001Fenton Community High School District 1 board to order. May I have a roll call? >> Matug >> here. >> Good >> mullo >> present. >> Miller. >> Lewis >> here. >> Rosinski >> here. >> Figureroa >> here. >> We have a court. Please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Sam, please read our Fenton mission, beliefs, and bison way statement. >> Absolutely. Fenton mission statement. Cultivate successful, passionate, empowered learners through rigor, relevance, and relationships. Fenton belief statement. Successful, passionate, empowered learners thrive when we provide a safe, caring, and welcoming environment. Diversity, equity, inclusion unify our community. School and home collaborate as one.
002We champion innovative teaching and engaged learning with state-of-the-art facilities. We infuse social emotional learning into academics and culture. We prepare students to fulfill their civic responsibility. We immerse students in authentic life experiences. The Bison way. Students and adults at Fenton High School create a safe, caring, empathetic environment where we believe in each other, respect diversity, communicate openly, grow together, and hold each other to high expectations to become the leaders and innovators of the future. >> Our next item is recognitions. Sam. >> Absolutely. We're going to start out tonight with a College Board National Recognition and Kate Ward. >> All right. Good evening. Uh tonight's recognition is a little bit unique. As most of you know, the College Board produces and supports commonly known assessments such as the SAT, PSAT, and AP exams, advanced placement. Uh
003they also have a national recognition program that celebrates students who are the top performers in their school in the state. This year, 22 Fenton students received the school recognition award, the first generation recognition award, or both of them. So, the school recognition award requires students to have a B+ GPA at the time they take the PSAT NMSQT, which is a fall test of their in their junior year. Um, and their score must fall within a certain high achieving range. Students can also qualify for this wart award if they had a B+ GPA midjun year and earned a three or higher on at least two AP exams which is really difficult to do prior to being a junior. Um the first generation award has the same criteria but it's for students who will be the first
004in their immediate family to complete a college degree. So, these are two, you know, uh, unique awards that are recognizing students early on in their career. Um, or I guess middle of their career, but before we get to seniors, which is where a lot of this usually happens. Um, only 15% of high school students nationwide receive these awards, and we had 22 of them. So, this award is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and commitment of these students and the endless support of their families. Um, and we're really proud of them. So, we were able to gather most of the students today um on the learning stair and you can see that they're there with their awards. And then if you go to the second slide, these are five of our students who received
005the award. They actually had to take the picture later because they are over at Elmherst every morning um participating in or they're taking calc 3 at Elmherst, so they're excelling in math. But we have a list of all the students who are recognized there. So, um I think the first gen award is something that's new. So, that's that's great. It's awesome to see that. Um, and these are students who are, you know, being rewarded and recognized for all the hard work that they're doing and hopefully keeping up the good work with that. >> Okay. Thank you, Kate. Next one. As you're being seated, Kate, we're here to recognize you tonight. >> Um, I'm going to start out. The state of Illinois has proclaimed this week principal week and more specifically October the 24th is principal
006day. And I thought there was a few I'm not going to read the whole proclamation but a a few key points that I think uh summarize Kate and the role of the principal whereas school principles play an integral role in nurturing a positive student centered culture and Kate certainly has done that here at Fenton. We have a tremendous culture here and she has accentuated that uh by her day-to-day efforts. And it also mentions how school leaders face many obstacles in supporting and educating our young people. And it's through their perseverance, passion, and hopefilled leadership that Illinois continues to produce quality career ready students. And it really is a labor of love the amount of time and effort that principles put in uh to their work. And Kate again through her exceptional leadership has just uh
007done an outstanding job here at Fenton. Her positive outlook and the way she's approachable. She balances a hectic schedule uh bouncing around doing all sorts of things throughout the day, but the kids know and the staff know they need to talk to her and that she's interested. She'll take time for them and that's very important. And I must also say it's only her second year in a job, but you would never know it because she's a natural and uh she has experience beyond actually having the title of principal. So, uh Kate, we I want to thank you on behalf of the administrative team for your efforts and I'm sure uh my sentiments are shared by the board. And to show our appreciation, we have a nice little gift basket here for you. SO, [Applause] THANK
008YOU SO MUCH. OBVIOUSLY, the present is appreciated, but not necessary. Um, I am thankful to have this job. I It literally makes me jump out of bed in the morning, and I'm always excited to be here and to see the kids and the teachers every day. Um, it's something that I feel extremely blessed to be able to do. >> Thank you. Thanks, Kate. >> Okay. Public comments here. >> Karen, do we have any comments? >> Yes, we do. >> As a reminder, public comments are limited to three minutes per speaker with a limit this evening of 30 minutes total. As a reminder, please address staff members and students by title and not by name to protect their privacy. Anna Shushak. >> Hello. Good evening. Um, hello, President Lewis, Dr. Benston, and the board. I just
009I'm just here to thank you guys for the new tennis backboard. It's been utilized by the community and the students. And since you give AP kids who get fives uh take five bars, I got you guys um Mr. Good Bar. So, >> wow. There you go. >> Right. And then I also would like to ask if you'd um consider the kids were asking to come. Um getting some kind of plan to get a new tennis courts for the kids. Um we me and another mom had meetings with with some staff and it was wonderful. They listened to us. Uh it was very productive. We all agreed that we need new tennis courts at the school. Um we were given a five-year kind of term and it's it's going to go on year three and we
010haven't seen anything done yet but maybe behind the scenes you guys are doing some awesome work I'm hoping. And as always I try to bring something to the table. So, I tried to find some foundation charity to give us some kind of funds if possible. And I found the Illinois School Board of uh uh education um grant for and they would um give up to $50,000 each year uh to the school and actually called the lady very very nicely. She's like, "Ma'am, you can apply for one well, I can't, but someone from the school for one year and then the next you can have another 50,000 if you if they um if they get the grant." So, um I don't know, maybe behind the scenes somebody filled out these grant forms hopefully. And uh yes,
011that's all I want to say. Thank you and keep up the good work. >> Thank you. Thank you, Amir Yabukulo. Good evening members of the board. My name is Amir Yokulo, a senior at Fenton High School, involved in choir and theater for more than one year and also involved in NHS. I'm here before you with a report on the critical state of our school's auditorium, a space that should be our crowd jewel, but is instead a source of barely hidden failure and security concerns. Our first most cr uh critical recommendation is that no renovations be made without the direct input of our auditorium manager. My solutions and comments are not the years of experience of a director who spends many days in the auditorium fixing and tweaking the problems we will discuss here today. I
012have organized our findings into three categories. Safety hazards, systematic failures, and undermining that undermines every production and a long-term vision for a modern facility. Number one, safety hazards. These are the issues that pose a direct risk to students and community members today. The orchestra prints and sounds. The wooden fillers have worn from yearly use uh with protruding screw heads and unlevel surfaces both creating tripping hazards or within range. Solutions to this problem is scaffer tape to hide imperfections and edges. Another problem that accompanies the orchestra actors and audience is the sound system. Our current sound system is manageable but inadequate. Structural instability. The handrails on both stage stairs are loose with missing screws held in place only by gaffer tape and remaining bolts. Also, I if you want to contact me, I have a contact
013handout here. You can contact me and I can give you all my findings. Uh then this damaged curtains and electrical hazards. One main curtain has a meter long tear previously repaired with a small safety pens that have also bent out of place and I've personally been pricricked by. Furthermore, the IO lighting for dark dark walkways is completely non-functional creating a safety risk for audiences. Systematic failures. These are broken systems that prevent users from producing quality work and providing a positive experience for all. The lighting crisis. Stage lights. We only have eight functional lights out of uh the original 34. This is a 75% loss, making it difficult to illuminate actors and set pieces and have more dark areas on stage. Spotlights. Our spotlights are difficult to control, requiring inefficient trial and error and insecure physical
014labor to adjust different sets of lights. The house lights. The house lighting is inadequately lit, difficult to control, and plagued by electrical problems, ultimately giving a frustrating environment. The audience experience seating. The chairs are squeaky, broken, and many are unbolted to the floor with missing seats and unsecured back rests. Carpets. The carpet is torn and stained with liquid to give it a noticeable redder tone. And the core theater functionalities. We are missing essential side curtains forcing us to misuse other curtains to hide backstage with which makes it difficult to move on stage. Basic pieces like doors that won't stay open without external wedges. A small but irresistible problem of finding those external wedges if they get lost. And then dressing rooms. The girls room is too small for our current cast size and demographic. And
