001Good evening. Since since 6 pm, the board has been in closed uh session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees or legal counsel, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or legal counsel to determine its validity. collective negotiating matters between the school board and its employees or their representatives or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees and for self-evaluation practices and procedures or professional ethics when meeting with a representative of a statewide association of which the public body is a member. I will now take a motion to come out of close session. Second. A motion and a second have been heard. Please call the role. Mrs. Patton McMillan. Hi, Girki. I Fitzgerald. Hi, Kelly Black. I Wanke. The motion passes. We are
002in open session. Welcome to our April 7th, 2025 meeting. Our mission is to empower students to develop a learner's mindset, demonstrate adaptability, communicate effectively, think critically, and become global citizens. Please call the role. Mrs. Patton. Board members present this evening, Christine Gerky, Kristen Fitzgerald, Charles Kush, Melissa Kelly Black, Joe Cosminsky, Amanda McMillan, and Donna Wanke. Please now join the board in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, we now are at the point in the meeting for good news. Great. Thank you. This year's musical at Madison Junior High was Mary Poppins Jr. All three shows were a huge success, especially our new tradition of inviting the future Madison fifth graders
003over for a performance. We're so proud of our entire cast and crew. The BB third through fifth grade Student Advisory Academy initiated a service project tripped to the Feed My Starving Children food packing event. The group of 25 students, principles, and parents attended the event and worked together to pack 101 boxes of food to feed 60 kids a daily meal for a year. The BB team was very proud of their service and teamwork. Our steeple run community came together for a night of culture and customs. Students performed traditional dances, played instruments, sang songs, and dressed in beautiful costumes celebrating their heritage and family history. Thank you for coordinating this amazing event. And the Lincoln Lancer boys volleyball inter mural program has truly served up joy excitement at for the Lancers. Uh, this new opportunity has
004been met with enthusiasm across the board and we're eager to see if it sets up for a permanent season at the junior high level. A huge shout out to the Red Hawk varsity team who came to cheer on the eighth graders and helped them spike their way to success at last week's home game. I have the pleasure of reading all of this good news. I don't always have the pleasure of writing it, so I give credit to whoever wrote that one. That was good. Lincoln Junior High recently participated in local math counts chapter competition in February 2025 at Wansi Community College. The competition was comprised of four in-person live rounds. We had sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students compete with our highest average scores in Lincoln history. Lincoln eighth grader uh Shakshi took first place.
005Congratulations. That's our good news. [Applause] Okay, we uh Sorry, one second. One second, please. There we go. Okay. Uh, we have reached the point in our agenda for public comment. The board of education welcomes comments from the public at its meetings. Citizens who wish to address the board of education should identify themselves by name. Comments by individuals shall be limited to three minutes. The individual is representing multiple individuals or a group. They shall be allowed to speak for five minutes. The board respectfully requests that speakers refrain from commenting about specific individuals. At this point, I would like to welcome Dan Elmo. Hi all, I'm Dan, a parent of one current and one future D23 student. While I'm here by myself, please know these views are shared by dozens of people I've spoken with, parents, neighbors,
006teachers, and even students. However, it's difficult for them to attend these meetings, which brings me to the reason I'm here. I'm asking for you to please engage with the community before taking action on the ISC proposal. Since the proposal was rolled out, we've heard parents, teachers, staffers, and students raised concerns about its designs and impacts. The administration has reacted by trying to put band-aids on some of the issues that have been raised. For instance, the late middle school start time. There's been an outcry from middle school families who are concerned about the burden it places on them. And in response, one of the things the administration is weighing is the option of zero hour programs. That does seem to run contrary to their claims about how a late start time might be better for the
007physiological needs of students. But regardless of that, wouldn't such programs just introduce more disadvantages for the kids we're trying to help, the kids who rely on the bus? If those are the kids who are currently facing inequity because of the bus schedule, why are we creating programs they can't participate in, further penalizing them because they rely on the bus? You cannot solve inequity with more inequity. That's not to say you are not trying to address a legitimate concern. However, I think it's just one example of a situation that could be better remedied by collaborating with the community in order to get more viewpoints and ideas to draw from. Instead of playing catch-up and trying to peacemail solutions as you go, the administration should get more minds in the room to work these kinds of problems.
008No one is going to be upset if you bring in stakeholders and take the necessary time to ensure whatever changes are needed get done right. We don't expect the administration to know everything that parents, teachers, and students can bring to the table, and that's okay. But we do expect them to include us in the discussions. At the last meeting, it was refreshing to hear Dan talk about leveraging parent groups and the need for next level engagement to truly understand the impact potential changes would have on families. What I hope to hear from the administration tonight is thoughts on how to implement those types of engagement sessions. ideas about how they'll work with the community to gather input, form panels, be forthcoming and transparent with their information, collaborate, make adjustments to the proposal, and get the
009buyin needed to successfully launch this kind of project. Totally overhauling the school schedule is a massive undertaking that affects every family in the district. That means the families of over 16,000 students plus the families of every teacher and staffer we have. It is imperative to do the work now to ensure this gets done right. The last thing anyone wants is to prematurely approve a proposal only to find out later there was a better path forward or there were issues which could have been avoided if only the administration had collaborated with the community when the proposal was still being crafted. Thanks on behalf of the board. Thank you for your comments. I do not have any other slips right now. Does anyone wish to address the board? As a reminder, because the questions raised in public
010comment address district operational matters, the board has designated our superintendent as a spokesperson for the district as our designate to respond to public comment and he will apprise the board of education accordingly. This will now conclude our public comment period. We have now reached the business portion of our meeting. As a reminder to the community, the board understands and has affirmed through our board agreements that it is each individual member's responsibility to prepare for each meeting. Additionally, we understand that it is our individual responsibility to effectively communicate our concerns either to the superintendent or board president prior to any meeting in a timely manner. Board members have also agreed that avoiding no surprises is paramount, but in displaying respect for all district administration and the community. In the spirit of no surprises and in accordance
011with IASB best practices, the board has tasked itself to send questions in advance of each meeting to the superintendent. This practice allows the superintendent to provide the best possible answer for the community. Additionally, it allows for maximum efficiency during the community's meeting. Those same submitted questions may also be asked in open session along with new ones that may arise during discussions. If you do ask a question, please state if you sent that question ahead of time. Mrs. Patton, what time was the email sent to board members alerting us that Board Docs was loaded and ready for our review? Emails with a link for the board agenda were sent and delivery was confirmed at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, and no emails bounced back. Thank you. Mr. Bridges, did you receive questions from board members
012in advance of tonight's meeting? Yes, I did. I received questions from each board member. Thank you. Item six, action by consent. I will take a motion for the consent agenda. Motion to approve the consent agenda items 6.01 and 6.02. Second. A motion and a second been heard. Please call the role. Mrs. Patton Cosminsky. I. Kelly Black. I. McMillan. I. Wanke. I. Gerky I. Fitzgerald I. Kushi. The motion passes. Item seven, communications 7.01, board of education reports. Does anyone wish to give a brief update on something they've done in their official capacity as a board member as it relates to our committee assignments, unique events at our adoptive schools, or select special district events? Melissa. Oh, hello. Um, yes. And I just want to say that some of these are older. I have not been at
013some of the board meetings. I've been dealing with a health crisis. So, thank you for your patience. But I did want to make sure I did mention these opportunities that I had because I think they they were very important and I learned a lot. So, the first one was my Ellsworth school visit. On my recent visit to Ellsworth Elementary School, I had the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversation with principal Kim Routan, members of the home and school board executive board and superintendent Bridges. Our discussion provided valuable insights into the school's initiatives and the collaborative efforts in place to enhance student learning experiences. During our tour our visit, I toured the school and was particularly impressed by the learning commons makers room. This innovative space offers students access to tools such as tools such as
014Canva, specialized printers, sewing machines, and a variety of materials that allow them to design and make projects. The emphasis of hands-on learning and the creativity is truly commendable. I also appreciated the staff created coffee mugs which added a personal and a communityoriented touch to the school environment. Another highlight of the visit was the indoor hydroponic garden where students actively are actively growing their own plants. This initiative not only teaches them about plant science and sustainability, but also fosters a sense of responsibility and curiosity. Additionally, I had the chance to help supervise first graders during lunch. It was a lively and engaging experience. I was surprised to learn how many students were in the process of losing their teeth, a milestone that clearly generated excitement among them. It was a pleasure to interact with both the
015students and the staff, gaining firsthand insight into the school's supportive and engaging atmosphere. The visit was also provided a great opportunity to learn about the activities and stories that make Ellsworth Elementary unique. One particular intriguing topic was the mystery of the secret zookeeper, which adds an element of fun and curiosity to the school community. Overall, my visit to Ellsworth Elementary was an enriching experience. Seeing the dedication of the staff, the enthusiasm of the students, and the innovative programs in place reaffirmed the importance of fostering strong educational envir environments. I look forward to future visits and continued engagement with this school community. I also had the opportunity to attend the Ellsworth Home and School Adult Social fundraiser. This was really good. The Ellsworth Home and School Adult Social was highly successful Marty GR themed casino night
016featuring a mask contest, casino games, and a silent auction. A highlight of the evening was the auction of student centered artwork showcasing their creativity while raising funds for the school. The events fostered a lively and social atmosphere with attend attendees enthusiastically participating in games including a unique live slot machine run by costumed volunteers. The craps table in particular brought out energetic cheering and camaraderie. Overall the event was a fantastic night of fun connection and fundraising leaving everyone feeling like a winner. I also attended the Neighborville Central High School Veterans Club spaghetti dinner. The Neighborville Central High School's Veteran Club in partnership with the American Legion recently hosted an all you can eat spaghetti dinner to connect uh Neapville Central High School students with local vet with the local veteran community. The delicious meal was packed
017and served by our polite and dedicated students who also organized a fantastic bake sale filled with delicious sweets. We are incredibly proud of our students and staff for coming together to create such a memorable and enjoyable event. The last uh event I attended was the Success Black History Month dinner and movie night. Success in Neapville 203 hosted a vibrant Black History Month family dinner and movie night, bringing together family, students, and community members for an evening of celebration and connection. Attendees enjoyed a delicious meal featuring chicken, mac and cheese, and cabbage followed by a movie accompanied by tasty snacks. The event provided a welcoming space for families to network, engage in meaningful conversations, and strengthen community bonds. Children played together, fostering friendships and a sense of belonging. This gathering exemplified the mission of success by
018creating opportunities for cultural appreciation, unity, and support within the Neapville 203 school community. Thank you. Thanks for your report, Melissa Kristen. Um, okay. Hey, I just would like to thank um the district staff, particularly Patrick Nolton, and I know Jane has contributed as well along with Superintendent Bridges in terms of preparing for an opportunity that we will have on Wednesday to do a small group discussion to provide our district feedback with regard to the performance level descriptors for the um state assessment review committee. So, as I mentioned at our last meeting, they're in the process of um getting public comment on the performance level descriptors. I know that um significant time was spent um working to review um the alignment and to provide positive feedback. Um I'm excited for the opportunity to share that feedback.
