State to seek flexibility from NCLB through federal waiver process

Springfield, IL – The Illinois State Board of Education today released 2011 State Assessment data, showing a growing number of schools are identified for improvement under the federal accountability law, No Child Left Behind. Results show 695 or 80 percent of Illinois districts and 2,548 or 65 percent of schools, up from 51 percent last year, failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under NCLB. In total, only 8 high schools in the state made AYP based on test results in 2011.

The results were announced as part of the State Board’s statewide analysis of the 2011 State Report Card and more than a month after the U.S. Department of Education announced it would consider granting NCLB waivers to states that agree to certain reform provisions such as adopting more rigorous college and career-ready standards and assessments that measure student growth over time.

“We need a realistic, measurable accountability system based on growth and individual student progress rather than an absolute, unattainable goal handed down from Washington,’’ said State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. “Illinois will request a waiver that builds upon the Board’s goals to better prepare every student for success in college and careers, raising expectations for all students and closing achievement gaps.”

The statewide composite score for students meeting and exceeding on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) given to elementary students saw an increase, going from 80.9 in 2010 to 82.0 percent in 2011. The achievement gap also shows signs of closing with an 11 percent increase in performance for Black students at the elementary level since 2006 and a 2.6 percent increase for Hispanic students during that same time.

The composite score for the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), given to 11^th graders, decreased from 53 in 2010 to 50.5 in 2011. One explanation for this year’s decline may be the increase of about 12,500 PSAE test takers in 2011, per new state rules emphasizing that all 11^th graders must take the exam, which includes the ACT.

“It is great to see improvements being made at the elementary level in closing the achievement gap,” Said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. “This progress is essential as we implement the common core standards and will help to ensure students enter high school performing at grade level and leave ready for college and careers.”

Students in third through eighth grades last March took ISAT in reading and mathematics while fourth and seventh graders were also tested in science. Students in 11^th grade last April took the PSAE which tests students in math, reading, science and writing. Only reading and mathematics results are used in calculating AYP.

In 2011, schools were expected to show 85 percent of students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards, up from 77.5 percent in 2010. The target high school graduation rate increased from 80 percent in 2010 to 82 percent in 2011. Attendance rate targets for elementary and middle schools in 2011 remained the same as the previous year at 91 percent.

In 2010, the State Board of Education adopted the new Illinois Learning Standards in math and English Language Arts based on the internationally-benchmarked Common Core State Standards. Illinois is a member of the 26-state Partnership for Assessment for College and Careers (PARCC) that is developing a new generation of tests aligned to the new standards to better measure student’s knowledge, skills and growth. The new state tests are expected to be available by the 2014-15 school year.

Student Demographics & Performance    

• · In 2010-11, the total enrollment in Illinois public schools was 2,074,806.
• · Since 1999, the percentage of low-income students has increased from 36.1 percent to 48.1 percent in 2011.
• · Minority enrollment increased to 48.6 in 2011 from 38 percent in 1999. The increase is accounted for mainly by Hispanic students who have increased from 13.9 percent in 1999 to 23.0 percent of all students in 2011.
• · The composite score for all state tests increased slightly from 76.4  in 2010 to 76.5 in 2011.
• · Eighty percent of districts failed to make AYP in 2011, an increase from 64 percent in 2010.

ISBE has produced the School Report Card since 1986 for every public school and district in Illinois. State report cards have been produced since 2002 and are required under No Child Left Behind. 

Washington, DC - United States Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today released the following statement on the death of deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi: 

“Today marks the end of Qadhafi’s reign and a new opportunity for freedom, prosperity and a voice in the global community for Libyans. The Administration, especially Secretary Clinton, deserve our congratulations.”

Sen. Kirk recently returned from an offical visit to Libya with Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Marco Rubio (R-FL).  The senators met with representatives of the Transitional National Council (TNC), interacted with rebel fighters and visited wounded soldiers at a hospital in Tripoli.  Upon returning, the senators wrote a joint op-ed for the Wall Street Journal entitled, The Promise of a Pro-American Libya.

