A check-up on District 13’s vision

It’s only two months into the 2010-11 school year, but District 13 officials are already looking to next year and beyond. The district held its annual educational planning meeting on Nov. 13 at the James A. Dever School, a meeting which lasted nearly four hours.

Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison said one of the upcoming goals is to develop the district’s Response to Intervention plan, which must be in place by July 2012 as mandated by the state. Response to Intervention is a general education initiative outlining educational programs and intervention services.

Lisa Sells-Asch, the assistant superintendent for special services, said that this is a three-tiered approached to education. Tier 1 constitutes the general instruction all students receive, and she said this suits the educational needs of about 80 percent of students. Tier 2 services support about 15 percent of students who need some additional intervention, and Tier 3 is for about 5 percent of children requiring intense intervention services.

Sells-Asch said that intervention services are based on each child’s individual educational needs, and are scientifically proven methods. Also, no strategy is implemented, she said, without monitoring the child’s progress. Ultimately, Sells-Asch said, the goal is to give students the support they need so less children are placed into a special education program.

Howell Road School Principal Frank Huplosky said in designing the Response to Intervention program, school officials are formalizing many of the approaches already being used. “All of the pieces of the puzzle are basically in place in District 13,” he said.

Curriculum updates

For next year, Lison said she would like district officials to take a comprehensive look at the social studies curriculum. She said in regularly reviewing the district’s programs, it is time to focus on social studies, looking at the goals of the program and the resources being used to deliver the curriculum.

Last year, the focus was on science. A new program was selected, a Houghton-Mifflin series, and is now being used in classrooms. Wheeler Avenue School Principal Christine Zerillo said it has both technology and literacy components. It also allows for hands-on exploration of science. “Children are learning to look at what’s in front of them, in their environment,” she said, “and make decisions.”

Lison said she is proud of the district’s music program in which no child is turned away. She said the concerts showcase the talent of the students. “Go to any one of our buildings, close your eyes and you’re in Carnegie Hall,” she said.

Board of Education President Frank Chiachiere agreed that the emphasis on fine and performing arts is a source of pride for the district. He noted that every building has a dedicated art room and there is no “art on a cart.”

“Let’s not lose sight that a whole child is more than a test,” he said. “A well-balanced child likes to draw.”

No cupcakes

Melissa Brand, co-president of the Willow Road School PTA, asked about the district’s policy banning celebration food in classrooms. She wondered if other districts have the same or a similar policy.

Lison said that districts are mandated to have a wellness policy, and officials in District 13 decided to eliminate food for birthday parties and other celebrations, known as the “no cupcake” rule. The policy is now in its fourth year. The purpose of the rule, she said, is so parents can keep control over what their own children eat in school.

Huplosky noted that a parent can still send in a cupcake for their own child to eat on their birthday. He also said that family involvement has increased on students’ birthdays. In the past, he said, a parent would just send in a box of cupcakes with the child, but now they often come in to the classroom to read a book or lead a craft activity.

Lison said she believes the community has finally accepted the “no cupcake” rule. She noted that it was tougher for parents to adapt to the change than children because that generation grew up celebrating birthdays with food in the classroom.

The PTAs have also participated in the wellness initiative, Lison said, modifying some of its fundraisers. “It’s a great money-maker to sell chocolate and have a night at McDonalds,” she said, “but what does that say?”

Dever Principal Darren Gruen said the “no cupcake” policy is becoming more common among school districts. Lison and Chiachiere said they would be open to revisiting the policy if that is what the community wants.

Technology

Every classroom in District 13 is now equipped with a laptop, projector and a SMARTBoard. There is now also a SMART Table, an interactive learning table for primary students, at Willow Road with three more on the way.

The parent portal of the district’s website is up and running and now has a child’s report card, schedule and attendance available online for parents to see. Technology specialist Linda Alesi said there are already 550 registered users.

Computers were upgraded in sixth-grade classrooms, with 60 purchased this past year. District officials say next year they want to replace aging computers in the fifth-grade rooms.

Lison said that with so much technology in the schools, she wants to add another technology specialist next year. She said she would like this person to primarily work with the computer hardware and network infrastructure, freeing up Alesi more to work with teachers on using technology as an educational tool.

Test scores and more

District officials also discussed last year’s test scores and the state changes, which caused a drop in passing rates. Linda Roth, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said officials continue to analyze test data very carefully and look at each individual student’s strengths and weaknesses.

She said they also look at the performance of each grade level, each school and each subgroup, such as by race, gender and general or special education.

Roth also reported that the state is planning more changes this year, with plans to make the tests even harder. She noted that the fourth grade English Language Arts assessment will now have 43 questions instead of 35, with students being given the same amount of time to take it. Also, teachers will no longer get a sample of the test in advance from the state.

Lison said that she continues to make professional development a priority, and the district has numerous experts it turns to help make its teachers better. The goal, she said, is to give teachers access to the most timely information about education trends. If the district is going to have high expectations for students, Lison said there also must be high expectations for teachers.

Chiachiere noted that the bulk of the school budget is personnel costs, because it is the people, not the technology or the books, that create a successful educational system. “Education is expensive,” he said. “It’s a brain-based profession.”