015the boys room lacks privacy and has a horrid smell during productions due to poor ventilation. Three, the long-term vision. For future considerations, we ask you to envision a facility that matches our ambitions. This would possibly involve utilizing the southwest grass space from the auditorium for a new addition, a proper lobby with a ticket booth, concessions, and new restrooms. This would uh this would create a welcoming entrance, solve our storage issues, and finally connect our auditorium aesthetically to the modern STEM wing. The roots of our problem. Underlying all of this is a need for better communications between maintenance and our directors. Many of these issues have festered for years as no focus has been given until now. We have photo evidence of every issue I've described from the safety pens in the curtains to the unbolted
016chairs and the protruding uh screws on the stage. We are here to report facts and hope that before we or me graduate, a plan is put in place for an updated facility that supports my friends, future generations, and a better experience for when I come back to watch the next performance as a college student and then an engineer. Uh my recommendations, immediately cons uh immediately commission a safety and facility audit. Two, develop a phase renovation plan in direct consultation with our directors and auditory manager. Three, prioritize the lighting crisis and safety hazards in the first phase. Four, begin exploring the long-term vision to build an auditorium worthy of our students talents. In conclusion, I'm a senior. I'm presenting this because I believe in leaving Fenson better than I found it. I'm asking you to invest
017in the students who will fill this stage long after I'm gone. Give them a place where their talents, not a deteriorating facility, is the main focus. Thank you. I have handouts and communication. >> Thank you, sir, for your comment. [Music] >> Good night. >> Yeah. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> You too. >> Our next item isformational. Uh Sam. >> Yeah, absolutely. You can see we have variety of topics here tonight and we're going to start with parent teacher conference update. >> All right. Um we're already halfway through the semester, which seems crazy. Uh we had parent teacher conferences on Tuesday, October 17th, and as we've done in the past, they run from 12:50 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to make sure that we can, you know, hit parents after work. Also, we had record-breaking
018turnout. So this year we had 1,478 scheduled conferences. Um and what we do is from 12:50 until 2:40 teachers and clinicians, everyone who's involved in parent teacher conferences are allowed to be wherever they'd like within the building doing virtual um conferences. And then around 2:30 2:40 we switch and everyone comes to the fieldhouse. And that's something uh this is our second year of doing this. We tried it once before co but now we've done it two years in a row. So all of the teachers and clinicians are in the fieldhouse um and so that parents have easy access to all of the different teachers instead of running around the building. So we had 1,138 scheduled in person. So what we weren't able to keep track of was we had so many parents that just walked
019in, which was great and welcome. So I don't even know. I'm really bad at estimating this. I would think we could add another 100 individual people that walked in. Um it was busy hopping. You can see some pictures there. Um so again as I was reflecting on the start of the year in August we had the sneak peek night in September we had open house and then in October and in each one we've had wonderful turnout from our families. So I mean that's evidence of the fact that they are excited to be here and uh collaborate with the teachers and build those relationships. So it was a really good day. >> The fieldhouse aspect >> y >> different. >> Yep. >> Do the parents and the staff like it? Well, parents do overall. Overwhelmingly, they
020do. Some staff um I think staff has come to like it. Okay. >> It's the biggest concern when we first tried it was privacy, >> but honestly, when you're in there, there's like a low den. You know what I mean? Where it's like you can't even, you know, it's probably like me to to where Steph is. You can't really hear what somebody else is saying. And for parents to not have to hoof around the entire building, >> it makes such a big difference. Um, I think teachers are starting to like it a little bit more because even then in between they're talking to one another instead of just being in their classrooms. So, the day goes really quickly. >> Okay, cool. >> Yeah. >> Just curious what the rationale was for doing this >> for
021doing >> for having this in the fieldhouse. >> Uh, that we so parent teacher conferences are seven minutes each and then going from class to class to class. parents would have a hard time like if they were going from social studies and then all the way and then with the addition of STEM ring I can't even imagine that. So they were having a hard time keeping up. It was just really taxing for them. So that was why we made that transition. >> The other thing you try to limit it to that time but it there may be times where it goes a little over or someone comes a little bit later and so it seems like from the parent perspective I mean you can see I have my conference here. They're still talking and now
022they're available, you know, and also the possibility for walk-ins. I >> walkins are easier too with this to accommodate it. >> Yeah. Because that way it's like I didn't really sign up, but there's an opening. I'm just going to go talk to them anyway. So that that's been helpful too. >> Yeah. [Music] >> Okay. Pedro Rodriguez coming to the podium. Uh last month we talked about activities and sort of the second part of that goes hand in hand with student life is athletics. So uh Pedro our athletic director is going to present on our athletic programming. >> All right. Good evening everyone. Thank you so much for having me. Uh I'd like to introduce myself to the newest members of the board. My name is Pedro Rodriguez. Uh I serve as the athletic director and
023the division leader for physical education, health, and driver ed. This is my third year at Fenton, my seventh as an athletic director and my 12th overall in education. Uh I've served as a teacher, dean of students, and as an assistant principal of curriculum in my previous roles. Very happy to be here. Very excited. All right. Uh so tonight, I'm excited to showcase our student athletes completing uh competing in our fall sports. Uh share some athletic accomplishments and provide data that drives our mission. We believe that a strong foundation of high academic expectations and teaching long lasting skills within athletics can build habits of success for post high school life. Uh starting up here, we have some action shots. Um we will begin with uh senior Jun Julia Belic uh swimming at our home pool at
024Redmond Park. Uh they had a great season this year. Uh very excited for them to continue growing that sport numbers. Um on the right we have senior Omar Diaz who is a three sport athlete representing our Bison in our homecoming win against Elwood Park uh at our brand new facility which is amazing. Everybody that comes here really loves it. They say great things about it. Other coaches, other teams, they really love the change that we've made. Couple more pictures here on the top left. Uh we have a picture of our dance team. Um so they held the D they held a dance clinic early this fall. We had 59 uh elementary age students come practice with our dance team and choreograph a great performance during halftime of the first game of the year. Fantastic turnout.
025They did a great job. Um they were very prompt. The routine was strong. Uh everyone really enjoyed that time. Um top center here we see a few members of the flag football team competing in their second official season as an IHSA sport here at Fenton. Flag football has become a great addition to athletics and we look forward to continue to support this emerging program across the country. We also see fantastic participation numbers in flag football as they will have their first um showcase as an Olympic sport in 2028. So I definitely expect for that uh sport to grow. Uh bottom left, sophomore Bella Delgado spikes the ball during a volley for the cure match. Our girls host this event every year in an effort to raise awareness and money to fight against breast cancer. Uh
026bottom center we see our cheer team uh bringing team spirit as they participated in their sideline season. Our cheer involvement is growing and looking forward to competition season this winter. And then on the right uh senior Josh Kalana scores a header during a match versus Glumbar North. Our soccer team is having another great successful season. More on them later on. So we'll get into some participation numbers and data. As you can see we have strong participation across our fall sports this year. We have a total of 375 students participating in 11 sports. This was an increase from 2023 and coincidentally the same amount of students as last year. Very strange. Uh however, we did have a decrease in enrollment the last two years. Um so it's great to see that our participation has not decreased.
027As a side note, athletics is one half of student life and this data does not completely show our total involvement for all of our fall activities such as clubs. Assistant principal Julia Bray does a tremendous job of providing our students with many options to join a club and meet like-minded peers in their passions. Shout out to JB. I do believe that combined uh over half the student population is involved in at least one club or extracurricular activity uh during the fall, which is a fantastic statistic. Uh this fall we hosted many memorable events. Uh in early September, we hosted our 43rd annual John Kurts early bird cross country invite. Uh we welcomed 25 schools, 45 programs to race on our home course on campus here. So that's a picture of them on the top right.
