001Okay, this is the board of education meeting being held on Tuesday, December 16th. I'm calling the meeting to order at 5:30. If you can please call the role. >> Mrs. As >> here, Mrs. Troutman >> here. >> Mrs. Lewinsky >> here. >> Mr. Breznahan >> here. >> Mrs. Arvanites, Mrs. Hustler. Five board members present. two absent. Can I have a motion to go into close session? >> I move Oh, >> sure. >> Um I move that the board of educ education move into close session to discuss the placement of individual students in student special education programs and other matters relating to individual students. 5 ILCS1202C10 and discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under under the open meetings act whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semianual review of the
002minutes as mandated by section 2.06 5ilcs 122C21. >> Okay. Motion made by Mrs. Asiff. >> I'll second. >> Second by Mrs. Lewinsky. Can we please call the vote? >> Mrs. Asiff, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lewinsky, >> yes. >> Mrs. Troutman, >> yes. >> Mr. Breznahan, >> yes. >> Dr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hustler, Mrs. Arvanites. 5A, zero nays, two absent. Motion passes. The board will move into close session. Welcome to the board of education meeting on Tuesday, December 16th, 2025. The board has been in close session for items listed on the agenda since 5:30. If we could please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance 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.
003>> Okay, we're going to start with our spotlights and recognition. Our first spotlight is uh individual cross country state champion recognition, Carllin Janowski. I didn't know or later. So, we're here to recognize Carllin Janowski, state champion and our first state champion since 2000. Also, Carlin is the fastest three mileer in York history. So, big round of applause. [applause] Carllin's season has been amazing. She came out strong. She never wavered. And she trusted the process. She trusted the progression. and she trusted her coaching staff and most importantly her teammates. She went into the postseason with a goal. She um went after at regionals, beat a runner for the first time all season, came back at sectionals, had a very tough race which really motivated her. And then that morning of state, she went after it and
004if you've seen the video, it is so amazing and so inspirational. Um, Carllin is just a sophomore and I know that we have um a lot to see for the next two years, but a lot to celebrate in um this season. So, congratulations, Carllin. [applause] >> Hi. Just wanted to read the board proclamation to you. Um, what an amazing accomplishment. I also saw the video and I feel like everybody did. So, it was so exciting and you should just be very proud of yourself. Um, so now for the proclamation. Whereas the Illinois High School Association IHSA Class 3A State Cross Country Championships represent the highest level of competition for high school runners in Illinois, showcasing the state's most dedicated and accomplished student athletes. And whereas York High School standout Carlen Janowski delivered an exceptional performance
005at the 2025 IHSA class 3A state meet, completing the three-mile course in an outstanding time of 16 minutes 10 seconds. And whereas Carllin's remarkable effort earned her the title of individual state champion, placing her at the top of all competitors in class 3A and bringing tremendous pride to York High School and Elmherst Community Unit School District 205. And whereas her achievement reflects her unwavering dedication, rigorous training, and commitment to excellence, as well as the support and guidance of her coaches and teammates within the York Cross Country program. And whereas Carllin's success serves as an inspiration to students throughout District 205, demonstrating the power of perseverance, discipline, and a relentless pursuit of personal goals. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Elmharst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education proudly recognizes Carllin Janowski for her
006extraordinary accomplishments as the individual champion at the 2025 IHSA Class 3A Girls Cross Country State Championships and extends its heartful heartfelt congratulations and appreciation for her outstanding representation of York High School and the Elmerst community. Congratulations [applause] >> [applause] >> Our [applause] next recognition um is an individual girls tennis The state champion recognition, CJ Cohen. Come on up. [applause] Okay. Hello. Uh thank you to the board of education, the athletic department, York High School, all of D205, and also the Elmharst Park District because that's where our home courts are. Uh for the support of our program and also for obviously the support of our great um athlete up here, CJ. I didn't think I'd have the privilege of being back here just one year later and celebrating more historical accomplishments, but here we are. We
007are proud to honor CJ and congratulate her on winning York's first ever individual state tennis title. [applause] CJ had an incredibly successful season. She went 31 and2 and to date she is 90 and 19 in her three-year varsity career and she's only a junior. She was the conference champion, the sectional champion, and then obviously the state champion. Um to briefly just highlight her tournament um and her tournament run. In her first matches, she cruised through her opponents only giving up a combined 15 games over those five matches. That's an average of only three games per match. Then in the championship, that took a little more work. Uh that one lasted over three hours. She battled back, losing in the first set in a tiebreaker, then winning the second set 6-4, which forced a third set.