Attorney General, Illinois Hospital Association Commit to Increasing Presence of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Statewide

Chicago, IL – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a joint effort led by her office to double the number of sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) in hospitals statewide. Madigan said the addition of SANE nurses is a critical step to encouraging more survivors to report their assaults and putting sexual predators in prison.

Madigan and the Illinois Hospital Association will work to double the number of SANE nurses practicing in hospitals to 150 and implement a SANE program in each of Illinois’ 11 trauma regions by the fall of 2012, meaning an on-call SANE nurse will be available 24/7 to aid survivors of sexual assaults. SANE nurses are specially trained to conduct forensic examinations and testify in court.

“Most sexual assaults go unreported, and as a result, the justice system fails survivors of these horrible crimes while violent predators remain free,” Attorney General Madigan said. “We must do more to encourage sexual assault survivors to come forward. By putting more SANE nurses on duty, we can assure survivors that they will receive compassionate and medically appropriate care that will also provide critical evidence to law enforcement to pursue justice.”

Joined by the IHA and area hospital representatives at Chicago’s Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Madigan stressed the great need in Illinois for more SANE nurses. The Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault estimates that only three in 10 rapes are actually reported to authorities. Last year, for instance, sexual assault crisis centers and hotlines helped more than 18,000 rape survivors, according to ICASA, and yet Illinois State Police data indicate just over 5,300 rapes were reported to police.

Many of these survivors are children, Madigan said. Today, 25,192 sex offenders were listed in the state’s sex offender registry, of whom 20,349 – or 80 percent – committed a crime against a child.

However, Madigan said, only two Illinois hospitals until recently have had SANE programs operating around the clock – Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest and Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Since Madigan created a training program for SANE nurses to become certified in 2003, 650 nurses have been trained but only 75 are fully practicing SANE nurses.

“The Illinois Hospital Association and the hospital community are pleased to collaborate with the Attorney General on this important initiative to assist survivors of sexual assault by increasing the number of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in our hospital emergency departments,” said Maryjane Wurth, IHA president. “Our hospitals are committed to providing the highest quality, compassionate care to these survivors as well as critical forensic services needed for the prosecution of offenders to help keep our communities safe.”

Among the first to commit to implementing more SANE programs is Advocate Health Care, which already operates its South Suburban Hospital SANE program. Beginning with Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and continuing at Illinois Masonic, Advocate has pledged to add SANE programs throughout its health care system. Condell will become Advocate’s first level-1 trauma center with a coordinated SANE program.

“Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs have greatly benefited emergency departments and, more importantly, the victims of sexual assaults and abuse,” said William Maloney, MD, medical director of Advocate Condell’s emergency department. “I would want a SANE-trained nurse available if I had a loved one who was the victim of one of these crimes.”

Protecting survivors of sexual assault has been a priority for Attorney General Madigan since she took office. Most recently, her office worked with state lawmakers to pass the Illinois Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Act, making Illinois the first state in the nation to implement a law mandating the submission and testing of sexual assault evidence. Under the act, local law enforcement must submit DNA rape kits to Illinois State Police crime labs for testing within 10 business days of receiving the kit from a hospital, and ISP must analyze the kit within six months of receipt.

• Julie Hamos, Director, Illinois Department of Health and Family Services;
• Andrew Stolfi, Special Counsel, Illinois Department of Insurance
• Mireya Hurtado, Illinois Department of Public Health
• Jim Duffett, Executive Director, Campaign for Better Health Care

By Chinta Strausberg

The Chicago Baptist Institute International (CBI) is holding its annual fundraiser 7 p.m., Monday, October 24, 2011, at the Condesa Del Mar Banquet Hall, 12220 S. Cicero Avenue, Alsip, IL, according to humanitarian Willie Wilson who three-weeks ago was named chairman of the Board of Trustees and already has prevented it from going into foreclosure.