028Uh also in collaboration with um Unidos and with the help of in support of multilingual director Lorenzo Rubio, we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month during one of our soccer games. Uh we had a musical band trio uh with Fenton students playing during warm-up and during halftime. It was fantastic. The atmosphere was phenomenal. Uh every every fall we also host a girls volleyball bison blast tournament. They have great turnout. It's a very competitive time for for the teams that are involved there. And then as we branch out uh to our incoming students, we welcome the middle school bands from Blackhawk and Wooddale Junior High uh for middle school band night. They perform during a home football game. and the Bensonville uh cheer team um for the Raiders performed twice during our freshman sophomore football game as well
029as just another uh outreach opportunity for us to continue to connect with our um students across both Wooddale and Bensonville as they look forward to coming to Fenton High School. Lastly, uh definitely not least, uh our freshman sophomore tennis team placed first in our Bison quad this year. There's a a picture of them and actually with the backboard that we had the great support and help of of of getting um in the background there. So, they did a tremendous job this season. We had a really successful season with tennis. All right, let's talk about some exciting highlights because we have a lot of those. So, very excited about this. Uh junior Alita Thatch was our first girls golf sectional qualifier since Jennifer Macko in 2011. Uh she is a junior. I'm really looking forward to
030uh her potential next year. And besides just her her golf game, she's a tremendous student. I mean, just an amazing person as well. Um, congratulations to Alita. That's an amazing accomplishment. And then senior Peteros placed second in the Upstate 8 boys golf tournament. He shot a 73, so he was two over. I mean, that's just a ridiculous score. I know firsthand. Uh, Peter and I were paired together uh well against each other in the annual staff student match. Um, he beat me pretty handedly. Um, and then senior Logan Kjaki was our first boys golf sectional qualifier since Nick Fischer and Marcus Sto in 2018. The golf team and the coaches did a fantastic job this season. They're very well coached. They compete. U, I'm very proud of that team. Very proud of that program and
031we look forward to continuing to grow our girls program. This year we had two girls golfers, an increase of one from last year. And I hope that with Alita's success and just with the job that everyone else is doing behind the scenes that we get to see that program grow. [Music] All right, and we're not done. Senior Joselyn Wade placed second and junior Susan Malinowski placed 15th out of 86 runners in the Upstate 8 girls cross country meet. Uh this is the third year in a row that Jocelyn has placed um in the top 10 in the Upstate 8 cross country meet. Junior Matt Anderson placed sixth out of 82 runners in the Upstate 8 boys cross country meet. And then again, our boys soccer team earned second place in the Upstate 8 East division.
032We did tie West Chicago who uh ended up uh beating us in penalty kicks and they did a hockey scoring, so they earned two points. We earned one. That was ultimately the tiebreaker there. Uh tough loss in penalty kicks, but we did play them very well. Okay, so uh we're not done with our postseason play here. So, come on out and support the Bison. So, boys soccer has another regional final atmood park this Friday night at 6 p.m. They are uh competing to earn their fourth regional plaque in the last 5 years. Very successful program. Girls swim participates in the upstate swimming championships this Saturday and their sectionals November 8th at Fenwick. Girls volleyball plays their first regional game at Burlington Central on Tuesday. And this is very exciting. uh cross country. We will be
033hosting a regional for cross country, both boys and girls, and a sectional. Uh we will host that this Saturday and next Saturday, so the 25th and November 1st for both boys and girls. The start time for that is 10:00 a.m. for girls, 11:00 a.m. for boys. Please come out and enjoy it. It's going to be a fantastic day for running. The weather looks great for this Saturday. Um we have a really good chance of advancing from regionals to sectionals. Um, and really looking forward to seeing all of our teams participate in that. Golf and flag football have already concluded their season. So that's why they are not uh on display here. Yes, sir. >> Uh, no good boys swimmers. >> Well, boys swimmers in the winter, so I'd be more than happy to come back
034in the spring and definitely talk a little bit about winter and and kind of what we have looking forward to uh in the in the spring. Yeah, absolutely. Very exciting. Uh we have a lot of other sports um obviously in the winter and in the spring and I'd be happy to share some of those accomplishments because it's not just the fall sports that that earn some accolades that we we participate and we're very competitive in a lot of the other sports. Here's just some uh upcoming winter athletic events um to keep on your radar. Mark your calendars for this. So u 37th annual Thanksgiving Chuck Mitchell varsity basketball tournament hosted by our boys here will run from November 24th through November 29th. I'm obviously very biased because we host a tournament, but I definitely think
035it's one of the top boys varsity basketball tournaments during Thanksgiving. I really do. Uh the field is very strong. I believe last year Evston who was in in the top four in the state, they came here. They're they're members who come here all the time. Rolling Meadows, who's had multiple NBA stars, they're members and they participate in this. We host a great deal of very great athletes and Fenton does really good job of uh maintaining um that tournament and playing and staying in those games as well. Our boys bowler program is excited to have all six returning bowlers from our sectional qualifying team last year. We have high high hopes for that. 45th annual Weiss wrestling invite is being held on December 5th for the girls and December 6th for the boys. And we this
036year, uh, Fenton is also hosting the Upstate Varsity Boys wrestling championship on January 17th. Our wrestling coaches do a fantastic job of putting on those programs. Feel free to stop by during one of those days. Uh, Special Olympics Pack the Place is being held December the 12th. That's a fantastic opportunity for our school to come together. We really get the word out for our students to come and encourage our Special Olympics basketball team. Girls and Boys uh, basketball pack to place. We're bringing this back. We haven't had it in a couple of years, but uh Pack the Places, uh we we will host both varsity teams. So, our girls varsity team will play first at around 5:30 and then our boys varsity basketball team will play at 700 p.m. in an effort to really pack
037the place uh pack the stands and celebrate them as we play uh West Chicago. And then lastly, uh girls bowling will host our 34th annual Fred Green Classic January 17th. So, really exciting stuff for our winter events. Um, okay. So, lastly, I'm very excited to continue the work that we do here. Um, and I, as I was creating this this presentation, um, something just kind of came to me and you saw a lot of the numbers up there, 43rd, 34th, 37th. We've done this for a long time, right? It's not just it's not just me. It's not the current coaches. It's everybody here who's laid this foundation. We have very strong athletic traditions at Fenton. Our invites are competitive. They're fun. They're well organized. Our coaches do a tremendous job of putting those on. And
038then what are we building towards? What is our identity? What's our culture? What is our identifier? When people talk about Fenton Athletics, what do they say about us? Right? We're building strong programs. Our processes will lead to positive results. Sometimes you may not see that in the win column, but myself and my coaches are definitely determined to focus on the process because if we do things the right way, the results will come. They may not come right away, but they will. That buyin from students and parents is very important. And we see that through increased parent involvement, right? We're we're hosting some seasonal meetings to get them involved, really get on board with us, come out and support us. We have strong coaching hires. We have high academic expectations and we're really we're really leaning
039into their student voice uh through seasonal exit surveys to gather feedback on what we can do to improve. Um I'm really excited for that. This last note here I thought was a great point um just for you to be aware of. 32 of our 94 coaching positions are held by Fenton alums. What does that say about Fenton and our community? the players and the students who came through this school, walked these halls, built these programs, want to come back and they want to contribute in the same way that they that in the same and hold the same standards that the coaches before them held. As you can see and you can hear right now, we have our volleyball awards going on right now with large participation. There's always something going on in this building. I
040really hope that all of you get an opportunity to stop by at some of our events moving forward. Please stop by and say hello. Um, lastly, uh, there are a lot of people behind the scenes who helped make this happen. Uh, my administrative assistant, Lorie Speeden, has been in a role for 20 years, and she's retiring in March. I will miss her dearly. Uh, she is the backbone of the athletic department. Uh, every coach in this building will tell you that, right? She's she's the boss. She's fantastic. She's um I'm I'm really sad that I'll be losing her. Um, I beg her every day to stay. Um, maybe tomorrow she'll say she'll stay. Um, but seriously, um, can't thank everybody behind the scenes, our maintenance, our grounds, our custodial staff, our administrative assistant, all of
041our coaches who work hard. Um, they're committed and obviously we do this for the kids. That's the reason that we serve. Uh, thank you all for providing access and providing opportunities for our students. Again, I hope to see you at our home events. Please stop by, say hello. Go Bison. >> Thank you, Pedro. Appreciate it. I'm going to hand off the clicker. I got >> You got one. Okay. All right. Excellent. All right. Going to move on to the academic arena and Steph Jackson. >> Okay. So, as a refresher for the previous board members and then we have some new board members. I'm going to go through the process that we use for new courses each year when we go through the proposal process. Um it is very bottom up and it's grassroots. Um it
042has been my entire career here. I've been part of this as a teacher in the building and now I'm part of it as a DL and as the director of teaching and learning. So I think the way we do things is very organic and um teachers get a huge voice in what happens with this and I think that's the way it should be. So um the way it starts is that teachers and division leaders work together to determine what our current course needs are um in the various departments and at that point um they will bring a proposal to our curriculum committee. So the curriculum committee has had some different formats over the years but um right now it is made up mostly of teacher leaders from different areas in the building. So um there