019I want to thank our district staff for working over spring break to come up with all all of that um you know the things that we really want to share. I do also want us to continue um hopefully um articulating to SARKC that we should be in alignment with our national um assessment NAPE um so that we're able to continue to have strong um confidence in the integrity of our assessments here in the state of Illinois. Um, so I I have worked with our SARKC leadership on that and hopefully we might be able to even do a SARKC level report or something that um affirms that direction. So, thank you to our staff and I look forward to providing that feedback to our small group discussion with ISBY staff on Wednesday. Thanks for that, Kristen.
020Any other board reports? Uh 7.02 president's report. I do not have a report tonight. 7.03 93 the superintendent staff school report. I have the same report you do. All right. I don't have one. All right. Okay. Item eight, discussion without action. As a reminder to all board members, I will recognize each individual to ask questions or comments. As per our board agreements, we share time with each with other members. After each person has had a turn, we will go back around if necessary. And once again, if you do ask a question, please state if you sent that question ahead of time. And please remember, it's not in order to interject unless you have been recognized. Item 8.01, new course proposals. Okay. Napville 203 has a very robust course audit process that it goes through annually
021to bring recommendations forward to the board of education for new courses as well as course removals. This evening, our assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction, uh, Jane Willard, will be joined by our two assistant principles at the high school level for curriculum, Akira McCann and Steve Garantina, uh, to present the recommendations to the board for your consideration, requesting action at the April 21st meeting. Jane, you sir. Yep. Good evening. Um tonight our outcomes are to recommend new high school courses for board of education approval to be implemented at the start of the 2627 school year and also to recommend course removals to the board for uh the 2627 school year as well to next slide please to briefly review from our October 21st board of education meeting at the high school level we use a course
022audit process to help define and streamline curricular offerings that best align with the Illinois learning standards, industry trends, student interest, and post-secondary preparation. The course audit process engages teachers in the work of evaluating current courses to determine if they are still relevant, have enough rigor and endurance, or if a new course needs to be developed to fill a particular need. This process ensures that we are providing students with rigorous courses that prepare them for the next course in a chosen pathway, crosscurricular connections, reflects current industry trends and research, or provides high interest options for students in every content area. An expectation in this process is that courses align to career pathways and post-secary readiness. In some departments, this required minimal adjustments and in other significant changes are being recommended. This process is done in the
023best interest of students and is fiscally responsible as we look to offer courses based on student interest, employability, and industry trends. This process contributes to the comprehensive model by challenging departments to continually review courses and explore new options for students. This work is the outcome of a strong leadership at the high school level by the APs and the principles and the department chairs. In February 2023, we began our departmental visioning process by recognizing the outstanding commitments of Neighborville Central and Neighborville North teachers to delivering highquality learning experiences. Our goal in asking department chairs to review course offerings and curriculum was not to fix something that was broken, but to proactively ensure we are preparing students for their postsecondary goals in the rapidly changing world. The primary focus of our visioning work is to create learning
024experiences that actively engage students in meaningful ways and equip students for both academic success and future careers. Tonight you will be presented with course development in the areas of CTE, social studies, and PE. As a leadership group, we propose the addition of courses to our high school offerings based on several key principles. First, pathway development ensures that our curriculum aligns with students career aspirations, providing clear trajectories for their future endeavors. Secondly, incorporating courses driven by student interest fosters engagement and enthusiasm, enriching their educational experience. Additionally, prioritizing courses with high employment potential and relevance to current industry demands equip students with the practical skills for success in the workforce. Lastly, our commitment to post-secary preparation entails offering courses that adequately prepare students for further education, whether in college, career training, or other pursuits. By integrating these
025concepts into our curriculum decisions, we aim to provide a comprehensive and impactful education that empowers students for their future endeavors aligned with our profile of a learner competencies. Last spring, we began the development of a manufacturing, engineering, technology, and trades college and career pathway. This work was a collaborative effort that included extensive re research of MET pathway offerings in the state, eliciting student voice in collaboration with industry partners and our teaching staff across town. We previously presented to you our plan to add a more focused engineering track to the CTE offerings and a removal of courses to allow for a cohesive student experience. This fall, we will implement the first course in the sequence, Project Lead the Way, or PLTW, Introduction to Engineering Design. Tonight we propose the final courses in this sequence. We plan
026to add PLTW principles of engineering, PLTW civil engineering and architecture and a PLTW capstone engineering course. It is important to note that we will implement the sequence of courses over the next few years as all of these require very specific staff training and learning. The CTE course additions allow us the opportunity to build a sequence of courses that guide students through a pathway in engineering. These courses were among the top choices of students surveyed and allow for choice within the pathway itself as well as an individualized experience in the capstone course. The previously approved removal of our four other CTE courses allow for students to hone in to the principles of engineering. Each of these courses will have the potential for dual credit opportunities and work-based learning experiences. As with any new program, we will
027continue to research and gather implementation feedback to best iterate and continue to develop pathways to meet both industry needs and student interest. Turning to social studies. Throughout the school year, the social studies department chairs at Neapville Central and Nepville North collaborated with teachers from both schools to reimagine course offerings and their sequencing. By gathering student feedback on interest and post-secondary plans, incorporating staff input and analyzing employability trends, they developed recommendations for adding, retiring, and modifying courses. The scope and sequence of social studies courses at Central and North provide students with various 10th and 11th grade options to work towards the two and a half graduation requirement with 96% of freshmen selecting one of the nth grade offerings as well. The wide range of elective course offerings encourages many students to exceed the two and a
028half credit requirement. To further support students diverse interests, five distinct pathways have been designed, each offering unique courses, providing students with the flexibility to take courses across pathways, providing the opportunity to engage in a capstone experience as well. I want to highlight the courses outlined in pink on this slide. Three of these courses represent new offerings, while one involves the modification of an existing course, transitioning it from a junior senior elective to a course available for grades 9 through 12 with a focus on freshmen. Cultural anthropology is coming before you today as a course that would replace world cultures as a freshman course off option. An array of topics covered in world cultures often presents a challenge for students as some struggle to engage deeply with the breadth of content in a meaningful way. In
029contrast, cultural anthropology focuses more directly on understanding and valuing diverse cultures, which aligns with the global citizen competency of our profile of a learner by fostering awareness, respect, and empathy for others experiences, as well as promoting open dialogue and ethical engagement about global issues. In a survey of over 2,300 Neighborville, Central and Nors, 92% responded and expressed a desire to learn more about different cultures and experiences. This shift moves from a broad survey of world regions to a deeper exploration of cultural traditions, societal structures, and human behavior. By emphasizing depth over breadth, students will have an opportunity to engage in learning that places greater emphasis on our understanding of global cultures and developing stronger analytical skills. The same survey of 2,300 central and north students revealed strong interest in the courses related to criminal justice
030and global issues leading to the addition of the courses other courses highlighted in pink under electives being criminal justice, modern American history through media and taking actions issues and solutions. Criminal justice is an inquiry based course that delves into the complexities of the legal system, including crime, law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Through re real world case studies, research, and critical analysis, students will evaluate laws, policies, and societal impacts while proposing solutions to contemporary challenges in the justice system. Modern American history through media examines the 1980s, 1990s, and today through television, film, music, art, current events, and social media. Students will explore how these decades shaped American society, politics, culture, and technology, gaining insight into connections between historical events, and the worlds that they live. Finally, taking actions, issues, and solutions. Students have long enjoyed the
031peace and conflict course at both schools. But through this visioning process, it has been determined that the courses are taught differently at each building. A common feature that exists and that is a draw for students is the opportunity to take informed action and apply their knowledge to real world change. To better align with student interests and strengthen the impact of this course, it will undergo a rebranding and curricular rewrite, emphasizing its actionoriented approach and becoming the new taking action course. As we move from social studies recommendations, I'd like to now turn to our recommendations for physical education. We're excited to propose the addition of a new semester course, officiating. This course is designed to teach students the rules, regulations, procedures, professionalism, and conflict resolution strategies across various sports. Students will develop the knowledge and skills
032needed to achieve IHSA certification as an official in their chosen sport, opening up opportunities to work as a certified official at local athletic events. In addition to enhancing students understanding of sports, the course fosters leadership, responsibility, and career readiness in sports management to provide students more choice in their sophomore year. We're also proposing splitting the current PE2 course into specialized tracks that cater to specific aspects of physical wellness. This shift offers age appropriate student- centered options enabling students to select a course that aligns with their interests and fitness goals. The new options include PE2 studio wellness which focuses on group exercises such as yoga, pilates, zumba and power walking along with wellness topics like stress management. PE2 strength and performance emphasizes building strength through resistance training, functional fitness and injury prevention while incorporating nutrition, healthy
033habits and leadership principles. And lastly, PE2, competitive team sports, provides students exposure to a variety of team and individual sports, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee. Students will learn the fundamentals and strategies of each sport while maintaining a consistent fitness component throughout the course. By offering these specialized tracks, we aim to provide students with more choice, allowing them to take ownership their physical development in ways that best aligns with their passions and personal wellness goals. Next, we transition to reasons to remove courses. As a leadership team, we recommend removing certain courses based on several key factors. Declining enrollment and reduced student interest require us all to reallocate resources to maintain a broad range of academic options. Additionally, overlapping content in some courses reduces curriculum efficiency, and aligning our programs with industry trends will better
034prepare students for future opportunities. Standalone courses also limit interdisciplinary learning, so their removal will help strengthen academic pathways. These changes aim to embody the profile of a learner and create a more dynamic, relevant, and impactful curriculum that meets the evolving needs of our students and fosters adaptability and critical thinking. We are proposing the removal of the following courses effective starting in the 2627 school year to streamline and enhance our curriculum offerings. You'll find that most of these course removals complement the new courses being brought forward that we just shared with you. World cultures. The implementation of the acceleration act has allowed for additional access and increased enrollment in AP coursework and choice in social studies at the freshman level, resulting in a 30% decline in enrollment in this standard level course accessible to all students.
