Thanks

On behalf of the Lake Forest Board of Education and all of the employees, I want to say thank you to the community for approving the operating referendum this week.

Passage helps to assure a certain degree of financial security for many years.  We'll have no problem sustaining some programs that are critical to student success.   Not only that, but it will allow us to move forward with some of our newest initiatives.

Just this week, we have taken the first steps to form a committee, which will be charged with planning a one to one computer initiative, with hopes to launch in the 2014-2015 school year.  They need time to work on such questions as:  At what grade level will we begin?  Laptop or tablet?  Is our infrastructure sufficient?  What instructional materials and programs will be delivered via the technology?  What and how much training will our teachers need to maximize the use of this tool?  How much will we save in textbooks not purchased?

Finally, we now have some funds to open up negotiations with our employees to adjust the compensation package to bring them out of the cellar and into the middle of Kent County school districts.  That's a pretty modest goal, but ours is a modest community.

So, it's been a great couple of weeks to be a Spartan.  Lake Forest children, staff and activities have been all over the media for the past few weeks.  We're proud to have so many successes.

We can't be successful with out a supportive community.  Thanks again.

Capital Referendum Postponed

In August the Lake Forest Board of Education approved the pursuit of two referendums and established an election date of December 4, 2012. Last night, the Board decided to postpone the capital referendum but continue with pursuit of the operating referendum.


Why? The Capital referendum, which is for buildings and grounds improvements, was a small one by most standards – totaling $6.5 million in improvements around the district. The Lake Forest share would come from the Kent County funds and would require no tax increase. Plans had been submitted to the Delaware Department of Education requesting approval of a Certificate of Necessity, but that approval has been slow coming.

We were advised by state staff that requests for funds from the bond bill exceeded the amount available and that not even all priority 1 requests would be approved. It became clear that our CN would not be approved any time soon and that, if approved, it would likely be reduced, so we decided to hold off on those projects and resubmit next year.

The district will continue with plans for an operating referendum on December 4 that will request public approval for funds aimed at:

• Technology upgrades – essential equipment replacement and maintenance of student computers

• Student safety – support for the School Resource Officer and other safety programs

• Extra instructional time – homebound instruction, after school tutoring and transportation

• Transportation support – to fill the gap created by a 10% reduction in state support

• Attracting and retaining quality staff – move compensation for staff from the bottom to the middle of other area school districts

What does the Public think of Public Schools?

Highlights of the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll on Public Schools


In this Kappan article, William Bushaw (of PDK International) and Shane Lopez (of Gallup) present the results of the 44th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll of American attitudes and beliefs about the public schools. Some excerpts:

- 35% of this representative slice of Americans say lack of financial support is the biggest problem in their community’s schools, followed by lack of discipline, named by only 8%.

- 50% say the Common Core State Standards will improve the quality of education, versus 8% who say they will decrease the quality of education (40% say they will make no difference).

- 89% say it is very or somewhat important to close the racial achievement gap, and 84% think this can be done while maintaining high standards for all children.

- 62% say they are willing to pay more taxes to provide funds to improve the quality of the nation’s urban public schools (37% are unwilling).

- 58% oppose providing free public education, school lunches, and other benefits to the children of illegal immigrants (41% favor it).

- 52% are in favor of requiring that teacher evaluations include how well a teacher’s students perform on standardized tests (47% are opposed).

- 48% give a grade of A or B to their community’s public schools, versus 19% giving a grade of A or B to the nation’s public schools.

- 63% say students should be required to stay in school till they are 18 years old.

- 66% favor the idea of charter schools.

- 70% favor laws that allow parents to petition to remove the leadership and staff of failing schools.

- 45% say they were bullied by another student when they were in school; 16% confess to bullying another student.

- 58% say schools should investigate and discipline students involved in bullying incidents outside of school, including over the Internet.

- 71% say they have trust and confidence in the people who are teaching children in the public schools.



“Public Education in the United States: A Nation Divided” by William Bushaw and Shane Lopez in Phi Delta Kappan, September 2012 (Vol. 94, #1, p. 8-25); the full results of 44th Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools are available at http://www.pdkpoll.org.

Freshman - There is Hope

For years we have recognized that the most challenging year of high school is the first year – the lowly freshman. Often when I’m dealing with a fifth-year senior it becomes clear that it was the freshman year where they stumbled. We see classes failed and more academic struggles every year from the kids in grade 9.


So, this year at Lake Forest High School, they are launching a new initiative aimed at teaching 9th graders to think about the future. If you happen to have one in your house, you may respond “My child can’t see past Friday night and you’re going to get them to think about the future?”

Yes.  At least we hope so.

It’s called freshman seminar. Each 9th grader is enrolled. Ever student will be challenged to envision a future that includes:

• Graduation from high school

• Further education beyond high school

• Transition to workforce and economic self-sufficiency

They will be using the Career Choices curriculum which takes the kids through a step by step process to help them answer the questions: Who am I? What do I want? How do I get it? There will be more than 100 active-learning activities, each building upon the other. What does living on your own really cost? What does it cost to support and feed a family? How much money do I need for rent or mortgage?

