per-pupil amount from $2,000 to $2,250.
Provides $500,000 over the biennium for grants to school districts for
nursing services.
Increases funding for gifted and talented by $182,000 over the biennium.
Provides $123,000 over the biennium for grants to promote education in
science, technology, engineering and math.
Provides $76,000 over the biennium for international education activities.
Creates an Office of the Wisconsin Covenant and associated positions.
Provides $500,000 for Project Lead the Way.
Increases the current school levy tax credit distribution for the
2007(08) property tax year by $79,350,000. Increases the distribution
for the 2008(09) property tax year by a further $75,000,000. Creates a
property tax credit called the "first dollar credit" with a funding
level of $75,000,000 annually beginning in the 2008(09) property tax
year, and modifies the existing school levy tax credit appropriation
to include payments for the first dollar credit.
WTCS

Provides $3 million over the biennium for the Workforce Training Grant Program.
Provides $1.25 million over the biennium to increase funding for the
Wisconsin Higher Education Grant program for need-based financial aid
to technical college students.
Provides $12 million over the biennium to help defray the cost of the
new veteran's remission by the UW Board of Regents and the Wisconsin
Technical College District Boards.
Requires a lapse of $1 million of existing WTCS general and/or
categorical aid funding in each of the 2007-09 and 2009-11 biennia.
Prohibits any technical college district from increasing its tax levy
by more than 4% annually in 2007 and 2008. Repeals this provision on
November 30, 2009. (This provision was vetoed by the governor.)
Compensation Reserves

Provides total compensation reserves of $131,197,500 in 2007-08 and
$328,026,800 in 2008-09 for the increased cost of state employee
salaries and fringe benefits.
Miscellaneous

Implements BadgerCare Plus to help ensure that 98% of Wisconsin's
citizens have access to health care coverage.
According to the governor's office, the agreement ensures quality
education for Wisconsin students. The governor's office said the bill:

Meets Wisconsin's commitment to fund two-thirds the cost of every
child's education … protecting schools while taking the burden off of
property taxpayers.
Moves forward on the Wisconsin Covenant – the promise to 8th graders
that if they work hard, maintain a B average, and take the classes
they need to go to college, there will be a spot for them in the
state's universities or colleges.
Makes sure kids get off to the right start, by investing $3 million in
4-year-old kindergarten, $3.2 million in school breakfast, and $27
million to create smaller class sizes in the early grades.
Includes reforms in the school financing system that help rural
districts with transportation costs, and treat districts with
declining enrollment more fairly.
Invests $32 million in financial aid so talented students who have
earned their way into our states universities have the resources they
need to help them succeed. The funding puts the state on pace to
triple financial aid by the end of this fiscal term.
Keeps a promise to provide free college tuition to all Wisconsin
veterans by investing $12 million.
Fully funds the University's Growth Agenda to expand enrollment and
train the next generation of nurses, engineers, chemists, biologists
and skilled workers that our economy needs.


Posted October 19, 2007; Updated October 26, 2007

Green Bay signs historic race relation agreement

Green Bay signs historic race relation agreement
The Associated Press
TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated:10/25/2007 10:27:31 PM CDT
GREEN BAY, Wis.—Police, school and city representatives signed a
historic mediation agreement Thursday designed to improve race
relations—the first of its kind in the state.
The voluntary agreement includes pledges to boost minority recruitment
and hiring in the police and fire departments, city administration and
the Green Bay Area Public School District.

It took two years to reach the agreement, which is the first citywide
agreement signed in Wisconsin, said Kenith Bergeron, a conciliation
specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations
Service in Chicago.

Milwaukee has a similar community relations agreement, but it's only
with the police department.

Concerns about unequal treatment of minorities in the city and school
district prompted the pact.

The group met 10 times since August 2005. Their initiatives include
closing the achievement gap for students of color, implementing a
cultural competency training program for teachers and police officers
and encouraging more minority-owned business.

The city plans to provide employment advertisements in other languages
and develop an advisory system to help identify potentially racially
sensitive topics on council and committee agendas.

Green Bay's police department already has established an advisory
committee that has met monthly over the past year, Police Chief Jim
Arts said.

He admitted the department had a long way to go in its efforts to
recruit from minority communities—out of 187 sworn officers, 14 are
women, three are Native Americans and one is Hispanic. There are no
black officers on the force.

"You're going to hear that we're essentially a white department. I
don't like hearing that, but it's the reality," said Arts, adding that
they've made some modest improvement in minority applications in the
last round of recruitment.

