Education

School District Budget Process

The LWV of Beloit supports:

a budget formed equitably through open and free communication and responsive to the needs of teachers and students.
citizen participation in the budget process.
maintaining provisions within the budget which would allow the average person to more readily understand the budget, such as:

a more extensive description of specific functions as well as a description of each account.
a narrative description of the changes in proposed expenditures for each function, being specific, indicating dollar amounts, and reasons for changes.
columns in the budget which include: actual last year expenditures and revenues, proposed current year, plus at least six months actual current year, and proposed next year expenditures and revenues as required by state statute.
a statement of outstanding dept (in audit report).
dividing salaried employees in the fund #30, account #100,000 into more specific account categories for the purpose of separating classroom teachers, principals, consultants, supervisors, and guidance and psychological personnel.

minimizing the number of central administrators in proportion to the actual teaching staff in the School District of Beloit.
tight controls of administrative expenditures. (rev.’89)
efforts to achieve and maintain low teacher/pupil ratios for all students. (rev. ’89)

The LWV of Beloit opposes:

a three-year contract for the superintendent which is re-negotiated each year.

(2002 – revised: Boutelle, Henderson, Kades, Schneider)
(1989 – revised)
(1977 – Henderson, Hansen, Page)

Long Range Planning

The LWV of Beloit supports:

effective utilization of school building facilities through a long-range planning process which includes:
involvement of the school board and administration, teachers, students, parents, and city planning g staff.
citizen participation by concerned individuals and community groups.
cooperation with adjoining school districts, educational institutions, and the Department of Public Instruction.
frequent reevaluation to adjust to changing conditions.
specific plans for continued and comprehensive maintenance of present and proposed properties.

The LWV of Beloit supports:

building utilization plans (which provide for authorized space needs per pupil, adequate accommodations for educational programs, facilities for the fine arts as well as vocational education programs, economy of maintenance, energy efficiency and possible use of alternative energy sources, cost-effectiveness, flexibility of use, possible expansion, and openness to future technology).

The LWV of Beloit supports:

site utilization plans, (based on population projections, safety, racial balance, site suitability, accessibility, traffic patterns, transportation needs, walking distance, flexibility of use, possible expansion, cost-effectiveness).
criteria for the establishment of school boundary lines,
(including population growth, achievement of racial balance, integrity of the neighborhood, traffic patterns, safety of chi8ldren, walking distance, number of classrooms to be utilized per school).
re-use of vacant buildings and sites, either through renovation, sale, or lease, or to provide land for playgrounds, parks, or recreation facilities.

The LWV of Beloit supports:

curriculum and program planning which involves professional educators and specialists from state and federal education agencies, colleges, and universities, as well as local teachers.
provisions for optimum maintenance of up-to-date facilities, materials, and equipment for program needs. (Unnecessary duplication of special equipment should be avoided.)

The LWV of Beloit supports:

study of the possibility of consolidation as an opportunity to provide more extensive special programs for school children. The merits and strengths of both the neighborhood and consolidated school concept should be considered.

The LWV of Beloit recommends:

that the Beloit school administration and board work to open communication and dialogue with surrounding communities to discuss and study the possibilities of sharing educational facilities, services, programs, and staff in order to provide a higher quality of education for all children in. the Beloit area.

(2002 – Boutelle, Henderson, Kades, Schneider)
(1989 – revised)
(1986 – revised)
(1981 – Driggins, Mueller, McNamee, Schoenfield, Seguin, Hotchkiss)

Alternative Education/Individual Education

The LWV of Beloit supports:

the commitment by the school district to alternative education.
an organized, sequential, ongoing, comprehensive plan to provide a variety of alternative methods to educate students at all grade levels who are not achieving their full potential in the traditionally structured classroom.
(such as comprehensive alternative education plans would not include state-mandated special educational programs for students who have learning disabilities, are emotionally disturbed, or who have handicaps.)
identification of student needs as criteria for setting up long- and short-range funding priorities within a comprehensive alternative educational plan.
seeking a variety of sources to finance alternative education programs including community resources, the local tax levy, available grant funds, and state and federal aid.
the involvement of teachers, administrators, students, parents, and community representatives on an Alternative Education Advisory Committee to determine needs, set priorities, and explore funding alternatives on a continuing basis.
a system of selecting participates for alternative education programs which includes:

use of established criteria to identify student needs,
referral by teachers, counselors, or administrators,
student application.

The LWV of Beloit supports:

efforts to inform every parent and student of the educational alternatives available (such as course selection sheets and booklet and students handbooks).
policies which allow the school system to respond to constantly disruptive students, not through punitive measures, such as suspension or expulsion, but through positive interventions, even though such children cannot remain in the regular classroom.
putting a priority on prevention programs at the transition grades of 5th to 6th and 8th to 9th, which appear to put students at greatest risk.
programs in elementary schools that are targeted primarily for high-risk students and recommends that these and other programs can be expanded as excellent preventative tools. Examples are EXCEL and Sage.

The Beloit League of Women Voters supports preventive services and positive interventions which take into consideration possibilities of limited funding, such as the following:

Development of more charter schools to meet the diverse and particular needs of students with the use of state money.
A Truancy Abatement Program in Beloit in cooperation with Juvenile Probation and our local Police Department.
Placement of suspended children into community service projects.
Increased involvement of other community businesses, agencies and resources to create and fund programming, such as the YMCA One on One program.
Meeting with local PTOs and Site Level Committees scheduled to seek their evaluation of existing programs and their suggestions for additional programming.

