This is the second issue of ICNS Report for the 2006-07 school year.  Once a month, you will receive the electronic report as a benefit of membership in the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools (ICNS). Each issue will provide brief synopses of developments with ICNS, legislative updates, and information that may be of interest to our non-public school administrators.  The first issue that was sent out in September can be accessed at the ICNS web site.  We hope you will find the information of interest to you as we work together to promote quality educational opportunities for the students attending non-public schools throughout Illinois.

Advocating for Nonpublic Schools

The annual membership drive for ICNS is underway. School contacts should have received an application for the 2006-07 school year. Membership dues are $50.  Click here to access the membership form.

Why join the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools?  The Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools (ICNS) is committed to communicate and visibly participate in educational dialogue with local, state and federal leaders on behalf of non-public schools for our common purposes, needs and concerns.  We are committed to monitor legislation affecting non-public schools at a local, state and federal level.  ICNS is the voice of the non-public school community representing twenty different non-public school associations. 

Education in the News

WHAT CAN FLORIDA TEACH US ABOUT STATE VOUCHER PLANS?

Florida has aggressively pursued education voucher reform. Three separate voucher programs have been enacted (although one was declared unconstitutional) and more students use vouchers in Florida than in any other state in the nation. A new paper by Harris, Herrington, and Albee examines voucher programs in Florida to better understand when privatization is likely to be proposed by legislators, supported by voters, and found constitutional by the courts. The authors observe that vouchers emerged in Florida as a part of a larger effort to hold schools accountable. Further, moderate social conservatism, previous experience with privatization in other government sectors, a large and growing Hispanic population, and out-of-state transplanted voters with weak ties to the public education system all contributed to support for voucher reform. However, voucher proposals may not have survived pitched political battles without direct support from Governor Jeb Bush. And, the future of vouchers in Florida is uncertain, because the state constitution prohibits direct support for sectarian institutions and requires a uniform system of public education.

http://www.ncspe.org/list-papers.php

2006 METLIFE SURVEY OF THE AMERICAN TEACHER

The 2006 MetLife "Survey of the American Teacher: Experiences and Expectations" examines what deans and chairpersons of schools of education, principals and teachers each think is most critical in preparing teachers to meet classroom demands. The report also analyzes data collected since the 1980s to understand the challenges facing teachers, their likelihood of remaining in the profession, and recommended strategies to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. Over the past two decades, teacher's satisfaction with their careers has increased. One-quarter of teachers (27%) say they are likely to leave teaching. Despite the fact that teacher's career satisfaction has increased by over 20 points since 1986, the number of teachers at-risk for changing careers has stayed the same. These results indicate that retaining high-quality teachers in the profession is as much of an issue today as it was two decades ago. Many teachers say they lack the basics to get the job done. Many teachers feel shut out of decision-making at school, but having a say in school policies is a key determinant of teacher satisfaction.
http://www.metlife.com/teachersurvey

SCHOOL CRIME & VIOLENCE STATISTICS

The tragedy of recent school shootings has the potential to leave the impression that schools are more unsafe than ever before. Not so, reports a joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education Statistics. Students are twice as likely to be victims of serious violence away from schools. More murders occur at home each year than at school. This annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school and informs the nation on the nature of crime in schools. Key report findings include: (1) The violent crime victimization rate at school declined from 1992 to 2003. Even so, violence, theft, bullying, drugs, and weapons are still widespread; (2) In the 2002-03 school year, there were 15 student homicides and 8 student suicides in the nation's schools, figures that translate to less than one homicide or suicide per million students (3) In 2003, 5 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being victimized at school during the previous six months: 4 percent reported theft, while 1 percent said they were victims of a violent crime; (4) In 2003, 21 percent of students reported that street gangs were present at their school during the previous six months; (5) In 2003, 33 percent of high school students reported having been in a fight anywhere, and 13 percent said they had been in a fight on school property during the preceding 12 months; and (6) In 2003, students in urban schools were twice as likely as students in rural and suburban schools to fear being attacked at school or on the way to and from school.

