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'Failing' label gone, school improvement work continues

No matter how long a school had been deemed "failing" under the No Child Left Behind education act of 2001, it has shed that label now.

Along with losing the stigma, schools across the suburbs also gained freedom from several federal mandates for the first time this summer.

They don't have to offer school choice or allocate certain federal funds from outside agencies toward services, nor must some completely restructure their schools - all because Illinois received a waiver this spring from the law that controlled education for more than a decade.

The Daily Herald reviewed data from the Illinois School Report Cards released this fall and examined three districts - the state's second-largest district in Elgin, a typically high-performing and historically affluent district in Naperville, and a district in Round Lake that once was run by the state - to see how they are adjusting without the mandates.

What remains, educators say, is a commitment to strategically improving every school - "failing" at one time or not - and providing each student what he or she needs to grow.

"Essentially, the work remains the same, which is to invest in the same practices around great teaching and learning happening in classrooms," said Ushma Shah, assistant superintendent for elementary schools, instruction and equity in Elgin District U-46. "That has been our focus from the beginning, and that remains our focus regardless of what the labels are."

Educators say autonomy is the most important benefit they gained when the mandates of No Child Left Behind were lifted. The aim of the federal education law was to have 100 percent of students meet or exceed reading and math standards by this year, but states were allowed to apply for waivers once full compliance was deemed unreasonable.

Tim Wierenga, assistant superintendent of assessment and analytics for Naperville Unit District 203, said districts now are free to determine the best way to improve their schools and fund programs accordingly.

"This allows our schools to not be told how to do that," he said, "but actually to look at what the need of the school is and put the emphasis there."

Local control is playing out differently in each district now that no one is saying suburban schools are failures.

<h3 class="breakHead">Elgin Area U-46</h3>

In the state's second-largest school district, 11 elementary schools failed to meet standards of No Child Left behind for so long they were required to begin restructuring their governance. That's no longer in effect, but the schools are following through by choice.

U-46 officials say they never viewed the 11 schools - Channing, Garfield, Highland, Hillcrest, Huff, Laurel Hill, Lords Park, Lowrie, Parkwood, O'Neal and Washington - as failures, despite the fact they did not have enough students meet or exceed standards for several years.

"This idea that we unilaterally label a group of schools as failing - that strategy itself has failed," Shah said. "We knew that from the very beginning, so we never accepted that premise that those were failing schools."

Still, the district is working to better support teachers and reshape the culture of these schools, aiming for an emphasis on students and results. The main improvement strategy for the 11 schools is one of investment, Shah says - investment in teachers.

Educators have created a teacher coaching process in which grade-level teams meet weekly with a "transformation coach" to review the best ways to reach students and ensure they're learning.

Eight former teachers now are transformation coaches. They help with a continuous cycle of assessing student performance on pretests, planning exercises based on areas where students struggled, evaluating test data again and using it to plan the next lesson.

Abbie Eklund, a lead teacher who oversees the transformation coaches, said they work to help teachers focus on "not just that I taught it, but did the students learn?"

The coaching process helps not only with instruction but also with equity. When grade-level teachers meet, consistency among lessons in different classrooms grows. In one example from a recent coaching session, Eklund said teachers helped each other recognize what counted as "mastery" on a writing assignment so that all students would be graded fairly.

Only teachers at the 11 transformation schools are able to meet with the coaches this year, but Shah said administrators may expand the practice districtwide. Shah said U-46 is glad its schools have shed labels like "failing" and "restructuring" but also is glad to continue the work once required by those designations.

"We've taken a positive approach to federal restructuring," Shah said. "We're learning every day and we still have a long way to go."

<h3 class="breakHead">Naperville Dist. 203</h3>

Two schools in Naperville Unit District 203 had to offer school choice during the last two years No Child Left Behind was in effect.

The requirement didn't affect the traditionally high-performing district too heavily, as only 17 students switched schools during the two years Mill Street Elementary had to offer choice and the one year it was required at Beebe Elementary.

