001Check. Check. How's your baby? You are sure. So we could exact session. How are you? I don't know. Got Yeah, it's pretty true. careful. Yeah. We'll keep trying to Yeah. and I was like she said she's like I appreciate that. That was like What's up? She's turning I think you can see it. I'm gonna be honest with you. I was just wondering that's really what I'm Yeah, I think that's the first time we spent any time. Oh, really? >> Sorry everybody. We have There's easy conversation. >> No, I don't Yes. Let's have a conversation. Have they touched this? I'll explain our foundation. Feel that sticker. That's too expensive. Good evening everyone. Thank you for your patience. I appreciate that very much. Um, we ran a little long on a few little things. I'd like to
002just welcome you all. And uh before we get started, I'd like to invite all the board member administration, everyone to uh stand and say the pledge, please stand for Thank you very much. Um, I think we'll move to the, uh, Lake Forest High School update. So, uh, student spotlight with Penelopey, uh, Villan Noeva and Deborah Schneider, I believe. Yeah. >> All right. I'm going to call this the long awaited student spotlight because I think we actually we actually planned this in February and then our winner had a conflict in February, so we moved it to March and then we didn't have our meeting last month. So, long awaited student spotlight. I'm going to kick it over to Miss Schneider in just a minute, but just to remind the community, um, the students can perfect. The
003student spotlight is something that we do four times a year to five times a year. Um, we started it this year and it really is about our faculty and staff recognizing students who are living the mission, vision, and values of Lake Forest High School. That during this cycle, get the if you can. Yes. Great. We have um a number of students who were actually nominated and some nominated two times. This is actually Ellie's second time being nominated as well, but we see Rana Patel was nominated. Um, Bo Bertollah, Alejandro Ley, Christian Rukavino, Rickina, Avery Keane, and Ellie Villanuva. And whenever I read, we read through the different nominations, we saw world words like leadership, initiative, character consistently popping. And I think our winner, Ellie Villanoeva, is going to show you evidence of that as Miss
004Schneider shares about her. So, Miss Schneider, if you'd like to come up and talk about Ellie, who you nominated twice, two different cycles. She was determined. I have notes because I I like speaking in front of students, but I'm not good anywhere else. Um, Ellie is a force of nature. Um, she has brought the pop culture club, which I'm the sponsor of, back to life this year, single-handedly changing it from a club where a few students met occasionally, and to now where 13 to 18 students meet every single Wednesday, I think they might meet without me sometimes. Um she runs the meetings getting everyone in on the same page for planning activities and discussions playing games etc. She sets the rules and expectation at the beginning of the year and does a great job wrangling
00513 to 18 students every Wednesday. Um Ellie plans and arranges activities for the group outside of the meetings, including movie nights in the RMA where anybody can come, including a concession stand. Um we did the homecoming windows in the community this year and decorated a door for the Halloween decorating contest at the school. Um, while I attend all of the meetings as a sponsor, Ellie really is the one in charge and she does all of this while juggling her academics and being a crucial member of the theater tech crew. Um, one of the reasons why we are meeting now is because one of the meetings Ellie couldn't make it to because she was running the tech crew for the play that night. Um, so that's why she's receiving that honor, this honor right now. and
006she does all of this with a lightness and a sense of fun that draws other students to her. She is as impressive as they come and I'm very proud of how she has led this club. So, please join me in congratulating Ellie on receiving the student spotlight award. Ellie, we're not going to make you give a speech unless you want to, but we are going to ask for you to come up and have your picture taken with the board. We'll Make sure to feature Ellie in the Friday Fan Scout as the winner in tonight's photograph, as well as some of the information around our other nominees, too. Thank you. All right. Yep. So, the the next thing is uh well, I will let uh our vice president give a little speech uh and this is
007dedicated to or a little around officer Mark Long. So, Just want to make sure we're doing this right. Um I'm very honored to be reading the resolution tonight um on beh in honor of Officer Mark Long. Whereas Officer Mark Long has faithfully served as the school resource officer for Lake Forest Community High School District 115 since May of 2021. following his service as school resource officer for Lake Forest Elementary School District 67 from May 2019 to May 2021. Whereas, Officer Long has demonstrated a deep commitment to the safety, well-being, and success of all students, staff, and families through his visible presence, approachability, and dedication to building positive relationships across the LFHS community. Whereas, Officer Long has gone beyond the traditional responsibilities of his role by actively engaging in school life, attending athletic events, dances, and
008large school gatherings, and participating in student led activities, including the talent show and student films. Whereas, Officer Long has contributed meaningfully to the educational experience of students by serving as a guest speaker in classrooms to share his perspective and foster thoughtful dialogue around important topics. Whereas, Officer Long has built strong trusting connections with students by embodying the rule the role of law enforcement officer, mentor, and educator, serving as a role model and supportive adult presence within the school community. Whereas Officer Long has strengthened the collaborative partnership between Lake Forest Police Department and Lake Forest Community High School District 115, helping to bridge relationships between youth and law enforcement while exemplifying a shared commitment to student safety, community engagement, and mutual respect. And whereas the district 115 board of education recognizes that officer Mark Long's dedication,
009integrity, and work ethic, which defined his time in our schools, will serve as a strong foundation for his continued success. Therefore, be it resolved that the Lake Forest Community High School District 115 Board of Education expresses for itself as well as for the parents, guardians, students, staff, faculty, and citizens of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Nwood its sincere gratitude to Officer Mark Long for his outstanding service as school resource officer and wishes him all the best as he returns to his role with the Lake Forest Police Department. Signed the 7th day of April, 2026. And then we would offer public comment at this point in time for uh for for Mark if folks would like to. My name is John Burke. I'm the chief of police uh for the police department here in Lake Forest.
