2015 Report on Arcola School District

ARCOLA
COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT #306
END OF THE YEAR REPORT - 2015
ARCOLA
COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT #306
351 W. Washington Street
Arcola, Illinois 61910
Website: www.arcola.k12.il.us
MESSAGE FROM SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT
and SUPERINTENDENT
ARCOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT #306
Preparing Our Students for the Future While Embracing the Accomplishments and Traditions of the Past
Arcola CUSD #306 is an innovative school district preparing our students for the 21st century. This is done while still embracing a traditional, small school culture in a community that goes above and beyond to support its schools. Our focus
is on the growth and development of each individual child. With the implementation of a 1:1 Digital Learning Platform beginning the 2014-2015 school year, the district has made a very large world smaller and brought endless opportunities
and experiences to our students. The district boasts a culturally diverse student body and a strong tradition of exceptional
and successful extra-curricular programs. Please review this annual report and discover how our schools help our children
reach their full potentials and why the community of Arcola is the perfect place to raise a family. The Arcola School District
will continue to be a leader in innovation, while continuing to honor the accomplishments and traditions of the past.
Chad Strader, Board President
Dr. Thomas Mulligan, Superintendent
ARCOLA CUSD #306 BOARD of EDUCATION
Chad Strader
President - Member since 2009
Ginger Kielhorn
Member since 2009
Jim Crane
Vice-President - Member since 2007
Dr. Robert Arrol
Member since 2011
Rev. Bill Reece
Member since 2015
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Traci Watson
Secretary - Member since 2013
Randy Rothrock
Member since 2007
SCHOOL BOARD, ADMINISTRATION, and STAFF
tion on the district website at http://www.arcola.k12.il.us/. The district will be expanding its’ social media presence in the 2015-2016 school year.
The Arcola School District #306 Board of Education is comprised of seven elected
officials who serve as policy makers for the district. The board supports a family
friendly environment, one that promotes academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development. The ultimate function of the board is to serve as the conduit of the community to the school. They represent the community in setting
direction and priorities for the district. They act on the annual budget, ratify all
employment decisions, set all policy, and serve on committees. Board members
volunteer their time serving four year terms.
u District Leadership Team
While the board sets the direction for the district, it relies on the superintendent
and Arcola’s District Leadership Team to turn the direction into action on a dayto-day basis. The district leadership team is made up of:
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In addition to regular board meetings (that occur on the second Wednesday of
every month at 7:00 pm), the board also has a building committee, finance committee and a policy committee. Through these committees, the board and administration stay connected on all key aspects of the district including program
development, facility needs, finances and community relations.
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u District Mission Statement
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Dr. Tom Mulligan – Superintendent
Lisa Sigrist – JH/HS Principal
Angie Gentry – ES Principal
Jill Hohlbauch – Technology Director
Diane Good – Food Service Director
Ken Vogt – Director of Building and Grounds
Cindy Mills – Special Services Administrator/Parent and Student Liaison
The mission of the Arcola School District is “to foster a safe, positive and rewarding environment that challenges the mind, body, and soul of each student to
reach his/her unique academic potential. Students will use these skills to communicate effectively, think clearly, make knowledgeable Decisions, and become
responsible citizens who embrace diversity, encourage community pride and are
productive members of our society and country.”
u District Vision
The Arcola School Board will begin a process this summer on setting a new
vision for the Arcola School District. This vision will set the direction for where
the district is headed and where it wishes to be in the future (5-7 years). Once
the District Vision is set, it will be well publicized and will drive all improvement
efforts, fiscal decisions and other considerations.
u Board Goals
As part of the district’s vision setting process, the board will also be establishing
board goals that will become the strategic direction for the district.
u Community Tradition and Offerings
The Arcola School District has always enjoyed a special relationship with its community. The level of support from the community is truly second to none! That
was evident when a community-led committee worked together to raise over
$700,000 for the district to implement a 1:1 Digital Learning Environment. There
were numerous business partners that contributed to this effort but these business partners support the district in many, many other ways as well. In addition,
there are an unbelievable number of scholarships offered to senior students annually because of the generous donation of many benefactors from the community. The school district is a member of the Arcola Chamber of Commerce and
also works closely with the city on many projects. The old saying of “it takes a
village [community, in this case] to raise a child” rings true in Arcola.
April Harris
The Arcola family would like to welcome April Harris who was recently
employed as the assistant principal.
Her duties will include coordinating all
special education services, response to
intervention services, and the English
second language program. She will
also assist with other duties. Mrs. Harris comes to Arcola with over 20 years
of experience in public education. She
most recently held the position of special education administrator in the
Champaign School District. When
asked why she would go from the big
city of Champaign to Arcola, April
stated, “I want to be able to work
closely with students again. I came
from a small town and I know what a
powerful impact that the school can
have on students and families in a
small community.”
u Other District Personnel
The Arcola School District believes that the district is only as good as the adults
that work within it. As a result, we place a high emphasis on employing the best
people to work with the children of our community. Our focus is on securing high
quality educators. This commitment to quality can be seen with the board employing a district-wide instructional coach, Heather Ethell this past school year.