035replaced by cultural anthrop anthropology. This shift this change shifts the focus from regional studies to a more in-depth exploration of cultures, helping students understand key topics like language, family, religion, and art. This provides a more structured lens to analyze human diversity and challenges from an interdisciplinary approach, fostering global citizenship. Legal issues in America. In the past four years, this course has had limited interest, resulting in offering only one to two sections total for both high schools and accounting for an average of less than 1% of student choice within all social studies course offerings. This course will be replaced by criminal justice, aligning with our updated curriculum to offer a more relevant, comprehensive understanding of the justice system. Humanities 2. Humanities one and two differ between high schools and lack a unified curriculum. The course overall
036has seen a 60% decline in enrollment in the past three years. To create a more cohesive and consistent experience, both courses will be merged into a single semester humanities 2 course emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach to art, literature, music, and history. This change will also open up space for new electives like criminal justice, taking action, and modern American history through media. Peace and conflict. This course has seen a 50% decrease in enrollment in the past four years, including not having enough interest to be offered at both high schools this past school year. The new taking action course will focus on student research and local issues, replacing the broader world history focus of peace and conflict. This new course will allow students to take action on topics relevant in their community with a fresh curriculum act to
037support the change. Painting two. With the implementation of the new advanced drawing and painting course, painting 2 will be removed due to redundancy, providing a more advanced and integrated approach to visual arts. This terminology is also more closely aligned to the post-secondary institutions. And this course will allow for the visual arts standards to be implemented within the context of 2D design rather than just one media. That concludes our presentation. If you have any questions, please let us know. Okay, thank you for that questions from the board. Okay, Joe. Thank you for all your work um on this in this ongoing process to uh evaluate the course offerings. Um I did send this uh in advance um and uh I I want to say the very excited about the new PLTW offerings. Um and great to
038see that those have early college credit attached to them. Um, and I was uh just curious what um if there would be opportunities for some of the other courses, the social science courses for example, um you know, intro to criminal justice is a a pretty common introductory course at the college level and uh you know might be um beneficial to have some early college uh credit for um you know in that category as well. So um that's part of our development process. So every time that we um recommend a new course, so tonight we're going to ask you that can we go forward and write the course. What we'll do then is we'll write our course and then we'll look to say how are we aligned to some of our postsecondary partners and then at
039that point um Kieran Steve will reach out to our post-secary partners to see can we obtain dual credit with their criminal justice 100 level course. So it's absolutely part of the course development process. Um, and we're doing that with all of our courses now because we do value that dual credit. So, it's a great question, Joe. Thank you for explaining that process. Donna, um, thank you so much for all the work that you've put into this. Uh, I did send the question ahead. I just want to make sure, um, and I and I think it's reflected in here, but the courses that are being removed and the courses that are being introduced are all for the 26 27 school year. Correct. Yes, that was that was our typo on the that just I just want
040to make sure that I got that right. You're exactly right. Okay. And then um I also just want it's not a question, more of a comment. um uh really excited to have uh in this process uh staff members uh reach out and explain how wonderful this process was and so and how collaborative it was and how um voices were heard and you know so uh you know I don't know if you know if that's just a reflection of the I'm sure it's a reflection of the whole team but um particularly just want to compliment uh us on the process because that's not always what that I've heard in the past and so it's it's wonderful to hear that now. So, thank you for that. I definitely want to point out Steve and Kira's um their
041lead on this as long as well as Jenny Donatelli, Megan Placket and Jill Lavachek and definitely the department chairs the department chairs have done a lot of this work and really engaged their department. So, we're really proud of the job they've done and and it shows because um uh this is a lot of change and it's a lot of positive change, but um whenever there's change, there's a lot of room for um concern and uh to hear, you know, people reaching out saying, you know, staff members that, you know, that I've heard from in the past saying how wonderful this was is was so refreshing. So, I really appreciate that. So, thank you, Amanda. Sorry, I did send uh a couple questions in advance. Um I think you did a really good job of uh
042demonstrating the trends of lack of enrollment in certain courses to lead towards um removal or recommendations of removal. But what I was curious about is how do you gauge what students are interested in, right? if it's not offered like how do you get their voice about like man I'd really love to learn about media and history you know like how I I'm just curious so for our the work that occurred for the the social studies visioning work it was a collaboratively divine designed survey between the central and north team um just to kind of structure the questions in a very open-ended way to explore what are those current interests and what would they like to see moving forward regardless of what path they decide after their four year high school career. That's really cool. Um
043that I appreciate that you, you know, get a round perspective of voices uh around that uh to also because again you don't want to create something that no one's going to enroll in, right? Um and then I was just curious too, are all these courses um that are being removed and offered are are they at both high schools? Okay. And then the last one is um will this impact staffing at the high school level with the different uh with the new courses coming in those being removed. No, everything we presented was neutral. Okay. And the staffing isn't since it's for the following school year. Staffing will be based on what the enroll or what the registration looks like in the fall. Okay. Thank you, Charles. Thank you for your report. Um, couple questions and I
044and I did send this one in. Well, first of all, a comment. Um, really love the continued um, focus on Project Lead the Way and and those those new courses there and echoing what Joe said about the uh, college credit, early college credit. I always think that that's a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to evolve that and and broaden the number of opportunities for students to earn that credit early. Um, turning to the courses that are being discontinued, and I think that you've mentioned this, but as you're looking at content to discontinue, is there an effort to try to salvage some of the information to try to redeploy it in other places? Because while a course's enrollment might go down, I'm assuming that there's certain aspects of the course, certain content, certain information that
045is continues to be valuable. Um, so is there a process and what does that process look like to try to salvage parts of the discontinued courses that are still relevant and then redeploy them to other continuing courses? So I think it depends on uh this particular course. So for example, some of the social studies options that we presented, we had kind of shared how, for example, um legal issues in America will replace criminal justice. And so finding which elements of that might be overlap, also taking a look at other courses to make sure we eliminate duplicity. Um for example, we offer business law in our CTE department. So ensuring that students understand the differences between the two and that we preserve then the areas that they are interested in and want to continue to learn
046about. Um that process might look a little bit different based on each content area. So, of course, we make sure that we meet all of the state standards that might be required for a course. Um, and then we build it out from there. Thank you. I I I really also appreciate the robustness of the process. It just, you know, um the process that you took us through in terms of how you evaluate what's there, you do a survey, and then you uh you make the adjustments, and then you design the new courses with again the idea of continuing to build and evolve the content in a positive way. So, thank you for that. Kristen. Well, I'm sad to see the peace and conflict course leave. I I that course was extremely impactful for my daughter
047and it seems like the content is relevant at this moment. So on that note, could you share a little bit about how and I did send this question ahead, but about how the content will be how our learning standards kind of align with that and how that will be shared through other courses. I I think especially with the peace in conflict now the taking action course the the big piece of that course that will live on and will exist in other courses is the taking in forformed action standard that is just part of the social studies standards. So that course really lives within that standard but it's also something that is going to be start to be more embedded in these new new courses that we're rolling out as well. I'll add a little bit
048that um peace and conflict really we start that discussion and content early on in elementary right and so it really since that is so much part of the C3 framework which is our Illinois state standards that is a must that we have so you'll see aspects of that of course in taking action you'll see aspects of that in US history you're going to see aspects of that in cultural anthropology so we really I think especially our um social studies teachers, they're very passionate about about that topic. And so that is something that is woven through our curriculum even starting in elementary. Well, I know with the the law in terms of like the genocide and the Holocaust, like just some of those topics that are covered there, I appreciate that that it's going to be,
049you know, that's something that will be woven throughout our our whole series of social studies. Um so I'm glad of that even knowing that it was such a great course. Um, but on that note, I do also really want to compliment you all on your process because I hear only positive things even when there are hard things where you know courses that people love and maybe aren't as popular. I saw I heard the 50% decline. So, you can't argue with that. But, you know, I I I am grateful to you that you have been able to really help people feel heard and help people feel like they're working towards positive solutions to, you know, cover the material in other ways and, you know, continue to engage students in ways that students find relevant. So, thank
050you for your work, Melissa. Um, I want to say thank you. Some of the things I really like is the dual credit. I think that's really important. Um it you know it the quality of the education when we can work with the the higher education I think the quality of the classes the rigor is more and also it helps our family to you know when their kids go off to college it's more affordable which sometimes the AP classes don't always transfer so our dual credit and we have great partnerships we're lucky to have that. Um, I also liked that you are working to make sure that you're offering the same things at different schools, both high schools, because I think that's important. So, all our families, depending on, you know, wherever they live, they're getting
051the same opportunities. So, thank you for that. Next thing I really need to know, how do I sign up for the studio wellness? No, I have to say what I love about it that does appeal to me. But one of the things I have to commend on this process is we think back of what like physical education used to be. So this emphasis on especially physical education or some of those things that you know it used to be running or just lifting weights but now we're doing we're giving kids habits skills that are habits to be you know that they can be physically healthy. And then we also know how important that is for mental health. So, thank you for that. I'm still salty. I don't have the studio wellness. Maybe you should do uh
052punch cards for parents. But um so going back to a couple of the things is that with the CTE um those courses, I know when I was on the committee last year and I had just noticed that our the state report card now has categories for CTE classes. So that was kind of exciting. Um and so my question along with that was I know that one of the challenges has been actually it says that the information was redacted the percentage of graduating CTE um concentrators with work-based learning experiences. I know that was a challenge. How are you addressing that? I'll take this one. Um so when we've been actually addressing that for the last two years we really have been um asking our department chairs to think about work-based uh learning challenges because that's part
