Springfield Public School District 186

1. Springfield Public School District 186 Executive report to the BoardMinority RecruitmentCYNTHIA SHAMBLEY, Interim Director OF HUMAN RESOURCES

2. The provision of the Desegregation Order provided for the appointment of a District-wide Affirmative Action Committee as representative of the community as possible, and appointed by the Superintendent of Schools. The committee’s charge would be to gather research materials and receive input from various community groups and present to the Board of Education for final adoption. The committee’s goal was to present a plan to the Board of Education to recruit and employ African-American certificated staff at a ratio to what African-Americans represent in the Springfield community 1976 Desegregation Order (U.S.) District Court Case No. S-civ-74-44)

3. The Board of Education commissioned a committee of board members, District administrators, teachers, and citizens to study the number of minority employees in the District and to develop a plan to improve upon the ratio of minority employees to those non-minority. The committee was chaired by Robert Davis and began meeting in October 2001. Minority Recruitment Advisory Council (MRAC)

4. The committee met bi-monthly throughout the year and concluded its discussions on Monday, May 1, 2002 for future presentation to the board. The committee conducted an employee race survey of all the schools and facilities in the District. MRAC

5. Major points of concern were gathered from the survey based on data from the 2001-02 school year) Only 7% staff were African-American teachers. 21% staff are African-American building level administrators. 21% staff are African-American teacher assistants. 12% staff are African-American employees. MRAC

6. There were no African-American middle school principals or assistant principals. There were no African-American guidance deans at Springfield or Southeast. There were no African-American teachers at Enos, Fairview, Laketown, Lindsay, Southern View, McClernand, or Pleasant Hill. MRAC

7. MRAC developed recommendations/strategies to Meet the Goals Implement a “Grow Your Own” Teacher Program. Revise the current District 186 video for the purpose of recruitment and distribution to potential African-American teachers. Continue to recruit potential African-American teachers at colleges and university job fairs. MRAC

8. Improve late hiring practices in the District. Evaluate placement on the salary schedule of newly hired teachers with previous teaching experience in other school districts. Develop and implement a mentoring program for new teachers. Employ African-American male teacher assistants. MRAC

9. Develop an on-line electronic application for employment on the District’s web-site. Develop financial incentives. Connect with other civic and community groups to build support for the mission to recruit and retain African-American teachers for the District. MRAC

10. The committee also recommended goals for the District to achieve in the hiring of African-Americans. • Each elementary school will have at least two or more African-American teachers on the staff. • All middle schools and high schools will have two or more African-American teachers in the academic core subjects. • There will be one or more African-American administrators on the central office/cabinet level staff. • There will be one or more African-American guidance deans in each middle school and high school. Mrac

11. At least 25% of the elementary school principals will be African-American. Encourage and appoint African-American teachers in administrative training programs and positions. At least 25% of the principal’s assistants shall be African-American. Appoint an oversight committee to monitor and evaluate the progress of the implementation of the approved minority recruitment plan. MrAC

12. MRAC evolved to the current council with the leadership established in 2005 of co-chairs Mr. Robert Blackwell and Ms. Gail Simpson. The District’s Coordinator of Recruitment provides staff services to MRAC relevant to recruitment, retention and employment information. The local branch of the NAACP operates as the regulatory, compliance, and consultant in supporting the district to incorporate the goals of the Consent Decree MRAC

13. In December of 2006 the Board of Education approved the “Finishers” document titled District 186 Rules and Regulations-Professional Personnel – Minority recruitment and hiring. This document codified the district plan for recruiting African American certified staff to the district. MRAC

14. In 2006, Implemented a “Grow Your Own” program now in partnership with IBHE. We have graduated 5 teachers and employed 4 thus far. Ongoing partnership with UIS Mid-State Student Support for Teaching (MSS) program. Have employed all Springfield graduates of the program. Implemented Service Learning Teacher academy established at LHS to. Recommendations/Strategies Implemented since 2005

15. Continue to recruit African American teachers at colleges and university job fairs . . . . . . through Historically Black Colleges job fairs, . . . By developing partnerships with Historically Black Colleges Schools of Education, . . . through IASA job bank, . . . through social networking, Recommendations/Strategies Implemented

16. . . . through National and State Education Conventions, . . . as a presenter for Career Services at BU, ISU, UIS, UICC, . . . by recruiting students through the Professional Development School Showcase of ISU, . . . by networking with Greek Organizations, Recommendations/Strategies Implemented

17. . . . by networking with Minority Educator organizations . . . developed strategies and a team of mentors to improve teacher retention, . . . connect with civic, fraternal, religious, business, and community groups to build support and the connections to the overall community. . . . and most significant, hosting potential candidates minority and non-minority in the district and scheduling interviews with Principals with potential vacancies. Recommendations/Strategies Implemented

18. Reports to the MRAC, HR department, school board of relevant recruiting outcomes. Professional Development to Administrators and Hiring managers. Completion of Minority Reports to the Court. Creation of and enforcement of policy related to minority recruitment and employment. MRAC Regulatory Enforcement

19. Enforcement of SEA contractual agreements related to minority hiring, employment, and retention. Enforcement of SEA contract as it relates to staffing buildings. Identification of minorities who apply for positions in the District. Implementation of Singleton Rule MRAC Regulatory Enforcement

20. Implemented Board Policy that, The District in compliance with applicable law will actively recruit and hire qualified minority personnel, both certified and non-certificated, in all areas of employment. Springfield School District 186Personnel 500.90

21. 10 Year Staffing Report • * Pending Data • Information taken from the reports to the Court. • Minority staff numbers include Hispanic, American or India, and Asian/Pacific Islanders. • Note: The Coordinator of Recruitment position started in October 5, 2005. The first year the position is responsible for recruitment data is 2006. • Since 2005 the percentage increase of minority staff is in the double digits. • The district has implemented RIF the last three years. • The data is reported as of March of each year.

22. Lack of enforcement of Consent Decree The cancelation of scheduled job fairs, potential candidates visiting the district and interviews due to the “potential for criticism”. Decentralized hiring Impediments to Minority Hiring

23. Not holding administrators accountable for violating tenants of the Consent Decree Lack of budgetary priority Placement of the recruiting budget and oversight in the appropriate department Restrictions on offering “Letter of Intent” to qualified candidates Impediments to Minority Hiring

24. Late hiring practices SEA contractual language which gives recall rights to teachers who have fulfilled their contracts. SEA contractual language that places minority hiring at the same level of those teachers who have fulfilled their contracts. Impediments to Minority Hiring

25. While continuous progress has been made, Springfield Public School District 186 has not yet reached the goal of the 1976 Consent Decree, that the recruiting and hiring of African-Americans maintain a minimum requirement of staffing at the percentage African-Americans represent in the Springfield community, that of 18.4%. Reaching and maintaining the goal by recruiting and retaining minority certificated and non-certificated staff depends on embracing this philosophically as a priority at all levels of the organizational structure and a sincere commitment by the school board, administrators, faculty, community and all stakeholders. Summary