008She then came back from a little bit of a rough start at the beginning of that third set 03 to eventually win 6-4. It was the match of the day, and CJ's mental and physical stamina was definitely on display. She becomes the fifth York tennis player to medal at the state tournament and now has the distinct honor of being York's first ever tennis champion. Congrats CJ and thank you to everyone for your support. [applause] >> Well CJ, that is quite the impressive resume. Um we look forward to seeing what you accomplish next year. uh on behalf of the school board, whereas excellence in high school athletics reflects not only physical skill, but also perseverance, mental strength, and a commitment to continual growth, qualities exemplified at the highest level in state championship competition. And whereas York
009High School student athlete CJ Cohen displays these qualities throughout the 2025 IHSA Class 2A girls tennis state tournament, advancing through a highly competitive field to reach the championship match. And whereas in the state final, CJ demonstrated exceptional poise and resilience, battling back after a first set tiebreak to win the next two sets 64 64, securing the IHSA Class 2A state singles championship. And whereas with this victory, CJ earned a place [clears throat] in York High School history as the first girls tennis player to win the IHSA state singles title, marking a milestone achievement for both the program and the Elmharst Community Unit School District 205. And whereas her accomplishment reflects years of hard work, disciplined, training, and determination supported by the guidance of her coaches and the encouragement of her teammates and family. And whereas
010CJ's championship performance serves as an inspiration to all D205 student athletes, demonstrating that dedication, perseverance, and belief in oneself can lead to extraordinary results. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Elmharst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education proudly recognizes Caroline CJ Cohen for her historic achievement as the 2025 IHSA Class 2A girls tennis singles state champion. and extends this heartfelt congratulations for her outstanding representation of York High School and the Elmerst community. Congratulations [applause] >> [applause] >> Okay, our next recognition is cross country team third place state recognition. If you want to come on up. [applause] Come on in. >> Okay. Third place cross country team for the 2025 season. This was definitely a challenging season that um a lot of people pretty much looked at this team and um kind of counted
011us out. We um went into the postseason kind of wavering in that top 10 to be honest and these girls had a very challenging season, not winning any races until um that sectional title right before state. So, um, they definitely put the work in, put, um, the trust in the their coaching staff, the trust in each other, um, and the trust in this community and the support that they get each and every year. Um, going into that state meet, some uh, rankings had us in ninth place and I don't believe anyone standing up there believed that and they went after it. They went out of the gate in second place. They went through that second mile at or a mile and a half at uh, third place. They dropped a fourth place um coming out
012of that triangle and they made sure to kick it in that last 1,200 800 and bring home another state trophy the sixth one in six years and it is amazing to see these girls year after year. [clears throat and applause] I did want to highlight a couple things. Um Sophia Gallaliano Sanchez, Maggie Quinn, and Llaya Stanley have been part of four state trophy teams and have definitely left a huge mark in this program and a lot of these girls have had um a lot of different success together. So congratulations to those three seniors leaving this program a lot better than when you came in. And then to our two all state athletes, Sophia Gallaliano Sanchez and of course Carllin Janowski um really kicking it in and leading this team to that third place finish. Um
013and to my two amazing assistant coaches that I could not do this without. It's been amazing to be um with Cole Blake eight years and Leonard 30 years. um and uh just the things that we can do together to help mentor these girls um with the community behind us has been amazing. So, thank you to this community, thank you to the board, to the York administration athletic program. Um this has all been possible because of all the support we get and congratulations girls. You definitely earned it and definitely be proud. Congrats [applause] Congratulations on an outstanding third place finish. Super exciting. Your dedication, grit, and especially your teamwork is super impressive. I realize that this achievement reflects countless miles run, not always in good weather. Very early mornings. I live near the Prairie Path and
014I see you guys running late and early and late um all the time and working hard to support one another all season long. And that kind of dedication doesn't just come in handy when you're trying to win a cross country race, but it's going to serve you well in whatever you decide to do after York High School. So, congratulations to all of you. Thank you to the coaches. And I'm going to read the proclamation. Whereas the Illinois High School Association Class 3A state cross country championships represent the highest level of competition for high school teams in Illinois, bringing together the state's most dedicated, disciplined, and high achieving runners. And the York High School girls cross country team competed in the 2025 IHSA Class 3A state meet with exceptional teamwork, resilience, and competitive excellence. And through
015consistent performances across all scoring runners, the girl York girls cross country team secured an impressive third place finish in the state championship, placing them among the elite programs in Illinois. And this achievement reflects the athletes commitment to rigorous training, mental toughness, and a shared pursuit of excellence, as well as the leadership and guidance of their coaching staff. And the team's success exemplifies the proud tradition of York Cross Country and serves as an inspiration to students throughout the Elmharst Community Unit District 205, demonstrating the power of teamwork, perseverance, and collective purpose. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Elmherst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education proudly recognizes the 2025 York High School Girls Cross Country team for their outstanding accomplishment in placing third in the IHSA Class 3A State Championships and extends its heartfelt
016congratulations for their exceptional representation of York High School and the Elmherst community. Great job. Congratulations. [applause] >> [applause] >> Oh my god. Okay, our next um recognition is girls 200 medley relay third place state recognition. They want to come up. [applause] All right. So, this is the um 200 medley relay. If you don't know, there's 12 events, 12 swimming events at the state meet. Um this wasn't the only event that they qualified in. This was the our highest placing relay team. Um I'll introduce them. Gabby Miller, Olivia Hartley, Kate McCarthy, and Sam Shainer. Uh we kind of had an idea going into the season that we were going to be up there because last year we we placed ninth in this same event, but we knew it was going to take a lot to to
017beat some of those teams out there. Illinois um is a very fast swimming state. Um but we did what we had to do or they did what they had to do. Um we they were the conference champs. They were also the sectional champs, breaking the pool record at the uh Hinsdale High School uh Hinsdale Central High School pool and then going on to state where you have to you have to swim it on Friday to qualify for finals. So we had to swim it once, we qualified for the A final and then we went back the next day and ended up third place. Um huge accomplishment. Um but you know I knew that they could do it. They knew that they could do it. Um so congratulations girls. >> [applause] >> Uh, congratulation girls and
018the entire York High School swim team on what a phenomenal year you you guys had. And I'm so excited to be here to celebrate the thrilling third place finish at state in the 200 meter medley relay. You've inspired your school families, community members, little girls that are watching you guys swim um because of your determination and your poise. So, I'm so happy to be here to celebrate your victory. And I will now read the official board of education proclamation. Whereas the Illinois High School Association Girls Swim Team and Dive State Championship highlights the dedication, skill, and teamwork of the most accomplished high school athletes across the Illinois. Whereas the York High School 200 me medley relay team comprised of Gabby Miller, Kate McCarthy, Olivia Hartley, and Sam Shainer, thank you coach for telling me how
