These are my thoughts on some of the issues facing District 102.
Improving our Education Program
Our District has a Strategic Plan which guides our approach to educating our kids. A strong educational program is the foundation of fulfilling this Strategic Plan. As explained below in my “personal evaluation” of the District’s educational program, I believe we’re doing many things well. However, there are specific areas where we should strive to improve.
Our District’s educational program is built on a “Three Tier” continuum. Under this “Three Tier” model, each curriculum area is supposed to include a basic, Tier I “core” program, a supplemental Tier II program and an intensive Tier III. Tier III generally includes special education. According to a report recently commissioned by the Board, our current curriculum only includes a Tier I program for mathematics and social emotional learning. This should be fixed. The Report to the Board also concludes that we should evaluate how well we’re implementing our policy of differentiation (modifying the lesson to meet the individual needs of each child). I strongly agree that we need to evaluate how well we’re differentiating in our classes. We should also take action on two schools with chronic issues: Congress Park and Park Junior High.
Finances
The District’s financial position is a mix of good news, bad news and uncertainty. First, the good news: the District is set to receive some additional funds from the expiration of the La Grange TIF and State funding for the Full Day Kindergarten program. However, much, if not all of this money has already been allocated to new initiatives, including the new Kindergarten program at Barnsdale Rd. and the High Ability Learners.
The bad news is the District continues to face significant financial challenges. One major and immediate need is a $1 million dollar renovation of the exterior walls at Cossitt. Engineers have already determined that these walls need to be fixed, the only question is how quickly. Costs continue to rise across the board and tax revenues do not yet account for the current economic downturn. On the contrary, the most recent assessments are based on the top of the 2006 bubble.
While we cannot know for certain what the economic situation will be like at the next assessment. However, we should be prepared for the possibility that tax revenues may remain flat or worse, go down. The passage of the recent referendum allowing the Park District to sell property east of the former YMCA should help, perhaps significantly.
In these difficult times, I believe we need to be even more cautious and conservative than we ordinarily would. As a Board member, I would scrutinize our budgets, plans and projections and to make sure we have enough resources to meet our needs along with a comfortable contingency.
Special Education
Special education (which includes services ranging from speech to out of District placements) makes up a large portion of our annual budget. Like surrounding Districts, our special education budget has steadily increased. Reacting in part to these escalating costs, the Board has already begun a review of our District’s delivery of special education services, including its relationship with the cooperative LADSE (LaGrange Area Department of Special Education).
One of the biggest challenges of evaluating special education is understanding the services that are provided. Without a thorough grasp of what we’re paying for, we cannot accurately evaluate the costs. Nor can we evaluate the quality of what we’re receiving for our money or the feasibility of doing things differently. As the parent of a child receiving special education services, I’ve experienced the system first hand. I have participated in developing my own child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and the gut-wrenching experience of finding an alternative placement. This would give me a unique and important perspective on the Board’s assessment of special education.
As a board member, I also would push for a comprehensive review of special education, particularly its relationship with our general education program. There are three parts to our curriculum that have a direct impact on special education: inclusion, differentiation, and our three-tiered model of delivering education. Inclusion means that the District will try to work with special needs students within existing classrooms to the extent possible. Differentiation means lessons are adjusted to meet the needs of each individual student. Under our “Three Tier” model, students not learning under the “core” Tier I curriculum would receive additional support under the Tier II or III approaches.
Special education comes into play when general education is not meeting our students’ needs. Therefore, the better we’re able to handle our general education, the less we’ll need from special education. Put another way, if a child’s special needs can be met through effective differentiation, special education is not necessary. Similarly, if a child needs Tier II instruction (and that instruction is not available), special education becomes the only option. I believe we need to examine how well we’re implementing our general education programs, especially differentiation and our second and third curriculum tiers. The better we’re able to manage our students within the general education program, the better (and more cost effective) our overall system of education will be.
The Departures of Key Administrators
This is a volitile time for the leadership of our administration. Dr. Van Clay will be leaving his position as Superintendant in 2009 and a search is well underway to find a new chief executive. Over the next several years, many of our other key administrators will also retire. Finding the best people to run our schools is arguably the Board's most important role.
Space Problems at Ogden and Cossitt
Over the past couple of years, enrollment numbers have contributed to a signifant space crunch at Ogden and Cossitt. Recent initiatives, including construction and the establishment of Full Day Kindergarten at Barnsdale Rd. have prevented the problem from reaching a crisis, at least for now. However, predicting future enrollment is notoriously difficult-- and is rarely done with any accuracy. Moreover, space remains a significant problem at Ogden, where students are forced to work in the hall and staff have extremely limited space. The Board must continue to to search for longer term solutions to these problems.