>> Okay. I've left it with my cell phone. I believe we're here. Recording is still in progress. >> us? Yes, Stephanie, are you able to hear us? Yes, I am. Wonderful, thank you. Sorry about that. Did they want to make public >> No worries. >> [clears throat] >> There was some I think there was some sort of fire brush fire or something on Federal might have caused I don't know. But I'm just speculating. >> [laughter] >> Well, while while we've got you talking to us, do you have a public comment you'd like to make cuz we'd be happy to jump backwards in the agenda to accommodate. Thank you, Anne. Um I actually have been listening to, you know, bits and pieces of it. Um some I was actually >> Before you get too deep in the weeds, you know >> Yes, Stephanie Duclos, Chapman Street.
>> question. Go ahead. As PPT sharing you made me think about something. Have you had a lot of requests for independent educational vows? And what does that process look like? Sure. Um We, you know, we we state that they will hear within 10 days in writing from the meeting. Um so, it's not a decision we make on the spot in the meeting. If they make it in the meeting, um if they make it, you know, after a meeting and and you know, put their request in writing, um we say the same thing. You'll hear back um in writing from us within 10 days. Um it's something that our team has conversation with central office administration about um to see what the impetus is. Is it that the parent is questioning whether or not our evaluations are comprehensive? Um or um is it just that they disagree with the eligibility decision and it doesn't have to do with our actual evaluations?
We are incorporating the strategies that you heard Leslie talk about in our classrooms as well. Um so we really want a content resource for our students that maybe could provide some supplemental support for problem-solving, could give some guided examples, and we found that the OpenStax Physics really provided that. Um and digging into it really in detail as a physics teacher, I I kept coming back to the it's just good physics. Um it's expressed clearly, everything is outlined clearly. Um it's It's supportive tools for students to use uh with some embedded checks for checking their understanding. It's got guided problem-solving. It's got a lot of interactive links. So, uh using simulations and videos to reinforce the concepts, which is why it really is meant to be an online text. It's not meant to be a printed book necessarily. Um So, we really felt like this was uh something that matched our needs in terms of a content resource to supplement what we already do in the classroom and to supplement our curriculum, which embeds the practices, the strategies, the things that we know the students need today.
I think that's it. Um if there's anything else, I'm sure I'll be back up when it's public comment again. Thank you. Is there anyone else that like to make a comment? Okay, so the public portion is closed right now. Mr. Chair, through the chair, can I Would you like me to answer a couple of those for the board? Just so before you make a decision? Thank you. Um so, um I'm going to just try to just be very clear with a few things with regard to some of the comments up here. Um I I I think the categorization of uh what what the uh BA provided for open requests is not true with the out will part. Open Just I don't know if people in the city understand what open is um exactly, but it's requesting a public record. It's not requesting that the board make a public record.
So when your mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, and your other family and friends gather with you here on the field in just a little while, please be patient and let them dwell in this moment with you as long as they might like. and let them take each and every picture they want to and don't complain about it. [cheering] See, [screaming] but but most of all most of all, let them hug you until they decide to let go because that's what they're doing. and it's so hard for them to let them drink in the memories of all the moments you were their child. And let them gush with pride as they continue to imagine all the things you will do. Class of 2026, the sun is high and the path is wide open. Go forth with the bravery, strength, and intelligence we know you possess.
>> So, can I clarify when you say recorded, are you talking about we do like for example on our guardrails we do the voiceover presentations? >> Yes, >> I got you on that one. >> Okay. Does anybody else want to participate? Okay. So, Amy and I will get together and do that and then I can be there if you need. >> Okay. So, let me um or am I allowed to Hilda make a calendar invite for that day so that the people on the team know that we're attending or does that need to come from you? Is she still on here? >> All right. >> I believe she's on her cell phone. >> Okay. I will put it in the notes that we are going to send everybody the calendar invite for June 23rd. Um, and then Jay, I put in my personal calendar, I put Abodaka attend late.
