Superintendent's Letter
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TheThe Keep in Touch Newsletter of Evanston KITTownship High School’s Alumni Association • Spring 2021 Superintendent’s Letter Related article: Creating Our New Normal at ETHS Steps taken to return ETHS to ETHS has a long his- We are eliminating larger chunks in-person school tory of being an innova- semester exams. Semes- of instructional full time, on p. 2 tive, cutting-edge school, ter exams require two time for more always improving, always weeks to administer each experiential, staying out front by creat- year, and an additional in-depth, hands- ing educational delivery two weeks to review and on learning in models based on sound prepare students for those all classes, and research and best practic- exams. Imagine what provides a break KIT Contents es. Today is no exception. teachers can do with in the pace of I can attest to the past 15 an additional month of the school day Supt’s Letter 1 years that we have been instruction each year: go with 10-minute transforming ETHS into a deeper into content, de- passing periods Steps taken...full time 2 21st century school. velop more skills, provide between classes more feedback, and better and fewer transi- Submit KIT news 2 This fall, ETHS will assess student learning. tions each day. reopen to full in-person While we will Supt. Eric Witherspoon Exec. Director Letter 3 learning. Time will tell how There will still be have the same the pandemic has changed assessments: assignments, science electives, which amount of Authors’ Bookshelf 3 our lives going forward, but research papers, culminat- instructional time weekly, means more students will we already know ETHS ing projects, presentations, be able to engage in these the key is about intensify- Coming Together 4 is going to be a changed and more. But, the em- ing instruction. There will highly sought-after learn- place. phasis will be on authentic ing experiences. be more time for mean- Tree Plenish 4 assessments that measure ingful collaboration and The pandemic has created intellectual growth with The Special Education ser- teaming. Performance Arts 5 time and opportunities accomplishments that vice delivery model is be- to rethink some of the are meaningful and apply At the same time, we ing completely redesigned, Advanced Placement 6 challenges our school and students’ learning. are adopting a schedule moving away from the students faced long before that maintains the same traditional model where Extracurriculars 6 the pandemic, and we are In our actual careers, number of opportunities Special Education teach- taking these opportunities few people ever sit for to take courses as the ers have had a caseload, Fall/Winter Sports 7 to make big improvements. final exams. Still, most of 9-period day has provided learning strategies courses, us get evaluated on our for decades. Electives will instructional classes, and/ For starters, students will performance and must or co-teaching responsi- ETHS Kudos 8 begin with a clean slate— remain a strong feature of demonstrate competency the ETHS experience. bilities. The new delivery all tardy detentions and in authentic settings. Real- model will now have desig- Distinguished Alumni 10 social probation that accu- life tasks require complex Freshmen and sopho- nated roles for teachers. mulated for some students thinking, problem-solving, mores will have a study Reunion Roundup 11 in the past and carried application, team solu- hall to provide time to These new roles will over into the next school tions, and creativity. keep up with their home- include case managers, Class Notes 12 year have been removed work as they adjust to the instructional facilitators, with a total amnesty. Trends in higher education academic demands of this transition specialists, In Memory 13 reflect a move away from articulation specialists, Tardy procedures will high-powered high school, final exams and toward develop good study habits, diagnostic case managers, ETHS Foundation 14 also change. Instead of project-based assessments, and specialized program students who are late for and benefit from guidance research projects, portfo- in using school resources. teachers who will have class having to get a pass lios, and other alternative specific assignments to from Safety Staff to enter, assessments, a trend that The block will also pro- best serve students with students will go directly to pre-dates Covid. That said, vide time for counselors, special needs. Plus, our class and the teacher will students here will continue social workers, and deans day school is being revised record the tardy. The focus to take college-level exams to work with individual to clearly provide a thera- is being in class to maxi- during high school, includ- students and small groups peutic setting to better mize learning time. ing Advanced Placement and facilitate lessons on serve students and meet Student behavior will be (AP) exams. More