053of our one of the ways to um earn the endorsement. You must have a work-based challenge within a course. So what we have done not only in our course audit process but even talking with our department chairs is what type of work-based learning can we bring into some of our courses? what can we bring into Capstone for social studies? What can we bring into our PLTW? The nice thing about PLTW is all of them have work-based learning um involved in those. So, I would commend our department chairs because they've been thinking outside of the box and really thinking about bringing those work-based challenges so that our students do have that because when we think about the endorsements, they must have that in order to get the state seal. Okay. Then I have a question. Just
054like as a parent, when I look up the report card, I notice frequently it will have that information is redacted. I don't know who here can answer my question as far as who redacts that information. Okay, great. Thank you. Um, typically that'll be redacted when it's uh less than 10 students. So there's a federal criteria or threshold with respect to reporting and that's that hasn't been met. So if you see the word redacted, that's where that's from. So when it says it was redacted, the percentage of graduating CTE concentrators with work-based learning experiences, we would definitely have more than 10 students. Yeah. Why don't you give us an opportunity to take a clo? We don't have that in front of us right now. Yeah, let us have an opportunity to take a look at that
055when you report back at the April 21st meeting um when we come fraction and then along with that one of the areas they added was the academic profic proficiency for these students the CTE. Now, one of the things I'm going to hear from the community is I know that we have a lot of conversations going on about our our growth. Parents are it's always the ELA and the math and I know that we've discussed as a board that we really want to reach um you know those achievement gaps and we talked about this process meeting the needs of students and that we really want to kind of build up our math skills in our students in the ELA. So, when we talked about adding new classes, I know we did a lot of the CTE
056classes. We added those and that is wonderful. Um, have there been any thoughts of trying to add classes or make curriculum like make adjustments to meet the needs of these students that we still see like I looked on here, we still have some of the growth in the skills areas declining. So is how do we in the process of looking at courses, how can we deal with those issues? I think we do that in all of our courses every day through our MTSS process, but that that isn't really what we're we have to do with these courses right now. I maybe I'm misunderstanding your question. Well, I'm saying we do classes. We're saying these are areas of needs. like do we add any okay I'm going to use the totally wrong word but remedial or
057do we ever add courses that specifically address like if we're having declines in math and we need to strengthen that do we ever add another math class like say over the summer or something or a reading or something else? Yes, we have interventions. We do um interventions that we add into our tier 2. We have our soore and our win and we also do other sort of like math supported study hall but those aren't things that we bring to the board for approval. So it wouldn't be courses you would add not for intervention because those are But what about not intervention of maybe not wanting to get to the part where you have to do it like for example our tier one instruction are you talking about our tier one instruction? Yeah. for for offering
058classes like I was looking at the kids that come in that are you know the state the report card talks about the acade the uh algebra that come in and that are weaker and and like I said is yes we're doing things but the scores will show that maybe we need to be more robust or aggressive to deal with these is that ever anything addressed with courses yeah that's done within our school improvement process and so we will in in our PLC work our PLC our course teams then look at our courses and look at the student data to say what are the concepts that we need to address more with students that we need to to fill those gaps and this is another question as far as because I uh a parent approached me
059that her last school district did this do we do anything because a lot of when we're talking about maybe achievement gaps or kids with special needs or some of these other groups that we really keep talking about we want to help them do we ever do anything with like executive functioning classes, adding those specific courses that they can take. Is is that something we have? So, uh, we currently have a course, um, called academic support that was added, I believe, two or three prior to me starting two or three years ago, um, that focuses explicitly on executive functioning for students and students with the highest needs are that are identified or placed in that course to address um, those skills and tandem them with the academic learning that they're doing. So, does is it per
060student like does it explicitly teach the skill? Um, okay. And then would a student say they maybe have a ongoing maybe their situation is that this will always maybe be a weakness? Is this a course that you take once or is this a course a student would take multiple times and how I'm sorry. So, that's a question. Would it be taken multiple times? The other question with that would be how would they fit that into their schedule? So the intervention is individualized based on the student need. Um and executive function isn't necessarily a thing that can be mastered maybe as quickly as other content. So some students might need longer work and we have um the curricula that we currently use for that is actually a quite intensive program where students track their growth over
061time with it. um in regards to fitting that in their schedule. Sometimes it limits their elective option um depending on what grade level that they're in. Other times it just replaces another course or perhaps replaces a study hall. Okay. Thank you. Other questions from the board? Thanks again for the presentation. I'm always impressed um watching the evolution of any of our subjects and seeing how it we make such an effort to keep things relevant like in this case with social studies there's always the history piece but then the current events piece too and how kids can bring carry those skills forward with them. So it's always a good it's always a good presentation. Thank you. Okay. Item 8.02, instructional resources. Okay. This time, I'll invite the director of curriculum, Jennifer Donatelli, to join our assistant
062superintendent, Jane Willard, uh, to present recommendations to the board of education on new instructional resources to support our curriculum and instruction. Jane and Jenny, I didn't want to leave Jenny up here by herself, so thought I'd come join her. Thank you, Jade. Yeah. Can you pull up the slide deck, please? Good evening. Tonight, we will provide an update on our work of the K12 literacy curriculum teams, highlighting their progress in evaluating and identifying new resources aligned to both best practice and our district's literacy commitments. We will also be sharing our final recommendation for other new K12 instructional resources and presenting them for your approval for the 2526 school year. To understand the importance of this work and why now is the right time to adopt new literacy resources, it is essential to consider the shifts
063in research practice and state guidance that have taken place since our last adoption. Our last district-wide literacy resource adoption took place in 2014, over a decade ago, when the Common Core state standards were originally developed and adopted by the state of Illinois. We have access to new evidence-based research on literacy instruction, including growing consensus around the science of reading. These findings highlight the importance of explicit instruction in foundational skills, vocabulary, and comprehension, especially in the early grades. but also across all the levels. In addition, the Illinois State Board of Education released the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan, which emphasizes equity, access, and highquality materials aligned to research. While the ELA standards themselves have not changed, our instructional practices and what we know about effective teaching has evolved. This is why updating our K12 literacy resources matter
064so much. New resources allow us to build greater coherence and consistency across classrooms and grade levels, ensuring that every student receives a high quality, equitable literacy experience. This is not just about new materials. It is also about aligning our instructional best practices so we can support student growth in all areas of literacy. Foundational reading, advanced comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening. In short, this an investment in both instructional quality and student success. With a clear understanding of why this work is essential, we established a K5 68 and 912 literacy curriculum teams that began a thoughtful research-driven process to evaluate and identify instructional resources that best support our goals. These teams reviewed our current current literacy practices and compared them against emerging national research research including the science of reading and the Illinois comprehensive literacy plan. This
065helped us identify both strengths and areas where instruction could evolve. From there, each team then developed a set of grade band literacy commitments. These became our north star for what high quality literacy instruction should look like in our district. Using these commitments, we evaluated a range of literacy resources through a common rubric, examining how well each option aligned to best practices, supported equity, and met the diverse needs of our learners. One important element to keep in mind is our commitment to resource alignment for all of our learners. It is imperative that any resource we select must include English and Spanish materials so that our dual language teachers and students can collaborate with their monolingual peers, ensuring an equitable learning experience across all of our programs. When we field tested resources, then we field tested resources
066in our classrooms. This gave us valuable feedback from both teachers and students and allowed us to observe how well the materials supported instruction in real time. Finally, our teams came together to prioritize and recommend resources that most closely align with our district's literacy vision, instructional goals, and of course, our Illinois State standards. These recommendations are the result of a thoughtful educator-led process grounded in what's best for students. We want to take a moment to sincerely thank our K12 literacy curriculum team members and our learning services project managers Trish Naidki, Kim Burke, and Jeremy Lynn, who led the teams through this important work. This group of 100 dedicated educators has played a critical role in our district's literacy redesign work. from engaging in professional learning to evaluating and field testing resources to developing curriculum maps and
067facilitating learning for their colleagues. Their leadership and commitment has been instrumental in shaping a thoughtful research aligned approach to literacy instruction across all grade levels. We are incredibly grateful for the time, expertise, and passion they have brought to this work. Over the past two years, we have invested deeply in professional learning to ensure our educators are prepared for the shifts in literacy instruction. And we have had the opportunity to learn directly from several nationally recognized experts in the field. In 2023, Dr. Dr. Julia Lindseay worked with our reading specialists and learning support coaches focusing on how ch children learn to read words and the importance of aligning foundational instruction to research. She also guided us through a district-wide foundational literacy audit which helped us assess our current practices and identify areas for growth. That same
068year at our county institute day, Jan Berkens and Carrie Yates, authors of Shifting the Balance, led powerful learning for our K2 teachers. They unpack essential shifts in early literacy instruction, helping our educators understand the brain science behind how children learn to read and how to translate that into classroom practice. Simultaneously, our grades three through five teachers participated in sessions facilitated by the Jennifer Saravealo group. Their work centered around text complexity, comprehension, and strategy instruction, equipping teachers with practical tools for meeting the needs of diverse learners. In 2024, Dr. Doug Fischer served as a keynote for our district-wide county institute day for grades K through five. Sessions focused on small groupoup instruction, vocabulary comprehension, and integrating literacy across all subject areas, reinforcing instructional priorities that align with our district literacy commitments. Most recently, in 2025, we
069welcomed Dr. Nancy Fry as our keynote speaker on County Institute for Grades 6 through 8. Her session, Busting Myths and Transforming Readers, focused on independent reading and strategy instruction. And she helped us connect these practices directly to the shifts we are making in curriculum and instruction. Collectively, these experiences have built a strong foundation of shared understanding and instructional readiness across our K8 teaching staff. Our K5 literacy team used their professional learning and district develop commitments as a lens to identify key instructional uh re priorities that should be reflected in our new resources. Our literacy commitments focus on building background knowledge through science and social studies connections, integrating vocabulary across all domains, and supporting listening comprehension with complex text and purposeful conversations. Foundational skills like phonics, decoding, and handwriting are taught explicitly, while writing is both