019to say that name. um competed at the 2025 IHSA state meet with exceptional focus, determination, and collective strength. Whereas through outstanding effort in each leg of the race, the relay team delivered a powerful performance that earned them a third place finish in the state championship, placing them among the top relay teams in Illinois. And whereas this achievement reflects the athletes commitment to rigorous training, strong collaboration, and supporting one another in pursuit of a common goal, as well as the leadership and guidance of their coaches. And whereas the team's accomplishment builds upon the proud tra tradition of excellence within York High School swim and dive program and serves as an inspiration to current and future student athletes across Elmherst Community Unit School District 205. Now therefore be it resolved that the Elmherst Community Unit School District
020music going along with it. 205 Board of Education proudly recognizes Gabby, Kate, Olivia, and Sam for their outstanding achievement in placing third in the 200 medley relay at the 2025 IHSA Girls Swim and Dive State Championship and extends its heartfelt gratit congratulations for their exceptional representation of York High School and the entire Elmherst community. Congrats [applause] All right. graduation. Okay. Oh, okay. Our next spotlight recognition is sectional coach of the year, Megan Jensen. [applause] All right, good evening everyone. Whoa, what is going on here? This is a proud moment for York Athletics. [applause] Real quick before I uh say a couple words about Coach Johnson, I'd like to congratulate all of our student athletes tonight. Uh we've had different celebrations throughout the years, but the students that you see in front of you are first
021class great examples of what leadership, teamwork, and collaboration uh and hard work means. Uh these girls in front of you have worked their tails off. They couldn't do it without their coaches. So, you met some coaches tonight. You're going to meet some more. Uh, but I'd like to thank our coaches uh in District 205 board of education. Thank you for hiring coaches because every one of the coaches that you see in this room is a District 205 staff member. [applause] I cannot tell you how important that is for these students to have our coaches in the building, in the district. It means a lot. And the state performances you heard about, I was at each and every one of them. I spent nine hours with the swimmers all day. And if you ever been to
022a swim meet, it's a lot of yelling and screaming. It's humid. I'm not exactly not thin. Uh so you sweat a lot and it is exciting. And then they just keep on doing the same event in shorter distances and longer distances, but it's so exciting. These girls swam their tails off. And if you know anything about swimming, like Illinois is one of the fastest states in swimming. It's unbelievable. And our cross country runners, those girls are badgers. They are vicious. Like they run in a pack and then they go attack. That's I'm not kidding you. That this is the terminology that they use. Correct girls? Right. They hunt in a pack and then they go get it. So that's what they do and that's taught by our coaches. And CJ fantastic job at tennis. Uh
023watched her compete. She was by far the best athlete in the state. And she played a three-hour match to win the state title. So just amazing for our athletes. I just like to say that. And now on to our coaches who all make it possible. In front of you is Coach Jensen. Coach Jensen is the IHSA sectional swim coach of the year. She has been at York for eight years, seven years as our head coach. And each year our swim program has uh improved. This year we had nine state qualifiers. Little by little each year and now we have our athletes placed in that state. Thank you to Coach Jensen. Thank you for all that you do. >> [applause] >> Well, I'm gonna echo my congratulations, coach, on being voted the IHSA girls swim sectional
024coach of the year. And I think it's such an unique award because it's voted on by your peers, which is in my opinion, whenever your peers are saying you're the best of the best, it it hits hard. And so, um, I think it's a unique, um, way to show your their appreciation of how much you give of yourself to our our athletes, and we are certainly so grateful to have you here. So, congratulations, and we can't wait to see where you continue to take our girls um, in the future at York. Whereas exceptional coach co coaching in high school athletics fosters growth, confidence, and achievement among student athletes, elevating both individual performance and the strength of an entire program. Whereas Morgan Megan Jensen, head girls swim and dive coach at York High School, has demonstrated
025outstanding leadership, technical expertise, and an unwavering commitment to supporting her athletes throughout the season. And whereas following a highly competitive IHSA sectional meet at Hinsdale High School, Coach Jensen was honored by her fellow head coaches who selected her as the IHSA girls swim sectional coach of the year, recognizing her impactful guidance and the excellence of the York program under her direction. And whereas this distinction reflects not only strong postseason results, but also the trust, respect, and admiration earned from peers within the swimming community. And whereas Coach Jensen's leadership has helped student athletes grow both in skill, and character while continuing to strengthen York High School's reputation as a program built on teamwork, discipline, and continuous improvement. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Elmharst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education proudly recognizes Coach
026Jensen for being named the IHSA Girls Swim Sectional Coach of the Year and extends its sincere congratulations for her exceptional leadership, her commitment to her athletes, and her positive representation of York High School and the entire Elmharst community. [applause] >> [applause] >> Okay, our next recognition is for the IHSA football coach of the year, Don Jel Samino. [applause] Good evening. Uh Don Jel Samino has been our head football coach for the last two years. This is his sixth year at York. He served four years as our defensive coordinator and then we were in a situation where our football program was improving and our head coach left. And I don't know if you ever have ever had to interview a head football coach and find one. It's not the easiest position to fill for a couple
027reasons. Uh it's one of the largest sports. Uh we're in the West Suburban Conference. It's a very tough cutthroat uh conference in regards to all sports, but in football, if you don't win, there's a lot of pressure on you. Uh Don stepped in. Coach Delamino went to the state playoffs. uh won all the way through, made it to the state championship game, and we were the state runners up in his first year as the head coach. [applause] This year was no different. Uh our boys were prepared for the tough West Suburban. We went six and three. Uh we lost our last game to Lions Township and then we had to place we had to play them in the playoffs. But we made the playoffs, qualified for round one of the playoffs, and we lost in
028the first round. And it was again a very tough match. Could have went either way. I felt that our our boys are prepared because of uh Coach Joel Samino, not only in football, but also in life. And all of our coaches here in this room really teach lessons and there's a lot of history in this room being made. And I know that Coach Delamino, his staff are going to continue building our program and make some history in our football program. Coach Delamino, thank you. >> [applause] >> I know Miss H Miss Hustler mentioned that all uh all of the dedication and hard work done by our student athletes, but those are learned characteristics and there's no better model of dedication and hard work than coach Delamino. So here's your proclamation. Whereas excellence in coaching reflects
029leadership, dedication, mentorship, and a commitment to supporting student athletes in reaching their highest potential both on and off the field. And whereas Don Delamino, head football coach at York High School, exemplified these qualities throughout the 242 football season, guiding his team with vision, discipline, and an unwavering belief in their collective abilities. And whereas under coach Elsamino's leadership, the York Dukes made an extraordinary postseason run, culminating in an appearance in the IH IHSA class 8A state championship game where they earned the state runner-up trophy, a historic and inspiring achievement for the program. And whereas coach Delamino's commitment to fostering teamwork, resilience, and personal growth among his athletes and strengthened the York football program and elevated the standard of excellence within the Elmherst Community Unit School District 205. And whereas in recognition of his outstanding leadership and
