Regular Meeting - Sep 16 2025

001Sure. Her Johnson here. Rosten here. Absent here. Perez here. Kim here. Hi >> here. >> Meeting call to order. 7:04 p.m. I'd like to start with the public comment. Uh we have two people here for today for public comment. We like to remind you to be civil to each other. Um, and we would like to limit the public comment to three members. Uh, Annabelle Har. So, we're going to we're going to start with opening the hearing on the budget. >> Oh, yes. Sorry. >> Oh, I thought you were changing the agenda. >> I don't see that. >> Or we can do the reverse if you would. >> It's not on the agenda. >> Yeah, it is. It's I I didn't see it. Public hearing FY26 budget adoption. We just need a motion to vote. >>

002Motion to open public hearing. >> I move that the board of education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 open the public hearing on the district's final fiscal year 26 budget. >> Second. >> Moore, >> yes. >> Perez, >> yes. >> Sperlock is absent. Kim, >> yes. >> Her Johnson, >> yes. >> Con, >> yes. Motion to go into the public hearing pass. We do not have any public comment for the hearing specifically. So if we can get a motion to close. >> Move that the board of education above Park Elementary School District 97 close the public hearing on the district's final fiscal year 26 budget. >> Second. >> Kim, >> yes. >> Her Johnson, >> yes. >> Conne, >> yes. >> Rosen, >> yes. >> Perez, >> yes. >> Moore, >> yes. Sper is

003absent. Motion's closed. >> All right. Now we'll move on to public comment. >> Now it's public comment. >> H. >> Now it's public comment. >> Yes. So now we'll move on to I the software she was talking about. >> That's right. >> Now we'll move on to public comment. Annabelle Harley. I'm pronouncing that wrong. [Music] >> Um. Um, so my name is Annabelle Harley. I go to Julian Middle School and I think that lunch is way too short. I found myself saying this a lot lately. I've started petition for this and I'm happy to email anyone who wants a coffee copy a coffee. I've gotten over 150 signatures on this petition. We have about 15 minutes to eat. Although the schedule states we should have 18 minutes. They are allowing us to eat outside which

004I do end up taking advantage of. But they're not allowing us to eat in the auditorium. So that could be a problem in the winter. Kids are hungry as is and it should be and it's worsened by the fact that they're not finishing their lunches because they're not having enough time to do so. The Illinois Board of Education and recommends that kids have about 20 minutes to eat lunch. While this is fine for now because kids can eat outside, but be a problem once we have to stay outside because of the colder weather. We will not be able to eat in the auditorium and have about 15 minutes or less to eat. There should be a place to eat during indoor recess. All this being said, it is hard to change a schedule in the

005middle of the school year. There should be some ways that the problem can be lessened. For example, there should be a way that we can eat during when eating the auditorium or have a snack time. Thank you for listening and I hope that you think about the amount of change of the amount of time they give middle schoolers to eat and find a solution for it. >> Thank you. >> Hi. Um I came here with my seventh grader today. she could speak, but I wanted to take a minute as well. I also have a first grader at Irving and a two-year-old. So, this is my eighth year in V97, pennying, we don't move. I have 12 more of you left. So, um we've seen many leadership system changes during our time. And while you hear

006from us often, uh we hope to improve D97 for everyone. Um and I wanted to actually take a moment today to thank you all for your improvements, for everything that has already happened. Um, thank you for the middle school redesign and for listening to so much of the community feedback. While there's some areas, you know, as well said, uh, that still needed improvement and the effects of the changes are not all known because it's early in the school year, I can already see a big difference. The shorter class times and meeting every day is such an improvement. So, is allowing the students to have more choice over um that they take arts or music or foreign language. That was specifically something that we talked about in focus groups. So, thank you for listening. Um, so

007the music kids had very limited options in the old system. Um, I didn't have middle school or any kids in middle school before Mr. Philip Houseki joined, but the stories I heard were very different than the culture and climate are today. So, we're very happy uh with the culture, climate, and how the day-to-day goes there. He's doing a wonderful job. And when we did have the issue with the launch, he made specific time to talk with her. And when his schedule changed, he arranged with Miss Court. So definitely um listening and taking time to hear the student voices as well. Um my seventh grader has an overall great middle school experience and I attest that to the teachers there, the administration there, and definitely the clubs and activities. I feel like there's enough for every

008student to find their place that they belong, which is so important at this age. Um, in my opinion, the acceleration program still needs improvement, but I was so happy to see those recent changes that were kind of rolling out and just heard about, but I saw the email today that testing for the not having testing on Saturday in the bridge course. It's all done in the day. I think that that definitely makes acceleration truly equitable for all where it has not been in the past. Um, thank you to the board and Julian administration for hearing our concerns through the years and for making improvements and continuing to make D97 better for all families. I look forward to seeing you seven rounds. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Can you hand your um comments to

009please? >> Thank you. >> So, that concludes our public comment. >> Before we begin our like regular agenda, um I'd like to say I have a few words of gratitude. Um, so first I'd like to sincerely thank our building staff and administrative team for a great start to the school year. I personally know so many of you have worked above and beyond to get the job done because of how much you care for our students. I hope that in the next few weeks you take some time for some self-care. Yes, I'm looking at all of y'all. In moments of transition, leadership and statness matter more than ever. And Patrick, you provided both. Your willingness to serve in this role on top of your regularly scheduled responsibilities made a real difference for our staff, students, and

010community. We are deeply grateful for your commitment and care to this district. I also want to warmly welcome back our two interim superintendent, Patrick Waret and Griff Powell. Both of you have are already familiar with our district and your strengths with and our strengths and our challenges and we're excited to have you rejoin us at such an important time. Your expertise, your experience, your dedication to this community are invaluable and we're confident that with your leadership, we'll continue to move forward with stability and purpose. On behalf of the board, we would like to thank you and we're so happy to have you all with us. >> Thank you. >> Second day on the job. It seems like I never left. Very, very familiar. I plan on by end of tomorrow I've met with all the

011district leadership team. I'll be in all 10 buildings by the the the day ends tomorrow. Uh to me, uh teacher, all the people have been telling me this is one of the smoothest openings you've had in years. Teachers are teaching, students are learning, and that's what we're all about. And to me, there's a lot of so many positive things here, and you're you hearing them tonight. Uh and I think the last 30 days, uh Mr. Robinson did a great job as the acting principal. And I want superintendent, >> the acting principal to come forward. We're nice segue into our first presentation. >> Superintendent. >> Acting superintendent. I say acting. >> I demoted him just like that. There you go. [Applause] >> No, you're not. Last time I saw you three years ago, you were an

012actress. >> Yes. See, I tried this very >> well. First, tell us how the last 30 days have gone. I think everybody's interested. >> See them gray hairs? >> I was about to say, yeah, the gray. Well, there's nothing up there, but the gray is definitely growing your beard. Um, but no, first of all, I just want to say thank you to the board for giving me the opportunity to serve in that role. I definitely um appreciate the opportunity. Also want to say thank you to the amazing team that's sitting in the room for standing behind me and supporting me, those in the room, those that are not in the room, for all of the educators um in D97, the community and everyone. Um this was a great start to the school year. Um we

013were able to accomplish a lot in the last 30 days. um put a small presentation together. >> Thank you. >> Also want to also thank my family for giving me up. Um it was a lot of late nights. Um so definitely I I know they're not listening, but if they were listening, just want to say thank you to my wife and three kids at home for giving me up um the last month. And so just kind of recap the last um 30 days. Um the entire team just really came together to really just kind of start this school year off really smooth. Making sure that the doors were the buildings were ready, the doors were open to welcome back all of our scholars to a a smooth school year. Um we made sure that we

014were out visible connecting with students and families on the first day of school on curriculum nights. Um supported just a transition for new leaders. We have some new assistant principles, student support specialists. Also at the middle schools we have new instructional coaches. Also we have new um student support specialists. So wanted to make sure they also felt the D97 love. Also, we um as our executive um leadership team, we wanted to make sure we also visited every single site and make sure that our building leadership team, they felt the love, they felt supported. So, we just conducted site visits with principles and also their leadership teams to just make sure they had the support and everything that they needed. Also, here was a picture that we also took um within the community. It's kind of

