Reinvesting in Racine Unified Schools

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Reinvesting in Racine Unified Schools

• Our Kids
• Our Community
• Our Future

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Where have we been?

• 10/07 BOE charge
• 10/08 Commission report
• 5/09 Short term redistricting
• 6/09 Long term redistricting ideas
• 9/09 BOE, long term redistricting presentation
• 11/09 DWSIC
• 12/09 BOE update

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• What are some district-wide strategies to reach
  the North Star?

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Efficiency Improvements

• Energy Use
• Technology
• Transportation
• Eliminate displacements

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Effectiveness Improvements

• Class Size
• School Size
• Use of Technology

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Equity Improvements

• Inclusion
• ADA Compliance
• Quality Facilities
• ELL Growth
• Diversity
• SES

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District wide Strategies for the Reinvestment Plan

• Reduce class size in primary grades
• Reduce school size at secondary level
• Define strategy for alternatives choice
• Inclusive Practice K-12

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Where are we now?

• Developing a 3 phase plan
• Which must Support the North Star
• Planning committees are meeting (50 members)
• Any plan should follow the guidelines of the
  Redistricting Commission

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The Mission

• Student Achievement is the Mission.
• This means raising the achievement of all
  students to new levels of excellence.
• This means lessening and ultimately doing away
  with the achievement gaps between various
  sub-groups of the student population.

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The Challenge

• Develop a plan for redistricting that is a
  hybrid of both positive diversity qualities and
  positive neighborhood school qualities.
• Develop the plan with a focus on improving
  student achievement.

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WHAT WE BELIEVE Guidelines and Principles to
Use As Checkpoints On All Plans and Projects
Being Considered
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• All plans must be supportive of and focused on
  improved academic achievement and school success
  for all students. Lessening and eliminating
  achievement gaps, breaking the links between
  race, poverty, and student achievement should be
  ultimate goals.
• All elementary students must have the opportunity
  to attend a school reasonably close to their home
  neighborhood.
• Geographically and historically defined
  neighborhoods should be kept intact (rather than
  split and fragmented) for school attendance
  purposes as much as possible.

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• Diversity along ethnic, racial, cultural
  backgrounds, language backgrounds, special needs,
  and socio-economic lines must be sought, along
  with items 1, 2, 3 above, even though the
  aspects of 2 3 will seem to conflict with
  diversity goals at times.
• Race can not be used as a sole determiner of
  school assignment. However, race, along with the
  other diversity factors, must be monitored on a
  regular basis.
• Diversity has to be seen as something made of
  many parts, even if a single part SES is used
  as a starting point for drawing boundaries (See
  introduction diversity). The charge was to
  create a hybrid plan that combined the positive
  qualities of neighborhood schools and diversity.

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• Special Education students, except for low
  incidence or those who need special facilities
  must be assigned by the same Guidelines and
  Principles included in 1-4 above (as well as
  6-10). The same holds for English Language
  Learners (ELL). Busing must be reduced for
  regular, ELL, and special education students.
• Bus ride times must be held to a minimum, except
  in situations involving parental choice (i.e.
  magnet schools), or disciplinary transfers. Even
  in those programs, transportation efficiencies
  must be sought.
• The burden of any required busing must not fall
  on any group or groups disproportionately.

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• Plans must strive to open more neighborhood slots
  to children in the central city census tracts,
  through both regular school assignment and the
  use of magnet programs.
• An approach to grandfathering students
  (allowing students to finish at an assigned
  school if they only have a year or two to left at
  that school) must be part of the plan.
• Guidelines for state and federal programs (e.g.,
  P-5, Title I, Chapter 220) must be observed, so
  at least current levels of outside funding are
  maintained. (Otherwise, the additional burden to
  maintain current funding will fall on local
  taxpayers.)