Likewise the Green Bay School District sees a "great opportunity
coupled with significant challenges" with one-third of its 20,000 plus
students coming from minority populations, superintendent Daniel Nerad
said.

Federal Testing for NCLB passes on "Adative" Testing

October 25, 2007
Petri Calls for Better School Tests
WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Petri took on the status quo at the U.S. Department of
Education today with the introduction of the Assessment Accuracy and
Improvement Act, a
proposal to provide more accurate tests for elementary and middle
school students. The bill,
introduced with Rep. David Wu (D-OR) as a cosponsor, would allow
states to use "adaptive"
tests to fulfill their No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act testing requirements.
Currently, under NCLB, each state is required to test students in
grades three through
eight. Each state has its own tests, which must be approved by the
Education Department. The
tests are often done on paper and are identical for every student
within the same grade in any
given state.
Petri wants the Education Department to allow states to fulfill their
federal testing
requirement by using "adaptive" testing.
"An adaptive test is a test that changes in response to previously
asked questions," Petri
explained. "It's done on a computer. If a student answers a question
correctly, the test presents a
question of increased difficulty. If a student answers incorrectly,
the test presents a question of
decreased difficulty. The test customizes itself to the student's
actual level of performance with a
great deal of accuracy."
Petri said that several states would like to use adaptive tests to
satisfy federal testing
requirements. "Delaware and Oregon are especially interested in this,
and in Wisconsin, onethird
of the school districts in Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District
think adaptive tests are
valuable enough to use them for their own purposes in addition to the
paper testing the U.S.
Education Department requires."
What's the problem? Petri said the Education Department doesn't want
to deal with a
different approach. "They have to pass judgment on the tests the
states want to give to satisfy No
Child Left Behind. Adaptive tests would, admittedly, require more
effort to review. But that's
because they are better and will give us much more useful information."
Petri became convinced of the value of adaptive tests as he met with
students, parents and
educators in a series of forums on the No Child Left Behind Act which
he has held in the 6th
District over the past year.

Racne Superintendent Search

It looks like Racine is searching for a new Supt. to be hired by July 1st (same as the ECASD) but they have not yet hired their search firm yet. HEY!! We are actually ahead of another district in this regard.

Maria

Unified superintendent search heats up

BY PAUL SLOTH
Journal Times

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 9:08 PM CDT
RACINE — The Racine Unified School Board has taken another step in its
search for a new superintendent. The board hopes to have the new
leader start July 1.

Members of a board search committee Monday finalized the details of
their recommendation to the full board. The committee has met twice in
the past two weeks to select a few firms and develop a search
timeline. The entire process will last roughly one year.

The board will first hire a professional search firm to find
candidates interested in replacing Tom Hicks, who resigned in August
after holding the job for six years.

The board will discuss the search committee's recommendations at its
monthly business meeting Monday, including the timeline and the names
of at least six firms from which the committee is interested in
hearing.

Once the board chooses a firm, members will spend the early part of
next year interviewing superintendent candidates.

A superintendent search can cost a school district from $40,000 to
more than $100,000 depending on the kind of services a school board
expects, according to the Council of the Great City Schools, an
organization of the nation's largest school districts.

Once the board picks a search firm, members will determine what to
look for in a superintendent candidate.

Sue Kutz, the board's vice president, said she hopes the board can
start interviewing candidates in February or March.

Board members will have to decide how far to cast their net for a
candidate to replace Hicks, who is on an extended leave of absence
through June 30.

Interim Superintendent Jack Parker has offered advice to the board
about some of the realities of searching for superintendents,
especially in urban districts. The pool of candidates is reportedly
very shallow, Parker told committee members.

Unified is not the only Wisconsin school district currently searching
for a new superintendent. Kenosha Unified School District and the
Madison Metropolitan School District both are searching for new
leaders, which presents even more challenges, search committee members
said.

If the full Unified board approves the plan Monday, the district will
solicit bids from at least six firms. Search committee members said
they hope to select the firm by the beginning of December and develop
and approve criteria for searching for a superintendent in early
January.

Committee members said they hope to find a firm that has some
experience with finding superintendent candidates for urban districts.

Unified has experience with at least one firm, Hazard, Young and
Associates, which helped the board find Hicks and Marguerite Vanden
Wyngaard, the district's chief academic officer.