015blurry, but um I think that's Amanda Cheryl, our principal over at BY, and also Becky down at the end. Um we took time just to kind of get together and take a picture at the Berry Fest. So, just to kind of um wrap up our or the 30 the last 30 days um as the acting superintendent. And then also, we want to also celebrate that we were able to the work of one of our goal areas that we'll learn more about. They launch our new calendars celebrating and acknowledging the different histories, cultures, and traditions across our community. So, this is our new calendar that was shared in a weekly wrap-up. Also, our principles, our schools have access to this and they will also share it in their weekly communications and also make sure that they're

016acknowledging and celebrating the different months. We also started yesterday with celebrating the culture and contributions of our Hispanic and Latino Americans. Also, we had some activities and learning opportunities that will be taking place across all of our 10 schools this month. We also had a celebration here at district office today. Um, a lot of us are kind of still recovering from it um right now. Um, so just kind of making sure that we're taking the opportunity not only to learn but celebrate and have some fun doing it. And then also we want to welcome Oh, I didn't want to start the video, but we want to welcome our D9 our new D97 staff. This is a tradition that we started and so we want to take the time to welcome all of our new D97

017staff to the district. They look really young. >> Yeah. >> Well, that's just the person. >> There has to be a law against this or something. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] And so we definitely want to make sure we take the time to welcome all of our new members to the D97 staff. And then also we have been very intentional just making sure that all of our students are safe within our buildings. And so just making sure that all of our staff, our front office staff, they are well aware of our visitors protocol. So making sure that we update them on any changes that we've made to the visitors protocol and making sure that that communication has been shared with our front office staff and that all staff are aware of the visitors protocol that if

018anything were to happen, they are well informed and that they are responsible for teaching our scholars and that leadership front office staff they are well informed of what happens if anyone was to come to our buildings, that's for us to worry about and take care of that and we make sure that we sent that communication out and have shared that with all of our staff within our building. So, we just want to make sure that our community know that our students are safety is our top priority. And so with that, thank you for that opportunity. And Griff, so happy to have you here. >> Thank you. Perfect segue into core curriculum. >> Yes. And we are also excited, I am excited to um kind of showcase core instruction and our department to kind of share

019our priorities for this school year. So with that, we're going to bring up the leadership team. >> We'll just talk. We don't need >> We have enough chairs. >> We don't need I think we could stand. >> I think we could stand. Oh, we're standing >> because that's how quick this presentation is going to be. Correct. >> There goes our [Laughter] [Music] >> Are we really going to stand? >> Sit. >> I'm not sitting. You guys are standing. >> Okay. Scoot down. >> All right. So tonight, I think we can have everyone kind of introduce themselves, but this what this are the individuals that will be presenting with us tonight. Our agenda is to really introduce the core instruction leadership team. um kind of frame the work um that we will be doing this year

020and really focus on the priority areas. Give a highle overview because we will come back throughout this year to kind of dive a little deeper into some of our priority work and kind of share with this team how we are doing with that work. And so we are still um organized within our four transformational goals. We are goal number two. We design for all. That's where we all of our 10 schools, elementary core learning and middle school um redesign. And so really um focusing in our on our equity policy, the equitable access, ensuring that every student um is provided with equitable access to highquality instruction, culturally re relevant curriculum to grade level appropriate assignments, high expectations, and all of those things that they need in order for them to succeed. And here's our team. So

021Patrick Robinson, I am the assistant superintendent for elementary. >> Luis Salon as she's the superintendent of middle schools. >> Toana Lawrence, senior director of teaching and learning. >> And Donna Middleton, senior director of student services. >> Tracy Ham, director for student services. >> I'm Michelle Capu. I'm our director of student wellness. >> Emily Crean, director of teaching and learning. >> And Maryanne. >> And I'm just a random person here. Um, hi, I'm Marian Rayfield. I'm the principal up at Lincoln. >> Up at Lincoln. >> And so, just to kind of share how we are organized as a core instruction team, we have our central office team that really provides the support for our 10 schools, our two elementary, I'm sorry, our two middle schools, and then our eight elementary schools. And then all of our

022staff falls within our schools. So our chart, we want to make sure that everyone within our district kind of sees themselves within our organizational charts. So as we think about the core instruction, this is where all our values and really focus comes into that into really uh working towards everything that we do to those better outcomes for the students where we're providing that access for students regardless of where they are. Uh we're really uh committed to to that to that improvement of instruction. Uh with that we know that if we continue improving those learning experiences for the students, there won't be that much needle intervention. So we reduce that. So definitely everything that we are trying to do aims to that to really improving that rigor of learning and then with that also as students

023are have that access and that opportunity to really immerse themselves into that learning experience experience their motivation comes into in into play into more positive about schooling and really enjoying themselves and really that sense of belonging. uh with that as well as we continue working in those experiences and not is not only the academic but also the culture and the climate that we're concentrating on that. So with that uh we are really tuned through the UDL practices and really reflecting on it working with teams in identifying those barriers that we need to to concentrate on. So that's like the tier one. This is the foundation. That's the level ground that will help us out to build uh what is a a really strong uh foundation for students to grow and really excel with that. The

024way that how we do this is to really through the collaboration and really being intentional as we engage with others into especially with our leadership teams where we are building that capacity to drive some of this work. We we have our goals where really we are concentrating our school improvements known as the logic models and to also identifying those practices as outlined in Danielson framework and then also as I was mentioning that understanding by design uh framework lens to identify those barriers. So with that as I was mentioning as well we are working with our teams developing that capacity to really uh focus on that student intellectual engagement and those standards making sure that students are are meeting that that that that benchmark and we are designing towards that and then also that they that

025the students can be uh reflected into the into their learning experiences. So with that we need to ensure that there cultural and linguistic appropriate content that we're providing and the support so the positive emotional uh learning opportunities and practice that that go along the way. So a lot of the work that happens with our teams in really the way that we structure things in in continue extending the way and the reach to our students uh in this way. So uh with that uh definitely this we have Danielson framework we're moving into the new Dennisson we're spending some time into that really understanding what some of the changes Danielson was intended to really uh provide us a lens of what good practice is in in teaching it's a framework that really help us out to unpack

026with good teaching uh practice has been where actually in some instances has been also used for evaluations but also we want to move away from that lens but also because it provides a lot of rich opportunities to really identify best practices that really help us out to narrow down. So as you can see domain one talks about how we plan and prepare for that instruction. The domain two talks about the learning environment that we're providing how we're putting things together. We're very intentional about it. In domain three talks about the learning experiences that we're designing that. And domain four is the principles of teaching such as the assessment reflection that goes into that in the continuous improving reaching to the families. So all of these comes together into play when we talk about designing students

027learning experiences and actually this has been a lot of work that has been put into the organization into defining what good teaching is and how the looks force and then with that we can be more intentional the way that we approach. So it's not just like we think this might be a good thing. This might be a good approach where it's all research based best practices coming together and not only by themselves but also how they work together to provide that optimal learning experience. So with that the foundation that we have is that student intellectual engagement as the at the center as you can see that frame is for teaching and then is how do we align our work through this framework and to really be intentional as we are designing and we are engaging

028with others. So we are going to be taking time to really uh share with you some of these components that through the through the team into how the assessments are or being intentional. How is that aligned? How we're going to come back later as well to go more deep into this uh sharing with you the the work that we're doing and then also how the curriculum and instruction the design that's happening there the social emotional learning that we're doing uh the professional learning and coaching and collaboration and the student services. So because we know that student experience is is is a holistic approach of things and definitely we want to make sure that we continue seeing this as a how things come together into that into that learning experience for the student through that engagement

029piece. And with that I'll have the the pleasure to introduce Dr. Lar. >> Thank you. Um so this year our focus in the area of curriculum instruction is um centered around providing professional learning um for teachers to enhance their practice. Um we're also focusing on providing resources to support this um as it relates to resources being evidence-based um culturally responsive and standards aligned. So you'll see several areas here that we're prioritizing this year. Um beginning with ELA in grades K5. As you know, um for the past two years, we conducted a resource review of evidence-based resources, piloted three resources, and um thanks to you, we were able to adopt amplify CKLA and Camino. So this is year one of our roll out of this resource. So this year we will be providing initial professional learning

