State of the SchoolsSeptember 23, 2010

continuous learners

responsible, caring citizens

Inspiring…

In a global community

Strategic Plan Successes

Continuous learners

Drafted a short, defining statement to capture the essence of the District’s Mission Statement, “We are continuous learners who are responsible, caring citizens in a global community.”

Began incorporating the District 95 mission statement into hiring, training, evaluation and recognition practices. 

Selecting Student, Staff, and Parent Volunteer of the Month based upon the criteria of modeling our District Mission for recognition at the monthly BoE meetings.

New teacher orientation on the mission of District 95.

Expanded communication of our mission and strategies to all members of our community, assuring that communication at all levels is informative, complete, and concise for all stakeholders.

  Inside95 – Monthly internal e-newsletter. Newsworthy95 – Monthly external e-newsletter. Live webcasting of monthly BoE meetings. Community Forum held on March 18, 2010 with live webcast. Sub-Committee on Communications convened in January, 2010. Coffee with the Superintendent at school buildings twice per year. Website redesign unveiled and “live” August 2, 2010. New district logo created.

Strategic Plan Successes, (continued)

Drafted a differentiated professional mentoring program to develop the skills and strategies necessary for certified staff members new to the profession or to the district to achieve instructional excellence and commitment to the strategic plan.

Drafted an induction program plan to provide basic skills training, knowledge of position requirements and expectations, and cross training of all staff hired to the district to allow for success and growth in individual positions.

Facilitated the use of student assessment data by CUSD 95 teachers to develop their instructional plans.

Purchased data warehouse, DecisionEd, using ARRA monies.

Hired Director of Data and Assessments.

Conducted a K-8 data retreat to develop SIP goals.

Used MAP data to set individual student goals.

Created common assessments by HS course teams during PLC time.

Strategic PlanChallenges for 2010-11

Designing an assessment to measure the effectiveness of the action plan for communicating the Strategic Plan and its Mission.

Refining and implementing a mentoring and an induction plan for new staff members to the District.

Providing professional development and support to District staff to facilitate the analysis of student assessment data.

Responsible,caring citizens

The Curriculum and Instruction Department, lead by Jodi Wirt, continues to work with teachers to align district curriculum to state and national standards, provide professional development for teachers and administrators, and assist buildings in using data to inform instructional decisions. Among the highlights of the past year were:

Curriculum & Instruction Successes

Altered the MAP testing schedule to provide three data points during the school year in reading and mathematics.

Continued to assist teachers and administrators in the use of multiple measures of student achievement (Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) and ISAT) to inform instructional decisions and construct School Improvement Plans.

Attended a regional MAP workshop with elementary administrators to better understand student goal setting.

Implemented the use of AIMSweb for K and 1st grade students as a progress monitoring tool for K-5.

Provided a District developed website with multiple years of ISAT and MAP data for teachers to use to better understand students’ strengths and weaknesses (prior to the purchase of the data warehouse).

Curriculum & Instruction Successes, (continued) Provided sustained professional development for District administrators on quality assessment and assessment for learning.

Implemented the K-5 Social Studies Curriculum which included providing the curriculum electronically (Atlas), resources and professional development to support the use of the new resources.

Completed second year of curriculum review in K-12 Literacy. The committee completed writing all of the objectives and began to design units of study K-12 for the Writing Curriculum. Continued the work begun two years ago for K-8 Science. The committee is designing units of study and evaluating resources.

Identified the need to provide bilingual services at three elementary schools and hired staff.

Continued the ELL program review. New materials were ordered to support content area learning for ELL students.

Provided choice for teachers on Institute Days with an emphasis on effective literacy instruction including effective guided reading instruction K-5, differentiation, and meeting the needs of English Language Learners (ELL).

Collaborated with the Technology Department to research and purchase a data warehouse.

Moved from a pilot of Atlas Rubicon to a large scale use of the resource to house district curriculum.

Analyzed K-5 library collection to determine areas for improvement.

Began a review of the Gifted Program.

Facilitated a K-8 process for establishing and evaluating SIP plans.

