| ILLINOIS
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
CENTER ACCOMPLISHMENTS
August – October 2002
HUMAN RESOURCES
-
Coordinated and administered
the Early Retirement Incentive Program which allows state
employees to buy 5 years of age and 5 years of service credit.
Designed an Excel program calculator to obtain quick tabulations
of employees’ net pay after ERI. Approximately two hundred
employees are being counseled on a regular basis and one hundred
employees received written confirmation of their retirement
date requests.
-
Drafted and released a
major vacancy list posting 28 managerial positions. Responded
to approximately 170 inquiries received through email or by
telephone. As of this date, 350 applications have been received
in the Personnel Division.
-
Risk Assessment training
and analysis completed by employees, managerial staff and
Core Team.
-
Several steps of the Planning
and Performance Cycle have been accomplished:
-
Managers and Internal
Audit staff participated in Risk Assessment training,
business planning training and goal deployment/measurement
training.
-
Position profile (job
description) training begins Wednesday, November 6.
-
Technology training provided
to employees on a regular basis as needed or requested. Training
and number of participants are listed below.
A learning guide has been
developed for planning and performance cycle, business planning,
performance reporting, staff analysis, data collection and continuous
improvement.
-
ISBE Affirmative Action
Plan was completed and filed. The Department of Human Rights
notified ISBE that its Plan is in compliance with DHR Rules
and Regulations. A member of DHR visits quarterly to review
our progress.
-
Bargained AFSCME successor
agreement after which a COLA was provided to union members
on September 13, 2002, retroactive to July 1, 2002.
LEGAL DEPARTMENT
-
Labor Relations: Successfully
assisted the Attorney General in defending a labor related
interlocutory appeal in the Illinois Appellate Court.
-
Financial Oversight: Provided
legal advice and continued consul to two financial oversight
panels, East St. Louis and Round Lake. More school districts
are likely to require advice in the immediate future.
-
Legislation: Drafted legislation
and assisted stakeholders in preparing several legislative
proposals affecting the operation of agency and schools.
-
Charter Schools: Provided
legal advice and assistance on several charter school matters
on a regular basis. For example:
-
Drafted Governor State
University appeal panel recommendation
-
Reviewed correspondence
between CPS charter schools and ISBE
-
Reviewed issue of how
the state chartered Thomas Jefferson Charter School may
add students from other school districts
-
Interagency Agreements:
Provided written and verbal legal advice to special education
stakeholders regarding interagency agreements, i.e., DCFS
and ISBE; Office of Rehabilitation Services and ISBE.
-
Private Business and Vocational
Schools: Provided legal advice and assistance to the Private
Business and Vocational stakeholders and the Office of the
Attorney General regarding student loans by private lenders
Sallie Mae and Key Bank.
-
Legal Research/Opinion
Drafting: Researched, drafted and issued numerous written
legal opinions and provided verbal advice to ISBE stakeholders
on issues affecting the daily operation of schools and operations
of the Agency.
PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE
CENTER
Regional Offices of Education
-
Developed a collaborative
relationship with the ROEs. This is one of the implementation
projects outlined in response to the Deloitte & Touche
report. We have established a process for joint legislative
and budget development for FY04 and beyond; launched or continued
joint efforts in three educator training areas (Standards
Aligned Classrooms, induction/mentoring, and community schools
development); and standardized communications methods between
the State Superintendent and ROE leadership.
Governmental Relations
Data Analysis and Progress
Reporting
-
Published the 2002 School
Report Cards and released the RFP for outsourcing this function
in the coming years.
-
Released the 2002 state
testing, ACT, SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) data reports.
-
Disseminated the Teacher
Salary Study to IEA, IFT, districts, special education coops,
and vocational centers. Also completed the district superintendent
salary study for the 2001-02 school year (data to be released
in mid-November.)
Planning and Performance
Office of the Director
-
Completed and submitted
an expanded version of the Comptroller’s annual Service, Effort
and Accomplishments report for the agency for FY02.
-
Completed and submitted
the agency transition report to the Governor’s Office.
EDUCATION CENTER
-
ISAT, IMAGE, PSAE reports
completed and distributed by August 1 – included individual,
school, district, and participation summaries and Guide to
Interpreting Scores and other parent material. Results of
the Illinois Alternate Assessment were shared with all districts
by mid-September (as opposed to December in 2001). Results
for all four state assessments -- ISAT, PSAE, IMAGE and IAA
-- were included in the 2002 report card disseminated in October
2002.
-
Registered more than 26,000
certificates for Chicago teachers from June through September
in addition to processing regular applications for certificates
and endorsements.
-
Negotiations continued
with the U.S. Department of Education with regard to Illinois’
NCLB application and Illinois’ application was approved. This
approved application will bring over $700 million into Illinois.