070directly instructed and meaningfully connected to reading through mentor texts and author's craft. Small group instruction ensures responsive support engaging all learners with grade level texts. Guided by these priorities, the team engaged in thoughtful and collaborative review processes and identified HM interreading as a resource that aligns with our instructional goals. It offers explicit structured foundational skill development, embedded phonics and morphology, and consistent vocabulary instruction across all content areas. It also builds background knowledge through science and social studies content and supports listening comprehension and integrates scaffolded writing practice that leads to authentic student work. HM into reading is a comprehensive research aligned resource that supports our K5 literacy vision. Just as our K5 team identified instructional priorities through their learning and curriculum work, our 68 team engaged in the same process, grounding their work in research, best
071practices, and the district's literacy commitments. At the middle school level, the team prioritized access to culturally relevant complex texts, meaningful and authentic writing opportunities, and the integration of speaking, listening, and vocabulary into daily instruction. Based on these priorities, the team identified Common Lit 360 as a core instructional resource for reading and writing in grades six through 8. Common Lit 360 provides access to a wide range of diverse grade level texts across genres and perspectives. The platform supports deep reading and vocabulary development and offers varied reading and response opportunities such as whole class texts, independent reading, and small group work. Rich questioning and writing tasks embedded throughout the units promote critical thinking and thoughtful analysis all align to our commitments. To complement this work, No Red Ink is recommended as a 612 writing tool. It provides
072explicit scaffolded instruction and grammar, writing craft, and voice supporting personalized writing development for students at all levels through interactive learning paths and real-time feedback tools. No writing strengthens students clarity and coherence while giving them multiple opportunities to revise and refine writing. It directly supports our commitments to structured writing instruction that builds student agency and independence together. Common lit 360 and no red incer powerful and comprehensive approach to literacy instruction in grades 6 through 12. As you have seen through the work of our K12 literacy teams, resource identification is an important component of our curriculum development process. We regularly review resources for three main reasons. to replace dated curricular materials with updated resources that have online digital access to support the implementation of new curriculum standards or mandates and to ensure that we meet the diverse
073needs of our students. Teachers review resources to determine the best alignment to our district curriculum and Illinois learning standards. Criteria for evaluation is established by district leadership and curriculum teams. This criteria in evaluation data is utilized to identify core and supplemental resources. Based on data and feedback collected, resources have been selected for board of education approval. In board docs, you'll find a comprehensive list of all K12 instructional resources recommended for the 2526 school year. This includes the K12 literacy resources we have highlighted tonight as well as new resources for high school science, social studies, career and technical education, world and classical languages and math. We are very excited about these recommendations and the opportunities they provide to continue improving instruction, deepening student learning, and supporting educator practice across all of our content areas. We will
074now open it up for any questions that you may have. Thanks so much for that presentation. Questions from the board. Donna, thank you so much for all the work and and and I just have to like looking at your team. It was just the the only thing I can say is wow like you really put together a sell it team of some truly internal experts. That is wonderful. So, um, my question, I had three questions that I submitted, all kind of revolving around, um, how we're, uh, meeting the needs of our students with dyslexia. So, I I've already submitted those, so I mean, I can read them. I, but I I think you maybe have them, so if you can just Sure. Um, one reason we picked HMH is because of the structured literacy, explicit
075instruction we have. Um, we really looked at the comprehensive Illinois comprehensive literacy plan along with best practice in supporting students with dyslexia and HMH was one that Bington uses and also um, Glenn Ellen. So, we reached out to them as well and actually Katie Matthews was a principal um that implemented um HMH into her building as well with raving reviews on um that they actually came out and did a presentation and they've given us a lot of um material on how HMH supports students with dyslexia. Um and so we feel very confident especially with the explicit structured literacy component. It's about 40 minutes daily, especially in K2. Okay. And and I ask about that because I think that, you know, um areas that we that we addressed, you know, the dyslexia also address the needs
076of all of our students. Like it's not that, you know, I think that, you know, if we focused on our students without dyslexia, then some of the ones with would possibly struggle. But if we focus a little bit more on the dyslexia students, everybody benefits is how I understand. Is that correct? Absolutely. And we, you know, we we hear from the dyslexia group in Illinois. That's fantastic. And really looking at some of our professional learning. So to me, it's not just the resource, but it's the education that our educators get. And when you look at that list of professional learning that our staff has engaged in, we have been very fortunate because they really have focused on those foundational skills that are so important for sure for students with dyslexia, but really all of our
077learners. And so when we look at um some of our gap work and our achievement work in the area of literacy, this really will benefit this type of instruction um and resource will um benefit all of our learners. So one of my last questions um was just is there areas that we've heard from um our families with dyslexia that are missing from like what we're doing here? Not necessarily because we haven't implemented this. We're asking for approval today. So, since we haven't or next week actually or two weeks, um since we have not um had this in every single one of our buildings, in every single one of our classrooms, we don't have that. Our data so far looks pretty positive. It's been our map data in our field test classrooms has has been very
078strong. Great. Thank you so much for all your work on this and thank you for answering my questions. Other questions from the board, Melissa? Uh thank you for the wonderful presentation. I was just thinking about how like board members all of us we we're like students we all process and go about the the process differently. One of the things that I like to do is you give a great job of of showing all the advantages, but I guess I look at sometimes I want to know what are the downsides because no there's no perfect answers. There's no plans and so I guess I had a couple of questions um quite a few and I actually did have the opportunity to do the reading league. I think you know them from Yeah. Yeah. their evaluation of
079the uh the curriculum that you chose. And so I was wondering in your words like of reviewing this, what are going to be what did you see as the the areas that they're not as strong in um this curriculum and and what are you going to do to supplement or address those? Sure. So that's part of our curriculum development process. So since we are a standardsbased curriculum in Neville, we some districts you'd go to and you'd say what is your curriculum and they'll say HMH is my curriculum or Wonders is my curriculum. We're standards driven and our resource supports our curriculum. And so what part of our curricular team is once we implement the resource to support our curriculum, they're not done. They actually then will look at try our team comes together of all
080of those people. next year they're still working. They will come back. We'll gather information from trimester 1 from all of our teachers. We'll give them a survey to say where areas that we need to just like you said supplement or enhance or add to our curriculum since we're a standardsbased curriculum. So that is part of that implementation phase. We're in the we would be in the implementation phase and we will make those adjustments as we get widespread implementation. Okay. Because along those lines, like I know that we always talk about we're evidence-based, we're datab based, and as board members, they say that's how we should be making our decisions. So, as far as that, so I'm going to jump kind of to some of my questions. So, what exactly um Okay, what was the student
081data used to well to select I'm going to switch that. Well, yeah, I could ask that. that was what student data was used to select the reading curriculum like um what data when you look at the student I take it you looked at the student's needs the standards so we look at the standards that's our tier one instruction and so we look to say okay does this align with our standards does this resource align with our standardsbased curriculum then we look and say are there scaffolds built in for some intervention which yes it did the other thing that we look at is a non-negotiable for us is that it must come in Spanish. So, right away that that h we have some resources that come off the table because that's not equitable since we have
082a dual language that um that we absolutely want to ensure that our monilingual and or dual language students are going through the same resource for a guaranteed and viable curriculum. Okay. So how okay how will we measure that the student literacy needs are being met through our school improvement process but I mean what data will you collect the school improvement data which would be our map our classroom assessments and then our IR so are you going to do any so you're going to use benchmarks too now will you present those because one of the things that I think I hear from the community members is that that data we really have some savvy families. Um will that data be will we get provided that data as the board so we can assess and how often
083will we be provided? Dr. Nolton does an annual um data review and that usually is in the fall. Um and so that includes our in addition to the school improvement plans that are brought before the board of education with new targets and goals based off of academic performance. But I guess I've asked this before and I still am somewhat bewildered that like as a school district we want to have a set standard to know if we are accomplishing and growing at the rate we should. So do we have a literacy goal that we're trying to reach? That way we know whether we're on target to reach what we want. Yes, we have that in our school. What is that? We have them in our school improvement plans. I don't know. Well, districtwide and then you
084have a district, we have a district-wide like we have buildingwide school improvement plans with our goals that the board approves. So, we don't have a district like that we're going to reach in our AR with our our MAP testing. We don't have a specific goal. So, we know Dr. Would you talk about our school improvement process and how we set those goals? Sure. Yeah. So, we have goals at every school, every level. We write proficiency goals, proportion of students that are meeting or exceeding standards. We also write growth goals, how many kids, how many students are moving along relative to where they start at the beginning of the year. You've probably reviewed school improvement plans where that's all broken down by student groups depending on the school and the needs in the school and the
085strengths and weaknesses. So, I was going to ask that was the second part. I was going to do school improvement, but I'm saying as a district, there's no, you know, there's no the accountability model that the state has adopted. There used to be an emphasis on districtwide performance, but that's really about it's really about individual schools. You know, if you think about summit of designation status, there's not one for the whole district. Remember, AYP used to be applied to an entire district and schools. This is really focusing now on schools specifically. Okay, I'm going to tell you that I am cheating. My questions are coming from directly the Illinois literacy comp the comprehensive literacy plan. So, they do talk about um asking these questions as you go through the process. So, that I just don't
086know if a district we have a lot of conversations if we want to do a district one that might be it sounds I I guess we just don't do it. We we look at district data. I'm just saying that like the school improvement plan is focused on individual school needs. So there the targets that are established what whatever metric we're using that's based on individual school performance. But we certainly look at district level data. Well, that would be just be nice because I know as we have these conversations with parents, it's nice if we can say this is our goal and we can say we're on track how we are getting there versus each school improvement plan kind of they tailor it more to their school. So there's not necessarily a consistency across the board.