030the positive impact he has made on the student athletes and the broader school community, Coach Elsamino was selected by the Illinois High School Association as the 2425 boys football coach of the year. And whereas this prestigious honor reflects not only on his coaching achievements, but also on the culture of integrity, sportsmanship, and hard work that he instills in his teams. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Elmherst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education proudly recognizes Don Jelamino for being named the 2425 IHSA boys football coach of the year and extends its heartfelt congratulations for his exceptional leadership and his outstanding representation of York High School football and the Elmerst community. [applause] Okay. Thank you to all of our athletes and coaches. Thank you for being here tonight with us. Congratulations. [applause] Okay, our
031next item on the agenda is our Madison EC spotlight. All right, giddy up. Here we go. Move this this on. >> Can you hear me? All right, we are ready to go. Um Oh, are you gonna click? >> Okay. So, I'm Susan, Dr. Susan Conra. I'm the um principal of the Madison Early Childhood Center. And this is Miss Melissa Caseco, who's our assistant principal. She's also the assistant principal at Edison, so we keep her very busy between those two programs. Um what I want we are going to be going ahead and starting a little bit with kind of talking about our spotlight on our learning environment which has been our focus for the last couple of years. So first I want to highlight our mission at the Madison at Madison is aligned to the district
032priority objective in the learning environment. We ensure students feel welcome, affirmed and engaged through relationships we develop. the student instruction that challenges them using a strength-based approach and our intentional work on our social emotional development through consistency of expectations, practices, and routines. We want to go ahead and begin what start off with our process for our has how our mini Dukes enroll at Madison. As you can see, our enrollment numbers up there have parameters for the types of students that we can enroll, but they continue to shift throughout the year as they begin receiving instruction in our programs and we learn more about their strengths and their areas of need. Madison continually enrolls throughout the year and most years we most years we end up very close to what our maximum enrollment is or at
033our maximum enrollment. We serve all of D25 students which means we have a very diverse student population. Melissa will now take you through our childfind process that all students that are entering MA medicine Madison must complete. So we have our early intervention program which is for children who are receiving birth to three services due to a delay in their development. The students must be I'm sorry the students must be evaluated by Madison and if they are eligible they will begin services on their third birthday. We evaluate approximately 50 to 70 students yearly. And then we also have our developmental screening which is open to all D205 families. Uh and it starts six weeks before the child's third birthday. We screen approximately 100 to 125 students yearly. And then there is a wait list for when
034program spaces that are full for our PFA and tuition spots. Next, we'll take you through a little bit more of our learning environment journey. Our learning environment journey of um is in year two. We have been ensuring alignment exists within our current practice through the high quality environment scores from the Illinois State Board of Education or through professional learning analysis and shifting of current practices to have greater alignment with the pyramid model. The pyramid model is an early childhood framework that leads to greater improvement of social emotional skills for preschool students. We've been improving consistency of social emotional instruction and practices across the building and classrooms and our students um focus on our classrooms based off of our students social emotional needs and development. The rest of this presentation highlights our intentional work and the
035improvements that we've made to our learning environment for our youngest units that go beyond our amazing renovation that we just had this last year which we're so excited about. So, so no matter what classroom you walk into in Madison, we have consistent learning environment practices and those are listed up there for you to review. Um, so it doesn't matter if the child is in a blended classroom, in one of our ABC classrooms or one of our self-contained classrooms. We are working really hard on our tier one practices and making sure that our social emotional learning skills are consistent across the entire building. To go into that, we also have schoolwide expectations that we're implementing that we refined this year in our beautiful Madison space. We're calling them the three Bs. Be kind, be safe, and
036be responsible. They are posted all over the building and it is universal language that is used by both the staff, the students and anyone who works at Madison or is a part of Madison uh to make sure that we are keeping all of those expectations consistent and clear for everyone. So our district our direct social emotional instruction is one of our learning learning environment practices that is consistent across classrooms. The instruction has a large and long-lasting impact on child's behavior as well as their academic performance and their overall well-being. Children who have well-developed social emotional skills are better prepared to handle social interactions and succeed with the academic demands of future learning. At all classrooms at Madison at Madison provide instruction on red and green choices that we make that align with our expectations to
037be kind, be safe, and be responsible at school. Zones of regulation are taught as well. So, we teach school, we teach students that we want to consistently be in the green zone, which is a ready zone for learning. Our calm classroom and mindfulness practices work on regulation. And we have calm corners that allow students to take a break to help us get back into the green zone as we need to. At the same time, too. Finally, we provide a social emotional um social emotional learning, direct social emotional learning through the SecondStep program that works on learning basic emotions and how to problem solve and play and work well with each other. evidence of our practices have really been seen this year through our classroom walkthroughs. So, we have now been seeing we've gotten through most
038of our classrooms and we can see consistently that all these practices are in place in all of our classrooms. So, we're really proud of that of the work that we've been doing as a staff the last couple of years. Also, we have also been working on to maintain our strong family engagement in many ways at Madison from the digital portfolios that we have with students that are updated at least weekly through Learning Genie classroom volunteer opportunities. We have mystery readers that come into the classrooms and then we also have library volunteers that can range from grandparents to aunts and uncles that can come into the program. Um we also go ahead and have monthly parent parent child activities and or parent child education events. So we are consistently looking to find ways for all families
039to feel comfortable participating because we knows that these relationships foster partnerships in making decisions for a mini Duke. So we're really proud of that. our one program that is coming up. We have another program that's coming up on December 18th, which is this week, which is called Let It Snow and Decorate. So, we have families coming out to go ahead and decorate cookies. And we have Olaf coming at the same time, too, to sing Christmas carols with us. So, we have two different sections that are happening on Thursday evening. So, anybody's welcome to come over from the community if you'd like to go ahead and get some Christmas cheer. And finally, thank you for allowing us to go ahead and share how our high quality learning environment builds a strong um foundation for our students
040as they begin their journey of excellence in D205. [applause] Thank you so much for sharing with us a little bit of more about Madison. And I can just say personally, I've really enjoyed my board tour this past year and just was so amazed at all the bes be behind the scenes work that happens to get the classroom ready and organized and ready for children and how um much creativeness and thoughtfulness goes into it. And so thank you so much for being here and our kids are so lucky to have you guys in our community. Thank you. Our next um spotlight is Jackson. Welcome. >> Thank you. Good evening. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really happy to be here. Uh my name is Christa Rajin. I'm the very proud principal at Jackson Elementary.
