Remedial science students and and advanced science students should not be in the same summer school classes, Evanston Township High School’s summer school coordinators told the school board Monday.
Students who failed chemistry and biology classes during the school year are being lumped with students taking the classes for advance credit to free up their regular school year schedules, said summer school coordinators Richard Bowers and Michael Wynn. They suggested offering split chemistry and biology classes for next summer, separating the two types of students.
“It’s not a good idea to put kids who didn’t do so well into a class where time is more compressed with kids who enjoy science and are having a good time,” Bowers said. “By separating them, we give them more intensive treatment.”
The summer school report did not give estimates for possible costs of adding new courses, but Bowers did mention that more teachers were needed overall for the program next year.
Bowers also suggested a $10 increase for both the registration fee and the supplies fee. These changes are meant to offset the increasing costs of maintaining the summer school program. According to the report, ETHS operated at a deficit of more than $85,000 last summer.
“The summer school has always been the losing party in the budget,” superintendent Allan Alson said. “While we don’t like to see the deficit in a single program, we’re hoping to encourage kids to use the (school).”
Wynn and Bowers also proposed implementing a theater workshop for students who are interested in acting. The workshop would not add extra costs because ETHS is working to obtain funding from Northlight Theatre in Skokie.
In other business, school board members expressed doubt over whether to broadcast future board meetings live through cable television because they felt the estimated cost of $20,000 could be better spent on other student programs. Board meetings are taped live and then re-broadcast about three times a week on Evanston’s cable network.
But Glen Hill, the television technician for ETHS, pointed out that some people believe tapes are edited before they are aired. This is not true, Hill said.
“We have never edited any of our tapes, but because we’re not live, they have to take our word for it,” Hill said. “(Broadcasting live) assures people that we’re not hiding anything.”
Board member Ross Friedman said he did not think live broadcasts were a good idea because it gave people an uncensored forum to defame the ETHS administration.
But Hill said sporting events, theater productions and other ETHS activities could also be broadcast live, depending on whether the board approves the added equipment costs. The board plans to make a final decision at its Feb. 11 meeting after a budget has been submitted, Alson said.