Budget Delay Favors Wealthier School Districts

Delay favors wealthier schools

Tardiness leads to credit rather than aid, which gives Milwaukee $1.6
million less

By AMY HETZNER
ahetzner@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Oct. 24, 2007

The delay in approving a budget in Wisconsin could end up benefiting
residents in the state's wealthiest communities.

Legislators were unable to meet a Sept. 28 deadline set by the state
Department of Public Instruction that would have allowed them to
increase general aid to school districts by $79.3 million in the
2007-'08 school year in time to reduce next year's tax bills.

So on Tuesday, when they approved the second-latest budget in state
history, they did what some called the next best thing by putting the
same amount into the school tax levy credit. The credit increase is
expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle.

That would be a boon to residents in districts such as Elmbrook and
Mequon-Thiensville, where taxpayers have long complained that their
money is siphoned off to support schools in other parts of the state.
But it would mean less money for school systems such as Milwaukee and
Racine, where the argument is that residents with less wealth need
more help to ensure their children get a chance at an education on par
with those in richer communities.

The reason for the difference is that, unlike general school aid, the
state's school levy tax credit is distributed based on the school
property tax burden in individual municipalities. That largely means
the credit goes to residents in the wealthiest areas.

This would be the second year in a row the levy credits have
increased. After a decade holding steady at $469.3 million annually,
two years of increases would bring that amount to $672.4 million. The
latest increase would take effect a year from now.

Equalization aid, in contrast, is distributed to districts in a way
that rewards those with low property wealth and below-average
spending. General aid to schools is budgeted at $4.7 billion for the
current school year.

"We didn't create that system," said Chris Thiel, a legislative and
fiscal policy analyst for Milwaukee Public Schools. "We certainly
think the goals of the system are laudable."

Elmbrook biggest winner

The biggest winner in a $79.3 million shift to the levy credit is the
Elmbrook School District, which gains nearly $1.5 million as a result,
according to a Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis. The district with
the most to lose is Milwaukee Public Schools, where residents can
expect $1.6 million less than they would have received if the $79.3
million had been paid out in equalization aid.

Overall, the fiscal bureau's analysis shows about 25 school districts
in the five-county metropolitan Milwaukee area benefit from receiving
the payment through the levy credit instead of aid.

Under state-imposed revenue limits, both aid and credits largely go to
paying down the property tax burden in a community and do not affect
the overall revenue collected by the school systems.

"I love the school levy credit," said state Sen. Ted Kanavas
(R-Brookfield), who represents residents in the Elmbrook School
District as well as those living in another levy-credit winner, the
Pewaukee School District. "This is the only time we ever get anything
for schools."

Some get minimum aid

One of the reasons the Elmbrook and Pewaukee school systems fare so
well under the levy credit vs. an aid increase is that, under the
state's funding formula for distributing aid, both receive the minimum
amount possible from the aid system. A $79.3 million increase in the
aid pool for the state's 426 school districts would mean only $966
more for Elmbrook and $146 for Pewaukee, according to the fiscal
bureau analysis.

In contrast, Milwaukee would have gotten about $6.5 million more if
that money had been infused into the aid formula, the analysis
determined. The Racine and Waukesha school districts would have
received a little more than $1.9 million each.

With the levy credit, which would be applied to tax bills homeowners
will receive about a year from now, Racine property owners would get
about $670,000 less, the fiscal bureau analysis found. Waukesha
residents would get about $380,000 less than they would have if the
state had increased its aid payments.

That's one of the reasons state Rep. Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha) said he
is unhappy with the new budget, although he also pointed out that the
numbers were "very preliminary."

But he said putting the money into levy credits to help reduce
property tax burdens was better than doing nothing after the
Legislature missed its chance to increase aid for the current school
year.

While Kanavas said residents in districts that benefit from the school
tax credit have earned it through years of supporting other school
districts with their tax dollars, Kramer said the same is true in
Waukesha.

"Not to the extent that Elmbrook does, but we're in that donor
(category) as well and we still don't win," he said.

Unanticipated Results from Study of School "Choice"

Interesting results from a study about school "choice" in Milwaukee and its effects on school improvement.

Maria

Choice may not improve schools, study says

Report on MPS comes from longtime supporter of plan

By ALAN J. BORSUK
aborsuk@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Oct. 23, 2007

A study being released today suggests that school choice isn't a
powerful tool for driving educational improvement in Milwaukee Public
Schools.

But more surprising than the conclusion is the organization issuing
the study: the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, a conservative
think tank that has supported school choice for almost two decades,
when Milwaukee became the nation's premier center for trying the idea.
The institute is funded in large part by the Milwaukee-based Lynde and
Harry Bradley Foundation, an advocate of school choice.