030and follow-up coaching for teachers. Um and we really want to nurture our students love for reading um as well as the knowledge domains within this resource. So very excited to kick that work off um this year. And this year we're also sort of shifting into more support around math. Um, so we will be piloting two resources in grades K5 this year at Longfellow and Holmes. Um, very excited about that. Our our students in grades K5 and teachers at those two schools will pilot amplify Desmol's math and math learning center Bridges. So this year will be our pilot year. Um we will be coming back to the board table providing updates throughout this year and at the end of this year our goal will be to recommend a resource for district-wide adoption. Um shifting to middle

031school last year we piloted several resources for social science and again thank you for the adoption of discovery education social studies. We have kicked off initial professional learning for staff um and we are in it. It is um working really well. It's inclusive. It's culturally responsive for our students. And so again, we will be providing regular updates as well this year in terms of how um our students are engaging um with this new shift in the resource. Um finally, in middle school, we sort of laid the groundwork in K5 as it relates to ELA, and now it's time to get the ball rolling at the middle school. So this is our resource review year. Um we will be reviewing um a great deal of evidence-based comprehensive resources for English language arts um with the goal

032of identifying two resources to pilot in the upcoming school year. So we'll be doing a great deal of work with the English language arts department and collaborating with them just as we collaborated with the K5 ELA committee over the past two years. I'm going to turn over to Luis for career exploration. So in addition to that you know career exploration is a mandated uh isb requirement now that we need to make sure that we continue developing and continue working on that. So we have adopted a base framework as I have previously shared with you and we'll continue developing that implementation with that. So we have also adapted schoolings. So we're in the process of this year really rolling that into application having all the students doing their their career inventory uh getting to know their

033interests and rolling this this is journey with that with that is also with the collaboration of our team of committee of teachers and educators that they will be continue like developing this uh this process along the way as we are ending with our career day career day as we normally we do. So really we excited about the pro this opportunity or really rolling something exciting as this and and then continue providing those opportunities for students. Okay. So in student services we work with students requiring 504 plans multilingual education and special education. And I know that we are going to be returning in a few weeks to go over our work. So we're excited about that. But in the meantime, we do want to talk about some key priorities that we have in our department. >>

034Um, so the priorities that we have identified for this school year um relate really around um making that um experience of the development of our five and four and IEPs a collaborative effort with our families and with our students. So that brings in that comp uh component of student agency to ensure that they are an active part of development and implementation of their plans. Um lastly, we are working with students to involve them in the tracking and um review of the progress that they're working on for their IEP goals. Um we're also working on growth goals with our um students both in um their content areas but also in langu um language acquisition for multilingual learners. All right. In the area of social emotional learning um the governor has put forth a mandate around universal

035screening. I think even without the mandate, this is an excellent um step to take as a district to make sure we're being preventative and identifying our students not with the highest need, but the kids that we might just be missing because they're in an area that they need that tier 2 support. So this year we'll be exploring the screening tool, kickstarting some community conversation around it. I'll be coming back to talk to you and then really it's the development of tier 2. what are the interventions and and the things we have in place for our students once they do come through that screening process. We also are always looking at our tier one um practices in the classroom. And so responsive classroom is something we started this summer to really start to explore and we

036want to continue to think about an adoption process um really that includes the teacher voice in that process so that there's some real commitment to across the district having a framework around our tier one um and that connects right back to Danielson and some of what um Dr. Nolan was talking about. And then last, uh, middle school, a a really big goal for us is to start exploring advisory in a real way. A lot of, uh, school districts have advisory. And then what is it? What are we really doing? We really want to take the time to work with both middle schools and really have conversations about how do we allocate that time in a meaningful way to build real community? Um, not just to have that space where everyone's somewhere, but actually building that

037community of really listening to our students. Um, so we're going to take our time with that and really make sure we're we're listening to the students and the staff and our families at the middle school level for advisory. >> Can you um just really quickly what's the what's the universal screener for? >> It's to ident it's a mental health universal screener. I did not put mental health on there because I think honestly is we really dive into it and I'll come back to the board. It we're not going to be diagnosing we're not going to be labeling. It's really meant to identify a skill deficit or an area we could Yeah. So, we'll talk more about that. >> Can I ask a question? >> You just did. >> That's cute. I like >> um middle

038school advisory. I like what you were saying. I'm just wondering, are you going to incorporate middle school students, perhaps student body, >> of course, >> leadership, whatever they're called. Absolutely. >> And that's council sometimes that take and it might be outside of student council too because sometimes our student councils don't always um incorporate all of our students. Um even as Donna and Tracy were talking about students in special education that might be um not always I mean I think we intend to include everyone but sometimes we have to be more intentional about identifying all groups that are impacted in in um how we put these advisory groups together. >> Okay. Thank you. Mhm. All right. And MTSS and um the assessments that we have around um our 2025 26 priorities. Um so it really is

039the uh our goal this year is really using data to drive um instruction and intervention. So we're starting with our Renaissance assessment suite that we rolled out this year. I think that it has gone really well. We've gotten a lot of positive feedback from staff and students. Um everyone was really impressed. It was actually a shorter time testing and really excited about that. Um, we are still in those beginning stages of PD. We've done PD districtwide. We've done PD with the train the trainer. We have another PD coming up here at the end of um, September. So, just really becoming more comfortable with the assessment suite, diving in, understanding all of those reports, um, and making sure that by the time conferences roll around, our teachers feel confident in talking with families and explaining where

040we are and how students are doing according to the assessment suite. So, that's what we're using there. We're also using that data to go ahead and develop our win blocks more. um our win is what uh you know what I need and it's making sure that all of our students across um the district are getting what they need during that time. So it's not only for intervention which I think we used to call an intervention block and it geared people towards those tier 2 tier three intervention but it's also towards enrichment and making sure that we're providing challenging and rigorous um practices to students that do need that. Um, so one of our big pushes this year is increasing that tier 2 instruction and making sure that all students are working to that. Um, again,

041this some of that professional development around that. How can we strengthen those windblocks? What does that look like? Um, how do we best support teachers in doing that? Um, and then we're also using our data walls. Our data walls are ever evolving um especially now with all of the new data we're getting from Renaissance, but really looking in there, making sure that we're progress monitoring, making sure that we're tracking students, making sure that all of that information is available for teachers so that as we cycle back at the end of every MTSS cycle, which is anywhere between 6 to 12 weeks, um we can actually talk about how a student is doing. And then as always, our favorite topic, acceleration updates along with our new Renaissance suite. We will be updating our rubrics to align

042our rubrics. Uh right now can have map and as web on them. So we will use um our new Renaissance suite to update those rubrics, make sure that we're being um fair and consistent. We are also reviewing our end of the year standards. Renaissance comes with a whole suite of assessments. They don't only have nationally normed assessments, they also have standardsbased assessments. So, making sure we're looking at those assessments and that they are meeting the needs of what we need um for our acceleration process. >> I had a quick wonder actually for Dr. DeLeon um along the lines of MTSS, but mostly about like how are our principles embracing those data dives at the middle school and making time for them? >> Yeah. Well, we have our our teams or team time and definitely that's

043an opportunity. We're very intentional about it. >> So, one of the pieces as well is looking about the data. Uh Emily has been like great about uh collaborating with the principles, building the capacity. It's not only about having the data, it's how to use the data and how to make those decisions and problem solving around it. So, I think that that's one of the concentrations we have. We have an every other week with me and definitely that has been going into a conversation about building the capacity not not only in those principles but also our teacher leaders >> that they are actually the one running groups with other teachers into making making those decisions. So they are familiar with the data. Uh I think that's a really good opportunity to see what other data we

044need that might be different or unique for middle schools that we may be thinking about that might be in relevant for it. Uh our principles are uh looking forward to that having highly engaged so far into this these conversations and definitely we're looking forward to continue. I just want to make sure the MTSS coordinators at the middle school are supported in doing that work. And part of it is making sure administrators give them >> like a voice and a space to do that. >> So yes, and we're rolling out a new system this year with our middle school and how we look at data and how we're talking about students and what we're considering tier 2, tier three, and how we're addressing those not only behaviorally, but academically as well. Um, and so I it's

