Any discussion members hearing? None. Chair votes I on House Bill 2300 SD1. >> Chair votes I. Vice chair votes I. Senator Ashimoto. >> Hi. >> Senator Decort. >> Hi. >> Measures adopted. And that is all.
>> Um this year we was kind of a I don't want to say unusual but the turn we we had a retreat and we talked about priorities for the year out of the strategic plan. I think in a more typical case we will build a calendar together or we would bring a recommended calendar to the board say here is a recommendation um after consultation with the board about when are some reports the board would want to hear about and then build that for the year. Um this past year we we brought forward for example the quarterly updates regarding the strategic plan. Um, we also have there are a lot of compliance driven presentations that we also have to >> envision. So what in working with the board's executive assistant, we're able to really look at the past work and what are the priorities for each of the agendas and then some of them we just know we have to talk about this this month, you know, and so that that's a very important part because there are some very important legal considerations.
um staffing challenges are always going to come up at this time of year um or agenda items versus another time of year where you may not have some. So, it's a combination of those things. I think um in my experience um that is something that the board can take on in the summer as well as part of a retreat in the summer to look ahead say here are some having gone through one cycle what are some patterns that we want to make sure that we want to highlight for. So I think for now using that new business time to kind of work through the administration and then next time that we get together we can talk about the how to change this more specifically. But we have these notes. Um and uh I think that's the end of this discussion unless you >> I have some I have something when I read this.
>> Let's let's we're gonna >> Oh, sorry. >> No, no, no. Go ahead. But I'm trying to be I'm trying to be quick on this. I'm going to be quick. When I read this, I immediately go towards >> if there's uh disagreement on from the president and the superintendent on somebody wanting something to be put onto the agenda. I think there should be a procedure for them to >> do in order to push it forward to possibly get it spoken about. >> That's great. >> I Yeah, I think they should go to like board consensus after that. I agree with you completely. Great. >> Or a consensus at committee level even. So >> um is it well I'm not on any I'm not a permanent fixture on any committee but you are right. >> Okay. >> I think you covered for me last time but yeah >> I've covered quite a few lately but that's okay.
I enjoy it. Um all right. Well we'll move to unless there's anything else. No. Okay. Move to 9.1. Uh, approve consent agenda. Can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda, please? >> I make a motion to approve all items under consent, including 9.1 minutes from the board of education meeting on February 23rd, 2026, open and close sessions, and board of education public forum on March 9th, 2026, open and close sessions 9.2 2 to acknowledge the foyer requests received by the district. 9.3 to approve field trips for overnight and or more than 200 miles. 9.4 to approve the opportunity to secure KMED incentives for districtwide LED lighting upgrades authorizing district participation and any necessary actions to implement the program.
Second, >> uh any discussion? And I was actually hoping to get some feedback about the lighting, but um basically to the public, this is an opportunity for the district to um get about a million dollars in lighting for about $87,000 through a grant program. Um we have that for information and >> um he sensed it. He knew you were talking. We have that for information and approval today um because there was a a deadline to be met. So um this was an opportunity for the board uh to uh consider and approve in one evening. We typically don't do this but given the opportunity to get a lot of money to support our lighting, we felt that it would be a lost opportunity if we did not request this uh item. This is the lighting. Do you want to add anything? >> Yes. I didn't know what you said, but just excuse me for being redundant if you reop.
>> Yeah. So, what this this is an opportunity we've been looking at uh with a firm that we've um worked with u work district that have a history of finding us um rebates in order for us to be able to uh to do some significant changes to our lighting. Now something is clear that with all the uh data centers being located all over the state, what is predicted which is happening already is that the cost of electricity is only going to go up exponentially. So what we're looking for, we're looking for a way to mitigate how much we're paying electric cost by trying to take advantage of the rebates available there to upgrade our lighting. We have a lot of spaces in the district where we use fluorescent light. We know those light are not efficient. So, we're paying significant amount of money to uh to light that.
