Superintendent Shares State of Our Schools Presentation

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The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation is investing in long-term strategies for long-term succeses like Early Childhood Education and Response to Intervention, said Superintendent David Smith at the State of Our Schools presentation today.

The address is given annually in April during the noon-time Rotary Club’s weekly meetings. To see the State of our Schools brochure click here.

The superintendent said that the face of education is changing. Where at one point educational institutions thought it was important to begin education in kindergarten or first grade, research now shows that 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed by age 5, “but yet when we start educating students hasn’t changed for 100+ years, which is regrettable.”

Smith explained that in Vanderburgh County there are 12,000 children who are five years old, but only 36 percent of those students have access to high quality early childhood programs; and 55 percent of the children are eligible for free and reduced lunch – which means they may not be able to afford to attend high quality pre-schools.

He said this is why the EVSC is currently serving 320 students in early childhood programs through the EVSC Even Start and Teen Parent programs, as well as in pre-K classrooms at Culver Family Learning Center, Daniel Wertz Elementary, Cedar Hall, Caze and two tuition-based programs at Scott and Daniel Wertz schools (Little Husky and Little Panther World).

“So, we have about 2,000 students who could still use access to high quality early childhood models,” Smith said. “Just as EVSC led the state in kindergarten education more than a quarter century ago, without state funding – we couldn’t wait another 25 years for funding to begin to start early childhood programs. They are too important.”

He explained research behind the value of early childhood programs done in the 1960’s. The Perry Project in 1962 selected 123 students who were at high risk of failing in school. More than 50 students were placed in a high quality program.

The Perry Project wanted to determine if there was a difference in long-term educational success between students attending a nursery school or a pre-K program that worked to grow cognitive abilities.

Children were tracked until they were 40 years old and it was discovered that the children in the program designed to grow a child academically graduated high school at a rate 31% higher than their peers; earned 44% more; and had 33% fewer instances of crime.

The return on investment was astounding, Smith said. For every $1 invested in early childhood, there was a $12.90 return. There was a savings in educational costs because children spent less time in special education; taxes on earnings, welfare savings and a savings of $171,473 in less crime – totaling $195,621 of public benefit.

“Indiana is currently one of only seven states that do not see the wisdom in that – spending less money on those in jail, and more time in pre-school,” Smith said.

Another of the long-term strategies is the Response to Intervention framework. Smith explained that RtI is a tiered system of interventions for both academics and behavior – providing interventions to students who have been assessed as needing additional help, as a preventative measure – before a student begins to show learning losses. He said that 80% of students should thrive in the first tier; but for those who are progress monitored and are found in need of additional help, they will move to Tier 2 where targeted, research-based interventions are used along with frequent monitoring to assess a student’s progress – generally about 15% of students may be in this category. If, after targeted help is given a student is still not reaching his or her potential – possibly about 5% of students, they would be moved to Tier 3, where intensive interventions take place.

He likened RtI to going to the doctor for a physical. “Hopefully the doctor performs some type of assessment on you. If you are fine, then no medicine or intervention is needed. If you are not, then they provide an intervention to take care of what was discovered.”

Smith added that the beauty of RtI is that it also works for students exceeding advanced expectations. “We are also able to advance them up through small group interventions, as well. RtI allows us to get the most out of every child. It is not a one-size fits all mentality. “I don’t want to go to my doctor and have him treat me the same as the person before me. I have different needs.”

“I know this works and it is based upon research-proven best practices,” he said. The goal is to spend dollars early to help a student be as successful as possible and to avoid spending dollars later, when it is more costly.

Another of the hallmarks of the EVSC are the options provided to students for their educational experience.

The superintendent noted that the innovative programs for 21st century learners allow students to succeed in ways that fit their needs. Among those K-6 programs are Helfrich Park STEM Academy, Plaza Park International Prep Academy, and No Excuses University at Fairlawn Elementary.

At the high school level, the options are unprecedented, like at the Randall Shepard Academy for Law and Social Justice. “I know of no other program in the nation where the chief justice instructs students several times a year. He gives so much of himself – not just his name, but his talents and efforts.

“Or, the Medical Professions Academy, where we now have twice as many applicants as there were slots to be filled at Central High School.” Dr. Joey Barnett, the head of the Pharmacology program at Vanderbilt and a Central graduate, mentors students in the program.

EVSC also has the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme – which is now a half-day program that any student in our area can attend. Smith said the outcomes for students in this program are on par with world figures. He also cited New Tech Institute with its Project Based Learning; the EVSC Virtual Academy, which has just expanded to K-12 instruction; Early College High School where students have the possibility of earning 60 hours of college credit; and finally, the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center, ranked by the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education as one of the top five centers in the nation.

He said the career and technical education at this location is one of the best in the nation – and it exists “just 10 miles away from us.”

It serves students from five counties, seven school corporations and 19 high schools and 735 are enrolled there. There are 22 programs of study in eight career clusters. But most importantly, the superintendent explained, is that 20 of the 22 programs offer nationally recognized certification opportunities for students. “A decade ago, there were two.”

He explained that there are nearly 200 community, business, and industry organizations that are involved in direct partnerships with the career and tech center in delivery of education. An example is the Engineering Design and Precision Machine students who partnered with Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Indiana to design and produce an assembly and checking station that is being utilized in production now at Toyota.

Students at the Center also have earned an average of 3,100 dual credits per year during the past four years and are recruited annually by more than 50 post-secondary institutions. 95.5 percent of students at the Career and Tech Center graduate, as compared with the area graduation rate of 92 percent.

Smith said that EVSC is in the midst of new Strategic Planning to guide critical processes and project management. “It will empower us to know our needs and allocate our resources — not only telling us what to do; but also what not to do,” he said, “while holding us accountable – aligned to quantifiable metrics.

Aligning resources is important, because of the EVSC’s fiscal reality – which has accounted for conservatively, $46.8 million in declines in funding in the past three years; or if you include the dollars that were cut and never returned to the EVSC – in excess of $60 million since 2009-10.

Smith explained that the School Board does not have control of raising more money. Each of the means by which the EVSC is funded: federal funds; basic grant (state funding); and levy or property tax funds are all controlled outside the hands of the EVSC. There is no discretion or latitude in obtaining more funding.

He explained that the Assessed Valuation of Vanderburgh County is now around $6 billion; but if it had tracked as it had been projected, would now be over $9 billion.

He indicated that the EVSC has been thinking about the future for a long time, and has planned and prepared for realities like this. “Many schools who have not – have little choice but to do an across the board cut – and when you do that, you may cut things that are incredibly valuable.”

The EVSC has honed and refined its processes and procedures, driving dollars to the classroom. One example cited involved the amount of money spent per student in 2006 and in 2012 for central office functions.

The MGT study in 2006 indicated the EVSC spent on average $838 per student on central office functions; but today when the EVSC’s enrollment is virtually the same, it has dropped to $442.

“And we have driven that savings into the classroom – not one person has lost a job, class sizes are not larger. There are a lot of positions we haven’t filled; we’ve changed health insurance plan designs twice; and we have grown programs because our students deserved it.

Smith said his parents always taught him “you can’t control what happens to you – but you can control how you respond.

“We will never be defined by the negative; we will continue to lift up our employees and give kids in our community the best education they can have.