Curriculum & Instruction Successes, (continued)

Grades 3-8 90.8% of our students meet or exceed the criteria for reading on the ISAT; up from 89.7% last year.

Grades 3-8 are holding steady at 94% meeting or exceeding the criteria for Math on the ISAT.

Grades 3-8 94.4% of our students meet or exceed the criteria for Science on the ISAT; up from 92.3% last year.

74.0% of the high school juniors met or exceeded the criteria for Reading on the PSAE; up from 72.5% last year.

79.1% of the high school juniors met or exceeded the criteria for Math on the PSAE; up from 75.6% last year.

77.9% of the high school juniors met or exceeded the criteria for Science on the PSAE; up from 72.8% last year.

At the high school the average score on the ACT has risen for the fourth year in a row to a record 24.0 up from 23.9 last year.

Curriculum & Instruction Successes, (continued)

Curriculum & InstructionChallenges for 2010-11

Providing professional development on the writing process and 6 Traits to prepare for implementing the Writing Curriculum.

Implementing the K-5 Science and Writing Curriculum over the next two years.

Providing a cohesive approach to professional development that communicates how various initiatives assist us in achieving the District Mission.

Developing a bilingual program continuum that meets the academic needs of our students and aligns to grade level curricula.

Collaborating with the Special Education Department to assist the high school and MSN in meeting the needs of specific students as identified in Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) data.

Curriculum & InstructionChallenges for 2010-11, (continued)

Developing an induction/mentoring program along with the Department of Human Resources to support teachers through their first three years in the district.

Beginning a K-8 Applied Tech and K-12 Art curriculum review.

Funding continuous improvement as Title IV, Title IID and Reading Improvement have been eliminated for the 2010-11 school year.

Moving more students into the “Exceeds” category on state testing. 

Jodi Wirt and Terry Mootz will provide a detailed report on the 2010 assessment results for ISAT, PSAE, and MAP in October.

Globalcommunity

Department of Student Services Successes

Completed a yearlong effort to facilitate the withdrawal of the district’s membership in SEDOL. This included presentations to The Illinois State Advisory Council in Springfield and the Lake County Regional Office of Education. Developed five volumes that documented the various critical components required by ISBE to withdraw from the cooperative:

• Revised our policy and procedure manuals to demonstrate a full continuum of services.

• Developed new Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Eligibility, Criteria, and IEP forms for implementation during the 2010-2011 school year.

• Developed guideline documents to use for Extended School Year (ESY) Services determination.

• Implemented the high school Transition Program.

• Reviewed all state mandated forms.

• Hired hearing and vision support staff.

Contracted for supervision/staff development for all areas of support services.

Received recognition of the Student Services Department in two separate interviews for LRP- Law Review Publications.

Expanded assistive technology services to students throughout the district. This included iPods, laptops, and software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking.

Standardized software programs on all computers in special education classrooms.

Developed a Parent Questionnaire for Speech/Language to be used at Kindergarten Screening that provides speech pathologists with more credible and reliable data to use effectively at the beginning of each new school year.

Department of Student Services Successes,(continued)

Department of Student ServicesChallenges for 2010-11

Providing staff training and implementation of IEP PLUS.

Coordinating our hearing itinerant services and equipment with Suburban Hearing in Barrington.

Increasing job opportunities for our transition students.

Continuing the ongoing integration of assistive technology within the classroom.

Department of Technology Successes

Continuous learners

Completed Data Center Project including several strategic objectives to help increase efficiencies and reduce operating costs for delivery of IT services:  migration to Active Directory network, server virtualization, disaster recovery, and update of core network services.

Redesigned the District website with a user friendly Content Management System (CMS) to manage and deliver information.   The new district website became available to our students, parents, staff, and community on August 2.

Identified and purchased (with ARRA funding) a data warehouse solution.  An implementation schedule has been established with an anticipated completion date for current year data at the end of November and four years of history by March 2011.

Provided technology professional development and support for teachers utilizing two part- time Instructional Technologists focused on training around the TIE (Technology Integration Experts) program.  As the name indicates, the goal was to allow teachers the opportunity to select the curriculum/lesson for which they wanted to integrate technology.  Teacher participants committed to a learn-teach-reflect model.  Assistance was then given to help teachers learn about an appropriate tool to be used to fit a particular curricular need. 