impor- succeeding in high school, their needs. addressed far less by pun- tantly, eliminating semester developing post-secondary exams allows students to plans, enhancing personal Not only will this fall ishments and much more opening be exciting to by restorative practices better focus on the courses well-being, and more. taught by ETHS teachers finally return to normal and helping students de- Allowing ample time for who are skilled in prepar- after a year of alternative velop better self-regulation hands-on lab experiences, ing students for college learning models caused by and behavior modification freshman and sophomore and career. a pandemic, but it will be skills. Students with the biology and chemistry hugely exciting to return highest recidivism in the To continue our commit- courses will utilize the to the new ETHS, the new dean’s office will continue ment to deeper learning, 85-minute block. AP sci- normal as part of continu- to meet with social work- we will implement a block ence classes will meet in ing our transformation into ers but also engage in schedule in the fall. The two blocks. The schedule a 21st century high school. mindfulness practices as a block schedule provides change allows us to offer tool for learning. more sections of popular It’s a great day to be a Wildkit. 1 Steps taken to return ETHS to in-person school full time On Monday, April 12, the daily/weekly routines were demic benefit to in-person of improving local health either be in-person OR ETHS school board re- firmed up, and semester learning, and the academic metrics, they developed fully remote; no hybrid ceived a comprehensive exams were replaced with expectations would be the “in-person experiences” classes will be held. As update on how ETHS has multi-media or individual- same for all. to lift students’ feelings with everything else, in- been coping with student ized projects that pulled of isolation, get them into person instruction may learning during the Co- together what students Four cohorts, each one- school, and get them off be adjusted depending on vid pandemic—and the learned in class. Social- quarter of those who the computer screen. public health requirements multi-stage transition that emotional connections signed up, rotated in at- this summer. According to will open ETHS to full in- between teachers and tendance over a two-week From February 17 to late- Bill Farmer, ETHS Director person learning beginning students were a particular period. If they were not in March, students chose to of Summer School, course in August for the 2021-22 focus. school, they were learning enroll in a broad array of offerings will include aca- school year. remotely. Mondays were small-group, non-graded, demic recovery courses, Now, a year later from all asynchronous remote interesting and fun activi- enrichment courses, and In March 2020, due to going remote, the Covid learning. Students and academic advance- the pandemic, all Illinois metrics have improved staff completed a Covid ment (elective) schools had to switch and the CDC and state self-certification before courses for students to remote learning from health department have entering the building in grades 9-12. home. With COVID surg- encouraged schools to of- including a temperature ing in Illinois, particu- fer in-person learning. So, check. Masks and social The next and last larly in Cook County, in fall on April 14, ETHS opened distancing rules had to be step is fully opening 2020, ETHS administrators with a hybrid model—part followed at all times. school in August. determined to follow the remote, part in-person— According to Asst. for the rest of the school The Instructional/Infor- Supt., Curriculum/ Covid science and chose mational Technology staff to continue with e-learning year. Most important, all Instruction Peter teachers and staff have all worked overtime to set Bavis: “Hybrid is throughout first semester up each classroom. For and into spring 2021. had the opportunity to be a good transition vaccinated. example, since teachers from remote to fully ETHS learned a great deal taught simultaneously to in-person learning about teaching and student Students and families students in person as well within classrooms learning during the initial picked if they would attend as remotely, large comput- and within the experience with remote school in person or remain er screens allowed them school itself. We learning. In Fall 2020, on remote learning for to see students at home realize, it’s a chance ETHS kept the 70-minute the fourth quarter. About via Zoom. Desks were for a fresh start, a remote-learning block 46% of the students said set in rows, six-feet apart New Normal with schedule, but academics they wanted to go hybrid; in classrooms, and faced ties (e.g., yoga, tie-dying), everything we’ve learned were strengthened, grad- everyone else wanted to forward, and staff cleaned fine arts opportunities, from the pandemic.” ing went back to letter stay home on remote.