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Chicago Tribune
30-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Waukegan school board mulling district survey results; ‘We are right in the middle'
With issuance of the annual Illinois State School Board of Education (ISBE) report card more than four months away, the Waukegan Community Unit School District community is getting an idea of its performance from students, teachers and parents. Parents, students and teachers all participated in the nationwide 5Essentials Survey of school wellness, judging five areas of school performance — ambitious instruction, collaborative teachers, effective leaders, involved families and a supportive environment. Taken by school districts in 22 states evaluating more than 6,000 schools, the 5Essentials Survey is required of all Illinois schools by the ISBE. District 60 Board of Education member Carolina Fabian said the results are incorporated into the ISBE's annual school report card. Members of the District 60 Board of Education learned the results of the 5Essentials Survey during a regularly scheduled meeting on June 24 at the Education Service Center in downtown Waukegan, learning how administrators will utilize the information. Amanda Patti, the associate superintendent of strategy and accountability, said in an email after the meeting that the survey results are a guide on what needs to be done and what successes can be utilized to better educate city youths. 'Increasing our ratings on post-secondary preparation, safety outside of the school, and having more parents complete the survey are areas we will focus on as we work with school leaders this year,' Patti said. Voting on the five areas of evaluation, the district's schools are judged on the improvement or decline in their past year. Eric Christenson, director of student support services, said schools are rated 'well organized,' 'organized,' 'moderately organized,' 'partially organized' or 'not yet organized.' 'Waukegan's overall district status is 'moderately organized,'' Christenson said. 'We are right in the middle, about what we were last year. The (middle) category is from 40 to 60, and you see they're all in there and they're all creeping up towards the strong?' Voting is done by students — fourth graders through high school — teachers and parents. Christenson said nearly all students participated, while teacher voting ranged from 60% at McCall Elementary School to 98.3% at Carman-Buckner Elementary School. Fabian said she is concerned with the overall level of teacher participation at 70%. She wants to see an effort made by the administration to make sure teachers vote. Unless they are absent, there are ample opportunities. 'What I really was noticing is why we don't have the teacher's participation at a higher rate when we have frequent staff meetings when all the teachers are together,' Fabian said. 'Why isn't there time being set aside. Teachers are there.' Christenson said the goal of parent participation is 20%. All schools except Waukegan High School, with 6%, achieved the standard. Participation drops significantly in high school. Patti said it is a concern that will be addressed. Learning perception exists that there is insufficient effort to prepare students for college was the lowest score on the entire survey. Board President Michael Rodriguez wanted to know the basis of the evaluation. Christenson said it is a composite score from students, teachers and parents. 'They ask teachers if your students will be successful in college,' Christenson said. 'They ask students if they are being prepared for post-secondary (education). They ask parents if you think your children are being prepared for post-secondary.' Board member Christine Lensing said she is glad trust between parents and teachers, and between students and teachers has increased, but she is displeased with the results within some segments of the community. It remains a problem. Lensing said that in the elementary schools, a large amount of time the first two weeks of school is devoted to relationship building as a 'community' is formed. Tough middle and high school students have multiple teachers and the same is true for instructors, relationship building must be emphasized. 'You really need to make sure you're building a community in your class even though you have six or seven of them throughout the day,' Lensing said. 'These kids need to come to you for a variety of reasons. You never know where these kids are going to find inspiration to propel them in life.' When teachers create 'communities within our classrooms, within our buildings,' Lensing said areas like preparation for post-secondary education and trust will improve.
