The ICNS Electronic Report is back after taking three months off. Again this year, school administrators from members of the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools (ICNS), will receive a monthly issue of the Electronic Report. The purpose of this Report is to provide brief synopses of developments with the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools, legislative updates, and information of interest to our nonpublic school administrators. Additional information may be obtained by following the hyperlinks that are imbedded throughout the Report.
The annual membership drive for ICNS is underway. Membership dues are $50. Attached you will find a form to use in renewing your membership. There are few organizations that charge only $50 a year to be a member, particularly one where the school receives significant benefits.
Allow me to share why it is important to 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 nonpublic schools for our common purposes, needs and concerns. We are committed to monitor legislation affecting nonpublic schools at a local, state and federal level. ICNS is the voice of the nonpublic school community representing twenty different nonpublic school associations. Each month during the school year, member schools will receive the Electronic Report as a means to keep them informed about our work. Print the membership form and mail your annual dues in today.
There is no need to buy required posters. There are companies out there who will tell you that you do but these online posters meet the letter of the law. They may not be laminated but they are free. Use the following address for the Federal Department of Labor and download the posters you need to post: http://www.dol.gov/osbp/sbrefa/poster/main.htm.
The posters you will need for your school are the following:
HEALTH EXAMS/EYE EXAMS HAVE NEW RULES
Public Act 95-0422 (SB 937), enacted last year, changed from fifth grade to sixth grade the year in which a health examination is required for students. A bill was initiated this year to clarify that any child who received a health examination before entering the fifth grade for the 2007-2008 school year is not required to receive an additional health examination before entering 6th grade in the 2008-2009 school year. HB 5717 made it clear that such students would not have to receive another health examination. The text of the rule can be found at: http://www.idph.state.il.us/rulesregs/2008_Rules/77_IAC_665_6-6.pdf.
Public Act 95-671 (SB 641), enacted on Jan. 1, 2008, requires that all children enrolling in kindergarten and any student enrolling for the first time in school shall have an eye examination. Each school is required to give notice of this eye examination requirement to the parents and guardians of students. The text of the rule can be found at: http://www.idph.state.il.us/rulesregs/2008_Rules/77_IAC_665_Eye_Exam_6-6.pdf
There is now a vision screening fact sheet on the ISBE website under health updates. http://www.isbe.state.il.us/research/pdfs/eye_examinations.pdf.
SCHOOL SAFETY BILL
A school safety bill was passed in 2005 and we are now in the third year of reporting. Each year schools need to conduct 3 evacuation (fire) 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, and they are supposed to contact you by September 1 to set that up. If they haven’t contacted you … contact them.
In addition to these drills, the statute requires a one-page annual review report be filed with the Office of the State Fire Marshall. That report should be sent to your school. The report does 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). The annual review report is due back at the Office of the State Fire Marshall by October 1st. If you have questions or need a report form, call the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshall at 217-785-0969.
SCHOOL SAFETY BLOCK GRANT
Schools must access the Illinois State Board of Education's Web Application Security System (IWAS) for transmitting last year's attendance data for the reimbursements from the School Safety Block Grant. The deadline for submitting data is September 15! Please meet this deadline, as extensions will not be granted.
Once the data is properly submitted you will receive your allotment in two payments: the first on October 30, 2008, and the second April 30, 2009.
Please use the Nonpublic Attendance User Guide to help you navigate the system and enter your data correctly. You can find this guide by logging in to the system and clicking on the "User Guide" tab. Remember, your average daily attendance in any given month cannot be higher than your enrollment -- the numbers should be relatively close!
If you have any attendance questions as you enter the data into the new system, please contact Jim Mathes jmathes@isbe.net or Marj Beck mbeck@isbe.net, Division of Funding and Disbursement Services at 217-782-5256.
SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE PUBLIC ALERT RADIOS
As part of a massive effort to safeguard children across the nation, the federal
government is providing private schools with free special-purpose radios that
will alert officials to local weather hazards and other emergencies. Every
religious and independent K-12 school and preschool in the country is slated to
receive a radio sometime in September 2008.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the public alert radios provide warnings about, and offer responses to, a host of emergencies, such as "an approaching tornado, ...a derailed train posing a hazardous material threat, or the urgent need to be on the lookout for an abducted child." The expectation is that the early warnings and proposed responses will save lives.
Upon receiving the radios, private school officials will have to register them, program them, and complete a license agreement affirming that the federal government owns the radios. The agreement allows private schools to use the equipment without becoming recipients of federal financial assistance. Since the program is voluntary, school officials also have the option of rejecting the radios and returning them to the government at no charge. Information about registering, programming, licensing, or returning the radios is available at a Web site established by NOAA to provide a comprehensive overview of the program. The site includes operating instructions for the radios and a helpful section of frequently asked questions.
To provide school personnel with even more information, officials at the U.S. Department of Education have set up a series of conference calls to review the program and respond to questions. The dial-in number is (888) 390-0980; the pass code is 8723261. Dates and times are as follows:
Two years ago, the federal government distributed public alert radios to every public school in the country. CAPE has been working with government officials since that time to ensure the program's extension to religious and independent schools.
LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WORK TO
EARN THEIR PRIVATE SCHOOL TUITION
In her article "When School Works" in DoubleThink (published online by America's
Future Foundation), Laura Vanderkam profiles the Cristo Rey Network, 19 urban
Catholic high schools in which students combine demanding academic work with
part-time jobs in the corporate world to defray the cost of tuition. At the
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School of Chicago, for instance, 525 students share 130
jobs, which include working for hedge funds, lawyers' offices and consulting
firms. Their wages are then channeled to the school, which keeps tuition low --
$2,700 -- a third of what it would otherwise cost. This is critical for the
population that the schools serve: economically disadvantaged and often
desperate to find a way out of dangerous neighborhoods and low-functioning high
schools, but unable to afford private tuition. Apart from the economic benefits,
educators in the Network have found that exposure to the responsibilities and
expectations of the corporate world radically reorganize students' worldview and
idea of what is possible. The majority of students come from households where no
one has attended college, but acceptance to two- and four-year institutions
network-wide for 2006 was 99 percent. Not all students will complete their
post-secondary education, but this college-going rate is a radical improvement
on statistics for disadvantaged Latino and African-American students nationally.
http://americasfuture.org/doublethink/2008/05/when-school-works/
NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION
Airborne Teacher Trust Fund: Grants for Music and Art
The Airborne Teacher Trust Fund invites elementary and middle school teachers to
submit proposals for art and music programs that their schools are unable to
fund. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: teachers in both public and private
elementary and middle schools. Deadline: Oct. 31, 2008.
Prudential Financial: Spirit of Community Awards
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people for voluntary
service to their communities. Maximum award: $5,000 for an honoree and a $5,000
grant to a nonprofit, charitable organization of the honoree's choice.
Eligibility: students in grades 5-12 who have engaged in a volunteer service
activity within the past year. Deadline: Oct. 31, 2008.
Ciba Foundation: Science Teaching Awards
The Ciba Specialty Chemicals Exemplary Middle Level and High School Science
Teaching Awards recognize teachers in one or more of the following areas:
creativity using science teaching materials; design and use of innovative
teaching plans and ideas; and development and implementation of department,
school, or school-community programs that improve science instruction and/or
stimulate interest in science and the learning of science. Maximum award:
$2,000, a one-year membership in the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA),
and up to $500 to attend the NSTA National Conference on Science Education,
March 19-22, 2009. Eligibility: full-time classroom teachers. Deadline: Nov. 30,
2008.