010I'd like to echo those statements as well. Uh I've known Mark for about a year and a half. I've been a lot around a lot of student resource officers in different schools and different settings and different communities and Mark is truly um second to none. What he's done to build a relationship between the Lake Forest Police Department and the students, their families and the staff has truly um been exceptional. So on behalf of the city of Lake Forest and Lake Forest Police Department, I also want to thank him for his his time here at the school. Thank you. Officer Long, I also wanted to thank you for obviously for all the kids you've supported. Um, but I really want to thank you for the support you've given the Donna Hughes over the years. Your uh
011pictures on our refrigerator and that says it all. and and thank thank you and family and friends for all coming in. We will actually make a a motion and adopt this resolution during the items. So, just to let you know, full disclosure, it will be there for recorded in posterity. So, you'll see you'll see it shortly. But, thank you. All right. Uh, so first up is President's Report. And based on the evening and the time, I'm going to uh I'll I'll save this for for May. But I just my continued thanks to everybody and their efforts around all that you guys do and uh make happen. And thank you to the fellow board members for covering for me I think last month on a few things uh that I was not able to attend. So
012I greatly appreciate some of the help support as I was uh recovering a little bit. So everything is all good and better, but uh we'll work through that and uh pass it on to uh our uh district leadership. So Dr. Montgomery and your report with Drs. Leonard and Dr. Fitz Simmons. Okay, everyone. Uh, thank you so much. It's wonderful to honor to have many people to celebrate and then after uh our report uh we have the pleasure of hearing from Ashley and Tim, which is a report that I look forward to uh each year. So excited to see about how um our students are engaged in life outside of the classroom. Uh with regards to our report, we have many topics and we have many topics because we didn't get to see you in March.
013Uh so we have a list of things that we celebrate and to update you on and we will share between myself uh Dr. V Simmons, Dr. Lonard and Dr. Georgia tonight. So we will all three or all four be talking. I'll kick off with a tour or not a tour um a highlight of an experience that uh district 6715 uh members from district 65 as well as newer township high school. Uh we had the esteemed honor to visit Stamford University last week and we also had a chance to visit Palo Alto Unified as well as Design Tech High School which is a charter school uh in the Bay Area. The experience was focused on two main topics. One was design learning with the Dhool as well as artificial intelligence. Uh this is one of four
014experiences that are happening this spring that will hopefully drive our work in years four and five of the strategic plan. I'm going to review the four areas of focus that we're looking into. One was the portrait ex um portrait to practice event that happened early March with 125 of our committee members. The second one was the student board of education mixer. The third was the Stanford trip. The fourth is the CIC visit which is area districts coming to see district 67 at the end of the month. All four of those events will come together and coales to give us direction on where we are putting our energies uh for the following or the last two years of the strategic plan. This was a really important moment in time and I think our uh thinking was
015challenged in big ways. Jenny Zinszer was able to represent the board in that trip and Jerry Levin from 67 was present. I asked the team to create one to two action items from this experience document them and then in the end of next week we're actually meeting to talk about those action items. We will create a report from those action items, share it with all of you so you can see what our key takeaways were. The next topic I would like to address is exciting news. I was in the space this after this morning I think to see the new English classrooms that were opened. It was actually the first day I was on campus with students in the building. It was a quiet day at the high school though because we had ACT testing
016and then everyone was at Starbucks uh afterwards where I happened to have a meeting in the afternoon. We saw half the student body there. Um and it was wonderful to see them as their stress went down as ACT uh the test had concluded. Uh there is a new um don't forget there's an under hat under the hard hat video series uh that is alive and well and we're also filming the next episode soon which will be released later this month uh giving a look at the work that is going on now and what is planned for summer 2026. We open new classrooms and we did a demo the collective we definitely not this guy uh demoed English classrooms that are under construction that will open at the start of the next school year. Uh so
017it's an exciting time and I'm thrilled that students particularly our seniors and our juniors are reaping the benefits of some of the new spaces as they open up uh and uh get to see what it's going to be like in future years. With that, I will kick it over to Dr. Lonard. >> That was actually I don't want to steal your thunder, but that was one of the key three themes that came out of the um uh student board mixer was how they are enjoying those new spaces, too. So, thank you to everyone involved in helping support that and support the development of those spaces. So, Friday, March 13th was not an unlucky day at Lake Forest High School. Um it was foundation grant day. Uh we actually had a number number of representatives who
