A new math graduation requirement topped discussion at last night’s District 202 board meeting, along with a revised policy for field trips.
Beginning with this year’s freshmen class, students will have to take three years of math to meet Evanston Township High School’s graduation requirement. Teachers discussed ways they could help students meet the three-year course minimum.
Math teacher Margaret McCart said the key to improvement is to create a student-teacher relationship on an individual level.
“It’s just that personal ‘come with me,’ and I pick them up and take them to the math lab,” said McCart, who spends one-on-one time working with several students.
Student board member Alex Johnson said the effort has to be mutual to be effective.
“It’s the personal invitation that really helps bring kids in,” Johnson said. “It’s not that those resources aren’t available, it’s that sometimes students need that extra push to take advantage of them.”
Another change in the math department is the addition of a new class scheduled for the 2005-06 academic year. The class, which will be presented in more detail in fall 2004, will be a bridge between Algebra I and either Algebra II or Topics in Mathematics.
Board member Martha Burns said she wanted to see an improvement in minority students’ achievement in math and all other subjects.
“I want our school system to be on the list of schools that have African-American and Latino students scoring in the 90th percentile,” Burns said.
Board member Willie Miller Jr. said a critical part of improving minority student achievement is encouraging high self-esteem.
Changes to the curriculum will be made under the eyes of a group that will come this year to evaluate ETHS student performance, as well as how the school functions overall.
The North Central Association and Illinois State Board of Education require that the district participate in the Critical Friends Group Program, which brings in about 20 people to observe and critique ETHS’s curriculum. The group includes administrators, superintendents and education experts from across the country.
“We have used feedback to restructure programs, refocus goals and improve instruction,” said Judith Levinson, director of research evaluation.
Levinson said the Critical Friends assessors are chosen based on experience and represent a group diverse in race and gender.
Later in the meeting, the board revised its Field Trip and Tours policy. The board began discussions on changing the policy after a controversial field trip cancellation last year. The Latin Club’s Italian tour was cancelled when the war in Iraq began and administrators thought overseas travel would be dangerous.
“This gives us a little more latitude on why we would cancel a tour,” assistant superintendent Denise Martin said.