Implemented eSchool Home Access Center for parents and students grades 6- 12. 

Department of Technology Successes,(continued)

Department of Technology Challenges for 2010-11

Implementing a pilot virtual desktop initiative. The goal is to provide a pilot of 50-60 virtual desktops to students during the Spring Semester.  This pilot will open up the possibility of students being able to bring their laptops from home to use in the classroom.  Students will have access to digital resources (including filtered Internet) through a virtual desktop connection to the Data Center.  We will begin planning for this initiative in the beginning of October with an evaluation of our WAN and wireless infrastructure with a target pilot start date of January 2011. Implementing IEP Plus. The system to

automate the IEP process was identified and purchased (with ARRA funding) last school year.  Special education students require unique attention and tracking to help ensure their specific needs are met. IEP PLUS is a web-based special education software solution that integrates with our student management system.  The system will track IEP goals, manage the student referral / evaluation process, track special education student records and use Web-based forms to develop Individual Education Plans (IEP) for students with special needs.

Department of Technology Challenges for 2010-11, (continued)

Expanding professional development and support to teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum. We will continue the TIE program, identify new ideas, methods, and learning activities and to try to find ways to leverage the available time so that teachers will have the expertise to integrate technology into the learning experiences they create for students.  Our belief is that as we provide students with more opportunities to use various technologies in the learning process we will increase students’ ability to achieve the district’s mission.

Renew the District Long Term Technology Plan (required by state for e-rate funding) by March 1, 2011.

Supporting data warehouse implementation.

Completing a network security audit.

Supporting Smart Classroom initiatives sponsored by the School District 95 Educational Foundation.

Updating our enterprise system report writer, Cognos Version 8, and re-developing all reports from previous, unsupported version.

Responsible,caring citizens

The Department of Business and Operations under the leadership of Jeff King was challenged with the changes maintenance and the volume of summer work to be completed. Below is a summary of what we achieved and what is ahead of us:

Department of Business & Operations Successes

Transportation:

Evaluated the future of the bus buy-back program and, with the Board, concluded that the current strategy was the most acceptable.

Repaired the fuel-island and pumps so we could put our underground bus fuel tanks back into service.

Revamped the employee handbook for transportation to align with the District Educational Support Personnel Handbook.

Purchased an activity bus, developed procedures, and created a training program for coaches who would drive the bus.

Department of Business & Operations Successes, (continued)

Operations & Maintenance:

Completed an aggressive summer schedule of life safety work, roof work, and various other projects totaling $2.4 million.

Upgraded the exterior appearance of our sites via landscaping and painting exterior doors at five sites.

Conducted Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Meetings at all District schools.

Implemented a work order system for end users to request work directly from Maintenance and to track what is completed, outstanding and needs attention. In addition, we have started to track our rental and utilities through the system.

Removed the underground tank from the court yard at the abandoned May Whitney building and continue to cleanup up the inside of the structure.

Completed a five year plan for all roofs and paved areas within the District to be presented at the November Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Bid out our electricity contract which will start January, 2011 for an estimated $150,000.

Department of Business & Operations Successes, (continued)

Food Service:

Purchased new warmers and ovens for Seth Paine and May Whitney.

Replaced the broken dishwasher at May Whitney, allowing the elimination of Styrofoam trays, and becoming “greener.”

Created a strategy to reduce our outstanding receivables by over 90% by contracting with a collections agency.

Finance:

Increased our fund reserves translating into an upgrade in our bond rating. If we can maintain our position, the District could seek another upgrade next year.

Contracted with a company for an electronic Non-Sufficient Funds check recovery system reducing our outstanding NSF’s by 85%.

Implemented a collections system with a third party which has reduced our delinquent receivables by 75%.

Department of Business & Operations Successes, (continued)

Finance, continued:

Completed five written procedures for our external auditors that cover accounts payable and the three different methods we receive funds.

Decreased our copier expenses by 20%.

