As computer science continues to evolve, Effingham Unit 40 is taking steps to better prepare the district’s students for an increasingly digital world.
During the school board meeting Nov. 20, members voted to add four new computer science courses to the district’s high school course offerings and heard highlights from the district’s report card for the 2022-23 school year.
Currently, the only computer science course the district offers is about web design, but the district will soon begin to offer a computer programming course, a cyber security course, a computer science principles course and a computer gaming and design course.
Each courses will be taught over one semester, except for computer science principles, which will be a full year.
“We wanted to be able to beef up our offerings,” Superintendent Andrew Johnson said.
Johnson also said the district plans to add even more computer science courses to its curriculum.
“This is really where we’re starting,” Johnson said. “It’s not where we’re ending.”
The new computer science courses will be available to high school students when they enroll for the 2024-25 school year.
Meanwhile, Curriculum Director Michelle Beck shared some key information from the district’s report card for the 2022-23 school year.
The district’s enrollment has decreased by 49 students, but Beck explained that enrollment is dropping in school districts throughout Illinois due to a recent decrease in the state’s birth rate.
Beck also told board members that the number of low-income students in the district increased from 36% in 2022 to 48% in 2023, and she noted that the district has seen a “big uptick” in the number of English Learning students in the past year.
“In very small increments, our English language learner population has increased over time,” Beck said. “We anticipate next year seeing the same type of an uptick, maybe even greater.”
The district’s three-year teacher retention rate is at 92%, and Beck said this reflects a statewide trend.
“They are seeing more people go into the field of education now,” Beck said.
The district’s students, from third-grade through eighth-grade, tested just below the state average on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, receiving scores above the state average in the area of mathematics and scores under the state average in English language arts.
“Another thing that I think helped with that is that we added math interventionists a couple years ago,” Beck said. “We just added a third one last year, and I think that’s helped tremendously with our students being able to perform well in the math area.”
The district’s report card also shows that eleventh grade students performed under the state average on the SAT in both mathematics and English language arts.
However, Unit 40 students scored nearly 10% higher than the state average for the Illinois Science Assessment, which is taken by the district’s fifth, eighth and eleventh-grade students.
Additionally, Beck said that both South Side Grade School and Effingham junior High School were designated this year as “commendable” by the Illinois State Board of Education.
Effingham High School has been designated as a targeted school because the children with disabilities enrolled at the school performed below the level of the lowest 5% of schools in the state. However, Beck noted that the district will be eligible for funds from that state that will help it make the changes necessary to improve in this area.
“But the positive aspect is it’s giving us some dollars to try to put some programs and some things in place that will last,” Beck said.
Also during the meeting, the district approved its 2023 tax levy with a 12% increase from the previous year after holding a truth in taxation hearing.
“We’re looking at a potential EAV growth of up to 12%,” Assistant Superintendent Kelsey Baker said.
In other matters, the board:
• Approved the district’s October 2023 financial report and food service report.
• Approved plans to begin establishing a facilitating team that will help the district plan for future facility improvements.
• Approved Sunday, May 19, 2024 as the graduation date for the district’s high school students for the 2023-24 school year.
• Approved a three-and-a-half year agreement with Frontline Education for new financial software for the district in the amount of $81,103.28.
• Approved a memorandum of agreement for the district’s fleet technician position.
• Approved a memorandum of agreement for outdoor gear for district employees.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with the Effingham Classroom Teachers Association and the Effingham Education Support Professionals Association to amend the district school calendar to make April 8, 2024 a day off for the district because of the solar eclipse scheduled for that day.
• Approved an agreement regarding a hard to fill high school computer science position that authorizes the district to seek in-house candidates that are willing to earn the qualifications necessary to teach computer science courses.
• Approve the hire of Mack Thompson as Effingham High School’s athletic director for the 2024-25 school year, Vince Rohr as Effingham Junior High School’s athletic director for the 2024-25 school year, Cindy Curry as a four-hour bus driver and Jessica Budde as a paraprofessional at South Side Grade School.
• Approved the transfer of Liz Budde as an eight-hour food service employee at Central Grade School, Lori West as a seven-and-a-half-hour food service employee at Central Grade School, Janice Dougherty as a six-hour food service employee at Central Grade School and Jeremy Rinkel as a computer science teacher for the 2024-25 school year.
• Accepted the resignations of paraprofessionals Angel Ingram, Nicole Whetstone and Dave Parker.
• Approved a leave of absence for Brook Hansen.
• Approved the purchase of a mini excavator and a skid steer from Birkey’s Construction Equipment in the amount of $105,000 to replace the district’s backhoe which was damaged in an accident that occurred in the summer of 2023.