041Um this is my second year here in D205 and I continue to say it's the very best place to work and this role is such an honor to have. All right. So, tonight I'm excited to share with you um about one of our school improvement priorities and how it lives and breathes at Jackson. Um that school improvement instructional priority is our work around ELA instruction. This is a really exciting goal because for me, admittedly, someone who loves to talk about instruction and um how students learn to read and write, this is where um the research really collides with how that comes to life. Um, and we get to see our hard work develop students into lifelong readers and writers who are also filled with a lot of joy. So, I'm excited to briefly highlight for
042you the work that our educators are doing, a couple of pieces from the student experience and ways that our work lives outside of the school day as well. All right. So, to start, our um amazing educators have worked hard this year around one of the key tenants of our witten wisdom curriculum, which is the Socratic seminar. Socratic seminars are grounded in a large body of research that tells us that a very key piece of students learning to be proficient readers and writers is a students abilities to speak thoughtfully about a topic often referred to as ory. This year a new structure within our professional learning at Jackson is we have a lead ELA teacher. This individual is truly tremendous and has an amazing influence on our ELA work. During our work on Socratic seminars, our
043lead teacher was able to lean in not only during conversations with teams, but also modeled Socratic seminars in her classroom as well as other classrooms. A really excellent learning opportunity for all of us. We've also spent professional learning time talking about the very cool progression that occurs as Socratic seminars travel from kindergarten all the way up to fifth grade. In kindergarten, our students focus on the basics of listening and speaking, listening with our senses, using one voice at a time. And then by the time we're in fifth grade, students are making connections, asking questions, and sharing different viewpoints. The growth along that KTO 5 continuum really is incredible. I will also tell you that my teachers often pop by my office to tell me when a Socratic seminar is happening in their rooms because they
044know how much I love seeing students in that environment. This picture that you see here, for example, is of a kindergarten Socratic seminar, my personal favorite, where students were able to have a lively and joyful conversation about what makes a good story. So then if we travel up to fourth grade, uh the first wit and wisdom module that students experience is about figurative and literal great heart. The learning is really tremendous within this module and I absolutely love the students joy and attachment to one of the novels they read called Love That Dog. When students finish the module, they complete an extension project that requires them to choose a figure from history who they feel demonstrated a great heart. Families are invited in for students to present their final projects. They're dressed up in costumes
045as the historical figure and have posters highlighting their learning. My personal favorite this year is the picture on the right, the student in the back, highlighted Canadian hockey player Sydney Crosby. Um, and after sharing with me many, many facts about his hockey career and making connections to character traits that he learned about in the Witten Wisdom module, he looked me dead in the eye and said, and you can see here that he hugged his opponent even after they lost. He understands the Jackson promises, which as an aside are to be safe, be kind, and work hard. And so you can imagine that my principal heart exploded um as he gave a completely unprompted Yes. Literally, not figuratively. Yes. Um uh okay. And then finally, the last thing I wanted to highlight um for you was
046a way that our ELA work is happening beyond the classroom as well. At the start of this school year, we were looking for an adult to run our Battle of the Books program. And when we didn't have an immediate volunteer, I looked at my wonderful instructional coach and said, "Any chance you want to do this with me?" Her answer was, "Of course." And I really thought we'd have a handful of kids. What I learned is that when the principal goes to fourth and fifth grade classrooms and encourages kids to join, they join. and we currently are sitting at 55 members of our Battle of the Brooks team at Jackson. Um, this past Wednesday we had our first battle. Um, students were in teams of five and read a collective five novels. Um, and for those
047who aren't familiar, questions are asked in a trivia style format. The joyful energy and focus last Wednesday morning was really something to behold. I am so proud of students for choosing to extend their learning. um and growth and I'm thankful for families who agreed to bring their students to school early so that we could have this amazing experience together. Battle number two is in January and the district-wide battle is in March. I will admit to being a highly competitive person and I would watch out for the Jackson Battle of the Books team. And so with that, I wanted to say a genuine and heartfelt thank you um to Dr. Campbell, to cabinet members, and to the board of education for having me tonight and for your continued support of Jackson and of my leadership. Being
048a principal in district 205 is an honor and a privilege, and I am incredibly grateful to be here. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you so much for being here tonight and sharing more about how you make ELA fun at Jackson. I can't believe 55 kids. That's amazing. and I would love to come listen to the battle in January. [laughter] >> Thank you so much, >> Dr. Rajin. And you just added a board tour to to my agenda. So, thank you. >> It's before school. All right. The next item on the agenda is number five, public hearing. Um, adoption of the 2025 levy certificate. So, we're now formally declaring this hearing opening. Open. Joe, can you give us an overview of the item for the hearing? >> Yes, thank you very much. Uh, this presentation, uh,
049there is not much that has changed since our initial, uh, estimated tax levy. Uh, but just to bring the public and, uh, to all the board members, uh, uh, back to, uh, the attention of of the tax levy, which uh, we present to you for adoption tonight. Our presentation is focused on the three ways that we create and sustain within our finance and operations uh uh responsibilities. Creating and sustaining high-quality student programs, highquality facilities, and highquality stable financial structures. The reason why the tax levy is so important to talk about is because the majority of our funds come from the generous uh support of our community. 84.6% of our revenues uh come from property taxes alone. Those property taxes help support not only strong schools but also a strong community. When you have strong schools,
050it it it uh it creates uh a highly attractive community that people want to be a part of. And in return, that that community support into our schools helps yield positive results as we have seen this fall with eight of our schools as exemplary schools and all all of our schools either exemplary or commendable. uh that is from the generous support uh through through the revenues supported by our local taxpayers. Our tax levy calculations are are based off of a a systematic formula. This slide here shows you that what that formula is based off of. Last year's property tax extension was $141,291,879. You apply uh a CPI rate which we will talk about shortly and that amount is then divided by all the equalized assessed value throughout the district and that creates the tax rate
051for existing properties. After that calculation is done, the the county also adds new property growth into the calculation to come up the with the final tax levy calculation. As I mentioned before, our existing homes and other properties uh are capped at the ability to increase it only by the rate of CPI, which is often uh referred to as the inflation rate, the consumer price index, which for the purpose of this year is at 2.9%. Uh you can see the historical trend has averaged around 2.5% over the last 10 years. The impact of a 2.9% uh increase on property taxes on a $500,000 house represents about a $165 per year or $82.50 per property tax installment increase in their property taxes which will be assessed in the year 2026. that can vary depending on the increase
