Recently, a concerned citizen wrote a letter regarding a report presented by a group of consultants, High Schools That Work, who were hired by the J.S. Morton High School Board of Education to provide input for the improvement of instruction in the district.

The letter gave the impression that no action has been taken by the board and administration. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Since the report was presented, a number of actions have been taken in an effort to improve the quality of education for our students, including:

1. Representatives from HSTW have returned to the district twice since November to train teachers and administration as to how to develop higher-level course content.

2. The district has formed a District Improvement Team to develop a District Improvement Plan. Representatives from each school and West 40, our state of Illinois Educational Service Center, are members of the team.

3. The district reading program is being revitalized with the addition of hundreds of new books and new computers to assist student writing exercises and projects.

4. In accordance with improving course content, teams of Morton teachers are being sent out to a sampling of high-achieving high school districts to observe, compare/contrast and offer suggested enhancements to the content and associated instruction relative to current course offerings.

5. Teachers have been provided with the most current State of Illinois testing information so that course content can be aligned with the state test.

6. The district is planning a number of curriculum workshops this summer for the purpose of reworking curriculum to ensure that classroom instruction stays up-to-date relative to state testing.

7. Teachers have been encouraged to help students by providing tutoring before and after school. Teachers have also been encouraged to allow students to redo work, to make up work and to provide alternatives to failure.

Finally, it should be pointed out that at the beginning of this school year, the district undertook a major initiative to improve the communication between parents and schools. That project included the installation of a new computer software program for student records, attendance, course scheduling and student record keeping.

As a result of the efforts to improve communication, student attendance has increased this year by an average of 2 percent per month. In addition, parents are now able to go online and check their child’s attendance record. In the near future, parents will be able to go online and check their student’s classroom progress.

Further, the district introduced a new e-communication product, a weekly e-newsletter that contains stories and information about goings-on in the district and among our students. We also continue to regularly publish a monthly print newsletter.

We are working diligently to continue making progress at our schools in the face of increasing enrollments and limited funding. Morton 201 administrators, teachers, staff and board members take seriously our mandate to ensure every child has the opportunity to earn a quality education.

Ben Nowakowski, superintendent, Morton High School District 201