087Um, and like I said, some of these scores have not been going the rate like the growth. Another thing I always try to tell people is that performance is different than growth. That some of our, you know, reading skills have not maybe we haven't seen the growth or the performance levels that we want. that if we have a measurement, we're in agreement of where we're going, what's our goal, and are we on our way there, and that it's consistent across the whole district. I think that actually goes back to ISBY, though. Um, because Isby is so schoolbased, and that's how we get our designations is by our school base where I think Dr. Nolton explained it used to be with AYP, ISBY had us do that as a district. Now, WS is says we want
088that done by school. And Jenny and I actually sat on the comprehensive literacy plan review. So, I know what you're I know what you're talking about, but we also look at the way in which as a district we perform on IR or MAP. We perform actually very very high. Another reason why um Kristen and the team is also looking at some of those indicators because we have to look and say are those indicators appropriate moving forward. So it's kind of all it's all together. It all goes together. I guess sometimes for the families it can be difficult when you have all these moving pieces. My other question along with this is one of the things we've heard a lot about lately is the lack of other stakeholders having a a conversation of do should we
089have a convers as a board member I hear a lot about you know we're in a competitive school environment here so you know the parents do focus on that performance and the growth um I'm just saying we could all have a different opinion of what we want to see where if we set a standard and we get input from different stakeholders and say hey next time this comes up where are we trying to be how do we know if this is reaching where we want to go if we haven't agreed what the indicator is of where we're going how will we know we reach success oh I thought sorry well I think I I understand I I understand what you're trying to get to, but I think the answers from Dr. Nolton and and Miss
090Willard have been we look at it from a school perspective, a building perspective. It each each school has its own needs and I for me when you say about the difference of perspective, having the district goal is fine, but it really comes down to I mean really individual students at the individual buildings. I don't I I I don't know if having a district goal would enhance anything and that's just me speaking benchmark. And then my other question to add to this is are I could be wrong but I thought that each school might have a different like we don't necessarily have clear benchmarks consistent through all the schools like that we expect so much growth. Do we have indicators and expectations of each school says our readers at this grade and do we do it
091break it down by gradeed to the board in the school improvement plans each each building has it fall every fall I think it's of September and they're the same at each school no it's based on the the student population student population at each school but that but I guess that there again we should have the same consistent goal to know if we're reaching there. I understand the goal would reflect the diversity of our our district. But this way, I guess it's a way for parents that feel frustrated with account accountability and transparency, who maybe don't have all this background to be able to say, "This is where we're going. We know whether we're there or not." And that way when we have discussions, it doesn't break down to are we reaching it or didn't we
092reach it. I guess as a board member, okay, we how do we know if the curriculum and what we're doing is working if we don't ahead set ahead of time? This is the indicator. This is how we're going to measure it and this will tell us that we've reached where we wanted to reach. Thank you for expressing your perspective. We again present those on a school-by-school basis. And I would invite any member of the community, parents who have questions about school improvement plans, measures of accountability, uh growth, performance, anything related to the school improvement plan, please find time to speak with the principal. Um actually start with the classroom teacher first who's working with your child. These are bestes. Start with the them and then work your way through that because they're the real experts
093on what's happening in the classrooms and at that school level. So if there are parents and community members out there who are expressing, you know, concern about transparency and information, I encourage you to please please start at the schoolbased level with with the classroom teacher, with the principles to be able to get more information about how they're measuring growth. Um Joe, go ahead. Thanks. Yeah. Um so just kind of looking very big picture. Um so uh from what I'm understanding is every school um has its own uh its own needs that it addresses in these um school improvement plans. Um every you know every school has different needs. So uh this is kind of a very equitable approach to um addressing the needs of the district as a whole. We're we're finding those gaps in
094every school. We're finding the needs in every school. We're addressing those and in doing so we're raising the whole district, right? So, uh the the school-based approach I think really makes a lot of sense uh to to me uh as a way to elevate the district as a whole. So, thank you for your work on that. Kristen, I I think I just want to piggyback on I think what Patrick said. The model that we're looking at from the federal to the state is school-based. And in terms of transparency, it all goes together. Like when you look at the Illinois report card, it is school centered. So we have the data from the Illinois report card that's all the AR that's all school centered. And then our school improvement plans match that. So we're able to
095look at what is the data showing that we have on the AR and then how are we going to get there? So we have the benchmarks whether that's the NWA map or whether they're using I AR for their benchmark or at the high school level if they're using ACT or if they're using grades. Um so there's a a variety of different benchmarks but each plan has a benchmark so that then we're able to see the progress that we're looking for whether or not we got there and how that aligns with our state and federal accountability. So I think it all works together in the system that has been set up through our federal mechanisms which then go to our state mechanisms and then head down to our district mechanisms. Actually I have right in front
096of me how they do it in the report card. It's not by school. It is by the district. So that's what I'm saying is how do I translate this as a parent if I know I go on the page here they are and it says exactly you know ELA it will tell us the the test that it was and then it will say the district. So I'm saying that it would be helpful when parents use these resources that if there's a coincide it coincides with what our district because people this is where when people parents ask me questions they look at the report card and they say oh we're for the growth percentile for ELA um in our district is 51.2 2 it went down from 55.1. Then we can say, well, we're working on
097that and we've set this goal. We see it's gone down. So, we're going to set this goal using the most prominent form of information and say, well, we see that, but we're going to we're going to tell you that we're going to do we're going to talk to people and we're going to say that different schools have different needs and we're going to say a realistic expectation would be to grow this much. That way we know if we're on track. It's just frustrating I think for a lot of community members to see these achievement gaps or seeing tests, you know, seeing us declining or different changes. Um and and that's that accountability piece. This is what they get from the dis from the state and it would be nice if we set standards and goals
098that co coincided with this so they know whether we're on track or not. It's the part about being accountable that yes, our growth is going down. You can see the last three years it's gone down. So what we're doing might need to be revamped and maybe we want to say we're going to look at the growth and we're going to target and say that as a district we want it to go up this much. Have it, you know, don't be overly aggressive. Have it be reasonable. And then the school improvement plans for each school would say this is my path to that destination. But I guess a lot of people as a district, we need to have a common destination. There might be different paths to get there. But I think that this helps our
099parents understand what's going because otherwise this is what they question me about and I can't say well every school improvement plan's different when this is how it's ranked to the public. Um I don't want to be too proverative about it. But um we do the post Halloween district presentation with a breakdown for the whole district. So, we take a look at how everybody's doing on every measure by grade level, by student group. I mean, we're more transparent than many places when it comes to taking a look at that and acknowledging where we're going up or down. The the we like to spend time focusing on addressing student needs at the school level. Schools have different levels of performance. If you take a look at schools within our district, you'll see different levels of performance. If
100you look at schools in other districts that have, you know, heterogeneous populations, you're going to see different levels of performance. And so, it's hard to make like a generic global one-sizefits-all tube sock approach to say this is what we're going to do everywhere. We can set overall targets. We know we want to get better, but we like to spend time at the school level focusing on what are the needs in that school. What are the students coming to the school with? Where are they? Where are they growing? You know, what instructional strategies have been effective? Things like that. So that's best addressed building by building frankly and group by group at the you know involving the people that are the closest to the students and their needs as possible. Our hope is, like Joe was
101saying a minute or two ago, by doing that at each school, we're going to see growth and progress, whether it's proficiency or growth on whatever measure as a district. So, we could have a growth again, we could have a growth because again, if we don't have a benchmark of what we're trying to get, how do we know if we're getting there? How do we stay transparent? How do we pivot when we need to? And I think I just question the approach if our scores are going down in some of these areas, if our growth is going down, maybe a fresh look at things. That's all I'm suggesting. Okay. Um Amanda, go ahead. Um I Melissa, if you just refer to our November 4th meeting, that's where all the district data is. So there's a presentation
102there uh for all of our AR for ELA, um math, and science. Actually, it's Melissa. Hold on. Right. No, it's not because Melissa, hold on. Other board members, she's asking me a question. I'd like to respond. She She just made a statement. There was no question. It's an incorrect statement. So, I'd just like to clarify it for if she thinks that's true. It's not. Okay. Melissa, that's not all the information. Please. You've not been recognized. You have other board members that would like to take a turn and you have you've had you've had time. Kristen, um, go ahead. You had a question. Oh, I just think that we want to make sure that we make a distinction between growth and achievement. So, while we have had variances in our growth, our achievement has been increasing
103and the the and the report that we have seen in November is our achievement which has increased not okay Melissa. Correct. Melissa, you're not correct not correct. our our district because we were talking at at our district level. Our district level has increased on the average. We have definite work to do with achievement gaps in achievement for various student populations which we're looking at. However, the achievement overall at the district level has increased and we have caught up to where we were for ELA pre- pandemic and we have three more points to do in math. So I think we just want to be careful that we make a distinction between growth and achievement. I think as well though we have many areas where we do have district level goals. For example, our comprehensive equity plan
104where we have district level goals. We and I know we're going to have a presentation on an updated measure of the comprehensive equity plan in a couple of months. However, the granularity of the school-based goals is important because we are looking at the achievement of those individual populations and setting a a goal that is aggressive. Could you just review like the effort that is made to make sure that our targets and benchmarks at each school level are related to the achievement level currently and are set aggressively so that there is growth for each population at each school. what what is that process where we where we go by and we ensure that it's set as aggressive as it can be so that we have an aggressive benchmark that we can know whether where we're achieving
