School District of Phillips
Pupil Non-Discrimination Audit Report
Reviewed on 10/10/11 and 10/12/11
The School District of Phillips audit report was completed by Director of Special Education Kathy Feuerer. Information for this report was gathered through a review of records by Colin Hoogland, High School Principal, Paul Feuerer, Athletic Director, Brenda Harrison, Guidance Counselor and secretarial support from Stacy Arnsten. Additional opportunities for input were provided for pupils, teachers, administrators, guidance, parents and residents of the District via public meeting opportunities (see Appendix A and B).
Our records review covered trends and patterns in: athletic, extracurricular and recreational activity, awarding scholarship and other forms of recognition and counseling. Over the past three years our district student population has averaged 868 students with approximately 5% minorities and a disability rate of 14.5%.
The district discrimination policy was reviewed as well as the policies and protocols for ensuring nondiscriminatory hiring and employment practices. Appendix C and D have our district nondiscrimination policy, complaint procedures and an example of our posting for employment has been included (Appendix E).
Trends and Patterns of School District Support of Athletic, Extracurricular, and Recreational Activities.
The School District of Phillips offers a total of 13 different school sponsored WIAA sports, an additional 4 club sports and 9 extracurricular opportunities at the high school level. At the middle school level numerous sports, both club and school sanctioned, are offered as well as extra-curricular opportunities. Please see Appendix F for the list of athletic and extracurricular activities available. Appendix G has an example of the brochure given out to all high school students with the extracurricular offerings listed. The elementary level offers scouting for boys and girls, club basketball, football, soccer, hockey, softball, baseball, swimming, and wrestling. Males and females have equal opportunity for participation at all levels.
The School District of Phillips provides a large number of athletic and extracurricular activities. District offerings compare with schools of much greater student populations, ensuring that we are meeting a diverse range of interests. Over the past three school years the high school has had an average participation rate of 65.5%. Females have made up an average of 44% of students participating in athletics. Students with disabilities make up approximately 5% of the student athletic participation at the high school level. The percentage of racial or ethnic minorities in the high school is less than 4%, making any analysis of minority participation difficult. All students, regardless of gender, race or disability status, have the opportunity to participate in athletic opportunities at all levels (elementary, middle and high school).
There are many extracurricular offerings both school and community sponsored at the elementary, middle and high school. There are equal opportunities for participation for males and females. At the high school level, female participation slightly outweighs male, with females making up approximately 59% of the participants. Students with disabilities are slightly underrepresented in extracurricular membership, making up 4% of the students engaged
Pupil nondiscrimination policies appear in both the student handbook that all students receive and the athletic handbook that all those participating in athletics receive (see Appendix H and I for the policies).
Recommendations for Athletic, Extracurricular and Recreational Activities
· Investigate ways to increase participation by students with disabilities in both athletic and extracurricular opportunities.
· Ensure that through budget reduction measures, student interests are taken into consideration for the reduction of sports or extracurricular activities.
Trends and Patterns in Awarding Scholarships and Other Forms of Recognition
The School District of Phillips has numerous opportunities for students to receive recognition for personal, academic or athletic accomplishment. Beginning at the elementary school, students are recognized for “Logger Leader” behavior by being given “Logger Logs” or by being identified as a “Logger Leader of the Week.” These rewards are given out to all students with equal participation between males/females, students with disabilities or racial ethnic minorities. The middle and high school recognizes Student on the Month. Since the 2009 school year, 88 students have received the award with 52% being female. Students with disabilities have made up 3% of the students receiving the award. Students of the Month are nominated by the school staff based on one or more of the following characteristics: citizenship, attitude, kindness, accomplishments and/or academic progress. The criterion for SoM is posted monthly to staff email and staff recommendations are accepted. Student of the Month criteria is neither biased nor discriminatory.
The Phillips High School directly awards student scholarships on a yearly basis. The high school is responsible for directly rewarding 16 scholarships to seniors. All students provided support writing their scholarship essays through their English classes. These essays are used for all scholarships, both those the school awards and those awarded by the community. At the beginning of the senior year, all parents are invited to a meeting where the scholarship process is explained. The scholarship information is posted on the district website, mailed home to parents, posted in the hallways and announced daily at school in the weeks before the scholarship essays are due. Additionally, a career coach from NTC works closely with students with disabilities helping them prepare for college entrance and scholarships. Out of the scholarships given by the school over the past 3 years, 60% of the scholarships have gone to females. No scholarships have gone to students with disabilities. These scholarships, however, are very specific in their requirements such as postsecondary school attending and career choice. Scholarships are awarded based on points awarded for GPA, GPA points, extracurricular, ACT score, ACT points, Essay, and Character. All students who submit a scholarship packet with the scholarship essay are ranked on this list with the top students receiving scholarships. Only one student identified as having a disability completed the scholarship packet to be considered for the awards. The criterion for selecting scholarship winners was found to be unbiased and nondiscriminatory.
Recommendations for Awarding Scholarship and Other Forms of Recognition
· Investigate why students with disabilities are not completing the essay packet and returning it
· Ensure that students with disabilities have access to the courses and content that prepares them for postsecondary schooling
· Investigate why students with disabilities are not being considered for student of the month awards, provide education to staff
Counseling
Our district currently uses a Comprehensive School Counseling Program based on the Wisconsin Comprehensive School Counseling Model and the American School Counseling Association National Model. The guidance plan works off of the guidance standards that provide guidance and counseling services for all students in a nondiscriminatory fashion. Please see attached School District of Phillips Comprehensive School Counseling Program Manual (Appendix J) and the guide (Appendix K).
The guidance counselor performed a review of the guidance/counseling materials utilized by the district. The materials were found to be nonbiased. With support from DVR, representatives from technical schools, a variety of coursework available at the high school, every attempt is made to help students make appropriate career choices, including nontraditional career choices. Examples of our attempts to break down barriers of traditional career stereotyping involve taking 6th grade girls to the nontraditional career day at WITC in Ashland and taking a large group of juniors to NTC and UW Marathon County to tour the facility and learn about occupations.
All students participate in a process called career pathways, where student interests are used to narrow down career fields. Students also complete interest inventories during their freshman and sophomore years to further help students identify areas that might be of interest to them (Appendix L).
Guidance Counselors received training in working with diverse groups of students, including those with disabilities while attending the Comprehensive Guidance Training. This occurred in 2009 and 2010. The counseling mission for the school also reflects the inclusive nature of the guidance program in the school district. The counseling mission is included in the Comprehensive School Counseling Program guide.
General classroom guidance that is provided to help with study skills, emotional and social skills are provided to all students regardless of disability. The district espouses an inclusive environment for all learners. Most students are educated in the same environment as their peers with accommodations and supports necessary to be successful.
Recommendations for Counseling
· Continue to provide education on nondiscriminatory practices in guidance and counseling
· Continue to explore ways to help students consider and pursue nontraditional careers
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