043are leaders from all departments from student services. We have clinicians in the room. We have tech coaches in the room. All of our people who have leadership positions who are teachers and specialists in the building, they're represented in the in the room. Um they are the ones who listen to the proposals along with um a second kind of run through with our instructional leadership team which is administrators. So it's actually like a two-part process. Um, but there's a Q&A at that time where the teacher will come in and present the proposal for the course. Um, one important thing that was new this year that I'm very happy to see that the way it worked, it was actually um really great, especially for the development of one of these courses. Um, we have a an equity
044document um where the teacher goes through to audit um how there will be equitable access to all populations for each course that they're proposing. Um, so and it's not it's not just a checklist. I mean, there were some pretty um deep conversations that happened from that document. So, I think it's something that we're going to continue to use. It was something that was proposed by the uh district equity leadership team last year and I thought it worked really well. It led to some really good conversations. Um, and some of the things on that document are about um, cultural connections, language considerations um, that we may have for our ML learners in the building. And then finally, any accommodations necessary for um, students who are either special education or have 504s. Um, and once it's gone
045through the vetting process, um, it the proposal goes through and that's what I'm here to show you today. Um, and then just so you know, at the end of uh the meeting, we're going to be asking you to approve the new course guide for next school year. Registration starts pretty early. We're going to be starting that process in November are the first steps toward that. Um, so the changes between last year's guide and this year's guide are going to be the things that I'm going over with you right now. So everything is pretty much the same except for the things that I'm going to talk to you about individually here. So, are there any questions about the process before I go into any of the specific courses >> you mentioned up there or I see
046uh under research and development >> and how you go through other schools and how they may have it set up, but also I see student input. Could you discuss what level or where the student input? So that's a lot of times that's a teacher taking a survey or like a using a Google form to um survey students about their like desire for a certain course. Um sometimes it has to do with previous enrollment numbers and what kids are asking for, what they took and what they didn't take. Um some of this is going to have to do when I start talking about individual courses. Um we found that our one semester elective courses are much more successful than our year-long courses. Um, kids are willing to sign up for a semester of something to give
047it a shot. I think signing up for a whole year sometimes is a little scary for a kid who maybe is taking a course that they're not 100% sure of. So, there are some changes being made there based on uh previous enrollment in some courses, too. Anything else about the process? Okay. So, we have five new courses. Three are introductory courses and two are considered advanced courses. Um, I'll go through each one and basically what the rationale is for the course. If you have questions about it, feel free to ask. Um, this came these came from teachers directly who worked with their DLS to propose these courses based on needs that they're seeing. So for integrated chemistry and physics um the need for this came because we have some students who begin in remedial math.
048Um that number has gone down. The number of sections of that remedial math class over the years has shrank over the last like three to four years. Um we have our fewest sections of that class right now. Um but the need that's being expressed is right now we have kids going from biology to chemistry and chemistry requires a certain level of math. So the kids who are starting in a a lower level math were following that trajectory. The chemistry teachers instead of teaching as much chemistry as they would like to be teaching found themselves having to remediate a lot of math in chemistry. So there would be kids who were on track with math, kids who are not on track with math, and they want something where they're going to be able to build it
049in better for kids who are lacking the math skills to be in regular chemistry sophomore year. Um, different schools have different trajec trajectories for when kids take these classes, but for a sophomore who's been in remedial math and is almost a year behind in math, taking chemistry as a sophomore was just too tall of an order. they were not successful. So that's where this course is coming from. It's a bridge class. So it will end up being biology for freshmen still same thing. And then kids who are on level with chemistry will go to the regular chemistry. But again, for maybe one to two sections worth classes worth of these kids who need this the math support to get the chemistry skills, they would go into this integrated chemistry and physics during sophomore year because
050that's a big need that they've been talking about for a few years. So that's that course. >> Why are we putting chemistry and physics together? >> So it's both concepts, right? Like from this point, okay, kids will be able to go to various different places. They could go and take chemistry after this if they want to. They could take physics after this if they want to. Kind of depends on their interest. Um, but it's preparing them to go either way from that sophomore year. Um, we also have kids that possibly could go into AP environmental science after this. So, the fact that after biology and chemistry, we've got some wiggle room with electives, we feel like is going to better prepare them to choose a path. >> Okay. So, this class is more of like
051dipping your toe into both of those versus focusing on either or. >> Mhm. >> Okay. >> And it's preparing them for the basic math concepts in both subject areas. >> Okay. Thank you. Yeah. >> What's also great about this course um as the teachers envisioned it is we want our sophomores these students to have a more successful experience and get those foundational skills so that they're more like because a lot of times those kids will just because we have a two-year science requirement. They won't get a great grade. They won't have a good great experience and they'll be like I'm done with science. This way we're hoping that these kids will continue on and take advantage of the upper level courses. So um overall it's just giving them that stronger foundation. So, it's it's a
052good idea, I think. >> Yeah. Okay. The next one is beginning mariachi. So, you saw the picture earlier of the the banda at the uh halftime show. Um we have probably two groups of students that we feel like are going to bite on the elective. Um some of them are going to be kids who pick up a second band class and this would be it, right? They're kids that are already in band. Um maybe they pick up a mariachi instrument though um that's not the current instrument they play in band or maybe it's the same instrument. Um we also think that there are some kids who are involved in mariachi outside of school who are going to want to take this class because it's much it's more relevant to them than being in a regular
053van class. So this was um Garrett George spent a lot of time thinking about this um doing research. Um he's ready to do it. He's pretty excited about it. It's a class where um he wanted it to be offered for repeated credit so that if kids want to stay in they can work on building the program eventually if it goes well maybe an intermediate um mariachi but uh this was something that was pretty exciting to hear about in the course proposals. So um questions about this one and this would be open to anyone uh grades 9 through 12 any kid. And he's willing to work with kids that don't know how to play an instrument at all in here as well. So yeah, >> fantastic. >> Mhm. >> Okay. Um, digital art one. So, uh,
054this is mainly, I think, coming from an interest in graphic design. Um, it's kids being able to integrate different technology tools into art. Um, they're going to be using, uh, apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, um, things like that to be able to do art. Obviously, that's a career pathway. um for a lot of kids who are interested in that. So we wanted to be able to offer that. Previous to this, the only thing that we had that was similar was graphics. Um so this is different than graphics. Graphics is going to have more marketing principles with it. Um branding, logos, things like that. This is more on the art, some photography, things like that. And this will also be open to grades 9 through 12. Did we previously have this class or was this >>
055different? Okay. Nope. >> Okay. Um, accounting too. So, we used to have a year-long course or sorry, yeah, no, I have to backtrack here. Um it was called accounting and management and it was year-long and um we had kids who are are into the accounting but like this will allow them to split it between two years. So they technically instead of taking a year of accounting they could try accounting one commit for the semester and then take accounting maybe their sophomore year or their junior year. Um, again, it's that principle of being able to split the course because we thought kids um were shying away from things they weren't sure they were going to like. And we don't want them to do that because there could be kids who aren't taking accounting because they're worried
056they won't like it and they would have loved it if they could have just gotten their toe in to do the first semester. So, we have the accounting one and then now we're going to have accounting two and they'll be two separate semester courses. Are you signing up, Lee? >> Are you signing up? >> Yeah. Yeah, accounting is good. >> Yeah. >> So, a freshman could sign up for these freshman year and do accounting one and two as electives. Um, we'll have to kind of see how it's received now that it's split in semesters, but there would be no reason a kid couldn't split the semesters between two different years. >> So, this is a dual enrollment course. The individual teaching the course holds a master's degree or an MBA or something. >> A dual