This position has the responsibility of working with teachers on instructional best
practices and effective teaching strategies based on current research. Mrs. Ethell
held this same type of a position before and brings a wealth of knowledge to the
district.
The district currently employs 66 certified teachers and 41 education support
staff including paraprofessionals, kitchen staff, custodial staff, secretaries, nursing
staff, and financial employees.
u Communication Initiatives
As part of the board’s effort to provide current and relevant two-way communication to foster an open and transparent relationship with stakeholders, the district
uses a variety of communication methods including: newsletters, e-mail, articles
in local papers, end of the year report, etc. The district posts important informa-
3
SCHOOL DISTRICT and COMMUNITY
u One District, One Community
overall score representing how well they feel the district is supported by the
human and social resources in the community. The chart below notes the results
of the district as well as the comparable results for the state and similar communities.
The Arcola School District is located directly off of Interstate 57 at Exit 203. The
district enrolls students from a geographic area of 113 square miles. The district’s
annual enrollment is around 800 students in PreK-12 Grades. The students are
serviced in one large complex with breakout areas for Arcola Elementary School
(PreK-6), Arcola Junior High (7-8) and Arcola High School (9-12). The close
campus allows for a safe and nurturing environment for our students. It also allows many opportunities for partnerships between junior high/high school students and elementary school students. These partnerships include reading
programs, physical education programs, mentoring, etc. In addition, the district
boasts an ethnically diverse student population with 55% White, 37% Hispanic,
8% Other.
Arcola is the epitome of small town America with its storied tradition and beautiful
down town area. With its original brick streets, Arcola’s main street businesses
features well-kept, recently-renovated historic buildings, adorned with colorful
murals painted during a town-wide Wall Dogs Festival in 2012. It is home of the
world-famous Broom Corn Festival held in September each year. Arcola is the
“Broom Corn Capitol of the World” and is the birthplace of the famous Lawn
Rangers and Raggedy Ann and Andy Dolls.
Some of the valued partnerships in the community include but are not limited to
the following: 1:1 Digital Learning Community Group, Arcola Foundation, Arcola
First Bank, Project Success, Mi Raza Community Center, Sarah Bush Hospital,
City of Arcola, Arcola Police Department, Fire Department, Arcola Sports Booster
Club, Arcola Fine Arts Booster Club, First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust, Slack Publications, Libman, Green Mill Village, Lyons Club, Arcola Rotary, and the Arcola
Chamber of Commerce.
u Parent/Community Involvement
The district boasts a wealth of community and parent partnerships that provide
support and services to students and families. These partnerships are another
feature that sets the community and school district apart from others. Each year,
staff members and 6th – 12th grade students take a perception survey called the
5Essentials Survey. It features questions on a variety of topics. The school district
staff receives the survey results for Arcola but also the averaged results from all
schools across Illinois and the average for only those schools that are similar to
Arcola (in size, demographics, geographic-area, etc.). One section of the questions was titled “Human and Social Resources in the Community.” Based on this
section’s questions, teachers’ and students’ answers were calculated into an
A big thanks goes out to the Susan and Mark Avery Foundation, which made
several donations to the school district this year including: $1,000 to the AJH
Student Council to support students attending leadership camp; the first installment of a 10-year commitment of $5,000 to the AHS and AJHS boys basketball
program in honor of Bob Avery; $20,000 for the new outdoor scoreboard; and
$2,500 to the music program to purchase new instruments and other band equipment.
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STUDENT LEARNING and PERFORMANCE
u 21st Century Learning
Student learning and academic performance are the core of the Arcola School
District and with that in mind, this section presents two very dense sections of
information. The first is School Improvement Planning and the second area is
Performance Targets.
The focus on 21st Century Learning goes far beyond the simple use of technology. The primary goal of this initiative is to transform learning in all classrooms
by increasing student engagement and requiring critical thinking. The new state
learning standards are often referred to as the Common Core Standards. The
new teacher standards are referred to as the Danielson Framework for Teaching.
Both were adopted by the district three years ago as the standard for teaching
and learning. They require a transformation from simple knowledge acquisition
(what the prior standards asked of students) to activities and assignments that
require application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. This change represents
a true transformation of learning. It is important that students still have a good
foundation of knowledge but in today’s world, students can access knowledge
with the push of a button on a smart phone, computer or other handheld device.
Requiring students to spend hours memorizing facts they will forget once the test
is over is no longer effective practice and no longer what students need to become successful long-term.
u School Improvement Planning
The school district uses a comprehensive school improvement model that is
based on the strategic planning framework found in the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. There are several main steps to the annual school improvement process. They include: 1. Reviewing and analyzing available data
(demographic, student achievement, survey/perception data); 2. Developing
areas for improvement; 3. Setting measurable goals and targets in the areas for
improvement; 4. Creating and implementing actions plans, which outline strategies that will lead to improvement; 5. On-going review of implementation; and 6.