052of um a certain properties uh value. And this graphic here shows how it can vary if your if your property uh grows at a larger amount on the right side or at at a uh at a slower amount on the left side compared to the average home. Once that calculation is determined, we then add on the new property growth. As of uh the beginning of December, we estimate our new property growth in district 205 is approximately $30 million. And for the purpose of of our uh tax levy, uh we are assuming a little bit more than uh $30 million. So we make sure that we uh capture all new property growth that may uh exist all the way till the end of this calendar year. The proposed tax levy is posted on uh on board
053docs but it is available here. You can see the calculation is built into this this worksheet here. And the the total amount that we are asking for within our uh this year's tax levy when uh when you leave out the debt service is 147,782,246 which represents a total increase of 4.59%. Again, that 4.59% includes the new property growth. So, existing homes on average will see an increase of 2.9% on their property taxes. In comparison to our comparable districts, you can see our tax rate is listed in the dark blue, which is on the far left of all three of these graphics. We are the lowest tax rate out of all of these unit districts that we compare ourselves to. And we plan on with this uh tax levy, we anticipate that that tax rate will
054still remain the lowest out of these eight districts. We we want to capture the reason why we are asking for the 2.9% increase in the in existing tax levy and the capture of all new property. Um the reason why is our expenses continue to exceed the uh the rate at which uh CPI is and that is demonstrated through what you can see here on this graphic. These are just some of our expenditure assumptions for next year. Some of them are known because we have entered into contracts uh with with some of our partners and some of them are estimates based off of trends that we're seeing uh in industries such as food and utilities. All of these are 5% or greater at the same time uh when it comes to our property taxes which again
055represent 84.6% of all of our revenues is only growing by 2.9% at the same time. Beyond the property taxes that we receive as revenues, we anticipate that our state and federal revenues will uh will remain flat for at least the foreseeable future. For that reason, these sources will not aid in the ability to buffer that increase in those expenditures that I mentioned before. This graphic is updated from last month. Last month, you might have seen the red line a little bit closer to the to the zero uh mark and that's because uh with the adoption of our bond issues, this has been updated to include those bond issues um in our fund balance. The red line represents our low point of each fiscal year. Uh the this current fiscal year is represented by the one
056in the middle which you can see is a is about $4.5 million over uh over that zero mark. We always want to make sure that we are positive so we uh can adequately pay all of our expenditures especially in the month of May prior to receiving the first round of property taxes. The green line represents the uh the fund balance at the end of June, which is after we collect the first round of property taxes. That is what's reported at the state level. Uh however, we want to make sure that we always identify that red line because we want to make sure that we always have funds available uh to uh continue our services and continue uh to create and sustain our highquality programs and facilities. We are in the just the beginning phases of
057this tax levy process. In November, we presented this estimated tax levy. And tonight, we are presenting the same levy for you for adoption. Once this board adopts a tax levy, it then goes to the county to run their calculations which includes all property value uh um uh calculations and um ensuring that um that the amount that we have requested is in line with that those amounts that have been capped under our PTEL law. After that, property taxes, property tax bills are submitted and sent out to homeowners and property owners in May to be paid uh in June and September. And that represents half of about half of the revenue that we receive in this fiscal year and also represents just a little under half of all revenue we receive for next fiscal year. And that
058concludes my presentation. >> Thank you, Joe. Are there any public comments specifically related to the public hearing about the adoption of 2025 levy certificate? No. Okay. Hearing no public comments, we now declare the hearing closed at 8 o'clock. Exactly. Okay. Next item on the agenda is public comments. The public comment section of the board meeting provides an opportunity for community members to share information and perspectives with the board of education. And while the board does not respond during public comments, we are listening and thoughtfully considering the messages being shared. Each of us has high expectations for our community and ask that public comments are respectful and do not mention any individuals by name. The way in which we publicly engage when sharing differing perspectives in our is our opportunity to model healthy and respectful discourse
059for our students and greater community while creating an environment of collaboration and partnership. There will be 30 minutes allotted for public comments with up to three minutes per public comment speaker concerning items on the agenda. The board secretary will give you a reminder when you have 30 seconds left. Let's begin with our first speaker. Good evening, D205 board of ed and administrators. Dr. Campbell. I'm Gwen Rei, D205 parent to three kids, sixth grade, sophomore, and senior. My kids have all gone through the REACH program in D205. I have been a member of the REACH parent group for eight years, and this is my third year as chair. I'm actually the outgoing chair. As I will be passing off the baton to another parent to lead, I thought I would take this opportunity to let you
060know that as an attorney who has worked with and for school districts in both the public and private sector throughout my career, I have always been appreciative of D205's collaborative nature with our community, future ready curriculum, forward thinking, and growth mindset. The reach parent group is a committee organized and funded by the D205 PTA council. We are a parent group dedicated to supporting gifted and talented programs in D205 and to encouraging higher level educational opportunities for all D205 students. Our areas of focus include providing parent and student resources for gifted and advanced learners, organizing advocacy at local and national levels, sponsoring and or promoting academic based extracurricular activities that are accessible to all students, collaborating with REACH teachers to provide additional resources and student opportunities. Throughout the years, the REACH program has evolved. It has
061become more transparent and more responsive to our growing school community. The website and resources have been updated. For this, we are thankful. We are also thankful for the platforms that D205 has offered to our parent group. I wanted to share questions I have received from parents over the past several years and areas of improvement where D205 might consider. Is there adequate information and communication funneling down to building levels regarding testing windows, procedures, and makeup tests? Is this information consistent? Do K through2 families know about differentiation and enrichment opportunities in their classrooms? Are they being directed to the correct people in charge of those questions or are they just being directed to the website? Are our administrators familiar with the Illinois statute recognizing gifted education and how it a it has evolved? What it addresses specifically?
062Is there a pathway for 2E or twice exceptional students or are they only being looked at from a special education lens? Do our educators in gifted classrooms have the resources and training they need to address the social, emotional, and neurodyiverse needs specific to gifted students. We have at least 26 gifted classrooms between eight elementary and three middle schools, but the ISBY report card indicates that D205 only has 16 teachers with a gifted endorsement. Are we listening to our reach faculty who may be asking for training on executive functioning skills for students in their classrooms? Thank you again for this opportunity to share my thoughts and thank you for your service to our school community. Microphone's on. Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns um support and perspective to the board of education.
