District Administration - January 2007 - (Page 60)

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Edward Kula, chairman of the Round Lake SFA, says it also allows the district to now invest the referendum money until it decides to release the funds. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT In his third week on the job, Stonewa ll received this cryptic voicemail message: “If you’re truly interested in helping the school district, then call this number.” He later discov- us,” he says, and students, parents, and those with no afﬁ liation to the district showed up to help. “It was like a fairy tale,” Deuel recalls. Weeks later, a neighboring church participating in ShareFest, a national initiative to help communities in need, dispatched a youth team to help district staff members paint fences and the remaining classrooms. “Dennis [Stonewall] is a very exciting guy who seems enthusiastic about helping the school district to get back into shape,” says the Rev. Stuart Merkel of the local Gurnee Community Church. “He seems to be the type of person who has a vision and knows how to get things done.” “W hen you’ve got a team that has a passion to see things happen, and enjoy what they’re doing,” Merkel adds, “you tend to come out with a very successful endeavor.” d ist r ic t’s Illinois School Report Card showed a 7 percent boost in graduation rates, and a 1.7 percent decrease in dropouts. What’s more, the district saw a 4 percent increase in the number of students either meeting or exceeding Illinois’ learni ng standards. SHARING EXPERTISE A s the entire school district celebrat ed its successful $17 million referendum, school district insiders knew it was the result of the new chiefs’ inﬂuence. Since arriving at Round Lake, the three chiefs had focused their efforts on earning the respect of students, parents, staff and community members. The district also shows its respect to t he community by ﬂying 40 ﬂags, representing each of the birth nations of the students attending Round Lake. Its newfound success has since piqued the interest of other school districts teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Seeking similar solutions, several Illinois districts have dispatched administrators to Round Lake to meet with Stonewall and Korpan and learn a few tips. Gross, the chamber president who once felt embarrassed about the district, has admired the contributions long before the referendum vote. Before leaving her post, she awarded Stonewall and Korpan with the chamber’s “President’s Award” on the district’s behalf. As prestigious as the recognition was, Gross says there’s no greater reward than to see Round Lake students shaking hands with Stonewa ll and Korpan. “I was in the high school recently,” Gross says, “and saw a sign posted on a wall that read, ‘Failure Is Not an Option.’ I wonder if they had anything to do with that.” DA Joe White is a freelance writer based in Des Plaines, Ill. “The business ofﬁce didn’t function, which was disturbing because our business is education.” —Walter Korpan, CFO, Round Lake Ill. Area Schools District 116 ered the voice belonged to former Round Lake Mayor Illa Bauer. The call evenutally led to Frank Deuel, manager of governmental affairs at cable provider Comcast. He sought a large-based, one-day service project for its 500 employees and found the perfect venue. As part of “Comcast Cares Day” in October 2005, Deuel dispatched his employees en masse to paint most of the classrooms in the school buildings. “We landed like a small army,” he recalls. With Comcast supplying the labor—and local businesses prov id i ng everything from paint and supplies, to sandwiches and cold drinks—the school district became alive with excitement and activity. “We asked the community to join 60 January 2007 EDUCATIONAL ALIGNMENT T hen it was time to address the educat iona l part of the equation—part ic u la rly test scores, attendance and a shrinking graduation rate. Elenbogen expanded the summer school program in 2005 to include 1,000 students. She also hired an assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction who helped align the K12 curriculum horizontally and vertica lly so the curriculum was linked at each grade level and across all grade levels. The system is now connected to a new database, using Skyward data processing software, which includes new protocols for how data are used to make the best decisions over what students need to know and where they need to be. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Overheard on the Pulse...
Teaching Techniques for Supervisors
Why Buy New When Used Might Do?
Past Becomes Future
Financial Rescue
Speaking Out
The Online Edge
Research Corner
Problem/Solution
Computer Literature
New Products
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - January 2007