Chicago Tribune
30-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Waukegan program aims to keep students from being left back; ‘Ensure they receive targeted, timely support … before promotion decisions are made'
A new summer school bridge program in Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 — which has been years in the making and will give students with unsatisfactory performance an opportunity to advance to the next grade — debuts next week. Amanda Patti, the district's associate superintendent of strategy and accountability, said a plan was developed in 2018 to give students more tools to succeed rather than requiring them to repeat a grade or advancing them without the needed skills. Though the plan had wide community support, Patti said in an email that when the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close for the rest of the academic year in March 2020, and learning was remote for most of the following term, the program was never implemented. 'The policy has since been revised through an equity-focused review process,' she said. 'The new policy emphasizes classroom performance and academic growth over standardized test results. In past years, retentions were rare, with just a handful annually.' The Summer Bridge program begins Tuesday at select elementary and middle schools, as well as the Waukegan High School Brookside campus, giving students with poor grades over the past school year a shot at promotion, as well as traditional summer school. Giving the District 60 Board of Education an update Tuesday at the Education Service Center in downtown Waukegan, Patti said students who complete third grade, eighth grade or their freshman year in high school with a subpar report card can choose summer school over retention. All 253 students — 56 third graders, 121 middle schoolers and 76 freshmen — who did not meet the necessary academic benchmarks chose the bridge. They include 5.4% of the district's third-grade students, 12.1% of those in middle school and 8.4% of the high school freshmen. Patti said third graders performing below grade level in both math and reading must enter the bridge program to move on to fourth grade. Before entering high school, eighth graders must have a rolling 2.0 grade point average or go into the bridge program. Freshmen must enter the bridge program if they do not earn three credits. The bridge program recommendation was not a surprise to the families involved, she said. With each report card, parents knew if their child was performing poorly. Simultaneously, Patti said there were interventions with the students and supports put in place. 'We had parent notification and conferencing throughout the year,' she said at the meeting. 'So, parents and students had a lot of information to know where they were, and how to potentially get off this list for promotion/retention.' Superintendent Theresa Plascencia said in an email that the policy is designed to avoid requiring a student to repeat a grade by helping them learn the required material rather than increasing the number. 'This policy is designed to identify students at risk of falling behind and ensure they receive targeted, timely support to address their academic needs before promotion decisions are made,' she said. At the end of the first quarter of the school year, 85 third graders were notified. The number averaged 88 in the next two grading periods before dropping to 56 by the end of the year, according to district records. The number of middle school students needing extra help hovered at 200 at one point, but fell to 121. High school students were steady through the year, settling at 76. Plascencia said helping students advance is a joint effort between the youngsters, their families and school personnel. It is important that everyone does their part to ensure students are not required to repeat a grade. 'We hope to reinforce that students understand their responsibility as learners, that parents are informed and actively partnering with us to support their child's academic performance and that schools are expanding opportunities to ensure every student has access to the supports and interventions they need to succeed,' Plascencia said.
Chicago Tribune
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Waukegan D60 officials scrambling to keep up with Trump executive orders; ‘We remain dedicated to serving all students with fairness and care'
Waukegan Community School District 60 officials are trying to determine the impact of some of the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump since he took office earlier this year. One of the orders prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and any grants funding them, while another dealt with gender identity and a third involved school choice. Superintendent Theresa Plascencia sent a message to the school community Monday in an effort to help calm any angst that has been created. While letting the community know the district must obey the law, she said in the email the commitment to giving students the necessary support to succeed continues. This includes resources, programs and individualized support, 'consistent with the best educational practices.' 'This means that regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability or any other category protected by law, we remain dedicated to serving all students with fairness and care,' she wrote. A discussion of the impact of Trump's executive orders by the District 60 Board of Education at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday at the Lincoln Center administration building in Waukegan was postponed because of court decisions hours earlier. Board of Education President Brandon Ewing said when it was time for the report on Trump's executive orders and a discussion by board members, the situation may have changed making the report dated. 'We just received news in the span of 90 minutes three of those executive actions have been overturned by the courts,' Ewing said. 'We don't want to present inaccurate information. I don't want to pontificate without knowing.' Plascencia said a report will be given at the next meeting on March 11. Ewing said a special meeting can be scheduled earlier if necessary. General Counsel Kathryn Vander Broek said more information was needed before a discussion. 'I prefer to hold everything until I see exactly what happened,' Vander Broek said at the meeting. 'The situation remains fluid, with court decisions impacting the implementation of executive orders,' she added in an email Wednesday. In one of the first executive orders issued, all discriminatory programs, which include DEI, are to be eliminated and recipients of federal funds — the district receives federal funding for some programs — must certify compliance, according to the PowerPoint presentation prepared for the meeting. Limited compliance guidance is available from federal or state agencies, according to the PowerPoint. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recognizes protection against discrimination for a number of groups, including those related to race, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy, arrest record, citizenships or military status. Though grant funding may be at risk under the order, terminating grants to organizations in the private sector is now permanently enjoined by a recent court order, according to the PowerPoint. Investigations can still take place. Under another order, federal policy, practices and guidelines will recognize only two sexes — male and female — according to the PowerPoint. Federal funds are also at risk for organizations that allow male participation in female sports, social transition or gender ideology The Illinois High School Association, which governs prep sports in Illinois, allows 'participation with students by their gender identification,' according to its official policy. There are procedures an athlete must follow. Plascencia said in an email Wednesday that while adapting to new legal requirements, a supportive learning environment for students will remain. The district will also continue to follow ISBE guidance on requirements to, 'ensure compliance at the state level.' 'While executive orders and federal policies continue to evolve, we work to interpret and implement these changes in a way that aligns with both our educational mission and legal obligations,' Plascencia wrote. The board did unanimously reclassify three administrative positions Tuesday. The associate superintendent for equity, innovation and accountability, is now the associate superintendent for strategy and accountability. The director of equity and inclusion is now the director of student access and achievement. The manager of equity and inclusion is now the manager of student access and achievement.
