Bylsma, teachers seeking grants to help fund programs

As the RBHS community looks to deal with its financial struggles, teachers are finding creative ways to attain money for needed items throughout the school.

English teacher and yearbook sponsor Cherise Lopez heard about a grant for new media equipment from the Illinois First Amendment Center (IFAC) through an e-mail from Principal Pam Bylsma.  RBTV and our own Clarion also applied for equipment through the same grant.

Lopez said, “Mrs. Bylsma e-mailed those she thought would be interested in the grant.”

When applying for a grant, it is necessary to state what the grant is for and how any money received will be used.  The donors then decide if they will accept and issue you the grant.  The grant Lopez applied for was open to any public education institution.  In order for Lopez to receive the grant, she had to come to an agreement with IFAC, which was to make sure that the grant money would be used to help teach about the 1st amendment at RBHS.

Lopez said, “It’s a simple process of explaining how the money will be used and for what and also how the 1^st amendment ties into it.”

If she receives it, the grant Lopez applied for will be used for new equipment such as mac books for the yearbook.

Lopez said, “The designing program on these computers are old and outdated; the mac books will have newer designing programs which will be better for the yearbook and Clarion.”

Bylsma hears about grants through building relationships with people and through e-mails.

She said, “It’s a timely process and involves a lot of research.”

Bylsma believes that receiving grants does help a portion of the financial issues, but it is not going to fix the entire problem.  RB has received grant money in the past for the college readiness program which helps kids in C.A.P (An ACT prep class) who get a score below state standards.  The grant pays for the teachers to take time and teach those kids, and it also acts as an incentive to the kids.  The amount of time the kids put into going to class determines how much money they get in return.  The money the kids receive is held until they graduate where they then apply for a scholarship and receive money in return.

Bylsma said, “Part of companies missions are to give away some of their profits through grants.”

RB’s new sustainable garden has also been funded through grants.  A large grant from Granger helped to get the garden underway.

The school’s garden project was also offered grant dollars from Monsanto, a seed company.  The difficulty is that Monsanto also promotes conventional and genetically modified seeds, whereas Eco Club and the teachers involved with the garden had been intending an organic, sustainable garden.

Yearbook sponsor Lopez, Fine Arts Department Chair Gehl among 16 teachers facing RIFs

At the Tuesday, March 13th school board meeting, the board formally announced its RIFs (Reduction in Force) for the upcoming school year.  When a teacher is “riffed,” it means that the school has let them know that they will not have employment next year due to budgetary rather than performance reasons.  Seven part-time teachers were let go completely, and nine full-time teachers had their positions reduced to part-time positions.  The school board made these decisions after hearing recommendations developed by Superintendent Kevin Skinkis, Principal Pam Bylsma, and other administrators and department chairs.

The RBEA collective bargaining agreement spells out which teachers may be riffed and in what order.  Teachers must be let go in reverse order of seniority, with the least senior teachers being riffed first and non-tenured teachers being riffed before tenured teachers.

Part-time teachers who were riffed in full included Gary Johnson (Applied Arts), Julie O’bradovic (World Language), Laurie Ritchey (CAP), Dominic Senese (Student Services), Dallas Till (Wellness), Kevin Turk (Social Studies), and Sarah Weis (Science).

Turk, who has taught at RB for seven years, said, “To have to start over after that long stinks, but that’s the situation that the school district is in.  It is not in my control, or even my boss’s control.  The financial situation that the district is in is pretty bad.”  Turk indicated that he has put out job applications, but understands the competition in the market.  As of right now, he does not know where he will be working next year.

Full-time teachers who saw their positions reduced to part-time or eliminated include Kirstin Bacon (English), Kellie Dean (Science), Thomas Dignan (English), Nick Gehl (Fine Arts and Applied Arts), Cherise Lopez (English), Lindsay Mynaugh (Math), Tim Olson (Math), Valerie Ostrow (Wellness), and Jenna Passananti (World Language).

Seven of these teachers were offered part-time positions, though it is unclear at this time whether all will accept those positions.  Of the two remaining full-time teachers, Lopez, who also sponsors the school yearbook, and Dignan will not be returning to RB next year.

“I have had two positions offered at other high schools,” said Lopez. “Both offered the yearbook position.”

These layoffs come as RB continues to try to close its financial gap and balance its budget.  Though the previous school board’s budget proposals did not indicate pursuing a balanced budget, but instead focused on maintaining a 20% operating fund balance as the school sought increased revenue from a referendum, current Board President Matt Sinde has made it clear that the new board is not intending to discuss increasing revenue through referendum until after a new RBEA contract is negotiated when the current contract expires at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

At the same meeting, board member Tim Walsh made a motion asking the school board to accept an offer from the RBEA, apparently made several weeks ago, to discuss the current contract and possible renegotiations with the full school board.  After brief discussion, Board Vice President John Keen brought the motion to a vote.  It was defeated by a 5-2 vote.

Only Walsh and Hruska voted in favor of engaging in contract discussions between the full RBEA executive board and the full school board.

SPONSOR’S NOTE:
The story above has been corrected from its initial version to reflect the status of the full-time teachers listed more accurately. -D. Mancoff

Students make their own “slow” fast food

On November 9^th and 10^th, English teacher Cherise Lopez’s third period American Literature class wasn’t in their normal classroom. Instead they were in the foods lab, making their own Egg McMuffins.

This activity was designed to show students how cooking their own food can be easy and healthier than buying fast food.  It didn’t come out of nowhere, though; the class had been thinking about their food choices for a few weeks.