057enrollment course. >> It says that there's college credit, three credit hours from College of DuPage. >> Mhm. >> So, the individual teaching the course holds a master's degree, >> is a business teacher. Yes, >> that's what I'm asking. >> Uhhuh. Okay. Yes. >> Anything else on that? >> Okay. All right. Um, business accelerated accelerator. So those of you um I know a lot of you came last year to see the incubator presentations. So we had a lot of kids who were juniors in that program and they are still here and they're still running these businesses. So we wanted a place for them to be able to continue working on these businesses that they built in incubator um if they were sophomores or juniors last year. So this is um an extension course for kids who
058were successful in incubator and would like to continue on with that program. So this will end up being only grades 11 and 12 because incubator they can only start as sophomores. So this would be for upper classmen. Anything on this one? >> There was so much success in the first program. >> Yeah. >> Why not build on that success? >> Love it. >> Okay. All right. And then we have a number of course revisions. Okay. Um they fall all of them fall within three departments. It's applied technology, business, and um CTE programming that's outside the building. Um I'll go over the reasons for the revisions briefly for each one, but mainly all of them are trying to get more kids to sign up. It's tweaks. Um there's nothing really major that happened with very many
059of these, but I do want to highlight them because there's slight changes in the course guide. Um, so for marketing in business, that's the first one I have. Um, we're changing that from the year-long to a semester long course. So that's a small change, but um, we feel like again the kids, we want them to be able to take it and the accounting class will would pair nicely with that if they want to continue. Um, for investment management, that's going to be available only now to juniors and seniors. And the reason why is because there's a simulator for the investment things that they're doing there and it's you have to be 16 >> to sign up for the simulator. So, um allowing sophomores and freshmen uh was something that we just, you know, we wanted
060them to be able to have that experience. So, we're adjusting that program. Um the introduction to robotics and engineering is a one semester long course. Um that's the change again. It was a year. Um, but we're going to break that one up like I was talking with accounting. We're going to have that introduction to robotics and engineering and then advanced robotics and engineering which will allow them again to take the first class as a semester, not necessarily commit to a year upfront, a year before they have to take it and then maybe pick up the second semester. So, both of those are um and and clarity on the sequence I think for both of those two. Um, and then environmental technology and design. So, we introduced that to you last year as introduction to green
061energy. That class did not run. It was a one-yearong course. Um, we are not giving up on that one. We have some really cool projects and equipment that we want kids to be exposed to. Um, so we are updating that to a semester long course as well. And then finally for TCD and for internship um we are revising the criteria for kids to be able to do those two programs. So for TCD to start um students have to be entering 12th grade to enroll except for nursing, cosmetology or welding because those programs are they offer two-year programs with certifications. So we want them to be able to do that as juniors and seniors. But other than that, all the other programs, they will need to be a senior to be involved in that. They also,
062the other goal with this is that the other programs, we feel like we have introductory level courses here at Fenton and we want them to take our electives before we send them off campus. So before going to TCD, it's like find the elective that will introduce you to this area and then we'll send you to TCD as a senior. So that's um it was previously 11th and 12th grade for all programs. And then with internship, the internship program, uh students are also going to need to be entering 12th grade. Um and then same idea, we want them to take the prerequisites in our elective program um before they are signing up for internship. Um, and in most cases we have two courses we feel like we can offer them before they go off-site for internships.
063So, we're asking them to do those courses inhouse before we send them off campus. So, it's the same principle for both of those. >> I hate to ask this, but >> that's okay. >> I'm going throw it out there. >> Mhm. How much consideration was as far as breaks the uh TCD to only seniors was what part was driven by increased transportation cost? >> Some of it. I mean I I think though I don't think it was the number one reason. I really think it was that we have all these really awesome electives on the books with people who can and want to teach them. And when kids leave our campus, they're not taking our courses. So, it's like we want to offer them these programs, but take our our electives that we have to
064ease you into those first. >> I think that was the bigger consideration. Our teachers would like to teach the kids >> what we have available. >> I was hoping that was the case. >> No, it is. >> That was really seeing the enrollment and having trouble getting kids to sign up for some of these electives. We think that adjusting this should help because we're keeping them here. And then finally, um the updated course guide is a PDF. I would like to just give a quick shout out to our CTE um DL Michelle Papa Nicolau. She um did reformat the way the pathways are presented at the end of the book and it looks amazing. Like it's very easy for kids to follow. It's outlined very nicely. Um, again, it's not really a content change. It's
065formatting, but it looks excellent and it makes it very clear to parents and kids what the pathways are and what courses they should be taking for them. So, I'd just like to say, you know, she did a great job with that part. Any other questions about courses? >> Nope. I just going to say that the finally you guys realize that mariachi program Because you know it was a venture that they start with >> lighting. >> So couple years ago they start with lighting and right now Bensonville Phantom. Congratulations. >> Yeah, we're excited about it. >> Sorry. All right, Sam. >> Okay, take it easy. This is my section stuff. Great job. Anyway, uh thank you for that. And later on we're going to be approving the course guide, right? Which is basically just the updates
066that we just went over. Yeah. Very good. >> Okay. Um All right. So, HYA, as you know, we are in the middle of a superintendent search. We have a a brief report here today, but it's it's very encouraging. Um HYA is reporting us that there are uh at least 20 applicants. So, there have been more applicants, more coming in here. As we approach kind of the deadline, which is the end of October, they have started a process of in-depth interviews with uh at least six candidates. They're looking for more interviews actually uh throughout not not just the rest of this week, but into next week. So, in a little bit, we'll kind of go over we may want to adjust the timeline a little bit to accommodate that. what they want to be able to
067do is do their vetting process, take their time, and make sure we look at at any potential applicant. We also report they're leveraging their networks and resources to identify certain candidates and obviously the leadership profile, which you were a part of and and remember, make sure that that's a good match. So, they're reporting that we're on track and progressing at a good pace. So when we Oh, sorry. So when we look at upcoming meeting dates, so right now we're at the phase where applicants are still coming in, interviews are being conducted. We initially talked about uh November the 5th is a special board meeting to review uh candidates. The HY is recommending that we perhaps move that back and maybe if you don't mind, take a look at calendars. I know it's a little bit
068off in the future, but it's coming up pretty quick. So, November the 12th, they're proposing like a 5:00 and if 5:00 doesn't work, maybe 6 6:00. Um, or if that doesn't work, perhaps November the 10th. The reason why we want to have a few days because from that recommendation of candidates that you're going to be reviewing, then you're going to have these interviews on Saturday, November the 15th. So maybe we could just pause there. Any thoughts on that or scheduling? >> Just how many meetings are we talking about? >> Yeah, we're talking about Well, we're in November here. We're talking about two the >> November 12th at 5 or November 10th, but November 10th may be may maybe be the 5th. >> Well, originally if if if you looked at your original one, it was
069the fifth. >> Original one was the fifth. >> So now we they want to move it back because we have many candidates. They want to vet them. >> So the fifth the fifth could be the 12th or the 10th. >> Yes. >> Their preference is the 12th. But obviously, you know, we we need the board members involved. So >> we're going to have like All right. So there's two special meetings and we still got a regular meeting. Yeah. >> Yes. >> So we get three meetings. >> Mhm. >> That's November. >> Yeah. >> Oh boy. >> This is our job. >> Yep. Yep. So anyway, John, >> I I can't do the 12th. I have to present that night. I'm working afternoon. I I'm working till 9:00 that night. So I'm sorry. I I have
070to work the 12th. I'm already committed >> to present >> and they scheduled their meeting around my schedule. So, I can't do the 12th. I can do the 10th. >> I also have a conflict on the 12th, but I can be here on the 10th. >> Okay, that sounds encouraging. Anyone else um for the 10th? Perhaps >> I'm available on either dates. So, whatever works best for the other board members. U you're you're good, Leo. >> Yep. I'm good. We'll have to reach out to Mike at some point. >> I won't be available >> on the 10th or Okay. >> Which date? >> The 10th. Um Okay. Uh any Is there another date? I mean, these were is Tuesday not a good day for people? >> I'm just trying to think, but I'm available on
071the 11th as well. Yeah, I can be available on the 11th. >> I could be available >> and I don't know, honestly, I don't know if they are, but we could see. Yeah. >> No. Okay. >> So, let me jump ahead for just a minute. So, then we have three in December. Also, we have three in November and three in December meetings. >> Yes. Well, two special board meetings and then one regular board meeting. Okay. Yeah. >> May I these meetings these they really should be scheduled on Wednesdays >> when we are already committed to being here. >> The reason I say that is because for me my work schedule's already >> I understand >> outlined and that that's a commitment that I can't miss. >> So it really is an issue with HYA here
072uh that they're trying to schedule special meetings on dates that we had no idea of. I I understand that you know and I guess the question then well you're the board the question comes back to the board if they don't the fifth if it seems like they want to vet some of these candidates a little bit more because of the applicants that are coming in >> is there suggestions on other timeline type ideas I guess >> I know aren't they supposed to winnow these things down or they going to run them all by us? Um, >> well, they're they are they're they're widowing them down to then present to you. Uh, so it's not going to be 20 people. I don't anticipate that they would present to you. >> What are we going to hit
