EVANSTON — Some Evanston schools still have work to do. That is the message shared with the public and Uinta County School District No. 1 Trustees at the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 13, based on the 2017-18 School Performance Report. 

The report is based on statewide assessments taken in the spring of 2018; this year for the first time that test was the WY-TOPP. Schools are assessed on three main criteria, which include equity, achievement and growth. Achievement is based on average WY-TOPP scores, while growth is based on score improvement. Equity is a measure of growth of the students in the bottom 25 percent at each school compared to the bottom 25 percent at every other school in the state. 

Schools are also assessed on English language proficiency (ELP) for English-language learners. Evanston High School and Horizon High School have additional criteria, including graduation rate for the high school and high school certification at Horizon, along with post-secondary readiness and whether non-senior students have sufficient credits to be on track for graduation.

Schools are given a rating for each measure of below, meeting or exceeding expectations. Clark Elementary is the lone Evanston school meeting expectations in every measure, though there is not a large enough population of ELL students at Clark to have an ELP score. Both Davis and Evanston middle schools are meeting expectations in equity, achievement and growth, but they are below expectations in ELP. 

Uinta Meadows Elementary is meeting expectations in achievement, growth and ELP, but is below in equity. North is similarly meeting expectations in achievement and growth and is below in equity; however, North is exceeding expectations in ELP. Horizon is meeting expectations on all measures and exceeding them for post-secondary readiness. 

EHS, however, received below expectations ratings on equity, achievement and growth, as well as post-secondary readiness. Aspen Elementary also received below expectations ratings on equity, achievement, growth and ELP. 

District superintendent Ryan Thomas said all Evanston schools are expected to be meeting or exceeding expectations, and schools will have to have improvement plans in place by Dec. 1. “I’m confident the principals will find ways to meet these targets,” he said. 

For EHS, part of that improvement plan includes schedule changes coming for the 2019-20 school year. School officials held a public meeting with parents recently to share information on those schedule changes, and high school principal Merle Lester, along with other high school staff members, spoke to trustees about the lengthy process used to revamp the schedule.

A steering committee was formed last February to research different scheduling options, work described by teacher Pat Fackrell as “long, grinding and grueling.” The committee was focused on goals of ensuring time for collaborative teacher work, tightening security, reducing disciplinary issues and preserving instructional programs.

Educators also wanted to ensure students had classes in core areas each year rather than going lengthy periods of time without any classes in a given subject. For example, the current scheduling system could allow a student to take enough math credits during freshman and sophomore year to avoid taking any math at all in junior and senior year. Teachers felt those two years with no math would not leave a student ready for post-secondary opportunities. 

Lester said they are currently on draft 15-20 of the new schedule, but it is nearing completion. With the new schedule, students will have eight total classes, with six classes per day Monday through Thursday and all eight on Fridays. School will still start one hour later on Mondays. 

There are still issues to be worked out regarding the exact start and dismissal times, said Lester. The new schedule would require a total of 15 minutes of additional time in the school day, and Lester said they need to determine the best way to accomplish that without disrupting the bus schedules for other schools in the district. 

It remains to be determined what exactly will happen with the lunch schedule. The proposed new schedule includes three lunch periods and a closed campus. However, Lester said they still need to figure out exactly how the cafeteria would accommodate all students remaining on campus for lunch, which may take some design changes. 

Trustee Dave Bennett had some questions about ensuring adequate teacher planning time with the new schedule, which will result in each teacher having more students in a day. Lester said, “It’s kind of a trade-off. They’ll have more kids but shortened class periods.” He said one concern is for project-based classes, such as woodworking, having enough storage space for more projects at a time. Lester said he is confident they’ll be able to work through all of the issues and added that he believes the schedule change will help with student achievement problems, as well as help the high school teachers to have the collaborative time that all other schools have made a priority in the past year. 

Bennett also asked about students having more homework with more classes per day in the new schedule. Lester said the schedule change will offer students more time for elective classes, which typically don’t have as much homework.

“We’re all nervous, I’m not going to lie, because it’s new,” said Lester. He said the “absolute final schedule” will be decided on by December. 

While the new schedule won’t begin until fall of next year, effective almost immediately will be a change in the TGIF schedule that was adopted to provide students with D’s and F’s time to work on subjects where they are struggling. Currently, students with no D’s or F’s have been able to leave school early on Fridays. Lester said they reached out and asked parents if they liked the early release associated with TGIF. “It was 100 percent to 0 that they did not,” he said. 

Lester said he has participated in some training programs recently that urged educators to stop early-release incentive programs immediately.  He said the experts state such incentives create division between the kids who leave school and those who don’t, while also failing to acknowledge that even the kids with higher grades still have needs. Lester said that the TGIF has reduced the D and F population by about 30 percent and there will still be the opportunity for students to get assistance on Friday afternoons, but the early-release part of the program will no longer be in place after Thanksgiving break. 

With next year’s schedule, there will be advocacy and support time built in three times a week as opposed to just on Friday afternoons. 

There was a lengthy agenda for the Nov. 13 meeting. Please see a subsequent issue of the Herald for a continuing story.