105I mean you know I've talked about this before a few times about it being a little bit of art and a little bit of science but we try to set we take a look at historic performance we look at the resources available the success we've had with specific student groups and what we think is likely in the future based on historic past performance so we're always trying to write higher goals right of Um, but yeah, going back to your point, you know, we're 99th percentile. What was it? ELA and math, 98th in science. Not all students as a whole, but we do acknowledge that there's there's needs in specific student group areas. We take a look at their historic performance. We try to map out a trend and see where's that going, what's our historic
106change been, and what's a realistic, obtainable um growth. Remember, we've always talked about sample size, too. We talk about the number of students we're talking about moving. The percent of students increasing sometimes differs by the student size and the population. So, there's a lot of a lot of factors that go into that, but we always try to aim high and stretch. Are there any more questions as it directly relates to the instructional resources though? What's on the agenda? Um, Melissa, am I going to be able to finish my statement? we we need to focus on the instructional resources. I would like to contribute to the conversation we've been having. I'm saying that when we look at this information, yes, we do a great job. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of things we do
107well, but what I'm seeing is there's some things like I keep hearing, we acknowledge these achievement gaps. We acknowledge them. What I'm saying is what do I I guess what do we tell the parents that those achievement caps when they keep growing or don't improve again what we do great wonderful we're doing it great but what are our goals and how are we making goals how are we going to keep addressing the issues we're having year after year after year and that was my just comment with that is yes we do great with a lot of them but let's set some goals and be more aggressive address it or maybe take a different approach to it to to address these ongoing problems. Thank you for sharing your perspective. Uh Kristen, I just want to be
108really clear that with regard to achievement gaps, we are setting goals and we are achieving them. And when we have situations where the where the where we're going in the wrong direction, we are working aggressively to find new solutions that will better serve our students so that we can see our progress that we have set out. So I I just want to make sure that we all understand that we have set really aggressive goals that we are seeing a lot of progress particularly at the elementary and the junior high level that we have some concerns about progress in some of our student groups at the high school level but that we're working very hard with aggressive goals to ensure that we are supporting our students in the best way that we can. Okay, we will
109move on to item 8.03 the polic Thank you again Jane and Jenny. Thank you. We will move on to uh item 8.03 policy review policy 7180 preventing bullying intimidation and harassment. Okay. I'm going to provide one introduction really for items 8.03 8.04 8.05. We'll take them as separate agenda items and you can introduce them. But I'm only going to make my comment one time which is annually one of the committees of the board of education is a policy committee uh where the board of leaison along with u our deputy superintendent Dr. Mark Cohen and members of uh staff at both high schools bring together students, staff, parents to review three specific policies um and to provide input and guidance in regard to any potential changes that would be needed um in any of those policies.
110Uh so Dr. Cohen uh led that work uh with others this year. Um Christopher Fitzgerald, Charles Kush were members of the board who were liaison on these committees, but prior to the spring break, these three policies were reviewed. I'm going to turn each of the three agenda items over to Dr. Cohen to uh provide a report and obviously we'll have input from our board leazison as well. Uh board policy 7180 um preventing bullying, intimidation and harassment. The only suggested change is actually one from press. Um there's a small language change that refers that uh the language change is being made to align with board policy 226 2265 um which is title 9 grievance procedure. Other than that, we did re we did look over data on our bullying reporting. Um, roughly one in every five
111bullying reports that are made via our electronic reporting system actually turns out to be a founded incident of bullying. Um, many of the others are usually issues where students are not getting along, where there's conflict, but doesn't necessarily rise to that level. Um, committee made no recommendations for any changes to board policy 7180 other than those in press. You have any questions about 7180? questions on the first one. Melissa, actually I am stealing one of my colleagues questions. So this credit goes to somebody else. Um, somebody asked about having on the committee where the they you have students, correct? Yes. And you have uh parents of having more representation of students that maybe have been involved in some of these this process that maybe have had more challenges. Um is that something that you have
112considered or discussed? It's something we can consider. However, the number of actual bullying referrals at the high school level because we pull these students from the high schools um are so few that it becomes personally identifiable. um we only had six founded incidents of bullying at the high school level so far this year um com both high schools combined. Yeah, if I can just add into that just to a little historical context because this is Dr. Cohen's first time leading this. That is something we have strived to do and to be very honest with you yeartoear we've had more success with that selection and less success in other years. So that it is something that is a top of mind in terms of bringing these committees together. Sometimes it depends on the time uh of
113the meeting, the availability of the students and the family members and things like that. Um so that is definitely something that as we look into this committee moving forward is a consideration that must be in place. So yes. And then just um how are the parents and students selected? Because I know sometimes I get feedback that people that feel like it it sounds a lot as if administration or other people select who they want and there might be parents that want to be involved. What is the process to participate in this um committee? Usually I rely on principles to select individuals that represent a wide variety of you know programs for so if they're co-curricular committee that's later we have students activities athletics etc. We want different grade levels. So um so we try and
114pick a you know wide demographic swath of our students. Is there a a pathway for parents that maybe this has been an issue that they've dealt with with their family or their students that are passionate about this that they could actually request to be part of this process? That has actually happened in the past. Um I don't know that there's necessarily formal uh in in place for that. I'll also add that in terms of like looking at our um our staff in these departments relatively new. in order to athletic directors. Well, not necessarily this one, but so that is something that um we could look at a process that would be in place at the high schools as we think about that. That would be wonderful because again, a lot of the feedback we get
115is that the community is not feeling like they get to be part of the process. So, that would be wonderful. Thank you. Other questions on the first policy? Okay, go ahead with uh 7190 student discipline. 7190. There are no recommended changes to the student discipline policy. It does largely follow press again what what can constitutes say offense in school code that can lead to exclusionary discipline. We spend a lot of time actually discussing discipline statistics in and of themselves. Um twothirds of our discipline is related to attendance. It's either tardies or being missing without without cause. Um cell phone violations were the sort of distant third violation that constitute about 8% of our referrals. Um it came as surprise to our students. which they all pretty much guessed wrong that it's actually our seniors who
116uh tend to commit a few more of the disciplinary infractions than most because being attendance seniors take a few more days off than the average student. Um that being said um 70% of our students had no disciplinary infractions year to date. Another 20% of our high school students only had one or two and also those were related to attendance. By and large we have great kids that uh that you know do what the things that we expect them to do. Um but it was a very lively discussion in terms of what the discipline looks like and and and how we can then address the needs of those students who are the outliers who need a lot more support and what those supports look like. Um but there is no suggestion for any recommendation change recommended
117changes to the policy. Okay, questions on this policy? Uh Charles? So this is not so much a question but more of a comment um on uh the process. I just wanted to uh compliment Dr. Cohen on his um running of the meeting. So he ran uh both Kristen and I are the u board members uh that are the liaison to that particular committee and uh just the way you were able to draw the students out and get a lot. I mean there was a lot of student voice like the students were really speaking up and creating an environment where they felt comfortable to be able to provide their perspective what they liked what they didn't necessarily like or what they were confused about what you know and how in it works out in practice. Um,
118I thought it was very very well conducted in terms of again drawing the students out. Um, you did a nice job with that. So, I just wanted to make that comment. I don't know if Kristen will have her own thoughts on that or what. Go ahead. Um, I I think part of that is the data. You did such a good job with putting the data there and I think that that is and that data I I asked about it in the board question so it's available. There's links. But I think that that really gave a lot of of it gave me better understanding of of what what kinds of infractions there were and for the students as well. And I think that spurs the conversation because the data was there. So I think in both
119the cases of the co-curricular and the student discipline and you had the bullying data too there just wasn't as much. But um I think that that really um provided a lot of depth to the conversation. And so thank you for providing that and I think if you can continue to provide that each time and to the board as well it's just it's very is very helpful to better understand our you know the kinds of things that our students are running into concerns with for example Melissa so this is just I was at a home and school meeting at North so this was part of the conversation so I'm sharing the information I don't know the answer but when you talked about the seniors one of the conversations that came up was it was a new
120parent talking to the veteran parents about how many senior ditch days are there? That answer is zero. That's what they said. But apparently these kids have been very liberal with the amount. So the conversation was do we have one official that way? Okay, I'm not I'm only passing on the conversation. I I I this is the other thing they were saying is for parents to understand that I think there was some confusion because the stance is that there's none but then you know how we all are as parents our kids didn't come and tell us something and then the parents are trying to figure this out. So that was one of their conversations they were just trying to debate ideas of like how do we combat this when they want to take a million different
121senior ditch days. So that's just passing it on. Don't know that answer. That's what you get paid for. Any other questions? Okay, number three. Go ahead. Policy 7240. I just shut my microphone off. The co-curricular code of conduct. Um that policy did change significantly last year and so in sharing the data on disciplinary infractions or code of uh co-curricular code violations, um it was interesting to see that the number of code incidents is up significantly this year over last year. student behavior really hasn't much changed, but we've expanded the policy to bring in a wider variety of things. So, essentially, you know, a suspendable offense at the at the high school level does lead to a a co-curricular code violation and and the mixture is kind of across the board, but it was worth noting
122that the majority about 90% of our code violations were first offenses and that we did not have a lot of recidivism. I think that does speak volumes about that. Um, I did get some feedback from the members of the committee that they wanted to see more proactive information about the code, regular reminders every year about when the code is applicable, what the code constitutes, etc. Uh, I did share in the U board questions an example of one of the slides that John uses in his preseason meetings with all of his student athletes at Napville North. We're going to be working on incorporating a little bit of more of that information out uh for both activities and athletics at both high schools uh in the future as recommended in the policy. Um the one policy change