Though his work schedule is very busy with his other businesses, Wilson said, “I have a company that takes me around the globe, but I had to stop by and pause because it is all about what I am in life.”

Wilson ordered his managers to run his businesses while he worked around the clock to save the 77-year-old institution.

Wilson recalled many nights that he couldn’t sleep because of the difficult financial challenges he faced. 

Methodically pouring over CBI’s books, Wilson quickly learned CBI had numerous bank accounts. He has now streamlined the banking relationships.  In three-weeks, CBI now has a balanced budget and is no longer facing foreclosure.

When Mr. Wilson learned that CBI was facing foreclosure, within a three-week period he took the internationally known CBI out of the red into the black. “We cannot let this school go down especially if God has given me money and resources to do something about it. Now it is left up to all of us to do it together,” Wilson said.  “We will be around to make sure that school doesn’t sink.”

Wilson said CBI currently has about 33 instructors and 88 students. In an effort to increase student population, he said two ministers from each of the 100 churches that make up the International Ministers & Community Alliance (IMCA), have agreed to send their members to CBI next semester. “We will increase the student roll from 88 to close to 200 students.”

Asking the hundreds of ministers attending the meeting at Liberty Baptist for their support, Wilson said, “There will be school audits to keep the budget in the black. We have figured out some different ways to raise money. We talked to some banks…and we are asking them to lend us some money” to build a banquet hall on the adjoining lot.

Wilson also asked the ministers to send an associate minister or someone from their deacon or missionary board to support CBI by attending classes. He said a three-credit course only cost $350 and pointed out that other bible schools would cost at least $1,000. “We are asking you to support our own. We have enough pastors in this city that we can come together and support the proud institute that we own.

“It doesn’t matter whether they are Catholic, Church of God in Christ or any other denomination because there is only one rule—you must believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God,” said Wilson. “It’s the same bible that Moody (Bible Institute) uses.

 “I want you to know that our African American pastors and preachers are second to none in the whole world when it comes down to the word of God,” he said appealing for their solid support. “We got it into the black, and we want to keep it that way.”  “We should not let a viable institute go down…. I can’t preach, but I can run a business,” Wilson said. “I play in my lane…. We are going to keep CBI in the black and with your support, we can make it happen.”

Wilson said CBI is now offering online bible classes. He has appointed a new academic dean, Dr. Carolyn Walker, and a new president, James Floyd.

The tickets for Monday’s fundraiser are $75 each or $750 per table. The acclaimed Vickie Winans will perform.

For further information, call Stephanie Coleman at: 773-744-4297.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host. You can e-mail Strausberg at: Chintabernie@aol.com.

Funding will help expand local food access in Illinois

Carbondale, IL – An advocate for rural communities, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon announced today that four grants from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) have been awarded to organizations in Illinois.

“This funding will help local food producers grow their operations and provide greater access to local foods,” said Simon, the only constitutional officer from Southern Illinois. “Expanding local foods in Illinois is good for the health of our citizens and our economy.”

The FMPP provides grants to projects that help improve and expand farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs, agri-tourism activities, and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities. Priority was given to projects that expanded healthy food choices in food deserts.

Simon chairs the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council (GRAC), which is working to eliminate barriers to local food production in Illinois. The Lt. Governor will host GRAC’s quarterly meeting today from 2 to 4 p.m. at John A. Logan College in Carterville.

Simon promoted the availability of FMPP funding and wrote a letter of support on behalf of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees, helping secure $81,058 to establish a Farmers Market Association that will provide professional development, resources and support for farmers, markets, and communities. This will include development of a farmers market manager training manual and a statewide database to connect farmers to markets.