“They read Omnivore’s Dilemma, and they can make it applicable to their own lives,” said Lopez about the project.

Omnivore’s Dilemma was a book, previously taught to SEE team, which looks closely at how food choices affect the environment, not just personal health.  As a part of that, last year’s SEE team went down to the foods lab to experiment with making healthier and more environmentally friendly fast food substitutes.

“I think the objective (of the non SEE team students) was the same because it was the same book,” said Patty Farlee, the Applied Arts teacher who showed the students how to use the foods lab. She added, “This is just a little sampling versus SEE team because they could expand on it more. This is just one unit.”

Overall, the project was enjoyed by students and teachers alike.

“I think it’s fun. It’s a cool experience to make your own healthier food,” said junior Shannon O’Connell.

“I’d already known how to cook, but it’s nice to know how to cook different stuff,” said junior Kevin Barney.

“I would attempt to make this at home,” junior Brittney JnoBaptiste said.

 “Overall I’m happy with how it came out.  I look forward to reading (the students’) reflections,” said Lopez.

The project is part of a larger sustainability arc that Lopez has been integrating into her classes. She tries to teach students how to connect sustainability ideas to the books they read in class, and how authors have written about the relationship between people and nature and how that connects to the students.

“It’s not just about the environment,” said Lopez. “It’s about how can human beings flourish and survive and how can we take control of our own lives.”

Bulldog Spotlight: English teachers win national honor

Three RB English teachers recently received prestigious grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The NEH is a federal agency that funds programs for educators across the country. There are many programs that educators can apply for, and the NEH offers fellowships in study areas of their interest.

English teachers Cherise Lopez, Bridget Wilmot, and Daniel O’Rourke all received summer fellowships to go to seminars in different cities around the country.

Lopez, who sponsors the school’s yearbook, will be attending “Emily Dickinson: Person, Poetry and Place,” in Amherst, MA for a week in the summer. Here she will be a student again, going to workshops and reading about Emily Dickinson. She will see Dickinson’s home where she grew up and look at her original documents.

“I teach about her in class so I’m looking forward to learning how to incorporate the things I learn here back into the classroom,” Lopez said.

Wilmot will be attending “A Rising People: Ben Franklin and the Americans” in Philadelphia, PA. There she will go on walking tours, attend lectures, and retrace Benjamin Franklin’s footsteps.   

“I think Benjamin Franklin is one of the most fascinating persons in history. We’ll go to places he went and also go to a concert that will play the music that was played during his time period,” Wilmost said.

O’Rourke is going to Monterey, CA and attend “John Steinbeck:  Voice of a region, Voice for America.”  He’ll go on boat rides to study what Steinbeck wrote about sicne he was a marine biology enthusiast.

O’Rourke said, “I’m excited to go because I’m going to learn thigns I can teach more about in American Studies.  I’ll find more connections between history and literature.”

Teachers must apply for often competitive spots to attend NEH fellowships.  The work is not paid, but teachers receive a stipend from the NEH to help cover travel, room, and board. 

Rouser starts new photo policy

In late May, one thing heard time and time again in just about every high school, is “why aren’t I in the yearbook, I’m hardly anywhere, why is this kid everywhere?” and numerous other complaints about not being in the yearbook. This year Rouser is hoping silence those complaints with its new photo policy.

The new innovative policy includes a website, where students can submit their own digital images, which will then be reviewed by Rouser photo editors and possibly included in the final product.  The policy is part of Herff Jones’ image share program. It’s a new idea, and few schools have experimented with it. RB remains one of the first to employ it.

In the past Rouser has tried to include everyone to a certain degree, but with this year’s new policy that number is anticipated to increase.

Rouser sponsor Cherise Lopez said “We’re hoping to put everyone in about three times each with this program.”  

Rouser Public Relations Manager Vicky Curtin said “with the new policy, we’re hoping to get more coverage of things we normally wouldn’t get.  The policy also brings in pictures from other students, rather than just Rouser kids.”

So far, few people have taken advantage of this new opportunity Rouser is providing, but the Rouser staff believes that this is simply because it is a new concept, and that the students are unaware of it.

“If more kids knew about it, more would do it” said Curtin. The policy has been displayed on the school’s website, and on flyers posted across the school. Rouser hopes the word gets out to more students soon and that more become involved with it.

Some students are worried about the details of the new Rouser policy. Freshman Caitlin Berek said, “I think that some kids will send in tons of pictures, and then they will be all over the year book. I think there should be a limit to how many someone can turn in.”

In direct response to this concern, necessary precautions have been taken. “We try and make sure everyone gets in there a number of times, but we also notice if someone has been in there a lot. If we see a particular student is in the year book too many times, we’ll limit their appearances,” said Lopez.

Curtin said “we’re hoping to counter complaints about not being in the yearbook.”

Most students that have heard about the new policy are excited about it. Senior Chris Verduzco said, “it is a good idea because it will allow people to share more personal photos, making the yearbook more their own”. Chris said he believes Rouser should “give students more choices on other stuff like this. In the past, Rouser seems to mostly just cover the more popular kids.” Chris is supportive of this policy because he thinks that allowing anyone to submit photos will solve this problem.

The website’s URL is www.hjeshare.com and can also be located on the school’s homepage. A school code is also required to access the site, that code is (7013834). This information is also found with the URL on the school’s website, as well as on flyers around the school. All photos must be submitted by February 15th.