"The report you are reading did not yield the results we had hoped to
find," George Lightbourn, a senior fellow at the institute, wrote in
the paper's first sentence.

"We had expected to find a wellspring of hope that increased parental
involvement in the Milwaukee Public Schools would be the key
ingredient in improving student performance," Lightbourn wrote. But
"there are realistic limits on the degree to which parental
involvement can drive market-based reform in Milwaukee."

Even some of the most ardent supporters of school choice in Milwaukee
have seen that the purest version of the idea - in which there is
little government oversight of schools, and parental decisions in a
free market dictate which schools thrive - does not square with the
reality of what happened in Milwaukee when something close to such a
system existed.

That reality can be summed up in two phrases: "bad schools" and "little change."

Bad schools: A Journal Sentinel investigative report in 2005 of the
then-115 schools in the voucher program found that about 10% showed
startling signs of weak operations. In short, many parents were
choosing bad schools and sticking with them. Escalated government
oversight of schools' business practices and a new requirement that
all voucher schools be accredited by an outside organization have
played roles in putting most of those schools out of business.

Little change: Milwaukee has been a national laboratory for school
reform such as the voucher program, yet there is little evidence that
it has yielded substantially improved academic results - at least so
far. Test scores in MPS, especially for 10th-graders, have been
generally flat for years. The record of the voucher schools is
unclear, though results from a major study of the program are supposed
to begin coming soon.

Howard Fuller, the most prominent supporter of voucher and charter
schools in Milwaukee, has changed his position toward agreeing that
government oversight of voucher schools is needed. In a recent
interview for a workshop of the national Education Writers
Association, Fuller said empowering parents to make good choices,
improving student performance and creating good schools were proving
to be much harder achievements than many once thought.

Asked whether the voucher program was leading to improvements in the
achievement of MPS students, as was once expected, Fuller said: "I'm
one of those people who believes that we may have oversold that point.
. . . I think that any honest assessment would have to say that there
hasn't been the deep, wholesale improvement in MPS that we would have
thought."

Fuller said he remains a strong supporter of school choice, but he now
has a more realistic understanding of what it can accomplish.
Lightbourn also said he and the institute remain committed to school
choice as a principle, but other reforms clearly are needed to drive
major improvement in the success of Milwaukee students.

Methodology of the study

The new report focuses on parental choice within MPS, including
parents who select schools within MPS or who use the state's open
enrollment law to send their children to public schools in the
suburbs. It does not discuss parents who select private schools in the
publicly funded voucher program or charter schools that are not
affiliated with MPS.

The report did not analyze actual data from MPS or interviews or
surveys with MPS parents. Instead, it used data from the U.S. Census
Bureau and U.S. Department of Education analyzing decision-making by
parents from different social and economic groups when it comes to
school selection for their children and how they are involved in their
children's schools. The report applies that data to MPS parents,
assuming the same percentages of parents use the same methods of
choosing.

The overall conclusion: Only 10% of MPS parents make school choices by
a process that involves considering at least two schools and that
brings academic performance data from a school into the choice.

"Given this number, it seems unlikely that MPS schools are feeling the
pressure of a genuine educational marketplace," wrote the report's
author, researcher David Dodenhoff.

Dodenhoff also concluded that parental involvement in MPS schools is
low - he estimated that 34% of MPS parents could be considered "highly
involved" in their children's schools. And he said his conclusions
were probably on the high side because people tend to give the "right"
answers when asked questions such as whether they are involved
parents, even when the answers are untrue.

In an interview, Dodenhoff, who has written other reports for the
institute, said that while it would be better to base conclusions on
data directly about Milwaukee parents, coming up with numbers by
applying national data locally was a defensible approach. He said his
results squared with what people involved in Milwaukee schools told
him were their best estimates of parental involvement.

In the conclusion of his report, Dodenhoff wrote: "Relying on public
school choice and parental involvement to reclaim MPS may be a
distraction from the hard work of fixing the district's schools. . . .
The question is whether the district, its schools and its supporters
in Madison are prepared to embrace reforms more radical than public
school choice and parental involvement."

He did not specify what those reforms might be.

Options within MPS

Parents have numerous school choices within MPS. Each winter, the
district offers a "three-choice" registration period to parents whose
children will attend a new school the following fall. The process
allows parents to pick first, second and third preferences for
schools, and a large majority of people get the first choice.