“Southern Illinois University applauds Lt. Governor Simon for her work and encouragement of the growth and expansion of home grown food markets,” SIU President Glenn Poshard said. “These venues provide nutritional and affordable sources of food and serve as a novel and innovative way to strengthen our rural economies.”

Another Southern Illinois organization, Food Works of Carbondale, was awarded $89,648 to conduct a comprehensive training and mentoring program for 60 new farmers and ranchers in Southern Illinois so that they can establish farmers markets, roadside stands and other direct-marketing venues. Food Works is scheduled to present its plans for the grant at today’s GRAC meeting.

Other winners include:

   Growing Home Inc., of Chicago, received $79,300 to establish a new farm stand for the sale of vegetables from its urban farm, purchase refrigeration equipment and other marketing supplies, and conduct educational programs.

   Faith in Place, of Chicago, got $39,270 to help grow its 15 Chicago-area winter farmers markets and support the development of a congregational-supported Community Supported Agriculture program in Champaign.

The FMPP made an investment of over $9.2 million this year and gave out 149 awards in 42 states across the country.

Glen Ellyn, IL  - New Philharmonic and Music Director and Conductor Kirk Muspratt celebrate two of the 20^th Century’s greatest orchestral composers with “Barber and Bernstein,” Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. at the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Virtuoso Corey Cerovsek brings his 1728 Stradivarius for his debut with Muspratt and the New Philharmonic. Cerovsek, cited by the Los Angeles Times for his “precision and eloquence,” will be showcased in Barber’s “Violin Concerto, op. 14.” The program will also feature Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” as well as Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll.”

These performances will also feature a side-by-side performance of “Die Meistersinger: Prelude” whereby student musicians from Glenbard West High School will have the opportunity to join New Philharmonic for a thoroughly exciting and gratifying classical music experience.

Tickets for “Barber and Bernstein” are $38 adult/$36 senior/$28 youth. To order tickets or for more information, call (630) 942-4000 or visit www.AtTheMAC.org.

About New Philharmonic

New Philharmonic is a fully-professional, 80-member orchestra that has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for three decades.  Under the direction of Conductor and Music Director Kirk Muspratt, named a 2006 Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, the group gives innovative treatment to both classic compositions and modern works and strives to make the music accessible to new audiences and youth through a variety of educational efforts. New Philharmonic is the resident orchestra of the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and performs a complete season annually.

New America Media

By Ngoc Nguyen

A few years ago, my father, a former naval officer in the South Vietnamese Army, developed liver cancer. The diagnosis followed decades of struggle with Hepatitis C, a viral infection he contracted through a blood transfusion during the war. A liver transplant saved his life.

More than two years since the operation, and my father’s life has been transformed from a state of “wait and see” to near normalcy, except for a daily regimen of dozens of pills. But, for Vietnamese Americans there is another legacy of the war that, like a sleeping dragon, may be starting to awaken: The possible health effects of exposure to wartime Agent Orange.

American forces sprayed 19 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War between 1961 and 1971, mostly in South Vietnam, to deny North Vietnamese soldiers cover in the country’s dense forests and jungles. Agent Orange was contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic chemical that is persistent in human tissues and the environment.

That wartime spraying has been devastating to American veterans who came into contact with the defoliant and then developed any number of a long list of illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences have linked Agent Orange/dioxin exposure to a slew of health conditions, including prostate, lung and other cancers, Parkinson’s disease and leukemia, and birth defects in the children of veterans, such as spina bifida. Many of the symptoms are only just showing up now in soldiers who served and were exposed.

But the numerous studies on American veterans of the war stand in stark contrast to what little is known about the health effects of dioxin in Vietnamese living in the United States – whether they were born here or are former residents of South Vietnam.

According to a study published in the journal Nature by Columbia University professor emeritus Jeanne Stellman, as many as 4.8 million Vietnamese civilians were exposed to the chemicals during the war. The collapse of the government of South Vietnam brought an exodus of Vietnamese to the United States, with more than 125,000 refugees resettling here after 1975. The country’s Vietnamese population now stands at more than 1.6 million, according to the last census count.