123was just that that there would be a review preseason with all um with all students involved in our programs. That is uh the only recommended change to that policy for this year. Questions from the board? Kristen, it's not a question. It's a comment, but I I think that does reflect our practice at least. I know that there's been a huge effort at at North to with our new director to have those meetings. Again, I just one note, I I we did get the feedback from one parent that there's still a ways that we could go in terms of helping the parents to parents to better understand what the co-curricular expectations are. And I I I would really applaud that. I think that that needs to continue to improve so that we have a good understanding
124for both students and parents. Charles. Um, so thank you again for that. Um, and this this question I sent it ahead and it kind of applies to all the three just we just went to, but I figured I'd wait till the last one to ask it. Um, I know that we discussed some changes to the process because currently we have the once a year meeting. Can you kind of speak to what the process will look like going forward? That's be something we're going to work together with the athletic and activity directors to to put together. In reality, I'd love to see a common message that that thread is the same. Whether you're involved in a music program at North or you're a student athlete at Neighborville Central, that common language should be worked on together
125with athletic activity directors. Um, and I'll be happy to work with them, coordinate that. So, that message is is one and the same. Um really we want we want our student athletes to know and our our our co-curricular participants to know um that the expectation is high not only for their co that their conduct when they're not on school grounds. The traditional code of conduct being discouraging use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, etc. But also that it incorporates all of those things at school as well, uh academic integrity, etc. that would um you know the expectation is that you're you're living the standard of what it means to be a Red Hawk and or a Husky. I I was speaking more to kind of the process of how many times the committee gets together or are
126there things that we're considering there or not not necessarily. We haven't really talked about getting the committee together more often. My concern is it's pulling students out of class, you know, and and teachers because right now the meetings take place during the day. Um, we have we're going to continue to follow the data and see if anything jumps out at out at us that's alarming at all. But right now, as things stand, we're very satisfied with the effectiveness of the policy and don't see any um any imminent change on the horizon. So, but if that were to change, I think we would call the meeting uh you know, get that group back together more frequently. Yeah, I think if I can just add to it again with some historical con there. There was a lot
127of there was conversation among the board last year of more than one meeting to be had specifically around policy 7240 and I think that was partially reflective of the number of changes and things that were being considered and proposed last year whereas this year not so much right um however as I'm thinking about the uh the feedback that has come back um from parents and that was shared is the communication part of it you know I wonder if we look at this policy group as ways how do we communicate How do we better communicate this? What's the e efficacy of the communication? So not maybe broaden any to not just be on the policy itself but the application of it as well. So that is something that again as indicated earlier we've had a little
128bit of turnover in some of the seats and but that's something I think as we look moving forward on how it's more than just kind of a one time flash p. But I do agree with Dr. Cohen. We made a change last year. I think it was last year was it two years ago? It was last year. two years ago when we moved that to the day and we had better participation and attendance than doing it in the evening. The downside to that then is pulling kids out of the class, right? And so we'll have to kind of look at what that might look like. We other have also other avenues on which we can get input on things like this like superintendent, student advisory council, principal advisory councils and other ways to be able
129to bring back that feedback. So um we'll look at a revision of that process. Kristen Um, something I reflected on is that we do this every year at the end of the year. And I, it just seems like counterintuitive to have the expectation meeting where we're talking about it at the end. So, putting it towards the beginning where we're utilizing the students to help us get the message out and then potentially having another meeting at the end where they say, "How did it go?" seems very, you know, if we're able to get the same students and, you know, that's I I get it that that's challenging because you're right, it is during the day and it's a lot better in the day. We got a lot better participation. We struggled for years with it being
130at the in the you know, in the evening. Part of the reason these policy committees have occurred at this time is it's just prior to the publication of the student handbooks and policies. And so what we wouldn't want to do, unless we had to was start a season change the policy to be something different and I have to re-educate and whatnot. So, um you know again I think in terms of looking at a change for application and then you know what maybe there is a midyear check-in or something like that on maybe it's a smaller like maybe there's a steering I don't know but that's something Dr. Cole and I can work through. Yeah. Melissa I just had a quick question. You might have referred I think when you were uh answering one of Charles's
131questions. So the I know when the students were speaking and we had this discussion at the board meeting was about the consistency of message. Does each athlet each person that does the presentation whether it's a coach or it's an activities person do they use a set format so they're covering the same information or how does that work? Well the expectation would be that they cover the code. So the code is the same. So they would just do they read it? Do students sign it? Students have to students Yes. Acknowledge that they've received it. Yes. Okay. And then I read somewhere about having yearly updates for the the the staff members that are presenting this. I think our legal council recommended that. Was that in the So council made the recommendation for the language that the
132that a copy be provided to student athletes and their parents on an annual basis and that their coach reviews that with them. Yes. Okay. And and do we'll be doing that? We will be doing that. Yes. Wonderful. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Item 8.06, the innovative school experience. Okay. Just a, you know, kind of a brief update here in terms of timeline and where we are. Again, in in board docs, we have uh reloaded all of the information that has been been presented to the board actually dating back to the January 21st board of education meeting. Um the February 3rd is there, March 10th as well. also continued to load the profession the innovative the professional learning outcomes metrics um resources that were used to help uh in reference list and things
133um for uh coming to its recommendation uh I've also updated the uh board questions that have been submitted so we are current uh up to this meeting uh some questions were submitted uh by some board members for this meeting so those will be added u but all of the questions that we have had uh from board members up to this point have been updated. I'm gonna look to Lisa really quickly. We've also continued to update FAQs posted online that are appropriate to be posted online for the FAQs on the innovative school experience web page. Um so we we we don't have new information to present to you this evening. Uh but where uh I believe that we we need to be um is that at the April 21st board meeting, which is our next board
134of education meeting, the administration would intend to come back to the board with a recommendation that would be considered for action by the board of education that would direct the administration in its next steps uh for the uh innovative school experience in terms of uh the level design team recommendations and potential timeline that would include uh experiences and opportun ities for engagement and additional feedback regarding um I think we actually heard some through public comment earlier this evening about just understanding the impact on families. So, we would have that to you um at the April 21st meeting. Uh in the meantime, if there are new questions that the board has, we'd be happy to address those questions. So, we're going to take action on this at the April 21st meeting. That'll be the recommendation. Even
135though we're still hearing so much push back about this people's questions not being answered and people not feeling secure, shouldn't we have the plan? I mean, I thought the gentleman that spoke tonight was very eloquent in, you know, taking a step backwards before we approve this. It doesn't sound like the community or staff are ready for this. So I guess the question is what is the hurry? You you know our trust with the community and with the staff and with morale has this is we've taken a hit with this. Yep. And thank you for for that sharing. Can I finish my statement? You paused. I thought you were I was trying to answer it. I apologize. So I'll wait. I I guess I'm just very concerned that this is still displaying us putting you know,
136we're going to vote on something without even knowing the components of how it's going to work. We don't have the buyin from the community or the staff. So, why are we pushing this? And I know that, you know, I just think that we should give this time. I mean, whose agenda and time frame are we accommodating? It doesn't sound like the staff or community are comfortable with this timeline, this voting. So, I I'm alarmed that we're going to do the April 21st um call for action when we don't even have any new information today. Any other questions from the board? Okay. Okay. Um item nine, discussion with action. We do not have any discussion with action. Item 10, old business. We do not have old business. Item 11, new business. We do not have any
137new business. Item 12, schedule of events. I will um brag about a little slight bit of privilege that I got um actually today. a sneak peek at some of the theme for the NEF building and passion Breakfast program. And it's going to be pretty exciting program. So, if you have not yet already, I'm not sure if they're still available or if you can, but looking forward to NEF's building and passion breakfast on Wednesday, April 16th, um at the Matrix Club at 7 in the morning. Be exciting event. Next board meeting is scheduled for April 21st. Uh then we're back to uh our first and third of meetings in May on the 5th and the 19th. Uh note that commencement is scheduled for the 18th. So we'll also need to be be finalizing commencement um assignments
138and I know we have two well one current retired board member and one about to be retired board member who will also be participating. So that'll help influence some of how we'll assign board members. Both uh both graduations will be at 2 pm. Okay. And item 13, motion to adjurnn. I move wejourn. I have a question real quick with Um, is it a possibility talking about having the retired board members coming back? There was an incident last year with graduation. Will board members have the opportunity to attend both high school graduations if they want to? They're they're being held at the same time. They're both at two o'clock. They're both at two. They're not staggering them like four. Why is that? Out of just because we have families that will go to each other, relatives.
139We are a community. A lot of people come move back here. Historically, only very recently, uh, graduations have always been at the same time. There was a change that was made one year, and I think it was because of availability of what was going on at one of the schools or the other. So, one went at a different time, one at the other. It was also moved to a Sunday. And um, again, there's my perspective, no incident last year. There was a request made by the schools to limit the number of people that were on the stage and to divide up the board members as opposed to having so many on the stage. Now, that's a a move point this year because they're at the same point time at 2:00 on Sunday the 18th. Did
140I'm just wondering did we've got feedback from the community on how they feel about this because they might have strong feelings. Do we have stakeholders bought into this or their opinions on this? I would have to check with the schools, but typically they've set the schedule. Item 13, motion to adjurnn. You can get a second because I already said the first one. Oh, you second. Okay. A motion and a second have been heard. Please call the role. Mrs. Patton. Gerky. I Fitzgerald. I. Kazminsky. I. Kush. I. Wanke. McMillan. Hi. Kelly Black. I. The motion passes. We are adjourned. Good night.