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Hamilton schools will focus more on reading
By Diane Vance/Gate City Staff Writer
HAMILTON, Ill. - Hamilton School District will focus more on reading and language arts in the coming years, Principal Ron Gilbert told school board members at the May 21 meeting.
“We have some catch up to do,” he said. “Exploratory classes have softened our curriculum. My goal is to get back to the basics. Overall, junior high is doing well.”
Reading scores for high school juniors, as tested annually by the standardized Prairie State Academic Evaluation test, have declined over the past three years. The percent of Hamilton juniors scoring proficient in reading was 76.6 percent in 2005; 64.4 percent in 2006; and 51.3 percent in 2007.
Math scores for the same students and years show 68 percent of students proficient in 2005; 48.9 percent proficient in 2006; and 51.3 percent proficient in 2007.
Hamilton juniors scored a few percentage points lower in reading and math compared to the state average of juniors in 2007 and slightly higher in science.
Gilbert outlined these results in a newly completed School Improvement Plan, a 39-page document he shared with the board.
Teachers working on the 2007-2008 School Improvement Team with Gilbert were Janeen Johnson, junior high science; Linda Hardy, 7-12 art; Sandy Bertucci, resource; Bill Knowles, junior high physical education; and Storm Hanks, junior high language arts.
“Three-year data on math scores are relatively stable. The reading scores reveal a steady decline,” Gilbert writes in the report. “For now scores are well within the adequate yearly progress required by No Child Left Behind. Changes made in the past year in math curriculum will not show up in the testing results for another year or two.”
Science scores are moving higher. The team chose not to focus on science for this two-year improvement plan.
Gilbert said focusing on reading will help in math.
“We believe reading touches all curricular areas, and improvement in this area will cause improvement in all other areas,” Gilbert said. “We are implementing some necessary reading and writing changes in the language arts departments.”
The math department has a new Saxton curriculum that has created more student interest. The district will focus on reading, math and curriculum realignment for the next two years.
“We were taught math differently than our kids are now. Most parents don't think the importance of reading is illustrated in math,” said Gilbert. “But poor reading skills can be a huge obstacle for students in math. A student with a strong math mind, but poor reading skills, can't possibly do well in today's math classes. It is nearly impossible to pass a math class without being able to read.”
The district team recommends every parent and teacher read “Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why America's Children Feel Good About Themselves but Can't Read, Write or Add” by Charles Sykes.
“This book offers a full-scale investigation of the new educational fad, sometimes called ‘outcome based education' the latest in a long series of ‘reforms' that has eroded our schools,” the team noted.
The School Improvement Plan includes strategies taken over the past year to focus more on reading.
Gilbert plans to implement more use of technology in the classroom and to communicate with students and parents online, including e-mail, lesson plans and free tutoring resources.
The district is in the process of forming interdepartmental learning communities for mentoring and support of teachers. Hamilton teachers Ed Lemon and David Artman are enrolled in mentoring training classes to assist the program.
High school curriculum is being realigned. The completed project will be to the community online. The district wants to increase parental involvement.
All teachers hired in Hamilton are considered highly qualified in the state. High school courses are reviewed each year to ensure the classes cover Illinois standards as close as possible with available funding.
“We have some catch up to do,” he said. “Exploratory classes have softened our curriculum. My goal is to get back to the basics. Overall, junior high is doing well.”
Reading scores for high school juniors, as tested annually by the standardized Prairie State Academic Evaluation test, have declined over the past three years. The percent of Hamilton juniors scoring proficient in reading was 76.6 percent in 2005; 64.4 percent in 2006; and 51.3 percent in 2007.
Math scores for the same students and years show 68 percent of students proficient in 2005; 48.9 percent proficient in 2006; and 51.3 percent proficient in 2007.
Hamilton juniors scored a few percentage points lower in reading and math compared to the state average of juniors in 2007 and slightly higher in science.
Gilbert outlined these results in a newly completed School Improvement Plan, a 39-page document he shared with the board.
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“Three-year data on math scores are relatively stable. The reading scores reveal a steady decline,” Gilbert writes in the report. “For now scores are well within the adequate yearly progress required by No Child Left Behind. Changes made in the past year in math curriculum will not show up in the testing results for another year or two.”
Science scores are moving higher. The team chose not to focus on science for this two-year improvement plan.
Gilbert said focusing on reading will help in math.
“We believe reading touches all curricular areas, and improvement in this area will cause improvement in all other areas,” Gilbert said. “We are implementing some necessary reading and writing changes in the language arts departments.”
The math department has a new Saxton curriculum that has created more student interest. The district will focus on reading, math and curriculum realignment for the next two years.
“We were taught math differently than our kids are now. Most parents don't think the importance of reading is illustrated in math,” said Gilbert. “But poor reading skills can be a huge obstacle for students in math. A student with a strong math mind, but poor reading skills, can't possibly do well in today's math classes. It is nearly impossible to pass a math class without being able to read.”
The district team recommends every parent and teacher read “Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why America's Children Feel Good About Themselves but Can't Read, Write or Add” by Charles Sykes.
“This book offers a full-scale investigation of the new educational fad, sometimes called ‘outcome based education' the latest in a long series of ‘reforms' that has eroded our schools,” the team noted.
The School Improvement Plan includes strategies taken over the past year to focus more on reading.
Gilbert plans to implement more use of technology in the classroom and to communicate with students and parents online, including e-mail, lesson plans and free tutoring resources.
The district is in the process of forming interdepartmental learning communities for mentoring and support of teachers. Hamilton teachers Ed Lemon and David Artman are enrolled in mentoring training classes to assist the program.
High school curriculum is being realigned. The completed project will be to the community online. The district wants to increase parental involvement.
All teachers hired in Hamilton are considered highly qualified in the state. High school courses are reviewed each year to ensure the classes cover Illinois standards as close as possible with available funding.
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