Decreased our paper utilization by $10,000.

Continued to focus on gaining additional efficiencies throughout the organization so we can continue to put the savings back into the classrooms.

Ended the fiscal year with a $7.3 million surplus.

Department of Business & Operations Challenges for 2010-11

Developing a strong five year plan and financial projects to help us navigate the uncertain future of CPI and state funding.

Continuing to generate the resources to maintain an aggressive life safety and repair schedule for our buildings.

Updating the ten year life safety study.

Continuing to fund improvements to our kitchens.

Department of Business & Operations Challenges for 2010-11, (continued)

Implementing a new radio system and time clock system for Transportation.

Converting all of our entry system from key access to card access.

Rebidding our food service provider and potentially our maintenance provider.

Maintaining a balanced budget if the CPI comes in under 1% this December.

Department of Human Resources Successes

Continuous learners

Revised and implemented the Educational Support Personnel (ESP) Evaluation Plan.

Negotiated insurance benefits to attain the best possible increase scenario based on the district’s claims.

Investigated and implemented a new benefit for all staff allowing the opportunity for staff to purchase a Supplemental Life Insurance policy at their own expense.

Reviewed and implemented new district residency verification procedures for student enrollment.

Actively recruited and hired new staff including a new building principal and Director of Data and Assessment.

Department of Human ResourcesChallenges for 2010-11

Drafting certified and administrative evaluation plans that must be revised by September 1, 2012 and incorporates a new, mandated rating system and incorporates student growth. A committee will be gathered to begin reviewing plans and developing a new evaluation tool.

Preparing for contract negotiations.

Replacing 25 retirees over the next two years including two administrative positions.

Reviewing Health Care Reform against District plans and benefit offerings to minimize penalties and maximize benefits.

Addressing ongoing requirements of additional training mandates for staff and identifying available time and resources to conduct the training.

Implementing a revised Teacher Mentor and Induction program in anticipation of 25 teacher retirements over the next two years.

Globalcommunity

Communications & Community Relations Successes

Our work in Communications and Community Relations progressed on a part time basis this past year. Among the highlights of the past year were:

Created Newsworthy 95, a monthly email publication sent to families of students in District 95 and other interested community members.

Created Inside95, a monthly email publication sent to all District 95 employees with email accounts.

Issued press releases for District events and distributed to local media outlets.

Set up “Coffee with the Superintendent” sessions 18 times over a nine month period of time to encourage open communications between staff and Superintendent. Solicited donations for coffee and food from community partners for every event.

Developed Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Management Plan for the District working with District administration and representatives from the Illinois EPA and Illinois Department of Public Health. Attended each building’s IAQ meetings.

Communications & Community Relations Successes, (continued)

Participated in website redesign with website vendor and IT department. Helped each department gather and organize content, design clean and intuitive pages, maintain consistent look and feel across site. Trained users on Content Management System and managed Workflow Approvals.

Managed District News items on website.

Conducted town-hall style community forum in March, 2010.

Helped to communicate and resolve other issues as they arose on an “as needed” basis.

Developed communications plan for emergency events.

Developed guidelines for use of School Messenger communications.

Communications & Community RelationsChallenges for 2010-11

Continue to provide meaningful information to the community through Newsworthy 95 on a monthly basis.

Continue to provide meaningful information to staff through Inside95 on a monthly basis.

Continue “Coffee with the Superintendent” sessions, again 18 times over a nine month period of time. Solicit donations for coffee and food, if possible, for every event.

Continue to participate in Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) meetings and in resolution of any issues as they arise.

Continue to manage district news items on website.

Communications & Community RelationsChallenges for 2010-11, (continued)

Continue to help communicate and resolve other issues as they arose on an “as needed” basis.

Continue to participate in rollout of website to all schools, including integrating calendars.

Continue to train users on Content Management System as needed and manage Workflow Approvals.

Work with PTOs, Foundation, and community partners to coordinate our interactions with and solicitations of community partners.

Coordinate communications with schools, centralize press releases.

Coordinate administrative communication messages and look for opportunities to develop communications in different formats (video, for example) that can be put on website for others to view.