Project Profile: King Elementary School

William H. King Elementary School

One of nearly 500 elementary schools in the Chicago Public School system, William H. King School is located on Chicago’s near west side. It serves 333 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, predominantly African American and Latino.

The Challenge

King School aims to continue to improve its operation and performance through a properly structured, efficient, and productive Local School Council (LSC). LSCs were created under the 1988 School Reform Act in an effort to increase parent and community involvement with the schools. LSCs are responsible for hiring and evaluating principals, approving budgets and the School Improvement Plan for Advancing Academic Achievement (SIPAAA), and monitoring the school’s performance throughout the year. Just like nonprofit boards, these councils often need training, meeting facilitation, and assistance with implementation of plans.

ESC has been involved since the beginning with King’s LSC, and its services were enlisted again in 2000.

ESC’s Response

The ESC consultants began work with King in 1992, and have helped the school meet its goals in a variety of ways. They have attended LSC meetings, helped develop and prepare meeting agendas and resolutions, reviewed minutes for content and accuracy, ensured compliance with the bylaws, assisted in the annual principal evaluation, helped with internal accounts, and adviseed on the preparation of the LSC and principal’s annual report. They have also acted as a sounding board for Principal Rosie B. Ard, offering guidance and advice from an objective perspective.

In 2000, the ESC team worked on everything from the school’s SIPAAA to the training of LSC members in several state-mandated lessons.

The Outcome

Since ESC began work with King School, the LSC is more productive, the school’s operations and budget process are more streamlined, and its approach to problem-solving is more effective. “As a result of ESC's help, our meetings are more professional and follow parliamentary procedures,” said Principal Ard.

Another improvement attributed in part to ESC can be seen in the classroom, where test scores have gone up significantly. In reading this year, the school’s students ranked 25 percent above national norms -- up 9 percent from the previous year. In math, scores rose 20 percent -- moving from 26 to 31 percent above national norms.

What our client had to say

“We could never have been as accomplished as we have become without the expertise of ESC.”