Evaluation of performance targets.
u 1:1 Digital Learning
The 4 Areas of Improvement for 2014-2015 School Year
4. Serving Special Student Populations – this plan focused on improving
processes and procedures related to special education, English second
language and response to intervention.
Although 21st Century Learning is not just about technology, the use of technology does provide teachers and students with more resources and opportunities
for higher-level learning. Technology gives teachers a way to engage students
at a higher rate than ever before. After more than a year of planning and pilot
programs, the district implemented a 1:1 Digital Learning environment in the
2014-2015 school year where each student in Grades K-12 received their own
iPad, case and charger. In addition to the 1:1 device, the district created technology rich classrooms. Each classroom was equipped with a MacBook, an
Apple TV and an Apple compatible projector and sound system. These tools
have transformed not only how teachers teach but also how they communicate
with students.
The full district improvement plan and performance targets can be found on the
district website. Many of these key areas of focus will continue into the 20152016 school year as well. Brief summaries of some of the most important improvements are included below.
This transformation was made possible through an amazing partnership with the
Arcola community. A community group, led by Arcola resident Tim Monahan,
raised and donated over $700,000 for the district to move to a 1:1 Digital Learning
platform. That type of community support and commitment to the school district
is unheard of in public education!
1. 1:1 Digital Learning – this plan focused on the implementation of a
1:1 Digital Learning platform with iPads and MacBooks.
2. Literacy – this plan focused on the improvement of curriculum,
instructional strategies and assessment in the area of reading.
3. Math - this plan focused on the improvement of curriculum,
instructional strategies and assessment in the area of mathematics.
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STUDENT LEARNING and PERFORMANCE
u Reading Program Changes
One of the measures that the district used to determine the impact of both the
1:1 implementation and 21st century learning was the perception of students at
the junior high/high school level on changes in the classroom. Students in grades
7-12 were asked a series of questions on the 5Essential survey both in the spring
of 2014 and this spring of 2015. The areas that apply to technology’s impact are
“Ambitious Instruction” (the expectations for content and assignments), “Academic Engagement” (the extent to which students were committed to completing
classroom tasks), and “Academic Press” (the level that students felt challenged
in class). The results below show that the all three areas showed significant
growth in one year.
Arcola elementary school (AES) began a partial implementation of an important
change in the curriculum and instructional approach for teaching reading comprehension in the 2014-2015 school year. Grades PK-8 will be making a full implementation of a new curriculum with supporting changes in instructional
practices in the areas of reading comprehension and phonology (phonics, phonemic awareness, word work) in the 2015-2016 school year. The foundation for
this change comes from scientifically proven research on the human brain and
learning, called neuroscience. This type of research is different than traditional
educational research because it is empirical in nature. The primary goal for the
change in reading is to redesign curriculum and instruction to maximize learning
by taking advantage of the way the brain works. There are three key areas that
will significantly change in the upcoming year.
1) Scope and Sequence: The first change deals both with what students
are taught and for the length of time they are taught reading comprehension concepts. There are six broad comprehension strategies that will
be the focus in every classroom: predicting, summarizing, connecting,
questioning, inferring and imaging. Schools have always taught these
skills but teachers were given a lot of latitude on what order to teach
these skills and for what length of time to teach these skills. Because of
neuroscience, we now know that in order to maximize how students
learn, there is a specific sequence of skills that must be taught for
specific lengths of time. These two concepts will cause all teachers in
Grades PK-6 to be consistent with the amount of time they spend
teaching and practicing comprehension skills and also to be consistent
with the length of time they spend mastering these skills.
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STUDENT LEARNING
and PERFORMANCE
2) Gradual Release of Responsibility: Release of responsibility includes
four major steps. The first includes modeling and step-by-step instruction
by the teacher; the second includes the direct and explicit instruction of a
particular skill; the third includes small group facilitation where the
teacher facilitates student learning based on their individual needs and
assessment level; and the fourth is where each student practices,
applies and uses the literacy skill. Daily reading instruction should
include four main teaching strategies in every classroom: reading aloud,
shared reading, guided reading and independent practice. Read aloud is
when the teacher selects both fiction and nonfiction text to read aloud to
the students, which helps to broaden their vocabulary. The teacher also
models by showing students how he or she is thinking while they read.
This is also sometimes called “thinking aloud.” Shared reading is where
teachers provide whole-class instruction. It is important to note that when
doing whole class instruction, teachers use reading materials that are at
grade level. Guided reading is where teachers work with small groups of
students to facilitate instruction based on their individual needs. While
the teacher works with small groups of students in guided reading, the
other students are working on independent practice activities. This is
where individual students work on a variety of activities designed to
practice the skills that are being focused on at the time. It is also a time
where each student works at their individual reading level thereby
allowing each student to improve at their own pace. Guided reading and
independent practice allows teachers to instruct and meet the needs of
each student, whether that student is below grade level standards,
meeting grade level standards or even, exceeding those standards.