073like five a night or something? >> No, I I I think that the the um >> here's Go ahead. >> Yeah, I was just going to say so the first state they're going to present recommended slate of candidates. So these are the candidates that they're they're going to recommend. So they, you know, they're going to go through background. I've never done it >> personally. Some way to kind >> Yeah. Right. They're going to go through the candidates and they're going to uh state who they think that perhaps we should move forward with is my understanding. >> Well, we can do a we can do a a Zoom, can't we? They're open to uh u >> I don't know if that helps. >> Not for the not for the personal meetings, but if they're No, but
074perhaps for this >> from a summary, I can sit at home and listen to that. >> Um possibly. I mean, that's that's the board's preference. There's a way to do that. We could explore that. Um my [Music] it's ideal that we get a full participation but everybody has personal schedules outside of here >> and definitely understand that >> uh many of the dates were tried did try to shoot for a Wednesday meeting. Um I don't think [Music] it was anticipated to have the kind of interest that has been shown and the 10day period allows them more time to vet the number of candidates that's come forward and moving outside of the Wednesday was solely because of that. Otherwise, most of them were scheduled for Wednesday, >> right? The >> they're just it's just an attempt
075by HA just to adjust just to the interest that's being shown. >> Right. >> So, when they come to us >> for that meeting, they didn't had a chance to fully vet and go through and be ready to move forward with a definitive timeline after meeting with us. >> Schedule is we're supposed to have somebody in place by the first of the year, right? I >> mean, that's still on track for that. Yeah, we're on track and that can be, you know, there's some flexibility here, you know, depending on unforeseen. >> So, I'm I'm trying to synthesize what I'm hearing. Are we hearing that maybe we want to stick with the fifth and make it work or what do we >> think that would be the best based on all our schedules? >> I think
076so. Does that still work for everybody the fifth? >> I had already blocked that out. Yeah. For the fifth. >> Um, I would hope the fifth of course. >> Yeah. And my question would be does that allow HYA enough time to do the vetting? >> And the reason they requested before you guys respond was because they felt they needed a little more time, >> right? That that's what spawned the converate that full form. >> We hired them, not the other way around. >> Right. So, I think what we're gathering here is maybe what I'm hearing is well, I certainly don't want a board member to be excluded on a short term uh schedule change that we're all busy. You know, that's not so I can provide the feedback to them that it's kind of impossible
077for us to pick a date without excluding people. We don't want to do that. >> So, >> let me ask you a quick question. Yeah, >> maybe I missed something in the process, but why are we even discussing rescheduling the fifth? Was there a problem? >> Yeah. Well, I'll say it again, Reed. Basically, the the number of candidates that they're trying to review the candidates. It's not just look at the resume. It's informal reference checks. It's reaching out to people. It's a form of vetting individuals. Quite frankly, if we come back say, "Look, that's the date that the board wants. That's the date." Then they're going to have to adjust to it. Well, because I'm trying to figure out if they just need more need more time to >> Well, I think they would prefer
078what we're talking about. >> I think they would prefer more time, but that's not working for us. >> Part of part of what's going on with the sheer number of candidates is arranging and setting up >> interviews interviews, right, >> with each of the candidates. Six of the six of the 20 has already interviewed. Yeah. >> And currently they're trying to schedule those initial one initial one-on-one interviews with the other candidates and to have all of those interview interviews done, >> assessed and ready for that what would have been that November 5th meeting that we're trying to want to. So what we're trying to do is just explain the rationale why we're having this not not necessarily the validity of the >> of just the rale we're going to if we're going to go through
079all this I'd like to know why >> so but in my case I could probably do any of the not 10 12 >> I appreciate that Reed I'm glad your calendar's open I think what I'm hearing is we're just going to tell them we need to stick with that date just because there's too many conflicts otherwise and I will have conversations with them on what that means. You know, I'm look, I I'm I'm not in this business where we're going through the process. My I mean, I'm just speaking. I think they they'll need to adjust. I think they can still make this work. Hopefully, if somehow they come back to me and say, "It's not working. There's no way we can do it." Then I'll have to figure something out. But short of that, I
080think we're going to need to just stick with that date. And >> if I guess I just like to pose if we push it back to if it's if the reason driving this is the oneonone is those initial interviews. And those initial interviews are critical to the information they're going to present us. If they can't, if they're finding it impossible to get those interviews done by that date to be ready for the fifth, are you guys open to just blowing I mean just our initial timeline was what it is. But if we got a good group and there's some potential real potential candidates in there for us to consider, >> I'm willing to go off of the desired schedule just to make sure when they do come to us, we got some real information to
081make a decision on. >> Yep. I know he was shooting for that. Things happen as you go through the pro as the process unfolds. >> What What are you asking? >> Um I think what he's asking is perhaps moving that timeline back further. We we already have November the 15 down, but for that one, we're looking at more of a the actual interviews, right? So >> we're interviewing the >> Yeah. So maybe we theoretically would move the the slate of candidates, let's just say to the 15th possibly. I'm not saying we're going to do that, but you would move that there. And then somehow you would adjust the timeline so that the actual board interviews another special would not be on the 15th. It' be on the later date perhaps then adjusting the other special
082board meetings. >> Correct. Obviously not ideal, but are we're trying to get a feel for what the board's preference is. Make making sure I don't know. Am I phrasing this right? But >> the absolute the absolute thorough review of all the candidates is the priority perhaps versus the timeline. And I'm not trying to sway anyone one way or the other. >> That's what I was going to say, Chris, just to be clear. He's he explained it better. I agree with that, but I think the meetings need to be on Wednesdays. >> Okay. All right. Okay. I think this is good. I can take this and we can kind of go from there. Stick to Wednesdays. >> Agreed. >> Yeah. I mean, that's fine. >> Generally speaking, okay, >> the slate meeting, but the meeting to
083where we interview the tiered candidates, that would still be >> that would be a longer meeting, wouldn't that? >> The Well, the 15th is a Saturday, right? So that's different. >> That was supposed to be a longer meeting though. >> Totally different. That's a whole different process. >> Yeah, that's a whole different process. Yeah. Yeah. >> Just for that. >> Okay. >> Some of us have work commitments on >> Yeah. >> Gotcha. >> For the recommended candidates, you wanted to stick to a wind a Wednesday. >> Okay. >> Got it. >> What's your >> Just want to be able to go back to them with some Yeah. >> to work. >> Yeah. We're just trying to have some parameters. I appreciate it. Okay. Any other questions on the HYA? >> I don't know how we're
084going to do it. Well, I I think um figure it out. >> Yeah, we'll figure it out. >> Figure it out. Thank you. I I appreciate the feedback and the guidance >> Thanksgiving and everything and we're pushing a tight timeline. We'll have to adjust this. We need more time to adjust our schedules. >> I mean, I'm fine. I'm fine if we don't meet that J having them start or being done by the end of the year. It's more important to me to get the right person. >> Right. If that timeline get pushed back, I'm fine with that. If they start a couple weeks after the 15th of January, that's not a deal breaker, is it? I mean, >> I doubt for anyone it would be. Yeah. >> No, I mean, there's other positions just being
085posted now, and they're not even they're taking applicants into December, January, >> but we're we're on a good track. Um, we're in a we're in a good time frame. So, >> basically, we're canceling November 5th is what I'm hearing. >> Not necessarily. No, no, no. You're not hearing that. >> They'll keep us advised. No, it's on a schedule. >> They'll keep you advised. on a schedule. >> We're going to push them to see if they can get the good work done within that time frame. >> Yeah. >> I I I feel better. I don't know. I think we have information to go with and I'll keep you posted. >> My last thought and I'm done is that if rather than trying to cram this all in, if push one of these meetings out till a
086little later and so what we start in the middle of January. >> Yeah. And and remember, I mean, you guys have lived this, but we went through this a month ago or longer. And so now that we're in it, you know, it it's good to re-evaluate where things are at, but >> we'll see. We'll see where it leads. >> Well, keep in mind, too, they're not starting in January. >> Be identifying, right? >> Yeah. Okay. Well, that's >> so they can give notice and everything else. Yeah. It's not like it's their start date. It's just got to pick somebody. I'll >> lose them somewhere else. Yeah, >> that's part of it too, right? All right. Thank you. What is next? How about a FOYA update? >> Our meal. >> Sure. Uh, we did get a
087FOYA uh was denied due to being minors uh and being part of their school record. So, they were requesting names of newly inducted NHS students, names of National Merit Scholarship uh finalists, and um National Merit Scholarship Corporation winners as well. So, um this this wasn't denied for you. Okay, we have nothing other. But >> thank you for sharing that. But can the the foyer request be included in the Thank you. >> in the what? >> In board meeting materials. >> The board book. >> Oh yeah, absolutely. >> Consent agenda. Can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented? >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Mug. >> Yes. >> Figuroa. >> Yes. >> Brzinski. >> Yes. >> Good. >> Abstain. >> Makulla. >> Yes. >> Lewis. >> Yes. Motion passed.
