1. The State Financial Crisis: Our schools are directly affected by the dire situation of our state finances. With over a quarter of our education dollars coming from state aid and other state funding, the state financial crisis is sure to be felt in the classrooms of Berwyn.
2. Achievement Gap: The achievement gap is alive and well in Berwyn and with the explosion in minority and low-income population that has occurred in the last 10 years, our education systems will be challenged to address the achievement gap deliberately in ways that assure that ALL children will achieve.
3. Standardized test scores: Our school districts are under great pressure under the No Child Left Behind Law to continually make adequate yearly progress (AYP). Last year's ISAT scores were solidly mediocre in the elementary grades with a few schools showing some promising trends. However, Morton West continues to struggle to show increased achievement with only 32% of Juniors meeting or exceeding standards.
4. Parental Involvement: Research shows that kids with involved parents achieve at higher rates. Schools need to find ways to reach out to parents and engage them in ways that benefit their children's academic success.
5. Higher taxes: Berwyn city council recently voted to raise the tax levy by 15%. None of that will go to our schools. The tax increase on a population that is already struggling to make ends meet means it will be very difficult for our school districts to pass any kind of referendum to increase revenue to schools.
6. Housing Crisis: Berwyn has been hit hard by the recent housing crisis with foreclosures hitting all time highs, many of those losing their homes with children in our schools. That family stress spills over into the classroom daily in many ways. The housing crisis will likely mean the continued high mobility rates that our educators have been faced with in the past 10 years, at some schools as high as 20%.
7. Technology: Kids are learning in dramatically different ways than in the past. The use of technology in our classrooms is no longer considered an "extra" or a luxury. It is absolutely a necessity if we are to prepare our children for the higher education that is increasingly mandatory in today's job market. But, of course, technology is expensive.
8. Mobility: Although mentioned above, this issue deserves its own spot on the list. With mobility rates as high as 25% at some schools, Berwyn education systems are becoming more responsible for the standardized test scores of students that were not previously educated in Berwyn. We must stabilize the community by making Berwyn an attractive place for families to establish roots. Many families choose to move out of Berwyn into better performing school districts. This is a strain on our resources as our teachers are faced with new students every year, even in the upper grades, that haven't benefited from the early education of Berwyn schooling.
9. Morton West: The performance of our local high school continues to be a strain on our community in ways that reach far beyond the classroom. On the last state report card, Morton West reported 32% of juniors meeting or exceeding standards. The average ACT score is 18 compared to a state average of 20.6. Property values and the quality of life are directly affected by the performance and reputation of the local high school, yet our community rejected a referendum 3 times to adequately fund education. As one of the CARES board members put it,
"Let's see - we've got 2000 kids leaving Morton every year - 75% of whom don't meet state expectations - that's 1500 kids per year with dim futures...I wonder what I should expect relative to Berwyn / Cicero's gang situation. It doesn't matter how many cops we put on the street - until we provide children with great educations - from the cradle through 12th grade - gang activity is here to stay. When we care about education as much as we do snow plowing or the Houby Parade (and when a 15% tax increase goes to schools rather than city services), we really might have something here, and people might be able to enjoy their porches again."
Which leads me to #10 on the list (should really be #1).
10. US: Summed up nicely by Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and he is us". It will take our entire community to effect change in the state of education in Berwyn. In the last school board elections, voter turn out was VERY low and the number of residents who stay involved by attending school board meetings and holding those elected officials accountable is even lower!
Berwyn CARES knows that it is tough to follow all of the issues facing our community. Please consider joining Berwyn CARES and spreading the word about our organization. We would like to increase our membership and our influence on the decision makers in the education systems. And we would like to help keep the busy residents of Berwyn informed about the most pressing educational issues facing our community. Together, we can make a difference.
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