Greetings,
In many of your schools and
districts around the state, I know these are very “exciting” days as students
and staff anticipate the holiday break.
While usually hectic for all involved, it’s also an opportunity for fun
and fellowship among everyone in a school that gets at the heart of being a true
“school community.”
Many of you know that I try
with diligence to keep up with the emails I receive. These past couple of weeks have gotten
me behind in that regard, but I seek to catch up a bit as things quiet down here
at the State Board—and in your schools—over the break period.
To all of you who emailed
back to correct the defibrillator information from last week’s message, we
appreciate that heartily. I could
tell there was some sort of problem as I watched my in-box fill at lightening
speed as you were all reading the bulletin. You will find another entry on that
topic in today’s message that I hope gets us all on the same page. Of more recent vintage, many others of
you have written to express an opinion around my recommendation that we continue
to include a college entrance examination as part of the Prairie State
Achievement Exam. I probably won’t
get responses back to each of you on those topics, but I will read each message
that’s been sent.
Also, you will note that I
joined the Governor’s call to ensure that children are not exposed to violent
video games in school—to that end, we’ve pledged to develop a model policy that
school districts can adopt for this purpose. More on that will be
forthcoming.
Finally, this is the last
edition of the weekly message for 2004.
Each year just seems to pass that much more quickly. My hope for all of you is a peaceful,
restful, and safe holiday break, leading into a great 2005. Unless something urgent takes place
between now and then, our next issue will appear in the new year. The best to you and yours!
Best wishes for a Happy
Holiday season.
Randy
Dunn
State Superintendent of
Schools (Interim)
Also in today’s
message:
Title IID (Ed Tech) Funds not net applied for by eligible
districts
To all districts receiving
Title I funds, please be aware that you may still be eligible for Title IID
“Enhancing Education Through Technology” funds through the E-Grants system and
the NCLB consolidated grant. These
funds are made available for professional development, hardware, software and
infrastructure costs associated with using technology in your schools. To find out if you are eligible, please
log into IWAS and the NCLB consolidated grant and check for your allocation
under the IID section in the pull down menu in the upper right hand corner. A
list of funded schools is also available on the ISBE website at: http://www.isbe.net/curriculum/elearning/pdf/formula_05_allocation.pdf
All districts that receive
Title I funds are also eligible for IID.
The process is relatively simple, only requiring a few goals, CIPA
certification and a budget that includes at least 25 percent for professional
development activities in the area of learning technology. If you have questions, please call Lou
Berkman at 312/814-3853. Upon
receiving approval for this grant, you can utilize the funds until
Defibrillators in public
schools
Last week’s message
misstated the date by which schools must have AEDs on-site and trained
users. Under PA 93-910, schools to
which the Act applies must have medical emergency plans in place by
Resource for administrators, teachers, health service
providers
Preventing drug use,
bullying, violence and the other health and safety problems in schools takes
effective practices and resources, which are often hard to find. For Illinois schools, a wide range of
effective materials are available for the asking from Prevention First, a
training and information resource nonprofit specializing in drug prevention and
related issues.
With funding from the
Illinois State Board of Education and Department of Human Services, the research
library of Prevention First includes books, videos, curricula, journals and kits
on substance abuse, bullying, dating violence, sexually transmitted diseases,
domestic violence and related prevention issues. Materials include professional
development for educators, classroom programs and information for
parents.
The library is accessible
online or at locations in
The Prevention First
clearinghouse also offers free brochures, posters, bookmarks and other
materials. To browse what is available, go to www.prevention.org or call 800-252-8951, ext. 128, for bibliographies and a
clearinghouse catalog.
This service is partially
funded by a federal Title IV Safe and
New National Board Certified
Teachers
ISBE is thrilled that 412
Classroom
temperatures
The ISBE Accountability
Division has received several telephone calls from parents inquiring whether
there is a “state temperature” at which schools must set facilities to keep
students warm during winter weather.
As most of you already know, each district develops its own policies and
procedures for the district or individual school buildings. Several
factors could enter into your decision-making process. These could
include: areas available for inside activities, personnel available for
supervision, the nature of outside play areas and the school
schedule.
Scam alert
ISBE has received
information regarding a situation in which an individual has contacted a school
and asked to verify the principal's name and phone extension so that
confidential information can be sent from ISBE.
ISBE staff members are
always willing to have you verify their names and contact information. If you are unsure if a caller is a
member of our staff, please call us to verify the source before providing any
personal or confidential information to callers you do not
know.
Weekly news clips
This week’s news clips may
be accessed at http://www.isbe.net/news/2004/newsclips/041217.htm.