045not going to be perfect this year because it's our first year rolling it out. But we have high hopes and what we're really looking for more than anything is teacher voice in this system and like saying like, "Hey, what really worked for you with this new way we're doing things and what do you think still needs to change so we can continue to tweak it?" Uh, because the middle school is a whole different beast than the elementary schools. It's a lot easier when you just have a great little teachers that work with the same kids all day, but making sure that um students aren't slipping through the cracks because they're seen by so many multiple teachers and stuff. So, how do we team together at a team level, at a super team level, to be

046able to talk about students as a whole? >> And since we're just interrupting, I'm just going to throw in as well. Um, since you mentioned teachers and working together, first of all, I love that this is such a great tool for our teachers to work with to really help our students. Um, I've mentioned this before and I'm just going to always keep mentioning it. uh if you can translate this into family speak and also into student speak for older students because sometimes they'll hear their scores and then they start talking about it and it's like you want to make sure that they understand what this means and how it can help them, how it can help families. >> Agreed. Agreed. We're being really intentional this year with our family report. So hopefully that families will

047not only get a family report, they'll get a report from Renaissance that talks about that, but they'll also get or a letter from Renaissance that talks about the report, but they'll also get a district letter. So it's like almost coming home like a three-page packet just to not, you know, to explain the shift in our assessment system even though we've communicated that, but make sure everybody knows and understands that. Uh what we've seen, uh we've been like tearing through the data. So any trends we've already seen and how we're addressing that, what we're thinking about that. Um, and then in addition to that, like just hopefully putting it together so that they understand what these scores mean and how we're using them and what we're using them for to help their students move forward. >>

048And so speaking of time, so we just want to make sure that how we're using time, we're very intentional um with how we're using our time with teachers as far as professional learning, coaching, and collaboration. And so how we're integrating all of that within our school improvement logic model uh professional learning communities within our grade level teams, our department meetings at the middle school and how we're also integrating that work with our principles in the instructional walkthroughs and how all of that is coming together to really just improve student intellectual engagement and how we're bringing all of those things together. And one of the reasons that we have Maryanne here is to kind of show how it's being done at Lincoln and how she has created a visual up at Lincoln to kind of show

049how all of these things um elevating the instructional practices throughout the Daniel framework. um promoting the intentional use of grade level time and collaboration um collaborative conversations with teachers, the walkthroughs, all of those things um within her work with her team and her teacher leaders at Lincoln. >> Yep. Um so what we have done is um I created what I call a SIP simplified. So school improvement plan simplified. Um, in the past we have had multiple slides with a lot of words on them and we present them and everyone just gives me a glass to overlook. Um, and so I just wanted something very simple that is going to drive all of our conversations. It drives all of our professional learning whether that's at our grade level PLC meetings or our building staff meetings or

050for example today our building um our building leadership meeting all of this work we come back to this screen this drives every conversation that we have this drives all of the work that we're doing so our equity policies what a lot of the work we did last year up at Lincoln was we really looked at what is in our circle of control and equity policy. So, the reason I have my screen is I just didn't want to get the pillars wrong. Um, but what we talked about in relation to our work is that um equitable access to highquality education, which is what we talked about earlier, engaging our families and our students as partners, creating a welcoming school environment, and recognizing and validating diversity in all that we do. So those four pillars plus um

051what you see in the circle up there which is directly taken from the framework for teaching which Dr. Dale presented earlier. The um things that we are concentrating on up at Lincoln are knowing and valuing our students creating a culture for learning and then planning for instruction. So what we have decided is if we take the pillars from the equity policy plus if all of our work concentrates around those three things we will see improvement in our ELA math and belonging scores. >> We all like that and then there's a whole lot of other work that goes on >> there a lot of other things >> but that looks very pretty up there. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Are you sharing that with your um principal colleagues? >> I did. Yes. and we shared it

052at um curriculum night with our families as well. Okay. >> Um and so it really is leading all of our conversations that we're having. Yeah. >> So at this time we've already started the questions, but if there are additional questions, this would be the time. >> We're going to go around start with Becky and work over to Kevin on down. >> We can start with someone else since I already got to ask the question. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for the presentation. I don't have questions right now. >> Um I have comments question. Uh one of the questions I get asked a lot in the community is what do those people in that admin building do anyway? Um and I and then I talk their ear off for about an hour and explain and

053then they're like, "Okay, I see what they do now. This is great." Um, but this right here, one of I'm going to couple this with I was also just reading a really great article on why don't we use best practices and why don't we use research in our classrooms like it stays in the universities or it stays in the the think tanks. Why is it not happening here? And hearing Dr. Lawrence talk about how this is being thoughtfully brought in here. Hearing you talk about how you're looking at it within school and working to bring parents in. I um I would love to surface this more like this is that's it's not really a question so much as a the more that we can help people understand that this is what makes for a great

054districts for our students. And so I really appreciate the amount of of work that's being done to take those best practices and research that's being done and thoughtfully bring it out and work with teachers to support them in doing it. Work with the just get it into the classroom for our students. >> Thank you. >> No comments. >> Thank you for the excellent presentation. >> Dr. Kim, I have any questions? Thank you guys. Wait, circle back. Mhm. >> I just wanted to emphasize like the system for MTSS has typically run really well for elementary schools >> and that's why I emphasize what's happening at the middle school because I think if there is buy in from >> you know from the top down you know like you come in with enthusiasm bring materials ready to

055go and then we have a couple support people but we really need cuz we have a new principal at Julian then we have like a veteran principal in another building, but the buildings are very different. And so I think like just trying to model what is best practice because the classes are already ingrained in the schedule, right, for reading and for math. They're kind of schedules for the kids. So that's not the challenge. The challenge is how do teams then support each other, right? You have the kind of departmental people coming together to be a team for a group of students. how do they share the responsibility in regards to behavioral interventions or math or reading tier 2 pieces? So, I'm I'm hopeful that we'll have more updates about the middle schools. That's that's where

056I I would love to see more information on how they're implementing MTSS. >> No, thank you for that. Uh teams are actually working together like we you're right about that something that we have corrected. So we have to use but actually it's only one team as we have like really coming together and really making the decisions together. >> So definitely looking forward to bring you more of those updates. >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you guys so much. >> Moving on to the consent agenda. Can I get a motion? >> 20 minutes. >> I No, that wasn't worth I move the board of education of Oak Elementary School District 97 approve the consent agenda as presented. Before we approve the motion, can we just introduce the amended personnel report and then motion with a

057revised? >> So I move that the board of education of park ele school district move to approve the consent agenda consent agenda as presented including the personnel report as revised. Second >> Johnson. >> Yes. Ros, >> yes. >> Sperlock is absent. Moore. >> Yes. >> Perez. >> Yes. >> Kim. >> Uh, yes. Sorry. >> Yes. >> Revised consent agenda including personnel reports. All right. Um, to the budget. >> The budget. >> Is that uh Yes. I'm sorry. Uh, moving on to action items 10.1, adoption of the FY26 budget. Can I get a motion? >> Read the motion. I move that the board of education park elementary school district 97 adopt the final fiscal year 2026 budget as presented to the board on September 16th 2025. Oh, we have Is there a presentation? >> You had

058it a month ago. >> Yeah. >> Why does it say presentation? >> I mean I'm not saying I need one but >> there's a very minor changes from what was presented a month ago in the preliminary presentation for the budget. So, as presented to the board on >> August, >> well, there's so there's there's a memo from our financial consultant, Rob Gy. There's a final presentation which includes some minor changes from the August 12th presentation. Um, so Crystal could potentially speak to what those are before you, but there isn't a fullon amended presentation. Got it. >> Yeah. So, we don't need the presentation. Crystal, do you mind just telling us what those minor changes are for the public's uh information as well? >> Sure. >> Got to get you on camera. Um essentially there were

059reallocations. So we moved not necessarily the total bottom line or but from function code to function code or department to department. Um there's also some final numbers for some revenues. So we updated that. Um the property taxes, the corporate property tax was we had final numbers for that or better numbers. So we updated that very minor just as close as we could get. We still didn't have like title grant final, you know, that those type of final numbers, but as much as we could, we tried to get closer to the estimate than was presented in August. So, they were very, but it was not, if you're looking number to number, it's not exactly the same as August, but worth mentioning that we changed a few items. >> And what was the difference in the um

