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Long Range Planning — Coming Closer to Recommendations! Equity –#112Leads

The quote from Theodore Roosevelt captures the spirit of the opportunities we have in North Shore School District 112 at this time! We have the opportunity to do what we can (make changes to improve educational outcomes, facilities, and equity one step at a time), with what we have (accumulated fund balance savings as well as a limited bond issue paid for out of operation funds) where we are (in 2018 with 10 schools in operation for 3852 students grades PK-8).

Our Long Range Planning Process, documented and archived at the Long Range Plan Web Page shows a rich, dynamic, changing process where extensive and expansive community engagement, information review and analysis, historic and political and sociological impact study and review, and of course, financial impact analysis are about to yield a plan that will provide dramatic and profound impact on learning for more than half of our nearly 4000 students in grades PK-8 in a short period of time.

North Shore School District 112 was reluctantly created after the consolidation of three historic local school districts in 1993. In 2018, 25 years since the creation of the District, it is time for us to rise above historic disagreements, factual and mythological concerns, and other issues that have led to paralysis instead of progress.   ALL students matter, ALL schools matter, and ALL neighborhoods matter!

Our Long Range Plan is focused on equitable access to educational opportunities for ALL students every day with support for our teachers in modernized learning facilities designed to support learning and growth and social/emotional learning for ALL.

The revised, updated, draft Long Range Plan (to be formally recommended to the Board of Education at the October 23, 2018, Regular Board meeting) calls for the following:

  • Major renovations at Northwood Middle School (build out for up to 600 students)
  • Major renovations at Edgewood Middle School (build out for up to 950 students)
  • Budget dependent — major renovations at Red Oak Elementary School (closing and absorbing Sherwood Elementary School) build out for around 615 students.
  • Use of up to 75% of the $49,000,000 fund balance (savings account)
  • Use of up to $55,000,000 in Alternative Revenue Bonds (paid for over 20 years at $4,000,000 a year)
  • Still spend $3,000,000 a year from operations budget on school upgrades, repairs and modernization over time.

In the four years’ worth of this phase of the plan’s construction all of our school buildings will not be equal in terms of enrollment (nor have they ever been), we will start to achieve equitable facilities starting with both middle schools (where all children will attend) and possibly at one of our elementary schools (with an additional school closure). Over time we will continue to do what we can with what we have where we are (and will be).

During our work and our recent study, we’ve talked a great deal about Equity and Equality …What is equity? Why is equity preferred to equality?

Sharing some materials related to equity/equality from Illinois education leaders Julie Schmidt & Lori James-Gross:

Over the last several years, the discussion of equality versus equity has been at the forefront of our reform work in Illinois. As a result, the development of the New Accountability Model, the Evidence Based Funding Model, and the writing of the ESSA Plan occurred with practitioners at the table. To further the conversation of equity, it becomes the work of district/school leadership to ensure that expenditure of funds is distributed equitably within the district and across all buildings….to address student performance through an equity lens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embedding the Slide Deck with background information from the presentation shared at the October 4, 2018, Long Range Planning Committee Meeting:

4 Comments

  1. Question, what is so equitable about stating that the changes will impact less than 50% of students in the district, yet it will impact 100% of the students who attend Red Oak and Sherwood and the neighborhood around those schools.

    • mlubelfeld

      October 10, 2018 at 2:06 am

      Dear Deborah,
      Thank you for reading my blog and for taking the time to comment. The draft plan, as shared in the post and at the 10/4 LRPC meeting would impact more than 50% of all students at once and then all students subsequently as they enrolled in the middle schools. We will put forth the revised plan’s recommendations at the 10/23/2018 school board meeting. We’re thrilled to have the chance to move the district forward with responsible financial planning and incremental change and improvement while at the same time taking steps to improve educational outcomes for all children at all of the District’s schools. Change takes steps — change is hard — these plans are not simple or whimsical as you and as everyone knows, they take a great deal of review, revisions, refinement and then implementation. Major facility changes go a long way in the improvement of educational aims and outcomes.
      ML

      Be sure to review our Long Range Plan Page at https://www.nssd112.org/Long-RangePlanning

  2. We are not the squeaky wheels. Sherwood and Red Oak have already lost cohorts, lost their middle school which you promptly repopulate with the NW kids. Why not put the NW kids at EW and then the EW kids may be able to fit in NW 7,8th and 6th at Lincoln. THEN, everyone feels the restructuring!!!

    • mlubelfeld

      December 31, 2018 at 4:01 pm

      Hi Jori,
      Thank you for reading the blog and for taking the time to comment! Our planning, decision making, refinement of plans, and ultimate recommendations came after a great deal of input and analysis. We are proud to move forward as planned with a great deal of emphasis on our future and the improvement of education as priority #1. The physical structures of the middle schools will be brought up to modern standards and as a community, we’ll all be proud and inspired. The next four years will have additional transitions and many people will be affected and impacted.
      Thank you for keeping the communication lines open and thank you for following our work through our various communication formats. Our aim is to get the information out in a timely, comprehensive, and open manner.
      Happy & Healthy New Year to you and your family,
      Mike

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