The range of choices has been reduced somewhat in recent years,
largely with a goal of holding down busing costs, but it has been
difficult for MPS to persuade people to enroll in neighborhood
schools, despite a neighborhood school initiative launched in 2000.

Nonetheless, whether parents use the choices to pick schools that are
academically the best ones for their children is unknown.

MPS Superintendent William Andrekopoulos responded to the report in a
statement, saying: "We believe that there are many reasons why parents
choose a school. When we review parental choice in our district, we
see that parents pass up high-quality schools in their neighborhoods
for schools with lower academic performance outside their
neighborhoods. When that happens, we wonder why those parents choose a
school. Parents do make informed choices, but those choices have more
to do with talking with their relatives and neighbors than with
looking at data on academic performance."

Lightbourn said the conclusions of the report probably were relevant
to how parents make choices for private schools in the voucher
program, though Dodenhoff was reluctant to say how applicable the
conclusions were to voucher parents.

Lightbourn said, "We should continue to encourage parental involvement
in choosing for their children and for (parents) to be actively
involved in choosing based on academic criteria."

But he added, "If they're not picking on academic criteria, the impact
of choice will be minimized."

About 87,000 students are attending more than 200 schools in MPS this
year, at an average cost of more than $11,000 per student. Voucher
program figures have not been released yet but are expected to show
that about 18,000 students are attending more than 120 private schools
in the city, with the state generally providing the schools about
$6,500 for each student.

Black River Falls Supt. search

Black River Falls is also searching for a new superintendent with a Jan 1st deadline.

Maria

Published - Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Black River Falls School Board is in the process of establishing
an advisory panel to participate in interviewing candidates and
providing input to the school board for the district administrator
position. The board would like to extend an invitation to community
and staff members and encourages involvement in the process.

Advisory committee panelists will be selected proportionately and
randomly from interested participants for each of the following
groups: service clubs/civic groups, senior citizens, local
business/industry, high school students, parent representatives, Black
River Falls School District staff members and other local entities as
appropriate.

If interested in serving on the advisory committee, please submit your
name to administrative assistant Barb Prochaska at (715) 284-4357, via
e-mail at babara.prochaska@brf.org. Those interested may also mail a
letter of interest to 301 North Fourth Street, Black River Falls, WI,
54615-1227.

If interested, please indicate the specific group you feel you can
represent. Names should be submitted by Tuesday, Oct. 23. Participants
will be notified on Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Interviews will be held on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 29 and Oct. 30. On
Monday evening, Oct. 29, the advisory committee will meet from 5:30
p.m. until 6 p.m. for interview preparations. Interviews will be one
hour in length and depending on the number of candidates interviewed,
committee members would be expected to commit about seven hours of
time for the two evenings. Participants will be required to attend
both evenings.

Each advisory panel member will provide his/her written commentary on
each candidate, identifying perceived strengths and concerns. At the
conclusion of interviews on Tuesday, Oct. 30, the board will receive
input from the advisory panel. The board will integrate that input
with its own interview perspectives to narrow the list to the finalist
candidate(s) for the position.

Racine School District redux

It is possible that the Racine district has even more problems than the ECASD lately!!
Maria


Racine Unified's director of special education quits

By DANI McCLAIN
dmcclain@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Oct. 22, 2007

Racine - The Racine Unified School District's director of special
education resigned Monday effective immediately, district officials
said.

The resignation of Renee Pfaller follows a Journal Sentinel report
this month that an autistic 3-year-old student in the Red Apple
Elementary School preschool program had been consistently strapped
into his chair without his parents' consent. The boy's parents had
pulled him out of the preschool program after receiving confirmation
from the state Department of Public Instruction that the school's
actions did not comply with state guidelines on restraint.

Racine Unified's chiefs of academics and human relations received
Pfaller's letter of resignation Monday morning, said Stephanie
Kratochvil, a district spokeswoman. The letter did not give a reason
for the resignation, Kratochvil said.

Pfaller had been on a leave of absence for about a month and was
expected to return Friday.

Late this summer Racine Unified received a comprehensive report on the
district's special education services, the result of a months-long
study completed by a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee education
professor. The district will not release the findings until they are
presented to the school board at a meeting Nov. 12, the district's
academic director said.

Pfaller had been Racine Unified's director of special education for
six years. She had served as a special education supervisor for two
years before taking the helm of the department.

Ann Laing, a former district area superintendent who retired in June,
will fill Pfaller's position until a replacement is hired, Kratochvil
said.



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