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Chester School Board hears curriculum presentation

Posted August 22, 2014 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler The Herald Tribune

CHESTER -- With the 2014-15 school year only a few days old, the Chester CUSD 139 school board met in the band room at Chester Grade School for its monthly meeting on Aug. 21.

Terri Franklin, vice-principal and director of curriculum at Chester High School, gave a presentation to the board on the new federal test - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) - and the three concepts of school law in freedom of speech, due process and search and seizure.

But it was the various academic testing initiatives that created the most discussion, as PARCC replaces the Prairie State Achievement Examination - which ended in 2013.

"No Child Left Behind is pretty much in limbo," Franklin said, referencing the George W. Bush-era initiative that took effect in 2002.

Franklin said the district is federally-mandated to test grades three through eight and one in high school. These tests would reportedly create student growth models that would track progress.

The ACT will continue to be available to the district's students.

"My recommendation is everyone take the ACT test," said District Superintendent Chris Diddlebock. "I realize it is a lot of testing, but I recommend it to all juniors."

For freshmen and sophomores, they have their own test called ACT Aspire, which is computerized and can be administered from third grade to 11th grade.

According to its website, ACT Aspire allows school districts to assess five subject areas for "a more complete and relevant picture of the student."

"PARCC will eventually do the same thing (as the ACT), but it doesn't have the college entrance exam as its crown," Franklin said.

As of now, PARCC is only offered in Illinois, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.

"The thing about the ACT is every state offers it," Diddlebock said. "We are not required to test freshmen and sophomores, but we are required to show growth."

Athletics Report

Chester High School Athletic Director Mike Coffey told the board that 161 students at the school are participating in a fall sport and some are dual-sporting.

"That represents between 46 percent and 48 percent of the total student body," said Coffey, who mentioned he did not count band participation."

Coffey also updated the board on the plans for football's Week 7 open date of Oct. 10. The open date was created when Elverado-Trico dropped football after last season.

Coffey said a flag football tournament called "Glory Days" is being pursued as a possibility.

In regards to the 2015 season, Coffey said he continues to try and find an opponent for the football team's open date.

The Black Diamond Conference will begin a new two-year rotation next year and the open date will shift to Week 8. Edwards County, approved earlier this year as replacement for Elverado-Trico, will not join the conference until 2016-17.

"It's a major concern," Coffey said. "I've contacted schools in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and we have not been able to find a game."

Coffey said Downs Tri-Valley has a Week 9 opening for next year and he is examining the possibility of playing a mid-week game to fill the schedule.

Principals Report

Chester Grade School Principal Tim Lochhead reported the school made $242 from July's school yard sale, but the school's gymnasium is still filled with surplus items.

"I don't know what we'll do disposal-wise," Lochhead said. "As we get closer to summer, we'll have to make some decisions."

Board President Micah Reiman suggested Craigslist as an option to explore and Lochhead agreed.

Lochhead later asked the board to post an opening for an aide at the school.

"We have a number of special needs children and I would like to post an opening for an aide," Lochhead said.

Chester High School Principal Tim Keefe said the school's first foray into offering online registration went well.

"I've heard registration was 10 times better than last year," Keefe said. "There's some things we need to work on for next year, but the process was a lot smoother."

Keefe later said every home football game this season will feature some sort of major presentation.

Perandoe

After executive session, the board voted unanimously to send a letter of recommendation to the Perandoe Management Council and Perandoe Representative Committee to vote "no" on a petition of Columbia CUSD 4 to withdraw from the district.

"Columbia wants to drop out of the district and that would drive up our costs," Diddlebock said. "My disagreement (with Columbia) is you deal with issues by trying to work them out, not just dropping out."

Other board action

The board approved Jess Cushman as Chester Grade School baseball volunteer for 2014-15, Robert Miles as CGS softball volunteer for 2014-15 and Chase Caron as volunteer football coach for 2014-15.

Caron's approval is pending ASEP certification.

Roger Surman was approved as sixth hour CGS custodian at $9.25 per hour, and the board also accepted the resignation of CHS boys track coach Steve Spears, effective immediately.

Spears had previously been unanimously approved by the board for another year.

"He resigned for personal reasons," Diddlebock said.

The next meeting of the Chester CUSD 139 school board is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.

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