Beyond that, buildings deemed "failing" also were required to make school improvement plans and file them with the state. That practice continues even though it is no longer mandated.

"We like that process, so we decided that even though we're not required to do it anymore, we decided it was valuable for our schools," said Wierenga, assistant superintendent in charge of assessment and analytics.

Educators such as Mill Street Principal Mary Baum quickly discovered the benefits of following the school improvement planning process required by the state, a method called "Rising Star." Baum said the process helps evaluate best practices, such as reviewing student data to make decisions about instruction.

"One of the nice pieces is that it starts with some research that you look at to determine what's the best practice in a particular area," she said. "You compare what's happening at your school with what's research-based best practice, and when you see a gap between those two, then you see an opportunity to change and grow."

Wierenga said roughly half the 22 schools in District 203 would have been required to create school improvement plans last year, so the district decided to make it mandatory for all. So far, common school improvement goals include using student data, such as scores on pretests and standardized tests, to decide where to focus lessons and differentiating classroom material for students based on their understanding.

"No Child Left Behind in many senses got us to be more data-oriented. ... We've tried to have our staff look at data in a very learner-based way so that it helps with students' growth over time," Wierenga said. "In a way, it's had a good impact to help us become more data-oriented, and it's also led us to a good school improvement process."

<h3 class="breakHead">Round Lake Dist. 116</h3>

Freedom in how to spend federal school support money is the main benefit Round Lake District 116 gained when No Child Left Behind became a thing of the past.

The district receives about $426,000 from a government fund that supports schools with high numbers of disadvantaged children. That money still must be spent on supplemental educational services such as tutoring. "The difference is in who delivers those services," said Keely Roberts, executive director of teaching and learning.

Now, teachers provide intervention and after-school help in literacy and math - not outside contractors as was required during the No Child Left Behind era.

"That's a huge change for us," Roberts said. "We feel really confident about it."

District 116 has begun to implement a restructuring plan created in spring 2012 after years of "failing" designations. Under the plan, the district has updated textbooks, created a "parent university" to increase engagement and started to provide frequent monitoring of student progress and responsive approaches for struggling children.

Freedom to choose how to spend the federal money is a significant step for the district, which from 2002 to 2010 was run by school finance authority members appointed by the state board of education.

When that ended, the district first worked on shoring up its finances. But now, Roberts said, the focus has shifted to academics.

"We're really focused on providing rigorous academic programming for students, having confidence it will eventually result in high levels of achievement on those assessments," she said.

Round Lake will stick to its restructuring plan even though it's no longer required. With teachers instead of outside vendors now providing support services, Roberts said she is optimistic about the progress students will make.

"It's a really exciting time for us," she said. "We see this as a huge opportunity for Round Lake to really showcase what we're capable of."

  Transformation Coach Julie Miller, center, shares strategies with third-grade teachers at Huff Elementary School in Elgin, one of many suburban schools formerly labeled as 'failing.' Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Tim Wierenga, assistant superintendent for assessment and analytics for Naperville Unit District 203, explains why all schools in the district are continuing to formulate school improvement plans, even though they're no longer required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Marie Wilson/mwilson@dailyherald.com
  Tim Wierenga, assistant superintendent for assessment and analytics for Naperville Unit District 203, explains why all schools in the district are continuing to formulate school improvement plans, even though they're no longer required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Marie Wilson/mwilson@dailyherald.com

'Failing' no more

In 2013, the last year the No Child Left Behind Act was effective in Illinois, 511 of 590 schools in the Daily Herald's circulation area were deemed as “failing.” Effective this summer, the state got a

waiver from the law and the mandates that came with it. Here are the consequences formerly “failing” schools and districts no longer face.• Schools that receive federal funding for having high numbers of disadvantaged children no longer have to put that funding toward support services from outside agencies.• Schools no longer have to offer supplemental educational services, such as tutoring, although the state board of education encourages it.• Schools no longer have to offer “school choice,” or a transfer option to a higher-performing building. Students who chose to switch in the past can remain until the highest grade in that building, but districts no longer must pay for transportation.

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