(2002 – Boutelle, Fossum, Henderson, Hotchkiss, Kades, Schneider, Thompson)
(1982 – Driggins, Mueller, McNamee, Seguin, Schoenfield, Hotchkiss)

Career Education

The LWV of Beloit supports:

continuing emphasis on career education, through:
a sequentially planned, career-awareness program for grades K-12 which includes non-sexist, non-traditional career information, and is regularly monitored for consistent usage in classrooms.
systematic, ongoing staff development which provides teachers with
current career education information for the benefit of students K-12.
implementation and evaluation of specific efforts to encourage and include minority students in vocational education programs and women in non-traditional careers.
Role models from the community should be utilized.
utilization of a wide variety of methods to provide students and parents with timely scholarship and career information.
guidance in course selection which begins in sixth grade and provides
students with information for long-range course planning.

(The LWV suggests that a record of graduates' careers could be obtained by utilizing class reunion mailing lists. Such information would be helpful in evaluation and planning career education programs.)

(2002 - Boutelle, Henderson, Kades, Schneider)
(1982 - Driggins, Mueller, McNamee, Seguin, Schoenfield, Hotchkiss)

Counseling

The LWV of Beloit supports:

Comprehensive counseling services by counselors, social workers, and/or psychologists to ensure early identification and treatment of developmental and social problems interfering with learning.

(2002 – Boutelle, Henderson, Kades, Schneider)
(1982 – Driggins, Mueller, McNamee, Schoenfield, Seguin, Hotchkiss)

Interracial/Multicultural Relations

The LWV of Beloit supports:

continued emphasis on employing a diverse staff.
continued emphasis on improved interracial/Multicultural relations, through:
- a planned, structured program for professional development, which emphasis interracial/multicultural relationships as well as cultural competence and culturally responsive teaching practices.
- evaluation of professional development workshops and programs on interracial/multicultural relations by those who plan, conduct and attend the programs and by any advisory committee on human relations. These evaluations should be used in planning future workshops.
- A full-time position of a diversity/equity director who deals with interracial/multicultural relationships as a major responsibility and has the directional and financial support of administration and school board.

(Although the above statements focus specifically on concerns of interracial relationships, the Beloit LWV supports continuing emphasis on concerns on improving human relations among all employees and students.)

(2018 – Carr, Owens, Stroud)
(2002 - Boutelle, Henderson, Kades, Schneider)
(1982 – Driggins, Mueller, McNamee, Schoenfield, Seguin, Hotchkiss)

Bilingual and Multicultural Programing

The LWV of Beloit supports emphasis given to research-based Bilingual and Multicultural Programming through:

a required, planned, structured program for professional development, which emphasizes interracial/multicultural relationships as well as cultural competence, and culturally responsive teaching practices;
continued attention to early childhood English Language Learning;
support for students as they progress through the levels of language acquisition including, but not limited to Dual Language Immersion (PK-6), English Language Learning (PK-12), World Languages (7-12), and Heritage Language Courses for native Spanish speakers;
communication with families in their native language at school and district-sponsored events;
continued family and community involvement in planning and implementation;
continues support for after school and summer school programming;
continued support for adult programming in collaboration with agencies such as Evan Start and Blackhawk Technical College;
continued partnerships with other community agencies; and
continued efforts to assure cultural competence (i.e. cultural knowledge, awareness and sensitivity, and knowing how to effectively operate in different cultural contexts) by all school staff members.

The mission of the School District of Beloit’s Bilingual Programs is to enhance students’ language abilities in two different languages for the purpose of meeting and exceeding academic expectations at each grade level, giving each student the life-long skill of biliteracy, developing an awareness and appreciation for multiculturalism, and giving Beloit students an edge in our global community.

(21018 – Fallon and others)
(2008 – Boutelle, Christensen, Henderson, Kades, Lamont, Schneider)

Police Liaison Program

The LWV of Beloit supports:

maintaining the Police Liaison Program at the secondary education level in the School District of Beloit;
adequate funding for the Police Liaison Program so that the full-time authorized strength of the Beloit Police Department is not weakened by its participation in the liaison program;
the equitable sharing of financial support for the Police Liaison Program by both the City of Beloit and the Beloit School District.

(2002 – Boutelle, Henderson, Kades, Schneider)
(1989 – revised)
(1982 – Driggins, Mueller, McNamee, Seguin, Schoenfield, Hotchkiss)

School Discipline

The LWV supports:

periodic evaluation and review of the Student Disciplinary Code by teachers, administrators, counselors, police liaison officers, parents, and students, to determine whether the (original) goals, objectives, and criteria are being met, and whether changes should be implemented;
uniform enforcement of the Student Disciplinary Code regardless of race, sex, or family background;
the inclusion of a section outlining student rights as part of the Student Disciplinary Code and a code of ethics for staff members dealing with students.

(2002 – Boutelle, Henderson, Kades, Schneider)
(1989 – revised)
(1982 – Driggins, Mueller, McNamee, Seguin, Schoenfield, Hotchkiss)

Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (Blackhawk Technical College)

The LWV of Beloit supports:

improving and expanding the facilities for training in occupations needing qualified workers.
improving and expanding the facilities for training in health occupations as needed.
the provision for and availability of vocational and technical courses so that people who have daytime jobs can gain additional training. Flexible learning options (open lab, enroll at any time, evening hours, on-line courses).
providing transportation between campuses and outreach centers by Blackhawk Technical College funded shuttle or other means.
the continuation of VTAE programs in Beloit, at the Beloit Center or other sites. These programs include basic skills, English Language Learners, pre-college, nursing assistant, personal care worker and other classes as needed.
provide guidance for students that gives them clear intake processes and pathways to reach their goals. This includes a user-friendly website and course schedules.

(2017—revised) Dorothy Stroud, Barbara Seguin)
(1988 - revised)
(1983 - Kieffer, Pineles, Rothe, Schoenfield, Swannack, Wehrle)