063common practice of the board is to follow up with public comment commenters after the board meeting as needed. So, thank you for being here. Okay, our next item on the agenda is item number seven, approval of board meeting minutes. Are there any changes to the meeting minutes? Seeing no changes, meeting minutes stand as presented. Um, item B, approval of close session meeting minutes from November 18th, 2025. Are there any changes to those meeting minutes? Seeing no changes, meeting minutes stand as presented. Next item on the agenda is um consent agenda. Is there anything anyone would like to pull from the consent agenda? >> I'd like to pull item D. >> Okay. Can I have a motion for the consent agenda not including item D? I move that the board of education approve the following consent
064agenda items. A, personnel reports. B, financial reports, and C, FOYA, Freedom of Information Act requests. I'll second. Dang it. Motion made by Ms. As second by Mrs. Troutman. Um, can we please call the vote? >> Mrs. Asip? >> Yes. Mrs. Troutman? >> Yes. >> Mr. Breznahan? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Lewinsky? Yes, >> Mrs. Hustler. >> Yes, >> Dr. Henry. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Ervanites. >> Six eyes, zero nays, one absent. Motion passes. Questions, comments on the item um D that was removed. >> You have to make a motion first. >> Oh, do I? >> Yeah, talk about it. >> Okay. Can I have a motion to talk about item D, York High School donations? I move that the board of education approve item D, York High School donations. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Motion made
065by Miss Troutman, second by Miss Hustler. Comments now from the board to chat. Um I just I wanted to pull this because I I feel like rightfully so. We give so much props and um thanks and gratitude to Foundation 205 and how much they do for all of our buildings. But I think sometimes it goes unnoticed how so many different parts of our community contribute to different parts of our buildings. And I when I saw the Elmherst Garden Club and how much they're donating to support the Garden Club at York, it just, you know, and I'm I'm not a green thumb, but it just made me realize how many how what a great relationship our community has with our district. And and then I saw it was the class of 85. And I will admit
066that that was when I graduated, not from York. But so then I felt like I really did just have to shout out the 58 year olds out there for continuing this amazing um commitment to their their alum their you know alma mater and Duke's helping Duke's program is something very near and dear to my heart. So really, I just wanted to take the time to just give a shout out to all the people involved who are doing so much in in our community for our schools. >> Thank you, Courtney. Any other comments? Okay, we can please call a vote. >> Mrs. Troutman, >> yes. >> M Mrs. Hassler, >> yes. >> Mrs. Asib, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lewinsky, >> yes. >> Mr. Breahan, >> yes. >> Dr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mrs. Vanites, >> six
067eyes. Um zero nays, one absent. Motion passes. Okay. The next item on the agenda is item nine, agenda action items. Um first item is a approve resolution regarding student residency. Can I have a motion? I move that the board finds and determines that student G and H have not been residents of the school district since the start of the 2425 school year. >> Second. >> Okay. Motion made by Miss Troutman, second by Mr. Breznahan. Can we call a vote? >> Mrs. Troutman? >> Yes. >> Mr. Breznahan? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hustler? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Asib? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Lewinsky? >> Yes. >> Dr. Henry? >> Yes. Mrs. Arvanites. >> So, six eyes, zero nays, one absent. Motion passes. Next item on the agenda is approve 2025 resolution certificate of of levy. Can I
068have a motion? I move that the board of education adopt the resolution for the 2025 tax levy. Upon approval, the board authorizes district administration to submit the resolution to DuPage and Cook counties for processing. >> A second. Do we have a second? >> I'll second. >> Okay. Motion made by Ms. Asf, second by Miss Troutman. Are there any comments from the board? Or do you want to say something, Joe? Sorry. >> Yes. Um, I just want to mention uh that I didn't mention during the during the hearing uh the levy presentation um that what we are requesting uh we we are requesting above the 30 or we are requesting the $30 million in order to ensure that we capture any new property growth. um if it ends up not being $30 million, the county will
069adjust it to the actual number of the new property growth in the same way that um any any influx above the 2.9% cap uh will be adjusted to that 2.9%. So, our request is always a little bit more so we can make sure that we capture um all of that new property. >> Thanks for clarifying any questions, comments. Okay, can we call the vote? Mrs. Asive, >> yes. >> Mrs. Troutman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hustler, >> yes. >> Mr. Breznahan, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lewinsky, >> yes. >> Dr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mrs. Arvanites. >> Six eyes, zero naz, one absent. Motion passes. Next item on the agenda is uh PTA fundraising plans 2025 2026. Can is there a motion? >> I move that the board of education approve the parent teacher association annual fundraising
070priorities as presented for 202526. >> Second motion made by Miss Hustler, second by Mr. Breznahand. Are there any comments from the board? >> Seeing no comments, can we call a vote? Mrs. Hustler? >> Yes. Mr. President? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Asip? Yes, Mrs. Lewinsky. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Troutman. >> Yes, >> Dr. Henry. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Arvanites. >> So, six eyes, zero nays, one absent. Motion passes. Moving right along um to item number 10, superintendent communication. Good evening. We have several um our cabinet team has several updates that we would like to share with the board of education um as well as our community. Um we want to start off by just um giving a highlight to our student teacher and field experience. Um this year D205 has seen significant growth in our partnerships
071with local universities uh resulting in strong increase in student teachers and field experience placements across the district. most notably at York Community High School. And we districtwide, we have secured nine student teachers and six field experienced students at the early childhood and elementary levels, three student teachers and two field experienced students at the middle schools. And here we go with the impressive five student teachers and 11 field experience placements at York High School. Two accomplishments are especially noteworthy. First, we are proud to welcome four speech language pathologist student teachers and one SLP field experience student, expanding opportunities in a high need area. Second, York High School has increased its total number of student teachers and field experience placements by 55% in just one school year, reflecting a strong collaboration between our district and partner institutions.
072We extend our deep appreciation to the dedicated D205 certified staff members who open their classrooms, who mentor aspiring educators and play a vital role in shaping the next generation of teachers and specialists, which is very near and dear to our hearts. In doing so, our staff show commitment to the profession as well as to future educators that will undoubtedly serve um service schools both inside and outside of district 205. So and maybe this is me so but is field experience are those are students being placed in other classrooms or at other universities or places. So >> this stated tonight is specific to um observation clinical observation hours practicum experience and student teaching for um undergraduate and or graduate students that are pursuing a career in um in education. So these are college students coming into
073our buildings. That's the student teaching part and the field experience part. >> Correct. >> Got it. >> Thank you. >> It's just difference in terms of where they are in their program. >> Next we have speaking of educators, we are also preparing for our next kindergarten class. Um, our annual kindergarten family information night will be held this year on January 20. Well, actually, you're right. Not this year. >> School year. >> Next year. This school year, but held on January, let me just take out the year. Held on January 27th. Um, Okay, >> how about I pass this to my colleague, [laughter] Miss Daniels. You want to share about kindergarten family information night? >> Yes, I'd be happy to. Please save the date this year. Next year [laughter] on January 26th at Churchville Middle School's
074auditorium for our third annual new family kindergarten registration information night. We look forward to welcoming all of the new families to the district, cheering with them uh everything that they will experience, their children children will experience throughout their journey of excellence in D205. And that night, registration officially kicks off for everyone. >> So, can you remind me, Miss Daniels or Dr. Campbell, how do how, you know, obviously I think we will communicate this to families that are already into the district, but how do people in the community who are not are new to our district get this information? >> So, that's a great question, Courtney Troutman. Thank you for asking that. So, we do a um varying outreach um on the most recent community connections that is hitting homes right now had it in it.