060the totals? Is that a memo? >> Gap is she's looking that up. A budget is simply an estimate of expenditures and revenue. All large expenditures come back to the board for individual approval. Uh so it's it's not an exacting science and by state law you must adopt a budget before September 30th of this month. So you got 14 days and my understanding is these are minor changes in the over hund00 million budget. >> Yes. I'm sorry. >> What are you trying to get at correct? >> Do I have to put it in a different uh language? I would just point out for folks that may be listening that in the board materials are a presentation and a memo that overview the changes in case folks are interested in city. I think what started us down

061this rabbit hole was just that the motion said as presented today. >> I think also for the the public um there's a perception that we don't review this stuff. letting them know that we do review this these things as you said uh you know we have to approve these things but I don't want there to be a misconception that we just rubber stamp whatever's um if you don't have it that's okay >> I no I was just giving you the I don't have the exact difference in it but basically what we're looking at was the surplus we're looking at for the revenue reserves by six excuse me increased by 7.6 6 million from the last year and that was just a little bit different than was presented in the first budget. So the revenues were

062higher than what we presented originally >> Which is good news. It's still an estimate as as you mentioned but it's that was one of the significant changes. >> Awesome. >> Anybody have any questions? >> All right. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right. So, I will now move that the board of education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 adopt the final fiscal year 2026 budget as discussed at the board meeting on September 16th, 2025 and in August. >> Second, >> yes. >> Kurt Johnson, >> yes. >> Kim, >> yep. >> Spurlock is absent. Karn, >> yes. >> Perez, >> yes. Rost. >> Yes. Motion passed. >> All right. Moving on along. We need to read this uh OPTA memoranda. >> Is it a field trip? I got feel. >> Okay. So,

063moving on to 10 action item. Wait, no, I'm sorry. >> Discussion item >> 11. Yeah, sorry. I Yeah, messing up my computer. Uh 11.1 overnight and out of state eighth grade field trip. >> Dr. Lton, he's got a brief presentation. >> Yes. >> About the field trip to Hawaii in December. >> No chaperon. Definitely. Well, it does feel like we were just um coming back from the trip in Maine and talking about it again. So excited to um present our proposal for this year. Um just rooting quickly and why. Um our goal is to make sure that every student has equitable access to um learning experiences both in and out of school of which the field trip is one. And then we do have a policy governing um field trips that um requires that we

064support our students who um receive free reduced lunch. So, um, SP25, um, we had a great time in both Springfield and St. Louis. Um, so just wanted to do a quick recap. Um, in terms of the data, what we typically look at is demographic data. So, you'll see on the first year that the district actually sponsored the trip was an SY23 to Washington DC, then again in SY24, and then last year to St. Louis. And then the last bar graph is just um in terms of demographics where our eighth grade overall class is. So you'll see from um SY23 to um SY25 there has been an increase in the participation of black and brown students and then um all other um student groups were also um pretty close to our overall district demographics. We saw

065that same increase into the terms of the number of um free and reduced priced lunch um students who receive free and reduced price lunch um that increase as well as the number of students who have IEPs and again we see alignment with our overall um student demographics. Last year, we started to I'm sorry, two years ago, we started to also um survey families who did not attend the field trip to determine what um kind of equity and access levers we need to pull to make sure that we're thinking about um how to increase again participation. So, um in Washington DC, that trip the main driver in terms of um a barrier was the trip being too expensive. Um that is not the case in terms of the St. Louis and Springfield trip, but um the

066main driver here was just the itinerary was out of interest. Um so we continue to lean into student voting and we'll continue to figure out different ways to um have ideas from students and families um to really kind of drive interest, but this year um the students did vote again. They just had two choices. But you'll see the split is likely why um those numbers look the way they do because it's pretty close. So, um, 73% of the eighth grade class voted during the week of August, the last week in August. Um, and 53.1% voted for Nashville. So, that's where we're headed. Um, and this trip aligns to our career explorer dimension of the portrait. Um, we just have some highlights here because we haven't actually fleshed out the the finer details because we have

067to make sure that um, there is board approval. But we're anticipating um some university tours also music road planetarium and the bsentennial capital hall state park and this is actually um a slide from the student presentation. So they were able to actually um get a quick video tour of national. So in terms of um just looking at r participation rates and what the financial impact might be um we have seen participation rise. So in SI23 we're at 45% of our eighth rate class attended. SI 24 55% um and then last year 52%. Um but that is beneath what we're we're hoping for in terms of the majority of the eighth grade class actually um attending the trip. So, in terms of financial impact related to that field trip policy, um there are 118 eighth grade

068students who received free reduced price lunch, and that is down from um last year where we're at 132. Um in SY 24, we spent $106,000 um approximately in fees for 62 students. Last year we spend spent about 31,000 um and we're projecting a cost of 63,000 on the high end for this year's field trip based on those three factors there. So we do have an overall reduction in the number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. So we took about roughly um again it looks like half um have been participating. So we took half of that 118 number divided it by I'm sorry multiplied it by um an increased cost of the trip based on student vote. And then um like I said, we're anticipating that um for this year that we're still hovering

069at the 50 to 55% range in terms of um participation. And the Oak Park Township is very generous in providing um $300 per student and field trip fees um for families who qualify and ask. So, in terms of next steps, um the difference this year, um was that we did send a survey to seventh grade families at the end of last year um just to kind of get some um ideas around destinations. Um since some reminders, we had our student voting window in August 25th. I'm here presenting um with action slated for September 30th um in hopes of finalizing trip details in October for a trip that starts in March. Um, so March 14th or 16th of the tenative dates kind of >> um I'll hold up on my question. Jung, we'll start with you.

070>> Yeah, I was um I don't remember the dates from last year, but it seems like a really short time span for the amount of driving the kids will be doing because they'll essentially be two days of travel and only one day on the ground, right? So they leave at 5 in the morning. They get there in the afternoon. So they have time to Okay. >> In the afternoon they get to do something then that full day and then there's a probably a later arrival when they get back at like 10:00 at night. >> Is that what it was last year too? >> Yeah, it was over Memorial Day. Um so yeah, that was last year, but we're trying to minimize the amount of time spent away from the the building. Um even though we're

071doing it over weekends. So yeah, >> I guess for um our students that qualify for free and reduced, we're hovering around 50%. >> Which I don't know, some people could say was great. I I and the look on your face says there's room for improvement. So we know we've taken away the financial barriers. So there is other barriers. or have we been able to identify what some of those barriers are? >> Yeah. Um, our families are telling us just in terms of the itinerary and I think we've done a couple of things around trying to increase student interest um to reach out to families. So, we this is still a work in progress in terms of are we picking places that are reasonable in price but also places that kids want to go might find

072interesting. So, um and what's also interesting is that it's usually this is it's split. So 50% of kids vote for something, 50% vote for something else. So um we may also get kind of stuck there. So I think that's something that we're going to keep trying to figure out like how to so we may adjust the vote, maybe have kids rank do some rank choice um things coming up. So but we're working on it. Thank you. >> So one question that is out there is why are you having the students pick this? And I know last year you had a great answer to that. So, I'm just going to ask that again knowing that there is a great answer to it. >> Yeah, I think we value student voice, choice, and agency in almost all

073decisions. And we're talking about um an eighth grade class that I think should have a really cool experience and we want to frame it around the portrait and give them some boundaries, but we also want them to have some choice um in terms of what they may want to do, what speaks to them. Um so, we've seen it change even in the last two years and that speaks to the personality of the class. So, we want to make sure that we um respond to that. Sir Gavin, >> thank you. Um, I had a quick question about the survey responses. Um, >> it was great to see that the percentage of folks saying that the trip was too expensive went down quite a bit. I think that was obviously a big driver behind this is that