088May I have a motion that the board of education approve the 2026 2027 Fenton High School course and program catalog as presented. >> I'll make the motion. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Roll call. >> Good. >> Yes. >> Figuroa. >> Yes. Rzinski, >> yes. >> Makulla, >> yes. >> Matug, >> yes. Lewis, >> yes. Motion passed. May I have a motion that the board of education approves the June 2025 press policy update as presented? That is policy 1-10 1-20-30 2-10 22 240 3330 450 4180 740 790 7325 5 and 880. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Any discussion? [Music] >> Roll call. >> Makulla. >> Yes. >> Good. >> Yes. >> Rosinski, >> yes. >> Figuroa, >> yes. >> Mug, >> yes. >> Lewis, >> yes. Motion passed. May I have a motion that the
089board of education approve the Illinois Commerce Commission Transportation Bureau/rail Safety Stipulated Agreement as presented? >> I'll make that motion. >> Second. >> Who's taking it? >> Reed. >> Give it to Reed. >> Any discussions? Roll call. >> Good. >> Yes. >> Figuroa, >> yes. >> Matug, >> yes. >> Ridzinski, >> yes. >> Mullo, >> yes. >> Lewis, >> yes. Motion passed. May I have a motion that the board of education approves the village of Benville intergovernment agreement regarding railroad track fencing as presented? >> I'll make the motion. Second. >> Any discussion? Roll call. >> McCulla, >> yes. >> Figuroa, >> yes. >> Matug, >> yes. >> Redinski, >> yes. >> Good. >> Yes. >> Lewis, >> yes. Motion passed. Uh, does anyone have any committee reports? >> Uh, Betsville Foundation met. Our next meeting will
090be November 20th. Uh, we did not get the Subaru money this year at the foundation. They're giving it to another organization within Bensonville. I think they're trying to share to wealth, which isn't a bad thing. Uh, we were able to approve all the outstanding requests. Uh, Fenton's German request being it was the second year they were requesting it, they were given half, not the full amount, but they got something. The band request was granted in full, which was nice. In total, the foundation approved $43,26.58 in requests. Uh, a lot of places got full, some got half just due to the possible limited funds. We did request as a group to get a more detailed budget remaining balance, what funds are uh locked up in investments that are untouchable, what's available to be used. So, we
091hopefully will have that information at our next meeting on November 20th. So, uh, Fenton did pretty well at the meeting. So, I was glad to see the band got the full amount. >> Fantastic. Um, we did hold a finance facility meeting earlier today where the STEM wing, there was a STEM wing financial update as part of that and we discussed earlier. Um there's also a 5-year capital plan different projects that would be potentially eligible for the rather inconsideration for the the remaining 5.3 million that we have from my two the stem winger the stem wing addition but also the uh storm water prevention project and where that would go. um recently discussed the railroad fencing and also the driver's ed and transit vehicle purchase. [Music] Uh and I attended the NetSack meeting, just a regular
092monthly meeting. Really nothing much to report. I think enrollment overall has gone down by a few kids, but that's pretty consistent with with what we see especially near the start of school year. Our [Music] our next board meeting is Wednesday, November 19th, 2025 at 7 p.m. We also have a DUP page division meeting will be held on Wednesday, October the 29th, 2025 at 6 p.m. And just real quick, I just want to let everyone know those that are attending that meeting that our very own Leo Figueroa is up for a director at large position at this event and they will be voting on that at the event. So, we're hopeful to report at the November board meeting that he is officially on the slate of officers. So, thank you, Leo, for being involved in that.
093>> Where would this uh meeting be held at? >> That is at the Carile. >> Okay. Same place. >> Same. Same place. >> Uh also, Triple Ice Friday, November 21st through Sunday, November 23rd, 2025. [Music] Um after further review, there will be no closed session today this evening. [Music] Just a delay, we probably went through too fast. I had to miss something, right? >> Nope. >> All right. May I have a motion and a second to adjourn? >> Whoa, whoa, whoa. Isn't there an opportunity for new business? >> Yeah. >> Where >> I've got a few things I'd like to share under new business. >> We don't do we go we we publish a schedule or I mean an agenda. Um proposed items need to be communicated in advance so we can include and put
094on the agenda. >> There's no opportunity for any discussion related to new business at this time? No. >> All right. >> You can submit or let us know. >> I don't have to. I can propose under new business. That's why it's on the agenda. [Music] Go ahead with your proposal. But that was that was under um for that We just typically haven't >> after the next board meeting that that's generally the time frame that to to uh do that. That's >> we just typically haven't had anyone request that. So >> I appreciate that. I'd like to bring a couple things to the table. Uh one is again this evening um on the slide deck for public comment and I mentioned this at the last board meeting. It indicates that anyone wishing to deliver a public
095comment has three minutes to do so. That is inconsistent with board policy. So either the board policy needs to be revised or the slide needs to change. But I wanted to bring that to the attention of the board because that's that is an issue. Um, another matter that I'd like to bring up, we went through a lot of trauma um, recently and the individual who provoked that uh, still to last time I checked still holds appel which I don't understand and I think it's time that as a board we issue a directive of in the form of an inquiry to the state superintendent of schools to ask why Sepby has not engaged in a hearing for that teacher simply because under Faith's law that should have happened or could have happened and so I think
096it's only appropriate in our responsibilities to find out what the rationale was as to why that has not occurred or did something fall through the cracks. But I do think that we all have a right to know that. So, I encourage the board and I asked the board this evening to make a declaration um asking leadership at Fenton Community High School District 100 to make a formal inquiry to the state superintendent of schools asking why a hearing has not been held by Sepby. Um first on your first uh item when we have a policy meeting and those form we can go in further detail as far as the um in discussion about why we do why we state three minutes versus five. >> It's not an issue of policy. It's the slides wrong. That's we
097can go into a further discussion of that during a policy meeting. And as far as your second, we're kind of in the business of providing um graduation certificates. We don't issue licenses. We can inquire separate board members as to the progress and to the why of that. like to request our superintendent or anyone else to pursue something out of their purview. I I mean that's something we could pursue on our own as board members. >> That's correct. And I have and I've been given information that I question. So in order to get an answer, I think that uh the board needs to be involved. I think the superintendent needs to be involved. This individual was employed at this district. the individual still holds appel >> as far as the like I said the end we
098can inquire as board members but as a district we've done everything that we can possibly do in that matter any action to be taken further is by entities that we have no control over and we're subject to their timeline and how they go about it we can always inquire higher. >> That's all I'm asking is an inquiry >> and a formal inquiry, but I don't see how directing our people to prepare something that >> I don't see how that's a good use of our resources. >> I am suggesting that the board direct the superintendent to to send a formal inquiry to the state superintendent of schools asking why the why has not held a hearing for this particular teacher. That's all I'm asking. We can discuss that further to as a as an open item.
