Opening of Schools Report2007-08

Information ServicesOctober 15, 2007

Student Counts

The number of students housed for 2007-08 is 6,503 students.

There are 6,231 students in pre-primary (P) through grade 8, a decrease of three students from 2006-07 (6,234).

There are: 4,110 students in the elementary schools, 2,000 students in the middle schools, 72 students at Park School, 26 students at the Rice Education Center, and 295 students in the JEH Education Center.

Student Counts Continued

Table 1, Appendix A shows the number of housed students by demographic group (i.e., race/ethnicity and gender).

The overall ethnic distribution of students for 2007-08 is: 41% White, 34% Black, 16% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and

the balance designated as Native American or multi-racial.

The shift in demographics is largely a result of: a decrease in the number of designated Black students

enrolled and more families choosing multi-racial when completing

registration. (The multi-racial category was eliminated as an option for a period of time)

Kindergarten Students

Table 3, Appendix A shows kindergarten counts by school and race/ethnicity. There are 35 more kindergarten students

enrolled for the 2007-08 school year than in 2006-07.

The kindergarten enrollment was less than the projected by 20 students.

Low Income & F/R Lunch

Table 4, Appendix A shows there are 2,631 students identified as low income. Forty-percent of District 65 students are designated as low income.

As of the end of September, there are 2,096 students eligible for free lunch and 504 students are eligible for reduced lunch, for a total of 2600 students (40%).

Special Education & Bilingual Services

Table 5, Appendix A shows that the special education student enrollment (ages 3-14) decreased from 1056 in 06-07 to 1031 students in 07-08 by two percent.

Table 6, Appendix A shows bilingual enrollments and TWI English participation enrollments. As of September 28, 2007 there are 602 students

K-8 who are English Language Learners (ELLs). An additional 136 ELL students are enrolled at

the JEH Education Center.

School-Age Childcare

Table 8, Appendix A shows the school-age childcare enrollment as of October 5, 2007. A total of 398 students are served in the

School-Age Childcare program.

Permissive Transfers & Magnet Schools

258 permissive transfer applications were submitted and 128 were approved. 267 students attend schools out of their

attendance area on existing or newly approved permissive transfers.

273 magnet school applications were received. Sixty-six new students (56 elementary and 10

middle school students) were selected for Bessie Rhodes, and 86 new students (77 elementary and 9 middle school students) were selected for King Lab.

Magnet Programs

There were 42 applications submitted for the African-Centered Curriculum (ACC) Program at Oakton for kindergarten through third grade. 32 were approved.

There were 111 TWI – English kindergarten applications submitted. Currently there are 60 TWI- English and 60

TWI-Spanish kindergarteners.

Retentions

For the 2006-2007 school year, there were 24 retentions in grades K-8.

This is a decrease from the 2005-06 year when 27 students (grades K-8) were retained.

Proof of Residency

Table 12, Appendix A shows the number of affidavits of residency by school as of September 28, 2007. 338 affidavits were completed by parents

and investigated by the truant officer. 333 students were approved to remain in

the district and 5 students were denied enrollment.

Transportation

Table 13, Appendix A shows the number of students by school and ethnicity who are eligible to ride the bus and who are assigned a bus stop. (The table does not include special education students who have specific transportation needs outlined in their IEP.) 2,190 students are eligible for bus services 1,710 are assigned a bus stop.

Health Services

Illinois School Code mandates 90% compliance with health exam and immunization requirements for students. 98.2% of District 65 students were in full

compliance with the state immunization and exam requirements.

Projections vs. Actual Enrollments Enrollment projections are based on K-8

housing enrollments, excluding Park and Rice. Enrollments were projected to increase by

66 students (6098 to 6164) there was an actual increase of 12

students (6110). Error rate for projections was 0.9%.

Class Sizes

Table 16 also shows the average class sizes by school and grade.

Grade Target Classroom Enrollment Guidelines

Kindergarten 23 Grades 1 & 2 25 Grade 3 26 Grade 4 & 5 27 Grades 6-8 30

Registration

For the fourth year, all students in the district were required to re-register with the district and to provide verification that they live within the district’s boundaries.

Parents and guardians are required to pay or make payment arrangements for district and school fees prior to their students attending school in the fall.

During the 2006-07 school year, a registration committee made up of central office staff, principals, secretaries, and a parent representative appointed by the PTA Council met monthly to review the registration processes. Recommendations from this committee were implemented

during the kindergarten and summer registration, resulting in an improved registration process.

This committee, in conjunction with the staff from the Business, Operations, and Information Services offices, will continue to review the registration procedures and accounting processes in preparation for the 2008-09 school year.

NCLB Public School Choice

In early August 2007, families of students at Chute school were notified that their children were eligible to transfer to other schools within the district in accordance with the No Child Left Behind guidelines. Eighteen applications were returned indicating a desire

to transfer. Some families applying under school choice also

completed a permissive transfer and/or magnet school application. Prior to the end of the 30-day choice period, 7 of the families accepted a permissive transfer and 1 family accepted an opening at a magnet school.

Parent/guardians of the remaining 8 applicants were contacted at the end of the 30-day choice period to confirm that they still wanted their child to transfer. Five students transferred and 3 families chose to remain at Chute school.