Among that group are former South Vietnamese veterans, who do not receive VA benefits, so their health status is not being tracked. The federal government has yet to conduct large-scale epidemiological studies of U.S. Vietnam veterans, and has not funded studies on their South Vietnamese counterparts.

Additionally, ARVN forces were not part of a 1985 out-of-court settlement with the chemical makers totaling $180 million. Much of that money dried up before thousands of American veterans started to become sick from Agent Orange-related illnesses. Now, as the legal and medical battles move to the children and grandchildren of Vietnam vets who are also suffering the long-term effects of the chemical war agent, Vietnamese Americans continue to be overlooked.

Sailing up and down rivers in Binh Duong province in southern Vietnam during the war, my father says he didn’t handle Agent Orange. But he does recalled seeing charred vegetation along the riverbanks, and said he knew it had been sprayed there. He says he doesn’t believe he was exposed, as he was mainly on the vessel and drank from the boat’s water supply.

But studies show the defoliant was sprayed on about 10 to 15 percent of South Vietnam in certain locations, with little spraying in urban areas. From Saigon, my father says areas outside of the city were sprayed. One in particular, Bien Hoa, just 32 kilometers north of Saigon, is a dioxin “hotspot.”

Bien Hoa is home to a former U.S. air base used for Agent Orange-spraying missions. A large spill of the herbicide occurred underground there, and the area is still contaminated. A study from 2003 found that residents were still exposed to dioxin through animal fat, from eating fish, chickens and ducks and other tainted wildlife.

Bien Hoa residents also had higher dioxin levels than their counterparts in the North, where there was no spraying, and one resident of the city was found to have the highest level of dioxin ever recorded in the country. But while their children also showed elevated dioxin levels, these studies did not address long-term health effects.

Arnold Schecter, a professor of environmental sciences at the Univ. of Texas School of Public Health in Dallas and a leading researcher on dioxin exposure in the Vietnamese American community, said no one has conducted measures of dioxin exposure levels in the population.

Political Sensitivities

Vietnamese immigrants in the United States are largely from South Vietnam, which fell to the communists in 1975. As such, many here do not want to do or say anything that gives credence to Hanoi’s claims about the health effects of Agent Orange, part of a massive campaign to win compensation for victims of the defoliant. [A lawsuit brought by Vietnam against the chemical makers in federal court in New York was dismissed in 2005, and subsequent appeals have failed.]

Yet the lack of health studies for this group comes at a time when the symptoms of wartime exposure to Agent Orange/dioxin could be surfacing.

According to a Chicago Tribune investigation, “Service-related disability payments to Vietnam veterans have surged 60 percent since 2003, reaching $13.7 billion last year, and now account for more than half of such payments the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides to veterans of all wars.” The spike in disability claims suggests that the “long dormant effects of Agent Orange [are beginning] to surface,” according to the article.

For Vietnamese immigrants in the United States, who may have had a history of toxic exposure, it is critical to have this basic and baseline public health data, especially as many go on to work in jobs here, such as nail salons and dry cleaning shops, where they are exposed to additional harmful chemicals.

Growing up, my siblings and I never knew what my father saw or did on the battlefield, what he felt when he loaded his mother, brothers and sisters, his wife and his nine-month-old daughter, and others onto a ship that he then commandeered to Subic Bay, Philippines on April 30, 1975 – the day Saigon fell. We are just starting to have those conversations.

Now, with both my parents aging, the legacy of the war is both a distant memory and a palpable reality, sometimes extending its fingers into our lives.

“Dr. Raye Mitchell is a woman who makes things happen! She has the persistence and a fierce determination to succeed,” commented Ann Fudge, former Chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands. “These traits, in combination with her compassion to help others, make her formidable and most deserving of this honor.”  

