Will District #150 implement the 5Essentials Survey?

Source

The District is known for picking and choosing which State requirement they will comply with. Hopefully they will choose to comply with the 5Essentials Survey; it could provide some very useful information:

Survey dates: February 4 –March 31, 2013
Web site: https://illinois.5-essentials.org
Details: 5Essentials Frequently Asked Questions
Sample: Student Survey Questions

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey, required to be implemented this school year by legislation passed in 2011, represents the first attempt by a state to administer a statewide survey of learning conditions to teachers, students, and parents.

Between February 4, 2013 and March 31, students in grades 6-12 will be given time during one of their classes to participate in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey. The survey is conducted online through the University of Chicago, on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education.

In taking the survey students have the unique opportunity to comment on and make an impact on their own school environment. While staff will administer the online survey:

Students’ identities will be completely confidential.

Teachers or administrators will never see individual responses to survey questions only summary level responses, such as the percentage of students’ who agree homework assignments help them learn the course material.

If you are the parent of a middle or high school student and you do not want your child to participate in this survey, please contact your junior high or high school student’s school office on Monday, February 4. To view student survey questions, click here. Please DO NOT have your child take this survey at home to avoid duplication of information.

ABOUT THE SURVEY
Across Illinois, parents, teachers, and high school and junior high students are being invited to take part in improving their school environment by participating in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey was designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of our schools by gathering individual thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness.

The 5Essentials Survey identifies five indicators that can lead to important student outcomes, including test score gains. The research shows that schools that are excellent in 3 out of 5 show 10 times the potential for improvement. The five indicators that effect school success are:

Effective leaders
Collaborative teachers
Involved families
Supportive environments
Ambitious instruction

Based on 20 years of research conducted by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research in more than 400 schools, the 5Essentials have been shown to be strongly predictive of school improvement. For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view sample school reports, please visit https://illinois.5-essentials.org.

Statewide summary results will be shared with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) this summer. School-level results will also be sent to schools this summer. A portion of the results will be part of the 2013 school report cards, typically released by ISBE at the end of October.

The District disputes/answers the questions/rumors

Questions/Rumors about Teri Dunn:

The District Disputes/Answers:

The board on Monday hired Teri Dunn as a labor relations specialist, a newly created non-certified position that serves as a precursor to the district's plans to hire an in-house attorney. Dunn retired as The District's Human Resources Director July 1. She was off while The District made sure there were no issues with her retirement benefits. The Illinois State Board of Education had to approve the new position as a non-certified post. Source

Questions/Rumors about Dianne Duke and Ryan Olson:

The District Disputes/Answers:

On Monday, Ryan Olson was named principal of Woodruff Career and Technical Center. He replaces Diann Duke, who was moved to Hines Primary School as an assistant principal. Her salary will remain the same. Source

"Expect the latter."

Interestingly enough, the post from last Monday, which talked about District 150 terminating the contract with the Peoria Charter School Initiative ("PCSI" the Board for Quest Charter Academy) in 2015, continues to get loads of hits.

I originally thought the quote (shown above) about the 2015 termination of the contract was a typo, so I have been checking the on-line edition for a retraction. To date, I have yet to see a retraction on the statement.

Within the same article as the comment about ending the contract in 2015, the Superintendent of Peoria Public Schools was quoted as saying "I'm excited about the success at Quest,...it's a benefit to the district... (Quest) is expanding into high school for next year and they will continue to have district support. They are meeting the needs of the district and the community." Therein lies the contradiction.

The most recent interview the Superintendent of Peoria Public Schools gave to the local newspaper, didn't reveal any new information on the subject.

Perhaps the retraction was in the "print edition" of the local newspaper. However, I don't take the "print edition" of the local paper. So, if anybody has seen the retraction, please advise.

The final decision to deny, revoke or not renew the PCSI contract in 2015, will be made by the local school board.

Glen Barton named to State Charter School Commission

Former Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Glen Barton has been appointed to a new state commission dealing with charter schools. Barton was one of nine people selected by the Illinois Board of Education for the State Charter School Commission.

Its goal is to review charter school applications and consider them for approval or denial. This will primarily deal with appeals of charter agreements that have been denied, revoked or not renewed by local school boards.

Barton is the current President of the Quest Charter Academy Board in Peoria. The new appointment begins November 1st.Source