By Deepa SeetharamanThe Daily Northwestern
More Evanston Township High School students were named Advanced Placement scholars by the College Board in 2006 than in previous years, said Superintendent Eric Witherspoon at a school board meeting Monday night.
This year, 190 students were recognized for their test scores on May’s exams, up from 175 last year. These students include 54 current seniors who were named AP scholars. Of those students, six achieved scores of 4 or 5 on at least eight AP tests to qualify as national AP scholars, the College Board’s highest distinction.
But the improved scores will not affect ETHS’ status as a failing school under the No Child Left Behind Act, Witherspoon said after the meeting.
ETHS has not met annual yearly progress goals for the past four years. Progress is calculated using the verbal and mathematics scores on Illinois’ Prairie State Achievement Examination. Students in each of No Child Left Behind’s ethnic and economic divisions must show improvement. If one group fails, then the school fails.
The board also postponed a decision to spend $6,800 to update its Board Policy Manual, parts of which date back to 1987. The manual provides guidance on several school-related matters including personnel policies, curriculum and student policy.
Bill Stafford, ETHS business manager, recommended the board approve a contract with the Illinois Association of School Boards to update the manual.
ETHS must “make sure we stay on top of changes in form and legal issues,” Stafford said. The manual also needs to be uploaded electronically for easy access, he said.
Many board members said they were confused by the contract’s wording. Board President Ross Friedman said the contract needed to state explicitly that it would comply with Illinois school codes.
During the meeting, the board also heard an update from ETHS Safety Director Frank Kaminski about the school’s new safety policies. The new standards require an increased number of safety drills, a camera system and a search engine for finding sexual offenders.
The new plan stipulates that during an emergency “that threatens the safety of any person or property, students and staff must turn off all cell phones and electronic devices.” Instead, staff and students should use the room’s panic button because in certain situations, such as a bomb threat, cell phone use could be harmful, Kaminski said.
The school board then heard a proclamation from Mayor Lorraine Morton naming Nov. 13 to 17 Literacy Week in Evanston. Heidi Randhava, adult literacy project coordinator for ETHS, read the announcement.
The Adult Literacy Project has received grant money from the Illinois State Library for the past 20 years. The program now involves 78 volunteers and 338 students, Randhava said.
The ETHS school board will hold its next meeting on Nov. 20 at ETHS, 1600 Dodge Ave.
Reach Deepa Seetharaman at [email protected].
