New Trier Board Briefs: Numbers Enrich Summer School

'Year-round school'

Nearly half of the system's more than 4,000 students enrolled in some kind of summer school activity this year, either academic, enrichment, sports or travel, according to a report presented at the board meeting Sept. 19.

“Year-round school is here,” Superintendent Linda Yonke said, noting that summer classes start the Monday after the regular school year ends and run until about 10 days before the new school year begins.

Students pay tuition for the summer courses, making the programs self-supporting.

This year, 685 students took academic courses, 290 took enrichment courses, 1,523 enrolled in sports programs and 31 went on trips. The class with the highest percentage participation was the incoming freshmen, with 60 percent enrolling, even though they were not eligible to take academic courses for credit, according to the report.

The number of classes taken was up very slightly -- from 2,527 to 2,529. The number of students taking classes was down, from 1,997 to 1,966. In other words, the students who signed up this year enrolled in more classes than during the summer of 2009.

Most students who attend summer school do so for enrichment or academic advancement, not remediation, Yonke said.

Summer school brought in $881,244 and cost $800,901. The expenses include salaries and benefits for teachers and staff, utilities and class supplies.

Earlier:

A plan by any other name…

District 203 board members expressed agreement with a list of “action items” presented by the administration, but board vice president Carol Ducommon took issue with the title of the document, “Long Range Planning Action Areas.”

Some people might take that to mean that the document was part of the district’s strategic plan, which was developed several years ago after a lengthy process that involved the community as well as educators, she said.

“These things take on a life of their own,” Ducommon said. “This is more of a management tool.”

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Paul Sally said the board compiled and organized the items as a way to see what still needed to be done as part of the strategic plan. However, Ducommon said many of the items were not contemplated by the strategic plan.

No plaque to honor group

Members of the Coalition for the Future of New Trier want some form of recognition for their farsightedness. The citizens’ group formed in the 1980s and advocated that the district keep the then-closed in case it was needed in the future.

Now members contacted the district to seek a plaque at the Northfield building, which is at enrollment capacity, to recognize their effort.

School board president John Myefski explained that the district would have to turn down the request because of a policy prohibiting such displays.

However, the district will keep a record of the coalition's efforts in its archives so they will not be forgotten, Yonke said.