By Deepa SeetharamanThe Daily Northwestern

Evanston Township High School won a state award by SchoolSearch, an online school ranking company, said Superintendent Eric Witherspoon at a board meeting Tuesday at ETHS.

The Bright Red Apple Award is based on five criteria: teacher salaries and education level, spending per student, academic performance, and pupil-teacher ratio. ETHS was ranked among the 19 best public high schools in Illinois.

“It’s a nice honor,” Witherspoon said.

During the meeting, board members also heard a litany of presentations about programs designed to improve the school curriculum. The school recently launched a biweekly broadcast show developed by students, called KIT News.

The program, shown in school every other Friday, is designed to be “not just a PR arm of the school,” said broadcast teacher Todd Rubin, who oversees the program.

“This was better than the 10-o’clock news,” said board president Ross Friedman, after board members viewed the first broadcast.

The board also listened to a presentation about its first math-intensive summer camp for students with average math skills. During the Algebra Allies camp, students were drilled on basic math concepts. The invitation-only camp also stressed self-confidence and handling feedback.

Board members also learned about Kurzweil software, which helps special education faculty teach reading comprehension. With the software, students can click on words they don’t know and they can hear and read a definition. Teachers demonstrated the program at the meeting, using it to read John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.”

The program has “increased the pace we read,” said special education teacher Anne Gilford.

Writing also has improved, Gilford said. Before the software, student papers never exceeded 70 words. Now, papers are about 150 words.

The board also heard a presentation about residential and commercial development near Church and Dodge. A new Potbelly’s, Starbucks and bakery are possible new businesses. Friedman stressed the importance of healthy food stores near ETHS after the presentation.

The next board meeting will be Monday, Oct. 23 at ETHS, 1600 Dodge Ave.

Reach Deepa Seetharaman at [email protected].