This focus on individual learning is also the heart of the digital learning
platform as well.
u Math Program Changes
AES also fully implemented a new curriculum and approach to teaching mathematics in the 2014-2015 school year. This implementation came after piloting
the curriculum in the 2013-2014 school year. The curriculum and instructional
approach are consistent with the new State of Illinois Academic Standards for
Education (also known as the Common Core Standards) and also has a foundation in release of responsibility and neuroscience.
u Meeting Individual Student Needs
The philosophy of the school district is to provide each individual student with
the specialized programming and services needed so that each student can
reach his/her potential. The staff in Arcola embraces the fact that every student
is different and will need unique support and programming. The 1:1 Digital Learning platform has allowed the district to move closer and closer to being able to
provide a differentiated learning environment for our students. These new tools
provide our teachers with the resources and our students with the opportunities
to meet the needs of higher achieving students, as well as students that need
additional support.
Thanks again to the community group that raised technology funds for the school,
the district was able to start a partnership with a company called eSpark. They
describe themselves as “a solution that has been proven to help districts effectively leverage iPads in the vast ecosystem of educational apps to increase student engagement and achievement.” eSpark creates an individualized learning
program for each student based on individual assessment results. Each student
works through a sequence of apps that provides instruction and practice on skills
and concepts that had been identified in the assessment results. The student
must then pass a post assessment showing mastery of the concept/skill before
moving on to a new concept/skill.
3) Assessment Driven Instruction – the new curriculum in both reading
comprehension and phonology come with stronger, diagnostic
assessments than ever used before by Arcola schools. These frequent,
on-going assessments will allow classroom teachers and intervention
teachers to quickly diagnose areas of difficulties and enable them with
the information they need to target skills for individual students.
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STUDENT LEARNING and PERFORMANCE
u Response to Intervention
what was called the ISAT assessment and students in the 11th grade took the
PSAE assessment, which was a combination of the ACT test and the Work Keys
test. The state testing for this past school year for students in Grades 3-8 and
11 was titled the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test. Districts have been notified by the State Board of Education
that no results on this assessment will be available until at least late October. As
a result, this report will not include any state assessment results.
In addition to eSpark, the district provides a full scope of services for students
that have been identified as needing additional academic or behavioral support.
This includes a continuum of academic and behavior-based interventions. These
interventions, such as Title I Reading and counseling, are provided both in small
group and one-on-one settings. Students who are struggling academically and/or
emotionally receive these interventions in addition to the core academic and social development program. This sequence of interventions is the district’s approach for meeting the federally mandated Response to Intervention process.
This report instead provides an overview of results on perception surveys taken
by students, staff and parents, as well as performance data taken on a nationally-normed assessment titled NWEA MAP by students in Grades K-6. This report is intended to provide an overall, broad picture of the district. For more
details on any of the measures reported, please visit the district website.
u Special Education
Students that work through the sequence of interventions and still struggle to
achieve can be referred for special education testing. Once a referral is made,
there is a comprehensive evaluation that takes place to determine eligibility for
services. Students found eligible receive an “Individualized Education Program”
(IEP), which is designed specifically to meet his or her educational needs. The
district philosophy for students identified for special education services is to provide them with their educational programs in the ”least restrictive environment”
(LRE), which means an effort is made to educate students with the additional
supports that are needed, while still maintaining a day/schedule/activities that
are close to their grade-level peers as possible.. Some of the Special Education
programs and services offered include assistance for students with emotional
needs, physical limitations, visual impairments, hearing impairments, speech impairments, learning disabilities, etc. Related services include occupational and
physical therapy, social work services, speech language services, and behavioral
services. The Arcola School District belongs to the Eastern Illinois Area of Special
Education (EIASE) cooperative.
u 5Essentials
In 2015, students and teachers in the State of Illinois participated in the 2015 Illinois 5Essentials Survey, which asked questions about a school’s culture and climate. The results from the 5Essentials can assist schools with identifying ways
in which a school is organized for school improvement. In fact, over two decades
of research on Chicago Public Schools has shown that schools strong on three
or more of the five essentials were ten times more likely to improve student learning than schools weak in three or more. The higher the overall results on the
survey, the more likely there is to see increased student learning. Student and
staff survey results are combined to create one overall picture of a school. There
are five main essential areas that are used to create an overall rating for a school.
These five areas include: Supportive Environment, Effective Leaders, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families and Ambitious Instruction. The overall results
for Arcola Elementary School and Arcola JH/High School are reported below.