Um I have um been very heavily involved like Mark is with his money guys. I hang out with my HR peeps a lot and have served on the board of the Illinois um Association for School Personnel Administrators for a number of years. Most recently um currently as past president, as president last year. I lead a team of four other people, Janitor Royal, who's our HR manager, oh, I should have amended that slide. Julie Simmons Hubbard, who makes sure we have insurance, Ariana Pineda, who's our administrative assistant, and Eric Abreu, who welcomes people to our district every day. In our department, um we do we take care of people. That is my job is to take care of the people of District 62 through excellent staffing, benefits administration, evaluation, licensure, hiring, and leaves. We help people at the highest and highest points of their career when they come to work for us and also at the lowest points when they are struggling with something or something is going wrong in their personal life and they need support.
Sometimes our students are participating with their coaches and sponsors and teachers more than they see their parents, and so we know the value of that. Um so, reinforcing that message. We then started looking at different ways that we can advertise or promote kids with good attendance and good grades that are participating. And so, for next year we've put together a report where it's the top three teams with GPAs and the top three teams with the best attendance, so we can start advertising that out in like Insta, even though I'm not an Insta guy myself. I know that we have plenty of people who can do that for us. And we got to second semester, and we did our follow-up. We asked all of our students, "Did you meet your goal?" And this is the data that I'm going to talk about now. So, of the 3,245 kids, which is 600 more kids that filled out my last survey, which is awesome.
They do. Parents are used to you know letter grades right now and so it's it kind of goes over a little easier. >> What are some hiccups that you kind of maybe experienced in the beginning with it that you could then kind of help us smooth through to make that easier if we choose to go this way? >> Yeah, it's the parent education piece for sure. That was a huge part that we had to really put some time in. So, when the first report card or even beginning of the year, what does this look like? What are the changes? Why the change? We have to put it in parent friendly understanding and words and communicate that. And then when the report cards come out, what does this look like and videos of explaining and what does this mean and how do I get help and support?
This also helps save us some money and we're reviewing kind of the data with the new filter. It has a lot better reporting than our old one in terms of what students are using and if they're using them actively to create, to learn or just kind of passively in taking information. We're giving the tools to our teachers and families as part of some of our cell phone policies in the high schools, we're going to take away bring your own device network access for student devices. So any given day we have several thousand at North for example that are connecting watches, phones, iPods, tablets to our network and that will that will go away next year and just working on age-appropriate guidelines with our administrators and we have some more of those kind of activities coming up this summer. But this is a lot of the guidance is talking about is active versus passive learning.
So, I will be bringing this back for an action item in June. So, tonight all I have is just a quick brief summary of some of the changes that the principals have. The elementary, they have the same handbooks. And then the junior senior high have has their handbook, too. So, just a few Mrs. Bitschnaugle, Mrs. Kucart will have a few comments. >> Um before we get started on the handbook, I did have a couple um autumn year review highlights to share with the board. Um 10 of them here. First one's the readjusting the boundaries. Overall, that was a you know, as I mentioned earlier, it was a very smooth transition and we've gotten positive feedback from those affected families, students, and parents. Um so, appreciate the board and um everything Mrs. Wright did to the logistics logistics of that. Um next is delayed start time.
So, the monitoring system should be up and operational in 2 to 3 weeks, and we can really start monitoring um what all this solar is doing for us. I think that would be great for us to push out into our community. Um I have some photos that I would love to share with you guys of the project itself. Um and then we can just start really seeing how that's um helping us operationally. That's all for me. That's a lot, Kim. I know. I'm sorry, Bear. It's okay. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Move on to the consent agenda tonight. We have Dr. Terrell. Thank you for your consideration this evening. We have uh three items on the consent agenda. 4.01 is our regular business meeting minutes from 427. 4.02 is our personnel agenda and 4.03 is the voucher registered checks as listed. Thank you Dr. Terrell. Board members, you heard the recommendation administration for approval of 4.01 April 27th, 2026. Raider business meeting minutes 4.02. The personal agenda 4.03. Voucher register check numbers 18042 through 180649. And vouchers number through 31364. May I have a motion? So moved by Mr. Angel, second by Miss Bas.
But a lot of the uh plastics or polymers have common sources, so And maybe common different meta- maybe different chemicals in some of the plastics. Like in clothing, it would be different, I would imagine. But But in the body, they separate the additives from the from the plastics, so A lot of work going on in there. Our tires are actually she said uh that clothes were the most common form of of microplastics, maybe microfilaments, but car tires are actually the most common. We're like as we drive, the the our plastic tires constantly, so So um when you mentioned medical waste, I'm going to be going in for a colonoscopy, and they put my clothes into this, you know, plastic bag that you would get It's going to be in there for an hour or two. Yeah. And I feel like bringing my own brown bag the next time.
