The State of the Rockford Public Schools

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The State of the Rockford Public Schools

• Dr. Ellen V. Bueschel
• December 4, 2003

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What the best and wisest parent wants for his own
child, that must the community want for all of
its children. John Dewey
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1640

• The American system of education can be traced
  back to 1640 when Puritans in Massachusetts
  established schools to
• teach basic reading, some writing and some
  arithmetic skills and,
• to cultivate values that serve a democratic
  society, which implied education related to
  civics and history.

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The Increasing Burden on Americas Public Schools

• From 1900-1910, we added
• -nutrition
• -immunization, and
• -health to the list of school responsibilities
• From 1910-1930, we added
• -Physical Education including organized
  athletics
• -the practical arts
• -Vocational education, including home economics
  and agricultural education, and
• -mandated school transportation

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Americas Public Schools

• In the 1940s, we added
• -Business education
• -Art and Music Speech and Drama
• -half day kindergarten, and
• -school lunch programs
• In the 1950s, we added
• -expanded science and math education
• -safety education
• -drivers education
• -expanded music and art education
• -foreign language requirements were
  strengthened, and
• -sex education was introduced.

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Americas Public Schools

• In the 1960s, we added
• -advanced placement programs
• -Head Start
• -Title 1
• -adult education
• -consumer education
• -career education
• -peace, leisure, and recreation education

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Americas Public Schools

• In the 1970s, we added
• - special education (mandated by federal
  government)
• - Title IX programs (greatly expanded athletic
  programs for girls)
• - Drug and alcohol abuse education
• - parent education
• - behavior adjustment classes
• - character education
• - environmental education
• - African-American heritage education, and
• - school breakfast programs

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Americas Public Schools

• In the 1980s the flood gates opened, and we
  added
• - keyboarding and computer education
• - global education
• - ethnic education
• - multicultural/non-sexist education
• - English-as-a-second-language, and bilingual
  education
• - teen pregnancy awareness
• - Hispanic heritage education
• - early childhood education
• - Jump Start, Early Start, Even Start
• - full day kindergarten
• - preschool programs for children at-risk
• - after school programs for children of working
  parents
• - alternative education in all forms
• - stranger/danger education
• - anti-smoking education
• - sexual abuse prevention education
• - health and psychological services were
  expanded, and
• - child abuse monitoring became a legal
  requirement for all teachers.

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Americas Public Schools

• In the 1990s, we added
• -conflict resolution and peer education
• -HIV/AIDS education
• -CPR training
• -death education
• -expanded computer and Internet education
• -inclusion
• -Tech Prep and School to Work programs
• -gang education (in urban centers)
• -bus safety, bicycle safety, gun safety and
  water safety education

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The State of the Rockford Public Schools
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District 205Enrollment

• District 205 has 28,685 students, an
  increase of 323 students from last year.
• 2003-2004 28,685 323 Students
• 2002-2003 28,362 658 Students
• 2001-2002 27,704 263 Students
• 2000-2001 27,441 80 Students
• 1999-2000 27,361

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District 205Our Students

• The ethnic composition of our students is
• 46.4 Caucasian
  
• 32.5 African American
  
• 17.7 Hispanic
• 3.2 Asian
• .2 Native American
• Our students eat 19,800 meals per day with us
• 55.6 of our students receive free/reduced lunch
• Almost 12 of our students are defined as
• students with special needs
• 2,965 of our students live in homes where
• English is not spoken. 62 different languages
• are spoken by our students and their families

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District 205 Our Buildings and Grounds

• 55 Buildings with a total of 4.6 million square
  feet of interior space 1,363 classrooms
• The average age of our school buildings is 50.5
  years
• 5.5 million square feet of black top and pavement
  
• 595 acres of green space
• District 205 maintains 839 acres of property, 280
  busses, and 72 vehicles

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District 205Our Employees

• 5,500 Employees, of these nearly
• 3,500 live within the District.
• The average teacher salary is 49,813.
• 1,181 of the 1,705 teachers in our district have
  achieved a Masters Degree, a Specialist Degree,
  a Certificate of Graduate Studies or a Doctoral
  Degree
• The average teaching experience of our teachers
  is 14.85 years within the District, and 17.55
  years including outside experience.