074we didn't want cost to be a barrier for anybody to go. Um, I think the other thing that sticks out to me is is the answers on the itinerary was not of interest, which I think is kind of consistent with like the community response of like, you know, DC is more exciting than St. Louis. >> You know, I've never been to St. Louis, so I'm not going to on that. But um one question I do have is whether we have taken done any kind of survey or collected information from kids that did go to find out how was it, what did you like, what didn't you like, and can we use that in following years to say, hey, I know some of you really want DC, but you should know kids that go on these

075trips are having a great experience or they whatever it is, you know, in ways that we that we're iterating over time to ensure that it's fulfilling for them. >> Yeah. And I didn't get a chance to include the um survey that we've sent to parents and students um after the trip. But there was satisfaction generally it was like in terms of three four scale of three, four and five. Most were in the four and five range. But I think kind of longitudinally can we go back and kind of figure out um what resonated with them? Yeah, I think we can probably. >> Yeah. And I think also just to for parents that may still be harboring Dreams of DC to be able to say and kids like, "Hey, >> you should know this is also

076a great experience." >> Uh that's worth considering, too. >> Yeah, I I agree. >> My son went he had a great time. >> Oh, good. >> Um so, >> it was fun for us too, >> Patrick. I think good things. I love Nashville. Um I have been to and I'm just going to like throw this out there that the music hall the country music hall of fame. >> It's beautiful. >> There's a lot of rep not replicas like original article um records framed and >> Elvis Presley materials if that's something that interests the kids in terms of history. >> Love Elvis Presley. >> I know but it's just like a piece of history that starts just saying. Um but there's a lot of modern things there too. Um, and then I was curious about I

077think I had mentioned Vanderbilt as like like Fisk would be like is it under the historically colleges HB.CU and then also like is it a PWI guess would it be >> is it private? Like what are those looking at TSL white institution? >> Okay, that's what I was trying to figure out. So like having that range, but um just walking by it too sometimes just but that's just and they're on their way going south probably taking 65. So like if we were concerned about like you know what are some things Indianapolis is great >> yeah Louisville is a great stop >> and we're able to customize some of the itinerary so I think we can take this back to our travel vendor. >> Yeah. So, um I'm glad to see the numbers improve. However, um

078as Venus kind of mentioned, I think I think there is some room for improvement and um I'm wondering can we get curious a little bit earlier about how do we incorporate more student voice in terms of the agenda, the the option of places to go, packages, vendors that we can work with um so that we do see higher participation. I just remember like eighth grade being super exciting for me and I think I don't even know if DC was on the table then but it was like Springfield which is I had never been to Springfield. Um but it was just like that excitement of going. So I think like getting that excitement um a couple of uh parents did reach out to me to talk about like the current climate. Um, and so being that

079Tennessee is not Oak Park, um, and just >> though, >> neither is DC. >> I I just went to DC and I I I didn't see any of the things that we saw in the news. Not to say it's not there, but I just think just that call out, being intentional about some of the places. So, you mentioned Indianapolis and I immediately was like, >> um, that's where the clamp was founded. So Martin's um I'm thinking about um some of those things I know like recently in the news they tal they were talking about putting up some of those monuments again and I think it can be a learning experience but I also think there may be a number of parents who are not comfortable especially black and brown children with what is going on

080in our national landscape. So just being intentional to speak to you're going to see things that we likely are going to see here in Oak Park. Um, and just having that as be a teaching moment. Um, cuz that was part of the thing like, you know, I'm I'm the on comfortable with my child going anywhere in the south right now. >> Um, so just wanted to like call that out if it might come up. So we should be prepared for that. >> Yeah, I think there's a um trying to measure between what could be instructive versus how do I keep you safe. >> Um, so I think for us we lean toward not safe not physical but psychological safety too. So like so I think that's a great point um and something that we when

081we planned them um even the drink bill in St. Louis I feel like there were some just wanted to make sure again um that students felt comfortable um and some folks reached out about just some things that were going in St. Louis. We do try and we do try and think about that. But I think that's a great point in terms of just making sure that we build it in. >> Yeah. Cuz I think that we went to Nashville last year and literally we left on Friday, Saturday the Proud Boys were like the same like downtown Nashville and I was just like so thankful we had left. So I think that's going to be in a lot of folks minds. So just addressing and being proactive. I do think like like academics have this conversation

082all the time in terms of where conferences are held and having friends who've like coordinated conferences in southern towns. Like I think there's also something to be said, not that I'm saying we need to put our kids at the front lines, but there is something to be said about acknowledging that black and brown families also live in those communities. >> Um, and so sometimes it's also about making sure there's connections in terms of like the fact that it's an HB.CU and like what does it mean to be black in the South? And um and again, I'm not saying that our kids need to be like at the front lines and like figuring those things out, but I do think sometimes like there's a place of and this is not about you, but like there's a

083place of privilege of like well I'm not going to go in those places and it's like people live in those places, right? And so um and I think within I mean academia academia is a very different place, but I think there's also just conversations about supporting people who live in those communities. that's a different space than our kids. But I think there need to be like more nuanced conversations sometimes about like what it means to go somewhere and support support or not support certain communities. Um but kind of in line with that, I was actually wondering since we've basically approved racial profiling now at the national level. Um, for any students that are going to be traveling across state lines who are either undocumented or or come from mixed document status families, do we and

084I know we just did in the consent agenda also approved uh the band field trip to Ohio. >> Um, another state >> lovely place. >> I should we should say that stuff. Um but I'm kind of curious if there have been conversations um one amongst the faculty that will go but then two are we having upfront conversations with families who may be initially interested about their children going but be very concerned about what are you going to do if someone comes up and asks your kid for papers. >> Yeah. And I think um once we kind of settle on that, we want to make sure that that's front of mind when we talk to our vendors so that they have a clear kind of path. Yeah. And protocol especially and that has come up even

085with DC like >> well especially with DC. So um that is definitely something that we're thinking about considering. Um but as we talk to our vendors, we want to make sure we're pressure testing it to make sure that it feels right for families as we share it in our family meetings and for staff as well. You're absolutely right. But you are having conversations for some of these other trips too though. >> Oh yeah. Oh absolutely. Okay. Yeah. Okay. >> Last round of questions. Go once. I'll just reiterate the piece that going to a PWI again predominately white institution for college. For some of us, we got there and we learned what to expect. Like shock just throw throw you into a sinking, you know, ship. And so that is also why I was like it's

086awesome to visit the H.B.CU where you feel like maybe some of the kids will connect but there is like that did my parents take the drive to do the weekend where we looked at all the colleges. No, >> they go to a PW. >> But I'm just say it's not the same as going to the west suburbs. This is still an enclave comparatively. Now I grew up in Berwin and I can speak to that too. So it's 50/50. I grew up at Oak Park and went to H.B.CU and I'll respectfully disagree. But anyway, um, thank you, Dr. >> Do we have a consensus at this point or >> Oh, I was going to ask, can we >> We're supposed to vote next. >> We're We're supposed to vote next week. I have next. >> Y'all

087know what I meant. >> True. >> I have a pending ask to the board. Um, when is the latest that we could get you information on this? Like vote. >> We approve. Yeah, >> it would probably be. >> Sorry, I can't hear you guys. >> I'm asking when is the latest because we have >> When is the latest? What? >> That we can get her a decision. We have a very very very light agenda for the 30th. >> And you're going to have a very heavy agenda in October and November because of superintendent search issues. >> So they're talking about cancelling meeting, >> right? long story short >> and so we would need to come to some >> decision. >> Would that create issues if >> that's why I asked about a consensus? If we

088have a consensus, we go ahead and planning and we can just put on the next October 14th agenda. >> Um, oddly enough, that weekend is a pretty busy one. So, we have folks um holding buses for us. Um, and so we had planned on the 30th. We'd have to go back to the vendor to see if they can actually do it. But there are a lot of schools for some reason um traveling on that date. >> I think that's what the runs were great. >> I mean, because October is so heavy, does it make sense to have just a short meeting on the 30th to knock some of this stuff out? >> Well, I think what Griff is asking is, are we all sufficiently okay with it that we can give our blessing now and