The results indicate a very positive overall rating relative to the state average
and schools similar to Arcola.
u Performance Targets
For the past 10 years, the State of Illinois has required testing in Grades 3-8 on
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STUDENT LEARNING and PERFORMANCE
u MAP
The NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment is a nationally normed assessment in both reading and mathematics. The MAP assessment
creates a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student’s learning level—precisely measuring student progress and growth for each individual.
This assessment is an excellent assessment because it can be used to measure overall academic performance of groups of students, as well as measure individual
progress for each and every student throughout the year. Students in Grades K-6 at Arcola Elementary School took the MAP assessment in the fall, winter and
spring in both reading and math. The MAP scores provide two important measures. The first measure is the RIT score. This provides an overall average of performance for individuals and groups of students and can be compared to national norms.
The following charts includes the overall RIT score from the spring assessment by grade level compared to the national norm RIT score on the MAP assessment:
9
STUDENT LEARNING
and PERFORMANCE
The second important measure from the MAP assessment is the Growth Target. Based on the age of a student and initial academic performance on the
fall assessment, each student is assigned a projected target for growth in both
math and reading. When the students are tested in the spring, their actual
growth is compared to their projected growth. On average, 50% of the students
nationally meet or exceed their growth target. As a district, the goal would be
to see at least 50% of the student meet their growth target. As discussed earlier, the elementary school had full implementation of a new math curriculum.
As a result, the growth targets for math were monitored closely. The graph
below shows that the combination of the core program with the additional support from eSpark had a very positive impact on student growth in mathematics.
10
STUDENT LEARNING
and PERFORMANCE
As was discussed earlier, the elementary school implemented a technology-based program called eSpark. eSpark takes each individual student’s test
scores on the MAP assessment in reading and math
and uses those results to create an individualized
learning plan for each student using a sequence of
engaging educational apps on their iPads. This represents true differentiation. The need for differentiation can be seen by the powerful graph below.
This graph, created by eSpark, takes one 5th grade
classroom at Arcola Elementary School and illustrates the academic level that each student tested
on the first MAP assessment in the fall in both reading and math. In this one class, there are students
working on 1st grade content all the way up to 8th
grade content! It can be very challenging for a
teacher to meet the needs of all students with such
a variety of performance levels.
Graph by eSpark
eSpark completed an analysis of student performance on the amount of growth that the students
made on the MAP assessment from fall to the
spring. They also compared growth in goal areas
where students worked on educational apps in eSpark against growth in goal areas where students
did not complete work on educational apps. Normal
growth from fall to spring would be 100%. The graph
below shows the overall growth for students in goal
areas exceeded the 100% mark by 23%. This would
strongly indicate the very positive impact eSpark and
the 1:1 iPad technology had on student learning.
Graph by eSpark
11
OTHER PROGRAMMING
u Class Size
ics programs. These programs are a two-year commitment and after completion,
the students will be half way to earning their Associate’s degree in that field.
One terrific advantage of a small school setting is the small class sizes that exist
in classrooms. This small class size allows for more individual attention for each
student. It also allows for students to feel connected with adults in the building.
Overall, this is another reason that has led to the terrific school culture that exists
in Arcola Schools. The 2014 School Report Card indicated a student teacher
ratio of 16 to 1 in the elementary school and 13.4 to 1 in the junior high/high
school.
The entire focus for the Arcola High School staff is to provide guidance for each
individual student on preparing for his/her path after high school. From the time
a student enrolls for their freshman courses, the student is advised and supported
every step along the way to match that student’s interest with the course path
that will best prepare that student for life after high school. The goal of the high
school is to maintain high academic expectations in every course so that regardless of course sequence, every student will be prepared to be successful in college, the workforce, or the military. The senior class of 2014-2015 was surveyed
towards the end of the school year. Below are some interesting statistics about
their plans for the future.
u High School Programming
The high school offers a full range of programming that is commonly offered in
high schools. This includes traditional course sequences in mathematics, English/language arts, science, social studies, fine arts, and physical education. The
school offers many courses for high achieving students including Calculus,
Chemistry, Physics, etc. The district also offers full programs in business, agriculture and family consumer science. In addition, the school provides a cooperative class for seniors where students learn employability skills and are actually
placed in full-time employment situations. Finally, the district capitalizes on the
wealth of technology by allowing students to take online classes for credit through
virtual high school.
In addition, the school has partnered with several outside educational institutions
that provide for unique course opportunities. The district partners with the office
of “Eastern Illinois Education for Employment System 340” to provide a program
for Health Occupations. Several students travel to Parkland Community College
for part of their day to start taking college courses to get a jump start on their college career. Next year, several Arcola High School juniors will travel daily to Lake
Land College where they will participate in either Manufacturing or Auto Mechan12
u Diversity
The district offers a comprehensive English Second Language (ESL) program
for students that are identified as English language learners (ELL). Students
are assessed annually on the ACCESS test (Assessing Comprehension and
Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners).
