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CGS staff presents school report card

Posted February 25, 2015 10:00 pm

By Pete Spitler The Herald Tribune

CHESTER -- As part of its meeting on Wednesday, the Chester District 139 Board of Education heard a presentation on Chester Grade School's school report card.

Presented by CGS Principal Tim Lochhead and teachers Connie Clendenin and Robin Renfroe, who is also curriculum director at the school, the report card compared CGS with 18 regional schools in several different categories.

Those schools were in the communities of Columbia, Coulterville, Prairie du Rocher, Red Bud, Sparta, Steeleville, Trico, Valmeyer and Waterloo.

"You get a general idea of the picture, but I question how some of these schools are reporting their numbers," Lochhead said.

CGS was reported to be third in student attendance, 95 percent, out of the 18 schools and had the sixth-highest average class size at around 22 students.

The school was third in devoting money toward instructional costs and ranked ninth in operating costs, according to the slideshow presentation.

CGS was listed as below the state average on the ISAT test, but Lochhead said that was due to a focus on Common Core.

"We don't focus on ISAT," he said. "We're focusing on Common Core. We're not focusing on the same concepts."

CGS also was shown to have a high percentage, 54 percent, of students from low-income families. The school ranked third among its regional peers in that category.

"Your most common indicator of poverty is your free and reduced lunch," Lochhead said.

Clendenin then took the board members through a detailed segment that outlined the staff's vision, curriculum objectives and school-wide initiatives.

Renfroe capped the presentation with a look at the future of CGS in the areas of curriculum collaboration, teacher morale, student motivation and technology mastery.

Among the items listed under curriculum collaboration was "vertical alignment," where teachers work with other grade levels both above and below the level they teach.

"I can't say enough how proud I am of the teachers and staff in the district," said District Superintendent Chris Diddlebock. "Through the downturn in money and the problems with the gym, they're pushing forward."

In a separate presentation, Chester Sports Board representatives Mike Heffernan and Trevor Kelkhoff proposed redoing all of the mounds on fields 1, 2, 3 and 5 at the Cohen Complex. There could be some additional work done around the backstops as well.

"Chester Sports has volunteered to do the labor on the mounds and around home plate," Heffernan said. "The fields need some work, it's just a question of how much, who will do it and how much it will cost."

Heffernan said the project could start this fall after the city's grade schools had completed their baseball and softball seasons. It would take two days to do one field and Knights of Columbus, American Legion Post 487 and the Chester Eagles have pledged some funds to help.

Diddlebock asked Heffernan what kind of timeframe he needed on a decision.

"A month or two out," Heffernan said.

In other action, the board approved a Rebecca Young Memorial Bench at Chester High School, with the location to be determined. According to suntimesnews.com, Young, 18, died from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle accident north of Chester in December 2011.

A memorial scholarship fund was set up at CHS in her honor.

"My recommendation is to put up the bench," Diddlebock said prior to the board's vote. "I feel it is the right thing to do."

Roundup

The board approved Chad Koenegstein as a CHS track volunteer and Glen Long as a CHS baseball volunteer, both for the current school year.

The board approved St. John Lutheran School's request for use of the CHS track, pending availability.

The board approved a resolution agreement for the withdraw of Columbia CUSD No. 4 from the Perandoe Special Education District.

The board approved both certified and noncertified seniority lists for the current school year.

The board approved "Into the Woods" as the 2015-16 CHS musical.

The board accepted the resignation of Lacey Hartman as a four-hour CHS cafeteria aide as of Jan. 28.

The board accepted the resignation of Deborah Reeves as a three-and-a-half hour CGS paraprofessional as of Jan. 30.

The board accepted the resignation of Catherine Wood as a six-hour CGS night custodian effective March 6.

The board employed Luke Lochhead as CHS freshman girls basketball coach for the current school year.

The board employed Joe Kassebaum as CGS assistant volleyball coach for the current school year.

The board employed Connie Clendenon as CHS assistant track coach for the current school year.

The board approved increasing Carrie Eggemeyer from three hours to four hours per day as CHS cafeteria aide as of Feb. 20.

Finally, the board tabled employing a CGS head track coach for the current school year pending applicants.

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