Mustangs Win!

Morton beat Foreman tonight 81-72 in the regional tournament. Next game is Friday at Whitney Young against Whitney Young. 7:30 pm.

Go Mustangs!!

Mustangs headed to Regional Tournament

Last Friday, after defeating Downers Grove South 85-59, the Morton Mustangs Varsity Basketball Team was presented with a plaque for winning the Conference with a record of 22-3. The first Regional Tournament Game is this Wednesday at 7:30 against Foreman at Whitney Young. The Mustangs will likely play Whitney Young on Friday at 7:30 at Whitney Young. Hope to see some of you there! Whitney Young is at 211 Laflin in Chicago - I290/Eisenhower East to Ashland, north to Jackson, turn right and you are there!

GO MUSTANGS!!

IMAGE test for English Language Learners tossed

In order to comply with federal law, all students in Illinois will take the Illinois State Achievement Test, including students with limited English skills, according to this article in the Chicago Tribune. The Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE) exam will no longer be given to students learning English. In Berwyn, about 10% of District 98 students are classified as "Limited English Proficient". District 100 has a LEP rate of 18% and Morton West reports 4.6%. I think this presents two challenges to Berwyn schools:

1. The state's decision to scrap the IMAGE test means there will no longer be a yearly exam testing LEP students for their mastery of English. This may present an accountability issue. How will we know that students are learning English at an acceptable rate? Scrapping the IMAGE test means we will have LESS information about the effectiveness of instruction for students learning English.


2. Overall ISAT scores for our districts may be negatively impacted as we will be administering reading and math tests to students in English before they have mastered English.


Since ISAT testing does not begin until 3rd grade, I think the % of LEP students taking the ISAT may be lower than the % of LEP students in the school, but in this age of No Child Left Behind, every score counts! And certainly, every student in Berwyn counts. The intent of the No Child Left Behind law is to raise standards for all students and schools. Expecting students who do not speak English yet to learn reading and math skills at their grade level is an ambitious and worthwhile goal. Hopefully, those students (and the teachers charged with the task of educating them) will rise to the challenge.

Mustang Basketball...What a Team!

The Morton Mustangs beat Hinsdale South 75-49 to win the West Suburban Gold Division Championship! They also defeated Mundelein 103-88 in the Conference Challenge Classic Tournament this past weekend at Loyola University. Their record is 20-3!

There is a home game (Morton East main gym) this Friday at 7:30 pm against Willowbrook- a great way to spend your Friday night!

You can view the schedule of remaining games here.

Would You Pay More Taxes?

In Berwyn, we pay lower taxes than most of the surrounding suburbs. Indeed, this may be what attracted many of us to this community when we were house hunting last year or 20 years ago. All three of the school districts that serve Berwyn face financial challenges and all 3 school districts spend significantly less than most of the surrounding suburban school districts.

Since school districts in Illinois are largely dependent on property tax, the two factors that determine how much a community spends on education are the Equalized Assessed Value and the Tax Rate:

EAV x Tax Rate = $$$

Equalized Assess Value includes all computed property values upon which a district's local tax rate is calculated. So a land locked community like Berwyn, with very little new development (New condos will help but compared to the new housing that has gone up in farther out suburbs, it is not significant), 4 TIF districts that limit the amount of new tax revenue from businesses that go to schools, and little/no big businesses to contribute to the education tax, the burden falls directly on the regular old tax payer in the form of your yearly property tax bill.

Tax Rate is the amount per $100 of property value you are charged on your tax bill. There is a separate calculation for the high school district 201 and the elementary school district, either District 98 if you live north of 22nd street or District 100 if you live south of 22nd street. Each district has its own tax rate.

This formula (EAV x Tax Rate) of using property taxes to fund schools results in a system that is inequitable.

Consequently, the kids who need the most, get the least.

And so it is in Berwyn right now. That's the bad news. The good news is we have some ability to change the factors...though one more than the other. Our city may be able to increase our EAV in the following ways, though probably not very quickly:

1. Make a plan for business development. The BDC and the city must attract businesses that will succeed and add to the tax base for our schools. Residents can do their part by patronizing the existing businesses. Buy in Berwyn.
   
2. New developments. Condos are great for schools because they add to the property tax base without adding kids to the schools (usually). Since we are a landlocked community, these opportunities are few. Condo conversions might be desireable if the tax revenue from the condominiums increases compared to the preexisting apartment building, but the economic conditions need to be right for developers to begin seeing Berwyn as a reasonable place for condo-conversions.
   
3. Increase property values. How to do this is up for debate but most communities that invest in education see their property values increase.
   

Attempts to increase the EAV in our town are important, but we will have a far greater immediate impact on education funding by increasing the tax rate if our districts were to ask for an increase via a referendum. District 201 asked 3 times in the past year or so without success.

Below is a chart that lists our districts compared to surrounding districts in EAV, tax rate, per pupil spending and achievement. You will notice some correlation between spending and achievement and property values.

Are we a community that values education? My hope is that Berwyn becomes a destination suburb for education, a place that people move TO because of education instead of away FROM. Believe it or not, I think that is in reach.