What this allows us to do is $47,000. We can actually get uh close to $900,000 in work to be done. And so, we're paying 10% of the cost of the retrofit and 90% of it will be boned by rebate. that is available right now and the rebate expires at the end of the month. So just thinking about it after a year we will get our money back and then over the next 10 years a significant amount of savings and that is one of those fixed cost that we don't really have a lot of flexibility to be able to mitigate. So by doing that, what we do, we're able to mitigate the fixed cost that we we have to deal with, which is utility cost. >> And we're projected to save about a million dollars over the next 10 years. >> Oh yeah. And it goes on the uh the uh the savings goes on.
And not only that, it provides better lighting for the space that we're in. Cuz fluorescent light are not as as clear as uh LED light. And what we have been trying to do on our own, we've been trying to have our guys change it gradually, but at the rate that we're going, I think we sat down and did calculation, it'll probably take us 20 years be able to and it would be a significant cost to us. While we can have this done, it can be completed by summer and we can actually start reaping the benefit of it immediately. Okay. >> Will the lights be dimmable? >> Oh yeah. Okay. >> Okay. Um, any other discussion? >> Okay. >> Mr. Cerone, >> I. >> Dr. Martin, >> I. >> Dr. Mario, >> I. >> Miss Robinson, >> I. >> Dr. Pock, >> I. >> Miss C.
>> I. >> Miss Wedmouth. >> I. >> Motion passes 70. Um, next we're going to go to information item. Well, I'm what? I'm We're going to move 10.5 to 10.1. >> You need a motion. >> Yes. So, I need a motion to move agenda item 10.5 to 10.1. We're trying to uh >> get people home. >> I make a motion to move agenda item 10.5 to 10.1. >> Second. >> Dr. Martin. >> I. >> Miss Wenmouth. >> I. >> Mr. Cerone. Hi, >> Miss Robinson. >> I probably need >> I >> Dr. Pock. >> I miss C. >> I Dr. Mario >> I. >> Motion passes 70. Welcome. Now we're at 10 point one. >> Thank you. >> Future focused electives and you're doing double duty today. So >> sandwich too. Sorry. >> All right. Thank you everybody. We are uh following up the the meeting that we did a month ago.
Uh and I have some members from the team with me today. Uh first of all just want to say good evening. Uh thanks for giving us the opportunity to to share our work and our and our vision and our plans with all of you. The work that we're going to share represents a collaborative effort across really our entire elective departments at the junior high level going down to our our K5 level up to our high school level. This has really been a a district-wide effort uh to to put shine a light. There you go, Raphael. To shine a light, an efficient light on on on the work that we've been doing. We haven't we haven't as a district touched uh the electives at the at the junior high level in 20 years. Um so when you talk when you talk and think about what has happened in 20 years, we are still running the electives as as they were 20 years ago.
Um there there's some differences in in the world and um the team has been hungry to to do this for a long time and and we are really excited to share what we've done. >> You said 20 years. Is that hyperbole or is that fact? >> An official basis. >> Okay. Thank you. I think that's really important to note. >> No, that's good. Um again and in and all of our work right the first slide it's really grounded in the portrait of a learner. Uh we really want to ensure that our students develop skills and experiences necessary to be adaptable learners prepared for life and careers beyond high school. Uh this is uh just connected to our strategic plan right in the academics priority uh the pillar of academics and student success. This has really called for the restructuring of these electives in the 26 27th school year.
We don't really like to wait for that. So we really wanted to start this year we will roll out if this is all approved in April uh we will roll out our first year plan of this during the 2627 school year and then continue to work next year for uh the following years and following grade levels. As mentioned this has really been a team effort. We have union representation, elective representation from every building, every department in the district. We have again bridged to our high schools. So we've had department chairs from our high schools attend our meetings to make sure that what we are doing even at the sixth grade level will eventually be be connected to what is is being called for for our 9th graders, 10th and 11th and 12th graders. Uh this was completed uh by all of these people right building admin that are here with me the wonderful Mr.