089then formally vote? >> You're going to be overly uh >> meeting out during October, November, and I'm concerned to burn out the board. It's going to be a lot of work for all of you. It's >> been so light and easy all this time, >> right? Uh so >> nothing's hard to fix. >> I have no issues with with that plan of consent. Uh we have the majority here. So do folks have concerns about that plan. Then that would give us a little bit of time and space before October, November. I mean Halloween is huge, you know. >> So just to clarify, you're talking about approving it tonight. >> Not approving. No, it's not an action item. You can't prove it tonight. >> Well, that that's why I was like, I'm not sure we can

090do that, right? >> Give us some direction and say, >> okay, >> right now there's general consensus. We only have one board member missing. So, >> personally, I'm okay with it. I would like, and this is kind of a separate conversation, but I like I would like there to be some sort of review of what the eighth grade field trip is supposed to be. Um, I know you guys have heard me kind of rant about the culture around some of this. Um, and so I would love to see on the side whether I mean maybe it's involving parents, kids, and administrators, but really talking about like what is the point of the eighth grade field trip? Like what do we like what is equitable? What we want? Because I feel like right now it's kind

091of a band-aid approach. No disrespect to your work, but the idea that like we've had a trip and this is what we're going to do. um without really taking a step back and be like, why why are we doing this? Like what's the point? Like um and so I feel like especially since we've pivoted away from DC, there's some, you know, hard feelings about what people feel like was a right of passage or whatever. Um and so it might be worth having a larger conversation >> as this is going on about like >> what do we envision this to be? So, but in terms of the of this spec spec specific trip, I'm okay. to go to what she said. And then I would also just ask um before we do the the parent meeting,

092can we come back on what that plan is going to look like just to ensure that parents um that there's an opportunity to like kind of kick the tires a little bit um from last year and I know last year was the first year and we talked a little bit about this just making sure that it it goes smoothly. >> Absolutely. Um and we've been thinking about that. I think I in talking to PTO's um to me a class trip we have is at least 85% participation or more and we've been trying to get to that point. So I think it's starting with that as the starting point in the conversation. Um because we also have that the great American ship where there is probably 99.9% of kids go. So that is an eighth grade

093experience. So I think we do need to kind of have a community conversation around what it means to have that. What was the percentage last year? >> Um, for us was 52%. >> 52%. >> All right. Anybody else want to um give a a thumbs up >> or down? Sorry if you're right. >> All right. Uh, so we will come back not on a 30th, but we uh we have no concerns. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thanks. >> You have some direction or you feel as you do? >> I I feel we're good. Good. >> Thank you. >> All right. Uh 11.2 superintendent search pro process. Why don't I read progress? Um so um we are on the hunt for a superintendent for those of you who did not know. Um RFP's uh request for

094proposals were announced last week. Um and we anticipate getting some of the well last week or this Monday. I don't know what yesterday. I don't know what the day is. Um so we anticipate getting some of those uh those in by October 3rd. Um we've already um started to get some uh interest. We've gotten I would say since the day we've gotten a couple of emails of search terms and so we sent those out. We the deadline to submit is October 3rd. Um, we also will collectively start to be proactive and figuring out who the stakeholders are that are important to have part of the conversation. What are the like uh what what is really important to us? So, just aligning on what it is that we're looking for. You know, I know some folks

095are like they must be local. They must know a park. And some people are like, I don't really care if they're from a park or whatever. So, just aligning collectively as a board so that we're setting that person up for success and so that I'm not expecting one thing. Venus is like evaluating super difficult on another thing. Um but that we're all aligned in our process. Um the search firm of course will give us some guidance and uh they will be doing a lot of that outreach but you know we always intend to be intentional and proactive in our approach. And so that's the work that we're doing now is we're going to assign like who's going to be looking for proposals, giving feedback, raising any questions, doing those interviews. um we hope to narrow

096it down um to a small percentage so that we can small small number um there are a lot of folks who you know have reached out to us so we can imagine that we're going to have a robust pull and so just making sure we're aligned on what it is that we're looking for but as well as our community partners um what's important to our principles our teachers uh park district all those entities that we work very closely with um we are super lucky that you you know, most of us have been here before and so, uh, you know, Gavin has done a great job in kind of like getting us started and leading that effort. So, super thankful to you, Gavin. Um, did anyone else have anything they wanted to add or any questions?

097>> Terms of timing, you are a little bit behind. Most districts are starting in May and June. You're starting in September, October. So, and you want to get the best pool possible. So, there is some urgency here that >> Crystal Ball was not working last week. So, we did not pursue this. So, hopefully now we get it working. >> Good. >> I just wanted to say I appreciate the transparency that we are going to actually be making sure that people are aware of the work that we're doing um with this process so that it doesn't feel like it's behind the scenes black box. >> The search firms we want to do a survey focus groups and those have to be you have to move very quickly on on both because you want all stakeholders uh

098to hear their voices. And that's emphasized in the RFP. >> Yeah. >> It was what? >> That's emphasized in the RFP, >> right? That we expect robust community engagement. >> We also want to be intentional and not rush. Um this is an important role. Um the person is going to be leading our district. So um I just appreciate all the work that's already gone into this and all the work that we will do, all the fancy meals that we're going to have. No, I'm just joking. But um all the work that we're going to have. So just thank you to this board. Um, everyone has been super like eager and ready and asking questions about what's next and how do I how do I help? So, I'm looking forward to this process. Um, concluding items

099uh for remarks. I think I could appreciate the presentation from district leadership. So like we usually hear from cabinet, we hear from the superintendent and it was nice to start off the year with like a lot of the people that are constantly running the wheel with ideas and that are at the building level more with higher frequency. So I appreciated that. I also appreciated the work behind the scenes with um police and Holly, which is not here, um to address some of the community concerns around um just like training and procedures in regards to ICE or homeland security being in our neighborhoods. I think that was a quick turnaround hopefully for the community to feel like a sense of safety. Um, I think there's a lot of, you know, a lot of things going on

100in the neighboring, you know, schools. So, it's nice to know I' I've heard of River Forest, um, not schools, but the community of people being picked up, Cisero and Berwin. So, I don't know about Oak Park as much, but I think like there's a system like where there's signs, you know, reporting like Homeland Security or ICE being outside of schools and a way to report those sightings. So, I I feel like our community is kind of gathering together um some resources. I think the high school was coordinating with the village and my hope is that we're also tagged on to that. They have like identified like 75 different resources for families that might be separated at some point. Um so, it's just kind of nice to see that coming together for people that were asking

101and that there was such a good response from board members that volunteered to do something with Luis's help as well. And that's legal counsel for the people at home. >> Legal Louis, >> I just have two uh quick comments. Um I just want to I wish I could have given her this, but it just wasn't good timing. Emily Craan, um so amazing. I wish I can clone her. Um so responsive the math program this summer. Um there were major improvements. Um, but where there were hiccups, she was accountable. She was quick. She was communitive. Like, she was just on top of it. And I I felt like I was always informed. I always knew what was happening. I can tell she's so passionate about this. I'm like, it's math. Um, but she's so passionate about

102it, but she's and she's so on top of it. And so, I just want to give her that shout out. And then secondly, I just again want to just thank the adm team. Um, over the past 30 days, you guys have been just on it. Like phone calls, text messages, 8:00 at night, 7:00 in the morning. Um, and I really hope that you guys like take a mental health day sometime soon because there is a lot going on. I actually took a mental health day yesterday because I made the mistake of watching the news in the morning, which my therapist tells me not to. Um, but there's a lot going on. And I think we're so used to just kind of keep going and it'll be okay and I'll get to that point. And so

103I really just would like to like really emphasize to take care of yourself right now. Um, and I know you guys care about this district. No one will ever question that, but please just take the time to care for yourself. Um, this district will be here. Um, so you know, um, that's all I just want to say. Anybody else? And board members soon. All right. Uh board assignments. So I attended back facility advisory committee for the first time. Um, it was kind of neat to see like how everybody comes together, the expertise that's coming together from all of those members, from like people that work on building codes in the village to people that you know have their own construction companies to um architects. It was it was neat um to meet all of those

104different entities and obviously the leadership of Michael and John to kind of get through and then our consultant um to get through some of that work. um outcomes of that um meeting that just took place yesterday was that we ran through uh one building's kind of like priorities from building maintenance to health and safety requirement you know updates to building request. Um we prioritized it using criteria that was identified so that you know you can identify the timeline as to when those things are going to take place and um that model will be replicated for all the other buildings. So I think we're in good shape to move a little bit faster the next time we meet on I believe the 29 the 29th maybe. >> Yeah. So um and then we were looking at

