THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008
Farmer To Lead Early Learning
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Reporter
The new "top priority" in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 these days is early intervention, to monitor student learning more closely and identify students with special needs.
This new focus is not only because it is a federal and state-mandated program, but also because the district agrees strongly with the mandates.
Therefore, local educators are spending considerable time gearing up for a big effort in this area in 2008-09. The board of education took action Monday night (Apr. 28) to fill a new administrative position designed to oversee the program and provide new leadership to it.
Selected for the job was Lynne Farmer, who for nine years has been principal of Carpenter School and is a former teacher in the district.
A resident of Park Ridge, she is completing her doctoral work at Loyola University, holds two educational master's degrees, and worked in the sports and recreation industry before joining Dist. 64.
"She has been an exceptional principal at Carpenter," said Dr. Sally Pryor, superintendent.
"Her quiet leadership, collaborative work style, and steady commitment to helping each student achieve full potential made her an ideal candidate for the new post."
She was hired for a three-year term ending in July 2011, when she reportedly plans to retire.
Her title will be director of early intervening services/response to intervention, effective July 1. She will coach principals and teachers on strategies to implement EIS/Rtl, a new program that focuses on monitoring progress data for all students to improve learning.
"I'm excited for the chance to help students who need special educational services, and to help find ways to better identify students who have special needs and intervention," she said Monday night. "I appreciate the opportunity to help District 64 in this new way."
In another initiative to make this program work, the district recently restored five literacy teacher positions to work with students in grades 4-5. The positions were dropped in previous budget cutbacks. The district also will add a psychologist to the staff, who will work in all schools in the EIS area.
In the EIS/Rtl approach, schools must use data on student learning to plan instruction, identify students in need of more support, collaboratively problem-solve how to provide this support, and then monitor whether the support is meeting the student's needs.