075We also reach out to all of the um uh early childhood centers in Elmherst and give them the flyers and information and ask them to share it with their families. um we put it on the the digital overpass um and put it up there and then our website we also share it there. Thank you. >> Next we just wanted to highlight um our rising academic night um and our 2526 elementary and middle school surge um parent articulation night for students with IEPs. Dr. Rubenstein. >> So earlier this month, our schools began offering a series of transition events designed to support students and their families uh as they move into the next phase of their educational journey. Um beginning this winter uh and continuing into the spring, um this coordinated set of activities is going to
076help our families uh help guide our families through key grade level transitions including um pre-K to kindergarten, um fifth to sixth grade, 8th to 9th grade. Um and we um are offering a transition center open house um which will help our students who are going to the transition center. Um these activities are aligned with our strategic plan um and designed to help students feel confident, connected, and ready for the next step. Um we're grateful to partner with Serge. Um we have uh continue to partner with them for all of these events um to ensure the experiences of students with disabilities are fully supported throughout the process. Um, families will receive clear information about academic expectations, um, student services, extracurricular opportunities, uh, and the resources available to assist during their transition. So, um, we are so
077grateful for the hard work of our surge, um, family leaders um, all across the district and, um, looking forward to welcoming new classes at each of these grade levels in the important grades. >> Excellent. Thank you. We just have a few more exciting um updates to share. Community connections newsletter 14th edition >> 14. >> Wow. >> Yes. >> Is out and on its way to mailboxes at your home. >> Yes, it is, Dr. Kimble. It has begun to arrive in mailboxes and and we're excited to share the stories in this newsletter which include in addition to the save the date for our uh new family kindergarten new family information registration event. It's mouthful. Um, we have a recap of our D205 budget, an interview with students and staff about our inquire ed and how it's
078transforming social studies across grades K through six in D205, a recap of our state report card and our state of the district event, as well as a celebration of this edition's excellent educator Nicole Noverini, a fourth grade teacher from Jackson, who we heard from their school principal this evening and has saved the, as I said, the save the day. Oh, a save the date for the 2026 Foundation 205 showcase fundraiser on February 7th. We hope you enjoy the inside look into D205 through both the written stories and by scanning the QR codes to watch the videos and bring our stories to life. So this year on Thursday, December 3rd, uh we had a webinar hosted by our director of STEM pathways, Dev uh Dave Bey around understanding math pathways in district 205. This was a
079particular um a specific focused webinar for our families of fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students to really support families with understanding the difference between the accelerated and regular math pathways starting in sixth grade all the way through high school. Um so we have a link on our website to the webinar as well as the slides that's really important um for families to view particularly our rising sixth grade families to support them in making this important decision about their students math pathways as they continue their journey in D205. And last, but certainly not least, in continuation of our D205 speaker series, I'm excited to announce the next speaker in our parent education series. On January 27th at 6 p.m. at Churchville Middle School Auditorium, Dr. Laura Keller will be joining us for a presentation entitled Understanding
080Anxiety: Strategies to Support Your Child. So, I'll share that we did a survey with our community asking them what they wanted to hear about in our parent education series. 31% of our parents shared that they wanted to hear about this topic. Exactly. So based on that feedback, we sought out um speakers and are excited to bring Dr. Keller years ago. She also spoke at the Glenar parent series and she has spoke at other parent series. So she's no stranger to the education parent series circuit. And so we're excited to bring her to D205. During this presentation, she's going to share information about signs of youth anxiety, how to respond without re reinforcing avoidance, tools that build resilience, not just relief. Uh Dr. Keller is a clinical psych psychologist who specializes in school-aged anxiety and behavioral
081health, and brings over a decade of experience supporting children, teens, and families through anxiety, school refusal, panic, and life stressors, and holds both a master's and doctorate degree in clinical psychology. So, we're excited to have her here. Can I can I say something that Thank you. And I I love the speaker series. So, I'm I'm really glad that this is like really going strong this year. We've seen this over the years start and then fizzle out, but this I really appreciate the effort being put into it. Um just one question about Dr. Clark. Is it a across the board like K through 12? Is she going to because you know I'm guessing a first grader has different kinds of anxieties than a junior in in high school. So, is it welcome for is it a
082topic of a speaker for all families? >> You have a ton of great questions this evening. >> I try, Tanya. >> Uh, she stated that her presentation will focus mainly on middle school and a high school, but there will be takeaways for parents in elementary as well. >> Great. Thank you. >> So, that concludes the superintendent D205 highlights, but we have a communication highlight to share. So, as I shared in part of our uh 14th edition of the community connections newsletter, one of the stories that we have is about our Inquirer Ed. And while the actual video for the entire story is uh too long to show this evening, I asked Garrett to pull a clip for me. So, here's about a minute clip of that story to kind of tease you and then you
083can go to our YouTube channel and watch the full one. One of the big changes with [music] how social studies used to be compared to what it is now, we're not just talking about facts. It's not memorizing dates and events and people. Now, it's more about getting into the actual concept of what does this do? What is it implying? What were the end results that we [music] still feel the effects of today? students are able to talk a lot more and look at the depth of what this event led to, how we got there, and what it's doing to our society in today's world. >> Students [music] are asked to activate their background knowledge, make connections, share what they already know. Um, [music] there are multiple opportunities for students to do cooperative group work where
084they all [music] work together to accomplish a learning task. We aren't just asking students [music] to recall and retell certain facts about history. Instead, we're really asking students to make sense of the research that they're engaged in and ultimately [music] translate and apply that learning to real world situations. That concludes our superintendent's communication. >> The next item on the agenda is board communications. Are there any presentation or any reports or communications board members would like to share? Hopefully not presentations. [laughter] Okay, seeing none, we will move on to our upcoming meetings. Our next meeting is tomorrow, actually, December 17th, 2025. It's the policy committee meeting here at 5:30 at District 205 Center, rooms 2:15, 216, and 217. And the following meeting, January 20th, 2026, is our next regular board of education meeting at 7 p.m.
085at District 205 Center as well. Um, this meeting is now adjourned at 8:26.