Based on their English language proficiency on the ACCESS test, students
may qualify for additional ESL services throughout the day. The district believes that ELL students learn the language most effectively by being immersed
in the regular classroom and that is why ELL students spend most of their day
in those regular classrooms. In addition, students identified also receive ESL
support services, where teachers support students’ academic progress in the
regular classroom by helping them understand the English language in the
context of regular classroom instruction. Students are also taught Spanish
language arts in Spanish as well, to assist them in developing their academic
performance in their native language, as well as English. The district employs
three full-time ESL/bilingual staff members to support the ELL students. The
district served 89 students in the ESL program in the 2014-2015 school year.
u Pre-School Programming
The district also operates the Little Rider Pre-K program that services students
from ages 3-5. This program is a very valuable program in preparing students
for kindergarten. The school currently has three classrooms that operate both
a morning and afternoon class. In total, there are 6 sections of Pre-K that educates around 80 students ages 3-5. This program balances both the social
development and academic development of the children in these classrooms.
u Mentoring Program
The district also offers a comprehensive mentoring program for students. The
program is in partnership with the Mid-Illinois Big Brothers/Big Sisters program
and is led by Mindy Catanzaro. In the 2014-15 school year, there were 16 different matches in the district. The goal of the program is to mentor kids and
inspire them to reach their potential. The mentor and mentee participate in a
variety of activities as a means of creating a safe climate that will act as a
springboard for conversation and dialogue about decision making, confidence
building, and coping strategies. All mentors go through a rigorous screening
and training process in order to qualify to mentor. The mentoring program is
a very valuable partnership for the students of Arcola.
13
BUDGET and FINANCIAL PROFILE - FACILITIES
u Financial Picture of the District
u Bond Refinancing
The State of Illinois has been in poor economic condition for several years now. As a result, the
state has not been providing districts with the funds they are required by law to provide and as a
result, many districts have been struggling financially. For example, the State of Illinois started
the 2014-2015 school year funding only 89% of the required General State Aid (GSA) formula to
schools. As the year progressed, they cut another 2.25%, effectively reducing the amount of GSA
to 86.75%. This total proration of GSA cost the Arcola School District around $350,000. In addition, many grants such as transportation, bilingual, special education personnel, etc. were prorated
as well.
After months of research, the board approved refinancing of the
remaining bonds from when the district constructed the new
high school building addition several years ago. The school district bond schedule is very similar to a house loan. When building the addition, the district had to borrow money (after getting
voter approval through a referendum), which then must be paid
back (principal and interest) over a period of time. The district
had nine years left on the current bond schedule. The remaining
principal amount was $1,480,000. The interest rate on the remaining bonds was set to be 4.61%. These bond payments directly impact property tax owners in the Arcola School District
because “Bond and Interest” makes up part of the school portion
of property tax bills each year. In addition to refinancing the remaining bonds, the board also agreed to commit a portion of
sales tax proceeds the next six years to further reduce the property tax burden on taxpayers. The 1% Sales Tax for school facility improvement was passed in Douglas County over a year
ago now. The Arcola School District started receiving proceeds
from sales tax revenue in April of 2014. The district receives
around $40,000 in revenue monthly that can only be used for
facility related items. One allowable use for this revenue is paying off existing bond debt that was secured for facility related
projects, such as the building addition.
On the bright side, the Arcola School District is in a very stable financial position. The district did
have a deficit budget for the 2014-2015 school year in the amount of $120,000. That means the
district was expected to spend $120,000 more than it is expected to receive in revenue. In reviewing the actual year-end financial data, the district will end the year with a surplus of around
$72,000 (rather than the $120,000 Deficit). Considering the state cut over $350,000 in GSA
alone for the 14-15 school year, this is very strong financial performance. In the graph below, it
shows the projected ending fund balances for the different funds in the district budget.
The following are some key points about the refinancing:
1) The bond schedule was reduced from nine years down
to six years. This means that property tax payers will be
required to pay taxes on the building loan three less
years than originally planned.
2) The interest rate went from 4.61% down to 1.86% and
will save almost $150,000 in interest.
3) The interest savings plus the commitment of sales tax
will save taxpayers a total of $434,500 over the
remaining years of the loan.
u Financial Profile
Each district in the State of Illinois receives a financial profile score as part of the annual audit
process. This profile score is comprised of five components:
1) Fund Balance to Revenue Ratio – This indicator reflects the overall
financial strength of the district.
2) Expenditure to Revenue Ratio – This indicator identifies how much is
expended for each dollar received.
3 Days Cash on Hand – This indicator provides a projected estimate of the
number of days a district could meet operating expenditures provided
no additional revenues were received.
u Capital Improvement Plan
The school district developed a long-term capital improvement
plan this past year. This is a big change from past years because the district is now receiving an adequate amount of dedicated funding for facility improvements. As a result, the district
is now able to complete some much-needed projects. Some of
the projects that have been completed or are in progress include:
u
u
4) Percent of Short-Term Borrowing Ability Remaining
u
5) Percent of Long-Term Debt Margin Remaining
u
u
The Arcola School District received a perfect 4.0 out of 4.0 on the 2014 Audit. The average profile
for the 860 schools in the State of Illinois was 3.54.
