The District 202 school board will discuss possible changes to the evening school program at its meeting tonight.
Evanston Township High School superintendent Allan Alson will present his proposal on how to ensure that the evening school program provides quality education, school board president Willie J. Miller Jr. said. Alson has suggested changing part of the evening school schedule to allow some students to participate in extracurricular activities at ETHS, school board member Martha Burns said.
ETHS spokeswoman Kathy Miehls said last week that the evening school does not meet all the needs of its students because the students come from different backgrounds. The program mainly accommodates teen parents, students with disabilities and teens who work during the day, she said.
The board also will vote on whether to lease space at ETHS to the Minority Student Achievement Network, an organization of 15 schools across the country, including ETHS, that works to improve academic performance through research and partnerships. Alson, who heads the network, would like for the Evanston branch to be closer to ETHS, Burns said.
Burns said she supports the idea, but wants more information on what the network does to help minority students at ETHS.
“I don’t have a problem with the network being (at ETHS),” Burns said. “I just want to know what the trickle-down effect on the students will be … what are the short- and long-range goals of student achievement?”
At the meeting, the board also will:
_Ѣ review the district’s 2002-03 budget goals. While the district’s budget would not be affected by proposed city budget cuts, the board will look at ETHS budget goals to ensure they are fiscally sound, Miller said.
Burns said the discussion on the budget will focus less on specific items than on general aims – such as maintaining extracurricular programs at ETHS.
_Ѣ hear a presentation from ETHS audiovisual technicians on efforts to install technology in the school for live cable television broadcasts. At the last meeting, board members debated whether the benefits of the cable broadcasts would outweigh the costs of installing the system. If the board approves the system, meetings would be broadcast live on Evanston cable television in the future.
The board will meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at ETHS, 1600 Dodge Ave.