Dr. Raye Mitchell – CEO, The Making a New Reality Foundation

Oakland, CA (BlackNews.com) — Annually, the East Bay Women’s Initiative for Self Employment recognizes San Francisco Bay Area women business owners for their respective professional and civic contributions. During its annual regional awards ceremony on Wednesday, October 19, 2011, the non-profit organization named Dr. Raye Mitchell the 2011 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in Alameda County, California in recognition of her leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and philanthropic contributions. The preeminent affair was held in the Lakeside Theater at Kaiser Center in Oakland, CA. Mitchell is CEO of Making a New Reality Foundation and the G.U.R.L.S. Rock Leadership Program. She, who attended University of Southern California Marshall Graduate School of Business and Harvard Law School, guides girls and women of color to be SocialPreneurs(TM), defined as individuals applying business entrepreneurial skills, experiences and training to combat social problems and challenges limiting their vision and ability to achieve greatness.

Barbara Jackson, a long-time friend and colleague of Dr. Mitchell’s and former high-ranking executive with a notable international corporation said, “Raye’s success comes from a combination of smarts, drive and focus. I believe she came out of the womb knowing that no matter her beginning, her life would be decided by her and her alone.” Jackson continued, “The real joy of knowing Raye for almost 30 years is watching her definition of success evolve. She has moved far beyond defining her success by material achievements to defining her success by how she changes other’s lives.”

“Dr. Raye Mitchell captures the entrepreneurial spirit of the USC Marshall School of Business, and we salute her many achievements,” said James G. Ellis, USC Marshall dean. “She is an important role model for women entrepreneurs of today, and also of tomorrow, through her powerful and positive message.”

“Women entrepreneurs are one of the strongest economic forces in this country,” said Julie Castro Abrams, CEO of Women’s Initiative. “We want to create a movement that promotes women’s entrepreneurship and makes people aware of the incredible contributions women business leaders make not only to their local communities, but also to economic recovery.” Recent Women’s Initiative research shows that its graduates created or retained more than 4,300 jobs in 2010 alone.

The East Bay Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment recognizes SF Bay Area women business owners who:
* Have been successful despite the barriers that exist for women business owners
* Exemplify how business ownership and leadership is beneficial for women
* Have a positive impact on the local community or the community at large
* Advance their business through innovation.

In recognizing the entrepreneurs, Women’s Initiative celebrates the power of small businesses in transforming communities through job creation and economic revitalization. In fact, recent research from Women’s Initiative shows that their graduates created or retained more than 4,300 jobs in 2010 alone.

Approximately 600 women entrepreneurs from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area were nominated; 42 were selected to be honored with the 2011 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Further information about the awards and a complete list of this year’s recipients are available online at www.womensinitiative.org.

ABOUT WOMEN’S INITIATIVE
For more than 22 years, Women’s Initiative for Self Employment has been providing low-income, high potential women with the business training, funding and ongoing support to start their own business and becoming financially independent. The women who go through its training significantly increase their income and assets while launching businesses, creating jobs and stimulating the local economy. Women’s Initiative operates from five offices and 18 training locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

ABOUT RAYE MITCHELL

Dr. Raye Mitchell is the social entrepreneur, author, and speaker. She is a Harvard Law School graduate, graduate of the USC Marshall School of Business and Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Fellow and recipient of a 2010 Jefferson Award for Public Service. www.rayemitchell.com.

Dr. Raye is founder of the social impact program, G.U.R.L.S. Rock – a global leadership-training initiative of The Making a New Reality Foundation – a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Mitchell left the law firm she had operated for over 16 years to help train girls of color ages 8-18 in leadership skills and to be global leaders. “G.U.R.L.S.” stands for Growth, Unity, Respect, Leadership, and Success. To learn more about the G.U.R.L.S. Rock Leadership Program, please visit www.GurlsRock.org and www.fb.com/GurlsRockPower on FaceBook.