Closure on the provision of choice/SES within 26 elementary/middle/high
schools in Illinois was reached in September. Requests for
Proposals for 21st Century Schools and Supplemental Educational
Service providers were written and released.
-
Completed U.S. Department
of Education Part B application for IDEA funds and follow-up
documentation (including required rule changes). The approved
application will bring approximately $300 million into Illinois
on behalf of students with disabilities.
-
Received USDE Reading First
grant for Illinois; held first subgrant competition and funded
six districts at $3 million; provided the first two or three
of the six-day series of Reading First Workshops in Belleville,
Naperville, and Chicago; worked with Regional Offices of Education
and Intermediate Service Centers to establish regional support
for Reading First Districts.
-
Approved a total of 824
grants were approved in August; 2,346 grants in September
with payment made to 1,728 grantees and 1,325 grants in October
with payment made to 2,354 grantees.
-
Redirected pre-kindergarten
funds to remove 1000+ children from waiting lists.
-
Utilized technology to
enhance certification services.
Staff members
-
Successfully completed
the electronic entitlement notification system with Western
Illinois University and will begin training staff from
13 additional higher education institutions. These institutions
account for more than 52% of all teacher candidates.
-
Initiated the merger
of the Teacher Service Record into the Teacher Certification
Information System with the goal of making the Teacher
Service Record an automatic feedback system for districts’
assignment of personnel.
-
The technology consultant
completed modifications to the CeRTS System within 72
hours of receiving the new Administrative Rules (as a
result of the Corey H. Settlement).
-
CERTS was used to broadcast
the information about the new certificate renewal requirements
to over 57,000 educators.
-
Completed the development
of, and opened the internet registration site for individuals
electing to register for testing on line.
-
Developed an electronic
version of the Annual Report required of institutions
to update staff on the progress being made in transitioning
to the new unit standards and the redesign of their programs
in accordance with the new content standards. This replaces
the paper requirements used in the past.
-
Developed an online
version of the Institutional Data Report that must be
filed each year by teacher preparation institutions. This
form can be completed and submitted online, aggregates
the data from all institutions and disaggregates by individual
institution, and offers a teacher education database (e.g.,
program completers, programs, faculty, resources, etc.)
unavailable in the past.
-
Developed, produced,
and distributed a compact disk (CD) that includes the
content standards and knowledge and performance indicators
for 55 teaching, administrative, and school service personnel
fields; the administrative rules for each set of standards;
a matrix for each content area that requires the determination
of the coursework, clinical experiences, and performance
assessments for the program.
-
Completed fall accreditation
visits to 7 colleges and universities in two months as
well as the review of 50 programs.
OPERATIONS CENTER
-
Consolidated financial
activities by centralizing several purchasing activities (travel,
commodities, conference and workshops, and copying and printing)
and established two new Divisions and one new Department to
consolidate financial activities: Budget and Financial Management
for internal allocation and budgeting; School Business and
Support Services to monitor and assist school districts with
financial issues; and External Assurance to audit and monitor
program compliance consistently based on risk.
-
Loaded 14,000 program budgets
and issued 14,100 vouchers to school districts and other entities
equal to $984.5 M in state grants and $134.5 M in federal
grants.
-
Financial Oversight Panel
was established for Hazel Crest School District 152.5 and
staff continues to work with this and surrounding districts
to find a way to continue education for the children of the
district.
-
Finalized the school district
Financial Profile System for presentation at the October Board
meeting and approval in November. The school district financial
designation system which results from this will be implemented
this spring with FY02 final data.
-
Transitioned off the second
accounting system (FMIS) and consolidated all accounting in
one system (MIDAS).
-
Using DHS data (TANF and
Food Stamp), directly certified approximately 305,000 students
for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTER
-
Superintendent Rollout
In the 12 ½ weeks of the reporting period, the Center’s media
relations and external communications functions and personnel
were significantly involved in activities that informed the
public about the hiring of a new state superintendent and,
following from that event, in planning, coordinating and
executing a strategic schedule of appearances to introduce
the new superintendent around the state.
-
Building on the consultant’s
draft schedule for the superintendent “roll-out,” but broadening
that plan beyond media relations to include also numerous
introductory meetings with education partners, legislators
and agency employees, as well as “office time” for administering
the agency, the Center’s staff helped create a schedule that
included:
15 media markets visited:
Chicago, Springfield, Mt. Vernon, Quincy, Decatur, Bloomington,
Champaign-Urbana, Metro East (Belleville, E. St. Louis, Edwardsville,
Collinsville) Peoria, Aurora, Rockford, Macomb, DeKalb, Elgin,
and Carbondale.
All but DeKalb were identified
in the consultant’s plan. Other markets contemplated in the
consultant’s report but not yet visited, fall into the “medium”
(Joliet, Waukegan, Danville) or “small” category (Freeport,
Dixon, Galesburg, Ottawa.) These will be scheduled.
The only major market not
yet visited is the Quad Cities, which will be scheduled.