We go through all the QA/QC quality assurance quality control measures that are in place. We discuss the soil conditions, how we're handling pre-excavation activities, worker health and safety, specifically soil excavation, how that will be handled, how transportation of soils will be managed, dust and odor control, um, backfilling of the soil, and then ground management and dewatering, and then any contingencies that need to be required in place. Um, so that's that's what we put forward to the commission, um, that we we think is appropriate for the site and scale and what's been identified. Um, number nine specifically focused on a dewatering plan, which is included in the soil management plan. Um, and then 10D and 10E were related to the stockpile details, which we've updated. Um, and um, we provided additional update in supplement three with uh, straw. So, um, just just briefly and um, Callinan prepared this this document here.
>> Okay. >> Yeah, that'd be great. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Is Amarill and Mr. Nunes? >> Go ahead. I'll bring up the Rio. [laughter] >> I'll be Debbie Down. I think you know. Yeah. No, I think you know how I feel about this. Uh I certainly have all the faith. I I I you know, we have >> we are so fortunate in this town and I've just witnessed for all the years that I've been on the committee uh how Mr. highly walks circles around others and does it in a way that is in plain language and understandable and makes the state audits and the federal audits and all the tiered monitoring all the reports that we are up against putting the dollars to that and and and aligning it with the people in the room and the needs of the students. Nobody does it better than Mr.
Greenfield. Does that help? >> [laughter] >> Um I did um When my kids were choice out of school, the transportation was on me. So, if I because my kids were enrolled in Greenfield and when I transferred my son over to Turners, um they did not provide transportation for me. I had to you know, look at carpooling and other um ways to get my son over to Turners. So, I'm not 100% sure when all of that changed. Uh I did have concern about transportation. So, >> Not that we're supposed to interrupt you, Stephanie, but it has not changed. When we talked about It's just the special ed transportation. >> transportation. We're talking about special ed transportation. Yeah, I heard some concerning things that we were like transporting kids still in out to Holyoke and um out of district. So, I I you know, I'm a little curious about how all of that works and how it all followed under the umbrella of the special needs.
Um so, we've had a number of different responses, right? We've had to um honor some requests. Um we have negotiated others to say, "You don't really disagree with our evaluations. Your you know, your concern is um eligibility or this or OT is your primary concern." To see um you know, what their um hope is out of the process. Um but we've also had to take a close look and and say, "Our evaluations were comprehensive. Our decision making was um we we disagree with the request and you know, that that means that we have to file for due process." Um so, it's really taking a a hard look at um our data and the decision making that we did to figure out which of those avenues we're going to take. Have you um experienced a lot of requests for out-of-district placements? Um I would say the population that we've experienced that the most with um are are kids on the spectrum It's pretty significant needs.
Um And this would then just be the the content support for us. And there was a committee that reviewed Yeah, the the committee that reviewed it uh was myself and the other physics teacher uh Bud Agarwal, who has been teaching for many years. Um and again, we this has been a multi-year process. Um we had kind of come to the table with looking at, "Well, this this textbook would be really interesting, maybe, but it doesn't have some of the content that we need in certain areas. Um or it doesn't really match our curriculum that we teach here, so it would be difficult to implement without completely overhauling uh what we've already put in place. Um so, that's kind of what happened with some of the other resources that we looked at. Um So, we looked at two other texts in addition to this one. Um and then when it came to this one, we really found that it it really met our needs.
So, if you ask for a record and there's a record there, if it's the wrong record then ask for another one. I don't know. So, just to be extremely clear though, I don't know what happened before I got here, but last year this is exactly the way the list was approved. I only put on uh for approvals those individuals that are being renewed. The board does not get to vote on people not coming back. The public does not get to see who's not coming back. That's not how it goes. Um non-tenured individuals uh are temporary employees. They have their contract is from usually from June 1st or a start date. Uh I'm sorry, from September 1st or a start date to June 30th and an end date. It's a temporary employee thing. The board The board does not get to vote on non-renewals. The board has to vote on terminations mid-year when a contract is already uh set, but at the expiration of a of a uh of a contract, um that that doesn't go on any list.