105dollar amounts but it was a reminder that that's mostly the responsibility of the board. So that would be something that would come up in our conversations. But the goal was to get through everything that was listed that was required and needing changes to requests that were made. Keyword critical critical issues. >> Yeah. Any um sorry Pack. >> Yeah. I ventured out. >> Oh, that's me and I'm with it. Uh we met last week um and had a presentation about um my brain doing whatever the presentation it was >> more like um you know MTSS >> that's what I was going to say I'm like no we just had a presentation about MT sorry it's all running together you guys I'm so sorry uh it was a good conversation um talking about students different uh needs

106will mostly be focused. Uh we're trying to work out our schedule for the remainder of the year. I think we initially had something scheduled for December, but I think there were a number of conflicts on it and the committee also wanted to meet more often. Um so there's a a couple preliminary dates that are floating around that um we'll figure out uh which I was like, "Oh, a committee that actually wants to meet more often." Uh, it's a novelty, but it's been it's been a great comm. It's a great group. So, um, yeah. >> See your thing, just read it. >> Does anyone hear from >> me? Um, we did not, our last meeting was canceled, but prior to that, we were working um on the budget. So, our work here is done. >> Intergovernmental

107committee of ago. >> Ago. So, IGAV is uh working to revise the values and mission statement um in light of current events. Um we've been hearing from the community a desire for all the governing bodies to actually collaborate a little bit more. Um so those are being revised with that in mind. So be on the lookout as we get farther into the fall um for some requests for people's thoughts on those values of mission. Um, another piece is that we are working on creating a central repository for IGOV information. So, it kind of links all of the bodies together. Um, we're still looking at where that can actually be housed. There are a couple different options, but as soon as one is decided, we can throw that in. And then I just wanted to share

108from our, uh, fine colleagues over at D200. They have submitted for recognition for good governance uh, to IASB. So for those of us who are at the conference this year, how would you go in and you know chair them up >> uh PTOC >> first meeting of PTOC is uh the first week of October. >> Thank you. D97 sustainability task force >> first meeting of the sustainability task force is the day after the first meeting of PTOC in early October. Um but in the meantime uh folks from the district as part of the case the cross agency sustainability exchange have been working towards uh kind of presenting recommendations and opportun and options for different institutions in the district. uh in the next couple of weeks they're going to work towards um bringing things together sort

109of packaging them in a way that uh each institution is ready to move on them if they want and that's will be the focus of our meeting in early October >> and really quickly for that group I think the buy program the recycling and um like their whole program that's going to be replicated I hope in other schools was recognized recently. So, I don't I would be curious at the next meeting if they can speak to that cuz they were recognized and given like some kind of award. I wish I had my phone out to look at it, but it was like a good thing. So, maybe something we can bring up next time. >> Are you talking about the food waste folks? >> Yeah, >> they are part of the sustainability task force. >>

110Yeah, they were recognized for something. They like received an award. So, I'll have to get back to you on that, but that sounded pretty cool. collaboration for early childhood. >> Uh so again, we have been meeting over the summer when we typically don't meet. Um to look at, hey, we've had this intergovernmental agency agreement for well over a decade. Um does it still make sense? Um how do we make better use of our tri- agency meeting where we all come together instead of just looking at, you know, here's the budget, here's what we've done, this is great. um actually making use of all the agencies and giving a chance to do something a little bit more toothy meaty while we're there. Um and I think there's just a a strong desire upon all parties to

111actually collaborate and recognize how important setting everyone up before they even get to our school districts is uh for the entire community. Uh so again, we're looking forward to a redlinined IGA coming forward that's not actually up for agreement until next year, but we're trying to get a jump on it so that it's not a last minute piece. >> Awesome. OPF, >> uh we've not met yet. I'm supposed to meet with a representative as the new board member coming on, but um as far as I know, we have Yes. >> Community Council Um I don't know when their first meeting is. I just sent out a SOS asking when the first meeting is ever um our meeting was not until October. >> All right. Um I met with the community governments on September 10th and

112we have a very fruitful conversation about uh basically all things that are current events. Um, we talked about ICE, we talked about the potential of the National Guard coming and probably collaborating on some messaging and some tools. Um, so there's uh something to be sent out about that. Um, one thing that we talked about that I hope will be of interest to us is the uses of drugs. And so someone pointed out like alcohol and I was like, I don't think it's alcohol anymore. It's definitely vaping. And we all saw the story at OPF about them taking off the doors. Um, and I share like, you know, it's an issue for us as well. And so we talked about collaborating on messaging and tools. Uh, the library is actually uh piloting bait detectors in their

113restaurants. And so I said I'd be interested to hear like what comes with that. And then anyways that we can collaborate um any resources that they have that they can share with us, any things that we can do together to kind of talk to parents about what to watch for and things like that. So, super excited about that. Um, and they're interested also in our calendar. So, I know we're working on finalizing our 20 sy school year 26 calendar um to see how closely it lines with D200. Um, and that was all that we had um with that. See, >> 30th agenda. >> Yeah. So, um, we've already kind of talked about it a little bit, but just wanted to see if anyone had any concerns about skipping the September 30th >> and may maybe

114move to October 7th, which would be a week later, and we'll have the proposals in by what? October 3rd is the deadline. >> Yep. >> So, we the board would have time to look at the proposals, come prepared on October 7th. They'd have that weekend and we could move move forward on the >> search proposals. >> That makes sense. So would we shift the rest of the meetings or to have three meetings in October? >> You you probably would have three. You may because you have to interview the >> Yeah, I was going to say we have a lot there's going to be a lot going on. >> Okay. >> That's why I thought give me a oneweek break. >> A week later we'll have the work is going to start getting intense. >> That

115makes sense. >> Uh we do have the fact meeting scheduled for October 7th. >> The what meeting? >> Facility advisory meeting, >> but we could probably figure something out. Michael, can we uh be flexible there? >> Yeah, >> we got a few different ones. So, it depends on that meeting, too. Actually, >> I mean, it's probably not the end of the world if Becky and I miss it, too. It's more for the technical experts at this point. So, >> Becky did all the hard work last night on that facilities. That was a long meeting. >> No. >> So, and we got a lot done. >> Well, it's good that I wasn't there and that's >> why we got a lot done. >> All right. So, anyone have any concerns about that? >> So, in the

116minutes we're going to be October 7th. >> You got consensus then? >> Yes. I'll do that. >> Um, so are you suggesting that we move the meeting to October 7th and keep the 14th on the books as well? >> Yes. >> Make it would be a special meeting on the 7th. So, do we want to start at seven and make it like a regular open meeting just to discuss the superintendent things or are we talking about like literally creating a whole separate meeting with like a close a closed session? >> I I was thinking to focus just on the proposals >> and and zero in on that just have that one item. >> So, for seven >> because one week later we can take care of bills and routine activities. So, >> plenty of time.

117>> Do we need to vote or anything like it? What's the action? If the board has consensus, >> yeah, >> I'll make the adjust. >> We're thinking a seven o'clock start. >> What did you say? >> We're thinking a 7 o'clock start. >> 7 o'clock start still instead >> of six. >> 7 o'clock start. No dinner. >> Dinner on your own. >> The seven. >> Yeah. Where' we get this guy from? >> I knew you went like that. He's been working with Crystal. >> Maybe Patty will be at this meeting. >> All right. Uh so it looks like we have that. Any other uh items? It looks like we are >> like a close session on personnel uh and no action following whatsoever. >> So we're not adjourning. Yeah, >> we're moving to close. >>

118Can I get a motion to move back into close session? Well, it's a Yeah. >> Move into close session. >> I move that we go into close session for the purpose of appointment employment compensation etc. >> The rest it's mostly appointment. >> Second. >> Rosten. >> Yes. >> Perez. >> Yes. Carney. >> Yes. >> Spurlock is absent. Kim. >> Yes. >> Johnson. >> Yes. Moore. >> Yes. Motion to go back into executive session at