I am alerting you to recent developments in Winnetka District 36. In November the District administration admitted concealing student performance data from the Board and the community. Parents uncovered the problem and informed the Board. Superintendent Kocanda issued a formal apology to us, the Board and to the community. We learned yesterday that Assistant Superintendent Alison Hawley, who was responsible for curriculum and assessment, resigned.
The District has not been forthright with performance data. Deeper analysis, shared in the links below, demonstrates Winnetka District 36 is the lowest performing District of all the New Trier feeder schools and is struggling to meet state standards:
More data is here: http://www.slideshare.net/justthefactswinnetka/presentations
High taxation to support excellent schools has always been a value of this community. But high taxation to support schools that are struggling to meet state standards and have such inferior performance to Wilmette, Glencoe and Northfield is troubling. Further, property values and school reputation are closely linked. A very large number of dissatisfied families have pulled out of the District, with enrollment declines far exceeding surrounding towns. Our enrollment is down 19% since the peak in 2005. Last year 9% of the fifth grade class withdrew from school before the end of the school year.
In light of this news, we believe it is time for the District to strive for improved performance and reform its unconventional reading and math programs. Public schools should reflect the standards of the community. Unfortunately, there is no local respected news source that covers these issues. What you can do:
1) Help inform your friends and neighbors about our performance declines, and the unwillingness by the District leadership to reform the system.
2) Attend the School Board meeting next Tuesday, December 15. At 7:00pm there will be a regular meeting. There is time reserved for public comment (3 minutes per person) at the start and end of each meeting. There is also an earlier working session from 4:45-6:00pm in the Skokie Resource Room on STAR data. Please see the tab marked "School Board Meetings" above for more information on tomorrow's Board Meeting.
3) Become informed and engaged and express your concerns to the School Board. You are receiving this email because you signed the parentcoffee petition last fall along with 100 other residents. At that time, the District’s response was that it did not agree there was a problem.
Sincerely,
Katie Scullion
Former Winnetka Caucus Schools Chair; Former D36 Strategic Planning Committee Member
The District has not been forthright with performance data. Deeper analysis, shared in the links below, demonstrates Winnetka District 36 is the lowest performing District of all the New Trier feeder schools and is struggling to meet state standards:
- The District represented ERB results last winter as on par with other feeders. Our analysis found the opposite to be true, revealing Winnetka 8th graders have the lowest achievement on the ERB of all feeders. Winnetka students have the lowest achievement in math at high levels and in reading for all students. The ERB is used for student placement at New Trier.
- STAR data that has been presented to the Board to date shows alarmingly poor performance in lower grades compared to state averages, link here: http://www.winnetka36.org/sites/default/files/242/STARSept25FINAL.pdf
- ·PARCC results were released this week. Winnetka scores below all the other feeders. The elementary schools’ performance is below that of our income demographic. For example, at 49% meets/exceeds standards, Hubbard Woods is on par with a school that is 20-30% low income. Link here: http://reportcards.dailyherald.com/index.php
More data is here: http://www.slideshare.net/justthefactswinnetka/presentations
High taxation to support excellent schools has always been a value of this community. But high taxation to support schools that are struggling to meet state standards and have such inferior performance to Wilmette, Glencoe and Northfield is troubling. Further, property values and school reputation are closely linked. A very large number of dissatisfied families have pulled out of the District, with enrollment declines far exceeding surrounding towns. Our enrollment is down 19% since the peak in 2005. Last year 9% of the fifth grade class withdrew from school before the end of the school year.
In light of this news, we believe it is time for the District to strive for improved performance and reform its unconventional reading and math programs. Public schools should reflect the standards of the community. Unfortunately, there is no local respected news source that covers these issues. What you can do:
1) Help inform your friends and neighbors about our performance declines, and the unwillingness by the District leadership to reform the system.
2) Attend the School Board meeting next Tuesday, December 15. At 7:00pm there will be a regular meeting. There is time reserved for public comment (3 minutes per person) at the start and end of each meeting. There is also an earlier working session from 4:45-6:00pm in the Skokie Resource Room on STAR data. Please see the tab marked "School Board Meetings" above for more information on tomorrow's Board Meeting.
3) Become informed and engaged and express your concerns to the School Board. You are receiving this email because you signed the parentcoffee petition last fall along with 100 other residents. At that time, the District’s response was that it did not agree there was a problem.
Sincerely,
Katie Scullion
Former Winnetka Caucus Schools Chair; Former D36 Strategic Planning Committee Member