District 168’s new SchoolReach Instant Notification Phone System continues to get positive reviews from the school community. Click on the links below for Daily American and WPSD TV 6 news stories on the new Frankfort communications system.

http://www.dailyamericannews.com/homepage/x1272962986/New-phone-service-improves-District-168

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=EB34ADFA-96B7-45BE-AB90-EEC7FF8BDCC4&gsa=true

It’s only fitting that our own FCHS student newspaper, Redbird Notes, makes its debut today in the Daily American newspaper in conjunction with National Newspaper Week on October 5-11. Thanks to a new partnership between District 168 and the Daily American Newspaper, Redbird Notes will be a regular insert in the DA and expand its cirulation from our intimate school community to thousands of loyal DA readers throughout the area.

Congratulations to FCHS Teacher and RBN Advisor Tara Sullivan and the RBN Staff. You can follow all District 168 and FCHS news at www.dailyamericannews.com.

The 29th Annual Mt. Vernon Teacher’s Conference will be held on October 30-31 on the campus of Mt. Vernon Township High School. As a reminder to parents, District 168 will not be in session on Friday, October 31 to allow our staff to participate in this Teacher Institute Day.

District 168 is also pleased to announce that Mrs. Mary Slider and Mrs. Elizabeth Robinson, both foreign language teachers at FCHS, will serve as co-presenters. The duo will present “Creative Speaking and Writing in the Foreign Language Classroom: Communicating Outside the Box” during Session 5 in Room 220-H on Friday.

TEACHERS: Please click on the link below for a pdf. file of the conference program and registration form.

 http://www.roe25.com/mvc08/index.htm

With the simple click of a computer mouse, District 168 launched its new SchoolReach Phone System for the first time on Thursday, October 2. SchoolReach is an instant notification system that simultaneously sends out telephone messages to parents in more than 1900 district homes in a matter of minutes.  It is truly an instant messaging system for the 21st century.

While the SchoolReach system was designed as a communications tool for school emergencies, District 168 will also use the program for timeley and up-to-date information about your child’s school and District 168 events and activities. As such, SchoolReach will be utilized for things like school closings or any unexpected changes or interuptions to the normal school day.

As we begin to implent this new technology, keep in mind that SchoolReach calls will leave either the district or school phone numbers on your caller I.D. However, I encourage you to resist the urge to make immediate call backs to those numbers and take the time to listen to phone messages in their entiriety. Remember, the SchoolReach system is designed specifically to give you important information within the confines of the message.

Finally, if you have any questions about this new system or need to change your primary phone number, please contact the school offices to make the necessary adjustments. Thanks for your patience and cooperation throughout this process.

“Super Tuesday” proved to be a historic day for Illinois Schools as Williamson County voters narrowly approved a 1% sales tax increase for school construction projects among the counties five school districts.  It was the first time in state history that a county attempted to use the newly created County School Facility Occupation Tax Law that was recently approved by the legislature. The sales tax is projected to generate approximately $7.6 million a year and will be distributed among the Crab Orchard, Carterville, Herrin, Marion, and Johnston City School Districts. The new sales tax will go into effect on July 1 and will exempt prescription drugs, groceries, and state titled vehicles. All revenue generated from the sales tax must be used for new construction, building renovations, or for the reduction of outstanding bond debt for the purpose of property tax relief.

So how might this impact Franklin County Schools? It is projected that a 1% sales tax increase in Franklin County would generate approximately $2.6 million a year. While that is considerably less than our friends in the neighboring county, it is still a significant amount that could be used for our building needs. In the Frankfort School District, any “sales tax money” would most certainly be used for new construction or renovation to our 87 year-old high school building. Keep in mind that the kindergarten class of 2007 will graduate from FCHS in 2020 as the high school building celebrates its 100 year anniversary. Something to think about…

 ”Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what have you done for others?”

                                                                         -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Click on the link to see the full text or video of the “I Have A Dream” speech.

 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

After months of gridlock in Springfield, the Budget Implementation Bill (BIMP) was approved by the House this afternoon and schools throughout the state will finally see an increase in General State Aid after a six-month delay in which many districts continue to battle financial crisis.

The BIMP was approved in the Senate on Wednesday after Governor Blagojevich used his “amendatory veto” powers on January 4 to send the bill (SB 783) back to the legislature. In reality, the veto corrected some serious flaws in the allocation of new special education funds that will now be increased for the first time since 1985. Unfortunately, the Governor held the bill for close to 60 days and continued to create additional financial setbacks for the more than 800 school districts in the state.

In terms of numbers, the BIMP will provide $560 million and raises the foundation level by $400 to $5,734 per student. It has been reported that districts could see the new money by the end of the month. But as we’ve all learned this year, broken promises have become the norm in Springfield. Just ask those schools that are still waiting for 2002 school construction dollars.

On a side note, a big “Thank You” goes out to our local officials – Representative John Bradley and Senator Gary Forby – for their continued support of public education and the Frankfort School District. I also appreciate the efforts from our neighboring leaders – Representative Brandon Phelps, Representative Mike Bost, and Senator Dave Luechtefeld.

Today marks the sixth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act that was signed into legislation in 2002 by President George W. Bush. The President and Secretary of Education Margeret Spellings made a stop at a public school in Chicago on Monday to praise NCLB and ask that it be reauthorized by Congress in 2008.

As an educator, I believe in the two main principles of NCLB – higher standards and accountability. However, NCLB has numerous flaws and is usually more about political sound bites and campaign slogans than raising student achievement. In reality, NCLB is about high stakes testing and bubble sheets.

As the Primary season begins to take shape in America, I ask that you look at each candidate’s “Education Plan” and how it might impact education at the local level. As always, I would be very interested in your thoughts and opinions on NCLB and its overall impact in your classrooms.

One of my many goals for 2008 is to introduce “Curriculum Mapping” and begin the dialogue related to collaborative efforts that would ultimately result in a comprehensive K-12 curriculum. I know many of you are familiar with the mapping concept and are eager to begin the process. Thanks again to the high school teaching staff for allowing me to present the mapping power point on Jan. 2 at the Institute Day. With some technological assistance, I will try to add a link to the power point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U

I have attached the link to the very popular “Did You Know?” video that I have used of late when speaking to local groups about technology and the future of public education in the 21st century. I hope everyone takes a look and “joins the conversation.”