The activities are designed to document the journey of self-exploration and can be used as a portfolio of sorts that can be modified as years go by.

We are excited about the introduction of Career Choices at Lake Forest High School as a part of the new Freshman Seminar. We feel confident it has the potential for creating many more successful Freshman Spartans

Beating the Odds

This announcement was just released this week from the Vision 2015 folks.  They identify 24 schools in Delaware that are beating the odds.  Four on the list are Lake Forest Schools.  W.T.Chipman Middle would be on the list because has consistently been among the highest achieving middle schools.  I suspect the poverty level is average so that's why it's not included.

Way to go Lake Forest students and staff!

Vision 2015 would like to commend a number of schools that have demonstrated through their DCAS results that they are “beating the odds.” These schools have a low-income student population that is greater than the state average and out-performed the state on math and reading DCAS. These schools demonstrate that zip codes don’t have to determine student performance.


The teachers, support professionals, and school leaders at these schools are placing their students on radically different life trajectories. From Delaware Department of Education public data, here are 24 schools that are beating the odds:

• Banneker Elementary (Milford)

• Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen)

• Clayton Elementary (Indian River)

• East Millsboro Elementary (Indian River)

• Elbert-Palmer Elementary (Christina)

• Fairview Elementary (Capital)

• Hartly Elementary (Capital)

• Indian River High (Indian River)

• Keene Elementary (Christina)

• Kuumba Academy Charter School

• Lake Forest Central Elementary (Lake Forest)

• Lake Forest East Elementary (Lake Forest)

• Lake Forest North Elementary (Lake Forest)

• Lake Forest South Elementary (Lake Forest)

• Long Neck Elementary (Indian River)

• Millsboro Middle (Indian River)

• North Dover Elementary (Capital)

• North Georgetown Elementary (Indian River)

• Ross Elementary (Milford)

• Seaford Central Elementary (Seaford)

• Showell Elementary (Indian River)

• Smith Elementary (Christina)

• South Dover Elementary (Capital)

• Stokes Elementary (Caesar Rodney)

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Now is the Time to Establish Home Routines

For many families, the start of the school year means adding multiple activities and logistics. It can be a challenge to create consistency and calm when family members are going in different directions. Having set routines at the beginning and end of the day can not only help children build healthy habits but also give them a sense of security.

 

Starting out right — A good, peaceful start to the day has a powerful effect on the kind of day we have. Here are some tips to help those busy mornings go smoothly:

 

• Help your children pack up their backpacks for school the night before.
•  Make lunches, sign field trip permission slips, etc., the night before.
• Lay out clothes the night ahead.
• In a family meeting, work out a schedule for using the bathroom and getting breakfast that gets everyone out the door on time. Post the written schedule in a prominent place.
• Eat breakfast with your children.

 

After school and evening — As much as possible, set regular times for meals, homework, television, and bedtime routines. This will provide a much-needed structure to your children’s day and help them get the rest they need. To help bedtimes be relaxed and fun:

 

• Talk about the next day’s schedule so your children know what to expect. It can be helpful to have a weekly calendar posted in a prominent place. Include each person’s chores and when they are to be completed.
• Eat dinner together and talk about everyone’s day. Make it a practice to have every family member contribute at least one interesting thing they have learned that day.
• Have a family activity — play a game, work on math facts, practice spelling.
• Set rules about video games and television watching, and turn them off long before bedtime. Sometimes television images are too stimulating and make it hard for the child to get to sleep.
• Read with your children before bed.

Getting Kids Back in the Groove

Summer goes by so fast doesn’t it? It’s time now for back to school sales and all that stuff.


Parents should not only think about assembling school uniforms and book bags and school supplies for school. They also should consider doing a few things to help their children get back into the school groove. Studies have shown that when children take the same test as soon as school is out and again at the end of the summer, on average they will score lower the second time around. Losses are most apparent with math computation and spelling. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Help your children get in shape to start school on August 27 by doing some of these fun activities at home.

Math

• Find age appropriate math games to play.

• Use car times to review math facts.

• Help your children find appropriate internet sites with math activities and games.

• Provide math workbooks and puzzles for car trips and idle time.

• Provide a daily computation problem that will challenge them. Post it on the fridge.

Reading

• Visit the library and help your children find books that interest them. It’s especially important to select some non-fiction books such as biographies or books on science.

• Have your children read to you at bedtime. Ask them to tell you in their own words about what they have read.

• Take your children to local museums or art exhibits and have them read up on the things they found most interesting there.

• Start family book journals. Encourage children to keep a record of what they read, the date, title and author and a 2 sentence description. Set goals for a number of books to be read per week or month.

• Let your children see you reading. It is hard for them to be enthusiastic about reading if you don’t model that behavior.

There is still a month before school starts but now is the time to sharpen the pencils and exercise the brain.