099>> Okay. Then >> an item for next month. >> Maybe Jim. >> I was going to say, can we make it an action item for next month? Sure. We could take formal action on the agenda. Would that work? That way legal can get involved and we can make sure >> we're on solid ground and it's prepared properly. I have no problem with that. Let's let's make it an action item for next month. And I'm fine with that. Let's get advice from legal and and let's if we're going to do it, let's get it prepared right and let us vote on it as a board and we can show you know consensus as a board. >> That way people can the board members can have input in >> I think that wouldn't be out of order
100at all. >> I think that would be wonderful that I think that would be good. I mean yeah I mean it wouldn't hurt to ask. You're right and it shows we're doing our due diligence and it's on them if they don't. That's right. >> I don't I don't necessarily disagree with that. But let's maybe make it an action item for next month and have formal action and get legal involved and maybe have a document prepared that we can all look at and agree upon and and vote on. I I think that wouldn't be a bad idea. >> Okay. And I've got two more things I'd like to share. One is the superintendent search. We have in DuPage County and across the state of Illinois an unusual number of vacancies that are going to be um
101emerging for superintendents. In that vein, I realize that HYA is proclaiming that there's significant interest. I will tell you [Music] this is not an easy environment for a newly minted superintendent. We don't know anything about who these 20 superintendents are. Some of them are going to be newly minted out of school. I don't think that's a good direction for this building to go in. When we met with HYA one evening, they made the statement, one of the presenters, that a potential candidate may be under our own noses and we don't even think about it. and I have presented or mentioned at a couple of board me at at a couple of meetings the potential for a shared superintendency. I have no idea where this may go, but I think it's worth posing a question. I
102think we should ask HYA to consider the potential of a shared superintendency with BSD2 for a variety of reasons. One being opportunities for curriculum alignment, one being opportunities for financial efficiencies. I simply think it would be worth the question and learning what may or may not come of it. With that, I say, why dip your toe in the water? Jump all the way in. Why explore a shared superintendent when a true if student development is really the focus why dip your toe in jump in combine all the districts have one district that we may have a K through 12 curriculum >> well to say superintendent that's like a dip >> your toe in as opposed to really going to >> President Lewis may I let me let me address that you're going down a road
103we can't go down and let me share with you why >> I am I am making a comment. You done gone to three. Please allow me uh please extend the respect that you are given to everyone every every other every other board member here. Uh give the respect that we give you. Let me finish my statement. [Music] I have been discussing that behind the scenes since I've been here based on my COSPA classes, the other conversations I've had with other board members and districts throughout this country and what I've seen how they've been turned around. But I've also been told that's a tall challenge. Not having backed me off of it, but I've explored it. [Music] And that's something that is everything else. It's it's a majority and we go forward whether we like the
104response or not the decision, we go forward with that. And so that's how I've addressed that. That's how I've I've dealt with that. It hasn't the interest hasn't been there. So I've had to back off and let that go. And I say the same when it comes to when you first brought that up, it was >> no interest in a majority of board members. So why are we continue to explore it? >> We we never took a vote on that. We never took a poll stroll on that. I don't know how you can say that. But with regard to extending respect, I I think the thing that I'm challenged with and don't understand is what you're alluding to is consolidation. And I I don't think that there's an issue with that other than this. In
105order for us to consolidate districts, it would require a referendum, which I am 100% opposed to. The reason it would require a referendum is because we would never get the two union contracts equalized so that the FBA and and the BEA would be working under one contract. So there's a middle ground and that middle ground is to share a superintendency in which we could focus on curriculum alignment. We could look at for some financial efficiencies which we already know we have some challenges coming before this district financially. So I simply think it's worth a question. I'm not proposing to do it or not to do it, but I think it's worth exploration. >> Anybody else want to chime in on that proposal? Well, I we're a little late in the game and then sharing a
106superintendent with two for alignment. >> What do we do with district 7 and alignment in Wooddale and the other side of the house? We're a community school district. We service two communities. You know, that's going to be perceived as, okay, Wooddale, never mind you're a second backseater. Um, we're more worried about Bensonville and I don't really think that's fair. We service two communities and I lived with a shared fire chief. It started out great and it ended terribly and I'm a little leery. I think we have enough issues within the school for one superintendent to have to focus on. That's my personal feelings on this. But I mean, looking at it as we serve as two communities, okay, we're we're going to do more with district two. District 7, well, thanks for sending us your
107kids and your tax money, but we're, you know, we're more concerned about district two. I I think the perception alone makes it impossible. If we only serviced Bensonville, I think it would be a lot more palatable of an idea. I think it would be a lot more doable. But as we service two communities, I tell you what I learned in the last job, perception is everything and how that's perceived. I don't think it's going to be perceived very well. I don't think it's a bad idea. I get where you're going with it. I really do. And I I don't disagree. I think consolidation would ultimately be the way to go, but to have to go to referendum. It's got to be dissolved in both communities. the new we looked at that with the fire districts.
108It's no difference for the school districts. I believe it's a heavy heavy heavy lift and um I think ultimately with tax caps that's where we're all going. You're going to start seeing fire districts combining and school districts combining. I think that's the writing on the wall in the next 10 20 years. I don't think a lot of people like hearing that. I don't disagree with you. I I just now with us already in the midst of a process and everything else. I mean, I and the perception to isolating one community from another, I I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, if it's something that we want to put on the ballot or do a straw poll on, I I I I don't think it's a good idea. And we're already halfway down the
109process. So, I I don't know. That's just just my opinion. >> Any other comments? Anyone else has? >> Anybody? Well, >> you know, uh we've been u in a different um conferences and uh we never hear about that and is really catastrophic doing that. So I stay with Gary with John. We are far behind and I don't think it's not a good idea. If you are talking about doing in five six years probably I'm agree but not right now. >> Okay then I'll just I'd like to conclude with one point. >> Sorry. Go ahead. >> Well only that I'm not in education. I like the concept. Okay. Uh, on one hand it makes sense, but I'm not that close to the details. >> We need a lot more information, too. >> Rachel, any any thoughts?
110>> Okay. >> And I'll I'll conclude with one comment. We are a oneb building school district with what I believe to be a very topheavy administration. We have to find ways to operate more efficiently and to be more respectful to the taxpayers's dollar. And what I'm sharing with you is an opportunity to pursue that. And so all I'm asking is to ask a question. And if that's something that the board's not interested in, that's the board's decision. I'd like to work in fact and to acknowledge the hard work that's been done in this district and for 10 for 10 or more years and even before I I got on this board they've been working with they've had overages or I can't think of the term but plus revenue for many years in a row at
111least 10 in a row. 10 plus. So to say that they haven't been responsible with resources, that's just simply not a fair statement to make. And I'm not I haven't been here for the duration of that, but I've seen I've been I've been able to make votes on the backs of work that other people have done before I've been on this board. And to simply say a blanket statement like that, I don't think that's fair and or accurate for what has occurred, regardless of who's set in these seats for what's happened in this district before me. That's not a fair statement to make. To me, I'll say. [Music] Okay. I think we're good. >> All right. May I have a motion and a second to adjurnn? All in favor say I. Hi. >> Thank you
112and good night.