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u
u
Upgrade of Technology Infrastructure
High School Roof Replacement
Elementary School All-Purpose Room Replacement
High School Floor Tile Replacement
ES Playground Renovation
Installation of New Football/Track Scoreboard
Phase 5 (final phase) of Exterior Tuck Pointing Work
STUDENT/STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
u Extra-Curricular Opportunities
u AHS Football: Finished with a record of 10-1 and were Conference Champions; Wyatt Fishel, Kollin Seaman, Seth Still, Chase Strader, Cole Hutton,
Richard Jaeger, Dalton Pantier, Justin Hobgood and Clayton Strader were AllConference Performers; Wyatt Fishel was All-Area Herald & Review and NewsGazette
The Arcola School District has a strong tradition of excellence in extra-curricular
programming. This program includes athletics, fine arts, as well as numerous
clubs and teams that enrich a student’s experience at school. The 2014-2015
school year was no different! Arcola students experienced some tremendous
team and individual success this year.
u AHS Volleyball: Finished with a record of 16-12; Taylor Edwards and Madie
Budd were All-Conference Performers, Herald & Review 3rd Team All-Area and
News-Gazette Special Mention each.
The district offers a wide range of athletic and extra-curricular activities including:
u AHS Boys’ Basketball: Finished with a record of 16-12; Kollin Seaman was
an All-Conference Performer and All-Area JG-TC. In addition Kollin Seaman became the 12th male in Arcola history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark for scoring!
Junior High: Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball, Boys’ and Girls’ Track, Volleyball,
Scholastic Bowl, Student Council, Band and Chorus
High School: Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball, Boys’ and Girls’ Track, Volleyball,
Scholastic Bowl, Student Council, Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Jazz Choir, Color
Guard, Softball, Baseball, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Future Farmers of
America (FFA), Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA),
Drama Club, Yearbook, Mentoring, Library Club, National Honor Society, Art Club,
Spanish Club, Fitness Club, Special Olympics, and AFS.
u AHS Girls' Basketball: Finished with a record of 21-8 and were defeated in
the Sectional Championship game; The team was Conference Champions, Conference Tournament Champions and Regional Champions; Taylor Edwards and
Rylee Fishel were All-Conference Performers; Taylor Edwards was Honorable
Mention All-State; Taylor Edwards was All-Area JG-TC
The following provides a brief summary, including both team and individual special accomplishments, for some of the activities from the 2014-2015 school year.
u AHS Baseball: Finished with a record of 7-17; Daniel Mendoza and Devin
Warren were All-Conference Performers
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STUDENT/STAFF
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
u AHS Softball: Finished with a record of 4-18; Sydnee Shafer was an All-Conference Performer
u AHS Track: Placed 3rd Place as a team at the IHSA State Championship
Event; Boys’ Conference Champions; Won 2 Invitational Meets; Set 8 School
Records; Ashton Wilson, Clayton Strader, Jamie Warren, Tony Salinas, Rigo Rojas,
Federico Galaviz, Sam Crane, Connor Strader, Collin Budd, Brandon Lebeter and
Steven Franco were All-Conference Performers; Ashton Wilson (high jump), Clayton Strader (300M Hurdles, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400), Jamie Warren (4x100, 4x200,
4x400), Rigo Rojas (4x200), Federico Galaviz (4x100, 4x200, 4x400), Tony Salinas
(4x100), and Brandon Lebeter (4x400) all contributed to the state finish.
u Drama Club: The Drama Club put on a stellar performance of the play “The
Rehearsal.” Twenty high school students participated to produce this hilarious
comedy about a high school drama class attempting to put on the musical "Guys
and Dolls."
Photo by Doug Cottle
Photo by Doug Cottle
u Special Olympics: Fourteen athletes participated
in Special Olympic Games at EIU. Twelve athletes advanced to state games at Illinois State University.
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STUDENT/STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
u AFS Short Term Exchange Program – the AFS club had another awesome exchange partnership with another school district this year. In this program, students
from Arcola High School were able to spend several days visiting a high school in
Sonora, California. The students are paired with an exchange family and engage in
many activities with the students from the partner high school. In addition, the students
from Arcola are able to do some sightseeing in their down time! Then the students
from Sonora came and spent several days in Arcola in late April.
u Band – The band had a tremendous year. They received 1st Place in Drum Line
and 2nd Place Overall at Mt Zion Marching Band Competition; 1st Place Overall in
Division, Drum Majors and Color Guard – 1st Place Overall and 2nd Place at Drum
Line at the Oblong Competition. Dylan Bogus and Eva Corona were named to IMEA
District Band; Colin Beres, Maggie Fulton and Laurn Schaffer were named to IMEA
Chorus; Myles Bott and Jacob Butler were named to IMEA District Junior High Band;
and Myles Bott and Molly Mahannah were named to IMEA District Junior High Choir.