Brooks here with us. Um, again, this is just really so that we can ensure alignment across our system. And since this hasn't really been been worked on in 20 years, uh, we just want to, even though it's late, share kind of the the process and why we got to where we got to because really the work uh, and getting people on a foundation at the same level is really key to what we're doing now and going forward. So, as John shared, it has been multiple years over 20 years since we reviewed the electives formally. So, um when we first got together as a committee, we we got together and said we need to come up with a consensus of who we are and what are the experiences we want for our students. So, we created a belief statement. You can see it here on the on the screen.
um but really helped it us to ground our work and guided us on what were the next steps that we needed to do to make sure that our students had the um great experiences across district. We created a committee goal. That committee goal helped to um guide our work as well. We wanted to assure that we were designing equitable learning experiences for all of our students. There are a couple of barriers with that. Um some of the barriers that we currently host in district are that we don't have correct lensure to have the same um courses across all of our buildings. So we really came back to our belief statement and what we believe for our students and what they um what they should be experiencing or have the opportunity to experience across all of our buildings. So, our goal really led us to um making sure that we were purposeful in providing engaging learning opportunities for all of our students.
Um that we are actively developing their essential skills, which Jen's going to talk about that here in a couple minutes. Um and then preparing our students for those future learning and careers. And as John alluded to earlier as well, we're making sure that the foundation of our work was really connected to the portrait of our learner. We want to make sure that um we're providing those building or those experiences across all of our buildings and making sure that um it centers around these five areas. >> All right. The five areas of the portrait of learner align directly to this uh the Illinois postsecondary and workforce readiness act. uh the big aspects that we're focusing is on the left side of that the pace framework uh that Ben Owen and I even shared last year when we were talking about rolling out school links and that has really been grounded in the work that we are doing at the junior high level.
Uh Jennifer Prior will talk a little bit more about the PACE framework. Um and again that that bottom left quadrant is the college and career pathway endorsements at the high school level. Right? We have two of those pathway endorsements created both in the educational field. But again, as we're doing this work and and grounding it in the work that we know is right, we want to make sure that we are exposing our students to all of the possibilities that they have so that when they do get to high school, right, as crazy as it sounds, our our 13-year-olds need to start having some ideas and some plans of of what interests them and what skills uh they they know they want to use in in their careers and in their life. So we really want them to before they get to high school really have that exposure, right?
And give them on-ramps and off-ramps to keep exploring in in a lowrisk environment before they get, you know, to postsecary and and and see what it's like in the real world. So here we have Jen Prior talking about the PACE framework. So, the post-secary and career expectations framework, otherwise known as PACE, um was rolled out and introduced to our students and staff through the implementation of school links, which you've heard a couple times this evening um that we did this year. Uh this creates a foundation for our students to help explore themselves. The structure and goals um for our junior high electives supports this work by providing opportunities for students to engage in skills needed for success both as an individual and after high school and post-secary. Essential skills, formerly known as soft skills, are embedded in all of our elective curriculum math. These skills are essential for success in any aspect of life.
In 2022, the CTE CTE industry feedback survey showed three of the five top skills to be successful in any job are considered essential skills. Continuing to engage in self-discovery, exploring their aspirations and their plans for the future through the PACE framework through the supports provided in the PACE framework will help students discover their passions. some of these job specific skills that is also referenced in the survey is what they're going to gain when they reach the uh higher level high school electives. So, we're preparing them and helping make those informed decisions. >> As you heard earlier in the future ready strategic update, there's been a focus on school links and pace. This directly links to the work on junior high electives. Illinois has organized college and career readiness competencies into seven categories. While doing our work, aspects of these competencies were embedded throughout. Along with the work being done at the high school level, we're working to build pathways for our students to explore themselves and their interests while also exploring the careers in these seven pathways.
So, the current schedule, junior high sample schedule, um, is broken up into semesters. The the typical junior high student will have two periods of English language arts. Um, I'll skip down to fourth period, social studies, PE, lunch, science, math. I I bumped over third and eighth there because that's where we have some choice. That's where students have some choice. whether band, choir, um or study hall are our year-long electives. Or they could be put into a arts intro to tech. That's the eighth period or a music a general music class or our fax home economics type class or our semester long classes. The change we're looking at is um what would stay the same would be a band, choir, study hall. Those are year-long electives. Um the change would be instead of a two one semester long classes, we'd have a a rotation of four classes throughout the year.