LM Oct 2019

Difference ... cont’d. Series Part XI

The commitment to funding public education in a fair and equitable manner is already benefiting students in need. The continued focus will benefit the state of Illinois for generations to come.

“We have a lot of ideas on the table, and we’re going to continue to do that work over the next quarter of the school year,” Polanin said.

Riverton CUSD #14

Enrollment: 1,387 FY18: $591,649 FY20: $421,209 Type: preK–12 FY19: $457,229 How EBF has made a difference The passage of Evidence-Based Funding has halted years of cuts in Riverton CUSD #14 and allowed the district to rehire staff and restore programs that are most effective for students. With the increase in state funding, Riverton CUSD #14 added back some services to better support a growing special education population. The district also analyzed where the formula says schools can impact student achievement the most and hired an instructional coach at the middle school. Reducing class sizes was also a priority. The district hired a kindergarten and second grade teacher, bringing class sizes in those grades to below 20. “We tried to use EBF and focus resources on what is most effective for students,” Superintendent Brad Polanin said. Other improvements made possible in Riverton CUSD #14 because of increased state funding were the addition of a behavioral interventionist and a social studies teacher at the high school. Having a behavioral interventionist on staff frees up principals and assistant principals to focus more on being instructional leaders. Meanwhile, the extra high school teacher provided more flexibility in scheduling to expand elective opportunities for students and add a study hall, where students now have the option to take online courses. “We really tried to get creative and expand our electives and opportunities for students,” Polanin said. “We first needed to be able to bring on the extra staff in order to do that.” Continued Support of EBF Would… Riverton CUSD #14 plans to survey staff in the coming weeks to determine what programs it can restore or what new opportunities it can create for students in the district. One area the district could address is to continue to align its curriculum and instructional practices throughout the different buildings in the district.

SD #U-46

Enrollment: 38,764 FY18: $22.4 million FY20: $20.5 million Type: preK–12 FY19: $21 million How EBF has made a difference The passage of Evidence-Based Funding has provided significant support to the more than 38,000 students in SD #U-46 and has helped the district abate property tax levies for residents. The increased funding allowed the state’s second largest school district to lower class sizes for kindergarten through second- grade students. In addition, the district added more instructional coaches, giving teachers the ongoing guidance needed to improve professional practice in order to reach all learners. Last year, SD #U-46 also restored guidance counselors to each of its middle schools and added assistant principals to more buildings, including to 10 of its larger elementary schools this school year. Additional state funding also made it possible for the district to roll out its 1:1 technology program last year with Chromebooks for all high school students. This year, SD #U-46 expanded the program to fifth- through twelfth-graders, distributing a total of 26,000 Chromebooks since last year. Finally, SD #U-46 was able to make some long-needed upgrades to its more than 55 school buildings and facilities with new high school libraries, including some much-needed paint, as well as less visible changes that impact heating and cooling, building structures and general maintenance. “The commitment to funding public education in a fair and equitable manner is already benefiting students in need,” Superintendent Tony Sanders said. “The continued focus will benefit the state of Illinois for generations to come.” Continued Support of EBF Would… SD #U-46 plans to continue to make investments that go directly into the classrooms and provide students with more support and opportunities. Future increases will support a new teacher salary

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LM October 2019