10 editorial boards
visited: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald,
Decatur, Springfield, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Belleville,
Rockford, Peoria, and Bloomington.
28 schools visited:
The superintendent indicated his desire to visit at least
one school per week. In the 12 ½ weeks of this reporting period,
he has visited 28 schools in all parts of the state – Springfield,
Carterville, Quincy, Bloomington, Cahokia, Riverton, Lake
Forest, East St. Louis, Aurora, Chicago, carol Stream, Rockford,
Roseville, La Harpe, Northwestern, Colchester and Pleasant
Plains.
Message development:
The Center staff helped develop the superintendent’s basic
messages for these appearances, focusing on his “internal”
assignment – restoring credibility to the agency by improving
its field-orientation and improving delivery of services --
and his “external” assignment – calling attention to the funding
crisis facing public education in Illinois.
-
Other Media Relations
The Center produced a total
of 40 news releases in the 12 ½ week period, which were sent
to a list of 780 media outlets. All can be reviewed on the agency
website.
It facilitated dozens of
interviews with the new superintendent, including multiple appearances
on the top-rated program in morning radio in both Chicago and
Springfield, a 25-minute interview that ran on 8 public radio
stations, a 10-minute interview that ran the 65 radio stations
of the Illinois Information service and a 30-minute interview
that ran on the 13 stations of the Farm Bureau network.
The Center planned, coordinated
and executed an ongoing series of communications to the field
to establish the new superintendent and the agency as field-driven
and responsive.
In the 12 ½ weeks, we wrote
and sent:
11 weekly messages from
the superintendent to a listserv of 4,550 district superintendents,
ROE’s, special education directors, principals, other educational
partners, school public information officers and the ISB board
of directors. This is a communication from the superintendent
touching on education issues of current importance. Thirteen
of them have taken the time to congratulate the superintendent
by e-mail for his excellent communication.
19 Administrative updates
to district superintendents and ROE’s. This is a message
with information having an impact on daily school operations.
4 Superintendent’s Bulletins
to the weekly message listserv plus about 18,000 teachers whose
e-mail addresses we have acquired over time. This message
includes education stories from various publications and some
material produced by ISBE staff.
Solicitation of information:
In early October, the Center solicited from local superintendent’s
anecdotes describing their budget difficulties. We have received
36 responses, which the State Superintendent is able to include
in his presentations on the subject and which will be of long-range
usefulness to the agency in budget discussions with the General
Assembly.
List expansion: In
early October, the Center sent an e-mail to district superintendents
asking them to ask their board members and principals to share
their e-mail addresses with us. To date, we have received more
than 700 responses totaling more than 5,000 names, which
have been added to our data base. Our ability to communicate
with board members in the past has been quite limited and the
state board has asked us to improve it. We have done so.
The Center is also responsible
for managing various events that carry the ISBE message to the
public.
In August, Center personnel
planned, arranged for staffing and managed the agency’s booth
at the Illinois State Fair. Through cooperation with the Field
Museum, we obtained a model of the dinosaur Sue’s foot, and
it helped create record turnout at our booth. We processed more
than 20,000 Fair “passports” for children, the highest number
ever.
Center staff designed, published
and maintained new four new specialty locations dedicated to
“No Child Left Behind,” the Governor’s Task Force on School
Code Revision, The Superintendent’s Task Force on Assessment
and Accountability and the new “District Spotlight” agenda item
of the monthly board meeting.
Center staff:
Upgraded the monthly Board
meeting transcription process by creating an “audio on demand”
CD record of meetings.
Completed production of video
promoting National Board Certification.
Posted nine video files on
web site 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER
-
Selected vendors to conduct
feasibility study for the Student Information System (SIS)
and build the e-Grant System.
-
Implemented a statewide
process for the first time that enables colleges and universities—with
approved teacher education programs—to enter and issue their
own entitlement certificates via the Internet through the
Teacher Certification Information System (TCIS).
-
Conducted an activation
drive to assist all regional and district superintendents
in obtaining an ISBE Web Application Security (IWAS) account
that enables them to authenticate their signatures for approving
claims and reports online.
-
Assisted 178 school districts
and nonpublic schools across Illinois with the E-Rate application
process for the upcoming funding year 2003.
-
Installed and implemented
Windows 2000 Terminal Services with Citrix Metaframe XP on
a farm of 10 IBM servers.
-
Continued support for the
increasing number of educators using the Certificate Renewal
Tracking System (CeRTS) for school administrators and teachers.
Chicago Public School District now encourages their teachers
to use CeRTS.
-
Connected all computers
on the agency’s local area network to the Asset Tracking System
that captures hardware and software information on the computers
of employees.
-
Completed the a 212-page
“Information Technology Support Handbook” that includes detailed
information on the agency network, IT equipment, servers,
critical applications, databases, and backup/restore systems.
11/22/02
|