Despite the lack of funding for our elementary schools, they are performing remarkably well, with many named "Spotlight Schools" for the high achievement of students. Imagine the possibilities if we actually adequately funded them!

The challenges at Morton West are greater, both regarding achievement and finances. Our children deserve better than what we've given. It is my opinion that we as a community, as parents, as residents must begin to take responsibility for our high school and that starts with a willingness to adequately fund education. In February of 2007, only 2,718 Berwynites voted in the tax referendum election. 67% voted against a tax increase. To be sure, there are many messages behind those votes, but I just don't believe that those 1828 Berwyn voters don't want a better high school for Berwyn. And what of the other 20,000+ registered voters that didn't vote? Maybe it doesn't start with adequately funding education...maybe it ends there. Maybe it starts with engaging the people! Maybe it starts with CARING one way or the other.

Send a Message of Encouragement!

The Morton Boys Varsity Basketball Team beat Riverside Brookfield 77-66! A win at Hinsdale South THIS FRIDAY will mean a first ever West Suburban Conference Gold championship for the Mustangs!

If you cannot attend this game, but would like to send good luck wishes to these exceptional young men, please post a comment on this blog. I'll print it out and send them to the coach tomorrow AM!! Community support would mean alot to them.

It seems we don't hear much good news about Morton and these kids may find their best efforts overshadowed by the negative controversies.

Please consider sending them a positive message! One thing teens cannot get enough of is encouragement! Thanks.

Is Preschool Important? by Shelley Titzer

Two weeks ago we considered the importance of evaluating schools in order to make the most informed choice when deciding where to send children to elementary school. It occurred to me that just as important is the decision of where to send children to preschool. Perhaps, most important is WHETHER to send your child to preschool. I talked once with a parent who had asked a local administrator what the biggest challenge that kindergarten teachers face. The answer wasn't the low income population or the English Language Learners or funding or class-size or any number of other challenges that we hear about in the news. The answer surprised me.

The administrator said that the number of kids that don't go to preschool is the biggest challege for our kindergarten teachers.

I was surprised, but also hopeful! There is a real chance to affect change in that area. Deanna Durica wrote a blog post months ago about the possibilities in Illinois and Berwyn of increasing the preschool opportunities in our community. More and more states are looking at publicly funded preschools. Berwyn Public Schools do offer some preschool classrooms with a preference given to at-risk students, including English Language Learners and Low Income. But, as Joanne Zendol once said to me, a $50,000 per school Early Childhood grant from the state is not enough to build a new building. So, most of the preschoolers in our community must pay for quality preschool programs and so many do not attend preschool and are less prepared for kindergarten. There are some good free (or nearly free) program options for young children in our community who do not attend a preschool or whose family wishes to supplement. The Berwyn Public Library offers story times regularly that are free. The PACT Center (795-7228) has excellent programs in art, music and movement, playtimes, and parent workshops. However, private preschool (not free) and community programs do not begin to fill the need for early childhood education opportunities in our community. The real impact on our community, schools and especially those all-important standardized test scores will be felt when our school districts (and state via funding) prioritize early childhood education.

Notre Dame's Institute of Latino Studies (branch office in Berwyn) estimates that the average minority and low income child ENTERS school already one year behind their white, middle income counterparts.

Publicly funded quality preschools that target low-income, minority and at-risk children is an effective way to address the ever present achievement gap. But, it is expensive. As we look to the future of education in Berwyn, we must ask ourselves what our priorities are. Are we a community that values education? Are we listening to the researchers and educators who repeatedly conclude that quality Early Childhood Education is a long-lasting, worth-while investment? What kind of school system do we want for our community? Are we willing to pay for it?

Residency in the News

It has been almost 2 years since BerwynCARES first started researching the issue of residency. Our focus was mostly on Morton West because the district had stopped checking the residency of all students and reports of the number of students from outside the district varied.

We were glad to learn that last year, partly because of our efforts, District 201 started checking the residency of all incoming students.

Districts 98 and 100 follow a residency policy that requires 5 forms of proof of residency at registration. It is our hope that strict enforcement of residency will increase the educational opportunities for the children of our communities.

Berwyn is not unique when it comes to this issue. A recent Tribune article illustrated how complicated the issue of residency can be. A boy from Homewood was kicked out of his school because the work schedule of his mother, a night nurse, means that he spends many nights sleeping in another town where his father resides. Today, the governor intervened and the school district allowed him back into the school after 6 weeks at home with the state board of education paying his tuition until a judge makes a decision.

Of course, the real burden on resources are students who reside in another town, but use false Berwyn addresses (or Lyons or Stickney in the case of Morton West) to register in Berwyn schools. Even if residency checking is done at registration, our districts must, and in some cases do, follow up on leads. Last year, District 100 kicked out an 8th grade student just weeks before graduation and sued the family for a year of tuition when it was discovered that the student did not reside in Berwyn. School officials urge residents to report students that are suspected of falsifying residency. Call your district office if you know a student attends a Berwyn school and does not live in the district.