The following article was selected from the Internet Edition of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser to http://chicagotribune.com/. ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding---------------- Article forwarded by: Cayata Dixon Return e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,2669,SAV-0107080403,FF.html ---Forwarded article---------------- School warnings return By Stephanie Banchero Illinois State Board of Education officials said they will issue a warning list of academically troubled elementary schools for the first time in three years, and most of Chicago's public schools could land on it. Originally, the list was designed to flag foundering schools that needed additional resources to improve. But the board has decided to release the list even though it has set aside no new money to help what could be hundreds of struggling schools, officials said. The board's decision, vigorously opposed by Chicago school officials, highlights the quandary officials in Illinois and other states face in the national rush to adopt new school standards: At least 32 states have laid out stringent sanctions for schools that don't meet goals, but few have mustered the cash to help schools that do not reach them. In Chicago, with so many schools struggling, the issue is especially controversial. "If they are going to just put 300 or 400 [Chicago] schools on the list, I'm concerned about what kind of support they plan to give us," said Phil Hansen, chief accountability officer for Chicago Public Schools. "What we've learned in Chicago is that it takes support and additional resources to help struggling schools. You can't just put them on a list and then not help them." Matthew Gandal, vice president of Achieve Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., group that encourages standards reforms, said education officials across the nation are laboring to devise the methods--and find the means--to assist schools in need. "It's a question of political will," said Gandal, whose group completed a study of Illinois education reform efforts. "It's a big step to identify failing schools, but it's a much bigger step to actually hold schools accountable. A lot of state boards have not been able to summon the political will and come up with the money and assistance for failing schools." State Schools Supt. Glenn "Max" McGee said Friday that the state board will resume the academic warning list for elementary schools under the old formula set by state law--more than 50 percent of students failing the Illinois Standards Achievement Test two years in a row. Placement on the list is the first step in a complex series of sanctions that can lead to a shutdown of a school, a step that has never been taken. "We [the public school system] cannot continue to just make excuses and to hide; we are not benefiting anyone that way," McGee said. "The test results are what they are and we need to do something about it." The state rolled out a new test for high schools in April. McGee said a decision has not yet been made on whether the state will publish a list of schools that fail it. An official academic warning list has not been issued since 1998 when 78 schools, including 58 in Chicago, were named. In 1999, the state switched from the Illinois Goals Assessment Program to the more rigorous ISAT and did not publish a list because they did not have two years' worth of ISAT scores. They suspended the list in 2000 after a nasty public battle with Paul Vallas, former Chicago schools chief. But 76 schools were kept on an unofficial list last year and the state spent $4.3 million to provide help, including high-quality educators who work with teachers on curriculum and teaching strategies. This year's state budget also sets aside $4.3 million for schools on the warning list, even though the number could balloon to as many as 600 or 700 schools, according to McGee. "We didn't ask for any more money [from state legislators] because there wasn't any money to ask for," McGee said. "We are not going to get any more money than we already have so it's a matter of using what money we have wisely so we get the best bang for the buck." McGee acknowledged that the state board cannot afford to provide the intensive support it has given in the past, but he said the state will work "in some capacity" with all of the schools by targeting them for state grants and by linking them up with high-achieving schools. He also said the board is spending an additional $6 million for reading and alternative programs at troubled schools. "What we, as a state board, have to do is help people help themselves," McGee said. "It may be a cliche, but it's like the old saying `Don't give me a fish, teach me how to fish.' That's what we have to do." It is not known how many Illinois schools will land on this year's warning list because the state has not released the most recent test results. But 756 elementary schools, including 390 in Chicago--nearly 80 percent of the system--could be eligible after flunking last year's state test. Results from the new 11th grade Prairie State Achievement Exam also have not been released. Further complicating matters, the State Board of Education is in the midst of overhauling how it punishes and rewards schools. Under a proposal approved last year, the state would move to an elaborate six-tier ranking system. Schools would not go on the warning list until 67 percent of their students flunked. That could cut the number of eligible schools in half, allowing the state to send more money to the neediest schools. But right after the proposal was approved, state board officials began reworking it because some superintendents and business leaders complained. McGee, who said he does not support lowering the bar to 67 percent, said agency officials hope to present a revamped blueprint by October. He also said he hopes to have a new ranking system in place before the official warning list is published later this year. The initial proposal approved by the board called for $16 million in state money to help the 350 worst performing schools. Instead, the board will have only $4.3 million to help perhaps twice as many. "Realistically, we don't have the money to give everyone the level of support [provided last year]," McGee acknowledged. "But I would like to see how can we work together to solve this problem and help these schools. We just can't do things the same way as before, there's not enough money." ---------------------------------------------------- This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