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u Special Recognition and Awards
In addition to the accomplishments highlighted in earlier sections, there were
many other situations where Arcola students and faculty members earned
special recognition throughout the year.
1) Arcola School District became one of the very few districts in Illinois to
implement a 1:1 Digital Learning platform in grades K-12.
2) Led by teacher Rachel Stenger, Arcola middle school students earned
the honor of being the Top Public School in Nation (and second overall) in
a national reading competition through Learning Ally. Because of the
accomplishment, the teacher and students were invited to testify before
Illinois State senators as to why the Learning Ally program should
continue to be funded in Illinois public schools.
3) AHS Fellowship of Christian Athletes hosted its first ever summer day
camp for elementary students during the month of June. This event was
led by high school students who are on the FCA leadership team.
4) After going through a rigorous application process, 7th and 8th grade
English/language arts teacher Danica Norton and 4th Grade teacher
Bethany Wellbaum were selected by Apple to attend a week long training
this summer titled the Apple Foundations Trainer (AFT) Academy
program.
5) Teacher Mary Beth Hull is the chair for the Board of Directors for
Illinois FCCLA and local FCCLA chapter was awarded a $2000 Operation
Teen Safe Driving grant for the 4th consecutive year.
6) Eadie Budd won the Arcola Young Authors contest. Her story of "My
Dream Come True" was presented at Illinois State University in
Bloomington along with other young authors from all over the state.
Eadie is a 4th grader at AES.
7) Freshman Madysen Melton was chosen to have one of her poems
published as part of a poetry contest through Creative Communications.
Her poem will be included in this year's copy of their Creative
Communications poetry anthology.
8) Arcola Junior High Scholastic Bowl got second place at this year’s
conference tournament.
9) High School English/language arts teachers Emily Coombe and Jen
Chovanic and the district instructional coach, Heather Ethell, were
selected to participate in a statewide project titled, Vision 20/20. The
project focused on 21st Century Learning, where teams of teachers
created online teacher resources and textbooks for Illinois teachers to use
to assist them in using technology to enhance instruction.
10) The Regional Office of Education (ROE 11) held its’ annual Sumdog
math contest in April. ROE 11 includes schools from Clark, Coles,
Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Moultrie, and Shelby Counties. Students
had the opportunity to participate in class and on their own time. There
were fifteen classes in ROE 11 that qualified and a total of 294 students
played. Arcola Elementary School had a great showing. Miss Hanna’s 3rd
grade class placed 1st Place overall and Ms. Eads’ 2nd grade class
finished second. Individual accomplishments included: Garrett Sigrist (6th
grade), 1st place; Aden York (3rd grade), 6th place; and Tyler Smith (2nd
grade), 9th place.
11) Arcola Elementary School students assisted in selling raffle tickets for
a 1993 Harley Davidson Motorcycle donated to the school by Libman. The
raffle generated over $15,000 that will be used to purchase new playground
equipment for the elementary school students.
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STUDENT/STAFF
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
12) Arcola Junior High/High School hosted a Walk for Wishes event in
September and earned over $3,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in
Illinois.
13) At the local spelling bee, students, Oscar Aguilar (1st Place), Myles
Roberts (2nd Place), and Jose Becerra (3rd Place), advanced to the County
Spelling Bee competition, where Myles placed 3rd in Douglas County.
14) Coach Nancy Stiff won the 700th game of her amazing coaching career!
15) Junior High Boys’ Basketball coach, Bruce Manola, celebrated his 50th
year of coaching!
16) Taylor Edwards and Justin Kuhns were the Class of 2015 Valedictorians
and Eunice Perez was the Salutatorian.
17) The elementary school students and staff raised almost $8,000 for the
American Heart Association with Jump Rope for Heart.
18) Dylan Shields was selected as the new FCCLA Section 15 President.
19) Raul Ortiz had his artwork, “Self-Portrait” chosen as one of the pieces of
artwork on display for the Traveling Exhibition Cultivating Creativity 2014-2015
Consolidated Children’s Art Exhibit sponsored by Consolidated
Communication and the Tarble Arts Center at EIU.
20) Dylan Bogus won honorable mention in the 2015 Phi Beta Kappa Young
Scholar Award completion at EIU with his essay, “My (Hypothetical) Dinner
Conversation with a Famous Mathematician or Scientist.”
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ARCOLA
COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT #306
351 W. Washington Street
Arcola, Illinois 61910
Arcola CUSD #306 Unit Office
Phone: 217-268-4963
Fax: 217-268-3809
Arcola Elementary School Office
Phone: 217-268-4961
Fax: 217-268-4719
Arcola Jr./Sr. High School Office
Phone: 217-268-4962
Fax: 217-268-4483
Website: www.arcola.k12.il.us
ARCOLA HIGH SCHOOL CLASS of 2015