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Three Phase Plan
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Phase I

• Elementary class size 13-1 K 1st , 26-1
  2nd thru 5th
• Make room to reduce Secondary school sizes
• 3 New buildings
• Two Elementary schools (3 section size), to
  create needed space for smaller class sizes
• One school to free up O. Brown for use as a
  secondary school
• Remodel where needed

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9,094 K-5 Students (per 3rd Friday 2008)

• School Size
• 13-1 at K 1st and 26-1 2nd - 5th
• Students Rooms
• 2 section schools 312 16
• 3 section schools 468 24
• 4 section schools 624 32

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• After filling current schools, gap is 826 (9094
  8268) students.
• 4 section schools 1 x 624 624
• 3 section schools 7 x 468 3276
• 2 section schools 14 x 312 4368
• 8268

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• Two additional 3 section schools would provide
  936 spaces (the gap is 826).
• Three would add 1404.

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Phase I Timeline

• March BOE work session, 3/29/10
• April BOE set referendum, 4/19/10
• Fall Referendum, 2010
• Bonds issued, 2/11
• Break ground, 5/11
• Programs set, 12/11
• Boundaries set, 4/12
• Open new schools, 9/12

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Phase II

• Second Referendum, Spring 2012
• Secondary school size HS 1800 MS 702
• Remodel O. Brown as secondary school, complete by
  Fall 2013
• Gateway High School
• Replace Washington (Red Apple) with new building,
  complete by Fall 2013
• Build Green High School, complete by Fall 2014

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Phase III

• Replacement mode

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Phase I Process

• Six Committees
• Finance Cost
• Demographics Location
• Staffing Class size
• Program Concepts
• Public Awareness Community Outreach
• School Inventory Construction costs

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Phase I Committee Tasks Finance Cost

• Determine bonding costs, 3/29/10
• School costs
• Remodel costs
• Determine operating Costs, 3/29/10
• Staffing costs
• Non-staff operating costs
• Cost comparison, 2/10
• Mill rate impact, 3/29/10

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Phase I Committee Tasks Demographics Location

• Review demographics of current students
• Consider growth patterns
• Work with other municipalities
• Recommend locations, 3/29/10

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Phase I Committee Tasks Staffing Class Size

• Review UW-Madison Adequacy Study
• Adjust staff for 1-13 K-1 1-26 2-5
• Make staffing plan for 2 section, 3 section and 4
  section elementary school, 2/15/10
• Include specialists
• Include Special Education inclusion model
• Include PK and EC plan
• Compare to existing staff ID gap, 2/28/10

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Phase I Committee Task Program Concepts

• North Star trajectory provides measures of
  excellence
• Two Components
• Component 1, Define Essential Programming at ALL
  schools
• School Improvement Plans
• Work with School Leadership Teams
• Work with Central Office
• Outline essential components March 2010

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Phase I Committee Task Program Concepts

• Component 2
• Choice and Alternative Opportunities
• Review of district policies for choice to align
  to North Star
• Review of priorities from re-district report 2008
• Community Forums
• Review of 2008 priorities
• Defining Career and College Ready What we
  want from our high schools
• Develop action plan for school opening, Fall 2012
• Develop action plan for communication of district
  choice process

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Phase I Committee Task Public Awareness
Community Outreach

• Set the message, 3/29/10
• Develop communication plan, 4/10
• Solicit feedback, ongoing
• Implement the plan, 1/10 9/10

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Phase I Committee Tasks School Inventory
Construction Costs

• Visit elementary schools, 1/10
• RFI for school plans, 1/10
• Design input, 2/10
• Cost estimates, 3/29/10

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Where are we going?

• Time line
• Dec 09 March 2010, Committee work
• March 29, 2010, BOE study session
• April 19, 2010, BOE vote
• May Sept 2010, Information sharing
• Sept 14, 2010, Election
• Nov 2, 2010, Election
• Multi-year implementation
• Spring 2011, Debt Issuance
• May 2011, Break ground
• Dec 2011, Programs set
• April 2012, Boundaries set
• Spring 2012, Phase II begins
• Sept 2012, Open New schools
• Reach North Star goals - Ongoing

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The Result of This?

• More Elementary Space
• Reduced Primary class size
• Inclusion
• Secondary Space
• School size reduced
• High Schools
• Middle Schools
• Individualized Instruction
• Accessibility

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Comparison of Equalized Tax Levy Rates(Fiscal
Year 2010)
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