http://www.schoolsafety.us/School-Crime-and-Violence-Statistics-p-9.html

It's the lurking fear of every private-school parent: The kid next door is getting just as good an education at the public school -- free of charge. Across the country, some schools and education professionals report a growing movement from private to public. Among the possible reasons: Private-school tuition has grown sharply higher, while some colleges are boosting the number of students they take from public schools. New studies have suggested that public-school students often tested as well or better than their private school peers. And increasingly, public schools are enriching their programs by holding the same kinds of fund-raisers often associated with private schools, such as auctions and capital campaigns. Not all public schools are seeing these transfers, reports Nancy Keates: Top-scoring schools in affluent areas tend to get the highest influxes from private schools. In fact, the shift serves to highlight the gap between well-funded schools and their underfunded counterparts, often inner-city schools. To read the entire article, go to the following web page:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06258/722158-298.stm

Letter from Joe McTighe

Dear Editor:

The major premise of your September 15 article "Opting Out of Private Schools" is belied by the facts. A report released this month by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) contradicts the claim of a ?growing movement? from private to public schools. NCES reports that private school enrollment increased 23 percent between 1990 and 2003, and is projected to increase an additional 7 percent between 2003 and 2015. This compares to an 18 percent increase and 6 percent projected increase during the same periods for public schools.

We have two other concerns about the article. Your survey shows that private secondary school students account for an average of 35 percent of the Class of 2010 in 19 selected Ivy League and other high-ranking colleges. But the article fails to provide an important piece of context: private schools nationally enroll only 9 percent of all secondary school students. It is no small matter when 9 percent of the student pool produces 35 percent of elite college entrants. Finally, the claim that the median tuition for private schools was $16,970 in 2005-06 is incorrect. The figure refers to tuition in member schools of the National Association of Independent Schools, a subset of private schools. According to the latest figures from NCES, the average private school tuition in 1999-2000 was $3,267 at the elementary level and $6,053 at the secondary level. More recent data are available for Catholic schools, which enroll close to a majority of private school students. The National Catholic Educational Association reports that average parish elementary school tuition in 2004-05 was $2,607 and average ninth-grade tuition in 2003-04 was $5,870. Private schools are much more affordable than your article suggests.

Sincerely,

Joe McTighe

Administrators need to be aware that new school safety drill requirements were passed the General Assembly in the Spring of 2005.  Each year your school needs to conduct 3 evacuation drills, 1 bus evacuation drill (curriculum based if you have bus service), 1 severe weather drill, and a law enforcement drill is encouraged but not required.  Of the 3 evacuation drills, 1 should be held in conjunction with your local fire department. If you have a Fire Marshal inspector or local fire representative telling you the need to conduct more drills than that, they are operating under the old rules, and you should refer them to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

In addition to these drills, the statute now requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to develop a one page annual review report to ensure you conduct these drills.  That report has finally been developed and was mailed in September to all non-public schools. 

The new wrinkle here is that the report will also include, and you must conduct, an annual review of your school's crisis plan with yourself or your representative, a teacher's representative, and local first responders (the fire department).  If you have not done so as of yet, complete the annual review report as an indication that you intend to do the drills and will complete a review of your crisis plan sometime this school year. Send the form in to the Office of the State Fire Marshal as soon as you can. If you don't remember receiving the form, you can access it at the ICNS web site at:http://www.icns.net/mc/page.do?sitePageId=38697

You can also check out the safety page on the ISBE web site at: http://www.isbe.net/safety/default.htm. You will  notice there are many other forms currently posted that may be helpful to you.  The other forms include the statute and adopted rules, an optional template for a crisis plan, and other suggested but not required documents and checklists.

Information provided by Zach Wichmann, Associate Director for Education of the Catholic Conference of Illinois