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Our Challenges

• A student population that is growing in numbers
  and increasing in diversity.
• Aging facilities and years of deferred
  maintenance.
• The necessity of replacing experienced and
  highly-educated teachers.
• Increasing our student achievement.
• Balancing the budget.

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Student Achievement
Research Development
Curriculum Instruction
Human Resources Staff Support
Pupil Personnel Services
Finance
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Our Academic Challenges

• Student Achievement
• Graduation Rate
• Early Warning Status

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No Child Left Behind
Student Achievement As Measured by
Illinois State Achievement Testing
(ISAT) Given to students Grades 3,5 8
March of 2003
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ISAT Reading 3rd Grade of Students Meeting
or Exceeding State Standards
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ISAT Reading 5th Grade of Students Meeting
or Exceeding State Standards
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ISAT Reading 8th Grade of Students Meeting
or Exceeding State Standards
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ISAT Math 3rd Grade of Students Meeting or
Exceeding State Standards
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ISAT Math 5th Grade of Students Meeting or
Exceeding State Standards
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ISAT Math 8th Grade of Students Meeting or
Exceeding State Standards
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Prairie State Exam - 11th Grade Reading of
Students Meeting or Exceeding State Standards
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Prairie State Exam 11th Grade Math of
Students Meeting or Exceeding State Standards
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Our Graduates

• Graduation Rate over the past decade

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Academic Early Warning Status

• 17 of 39 Elementary Schools are in the States
  Early Warning Status

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Our Financial Challenges

• Budget Deficit
• Uncertain State Funding
• Tax Caps
• Dependence on Grant funding
• Rising cost of health insurance

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Rockford Public SchoolsFY04 Revenue Budget
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Property Tax Levy
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Tax Rate X Assessed Valuation Levy
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EAV Growth (Equalized Assessed Valuation)
2003 - 2.219 Billion 2002 - 2.160 Billion 2001
- 2.069 Billion 2000 - 1.970 Billion 1999 -
1.917 Billion
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Rockford Public SchoolsComparative Statement of
Revenues and ExpendituresFY2004 Budget(000s)
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Rockford Public SchoolsFY04 Expenditure Budget
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Rockford Public SchoolsComparative Statement of
Revenues and Expenditures FY2004 Budget(000s)
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Property Tax Levy Cycle
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Strong Communities
Strong Schools
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• There is no power for change greater than a
  community discovering what it cares about.
• Margaret Wheatley

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Site-Based Governance

• The 17 member District Learning Team composed of
  teachers, principals, administrators and
  community members selected 5 schools to begin the
  process of site based governance.

5 Schools Barbour, Eisenhower, Nelson,West
and West View
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Rotary Academy Program
About 200 Rockford Public School 8th Graders are
participating in the Rotary Academy. This program
which is sponsored by the YMCA, Rockford Rotary,
District 205 and Anderson Japanese Gardens
focuses on developing areas such as -
Leadership - Cooperation - Communication -
Problem Solving - Team work - Self-esteem -
And Community Service.
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After School Programs
Currently there are 16 schools with After School
Sites. One hundred students participate at each
site. Many community agencies contract to operate
these programs.
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Rockford Public Schools
Principal For A Day
66 Participants!

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Juliana Barker and Corey Pearson Principals for a
Day at Johnson School
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Henrietta Dotson-Williams Principal for a
Day at Ellis Arts Academy
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Counting the pennies for Jane!
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What the best and wisest parent wants for his own
child, that must the community want for all of
its children. John Dewey
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Public Engagement
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• There is no power for change greater than a
  community discovering what it cares about.
• Margaret Wheatley

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