018joined where we went around. There's balloons, there's balloon hats, apparently there's Star Wars, too. Um, they join us to hand out our um foundation grants for the year. This year's grants included a Yamaha Sha or Holocaust Remembrance Day speaker for the library. Um, a live production kit. Uh, we have a refresh and upgrade for edte cardio equipment for wellness, an embroidery machine for fine and performing arts for our new fashion classes. We're going to learn how to embroider um or have a machine that embroers for us. the RMA and little theater video upgrade and live streaming across multiple departments now. So whenever we do something in the RMA, we can live stream straight out and it will be a very quality live stream that happens and we will live stream out also into the um
019entryway too to the RMA. So it's going to be it's going to be awesome for our students to experience the technology behind it um as well as our classrooms to be able to reap the benefits of that too. And then workout equipment for the transitions program that's housed here at West. Thank you to the LFHS Foundation for continuing to invest in these learning opportunities for our students. Speaking of the foundation, have you heard? Their lunchon is quickly approaching. Happening on Friday, May 1st at Nullwood um country club, the lunchon will feature class of 1998 Sarah Spain, Emmy and Peabody award-winning sports journalist and author. So, we're looking forward to Friday, May 1st. Uh scan the QR code that you see here to grab your tickets today. March has really been a busy month um for
020our Lake Forest High School AP and we're so grateful for their continued support. Thanks to the Lake Forest High School AP, Career Connections, and the LFB Chamber of Commerce for supporting Scouts Forward hosted in our business incubator classroom during lunch periods on March 12th. Students gathered for a skill building focused workshop on interview preparation uh for summer jobs, for internships, and college visits. Um, our own Joanna Rolik, executive director of the Lake Forest Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce, shared expert tips and real world advice to help all the students stand out and walk into their next opportunity with the portrait of a learner, confidence. Earlier in March, Lake Forest High School AP partnered with the district 67 AP to host the LFHS 101 uh parent series. That's something that our team comes together around. We
021um give a lot of information to our rising ninth grade parents. I think they leave there very well informed. Actually, at the end of it, we went way over time. No surprise with my team. And at the end of it, we asked for questions and people were like, "We don't even know how we could have questions after all the information you provided." So, it's a fun night. It's a good It's a good night to get to know the team as well that will be serving your students as they enter 9th grade through 12th grade. Um special shout out to our APS for sponsoring that year-over-year. The next few topics are items that I talked about that we're going to be using to provide uh strategic information on how we move forward as a district. The
022living our portrait experience was on March 2nd. We had 125 individuals come together and comprised of students and parents and community members. One of the key themes across all subgroups was the need or the desire for more authentic learning experiences within the classroom. more hands-on, more real life uh experiences within a classroom. The second item that I mentioned earlier was a tri- district student board mixer. Some of the key themes me uh for those of you who don't know, district board members from 6567 and 115 came together and were interviewed or asked questions to our principal advisory council. Principal advisory council came up with the questions for our board members and the questions elicited great conversations. Some of those themes this year were talking about um AI consistency among policies from one classroom to the
023next, talking about uh the level of homework in DPM and Lake Bluff Middle versus the high school and that how difficult that transition is. the ability to retake test or quizzes in the middle school setting that may be not present at the high school setting as well as the differences in devices that are used in the middle school setting versus the high school setting. That's just a small um uh sample of everything that was heard and cannot be captured in this short period of time. Uh but I want to thank the leadership with the principal advisory council because without the student voice um we would certainly not be uh where we are today and we're continuing to create opportunities for our students to engage with the board of education to make sure that we are
024hearing directly from them their experience. We have a joint board coffee this week Thursday April 9th at Gorton at the Gorton Center uh 6:30 p.m. Come one come all. Remember the uh the format of this is anyone can show up within the communities with any topic that is top of mind. We will have uh board members there. We will have uh administrators there to hopefully answer your questions or collect the questions then make sure we circle back with answers that maybe we don't have the information at our fingertips. The next beyond the budget is um released and it will uh I think it was last week it came out and it's available on the website and this episode uh introduced uh us to the fiscal side of our business services team and the collaboration creating
025the budget with HR. The episode dives into the other half of the business services the business operations side. So you learned about fiscal services before. Now you are learning about the business operations side guided by host uh the very famous Dr. Jennifer Hermas. Uh Miss Whitney Drager and Mr. Dan Mortonson. Uh viewers will get a view behind the curtain on how business operations and facilities uh keep everything running across both districts. I know the board of education earlier tonight heard an update on how we are finishing the year anticipated finishing for the budgets. um with more information to come in the uh following months. With that, I will turn it over to Dr. Georgia. >> Thank you. So, as you know, we have a couple of retirements coming up. Chuck is retiring this June, and
026our esteemed Tim Burkalters is retiring next June. With incredibly big shoes to fill, we've been um spending a lot of time and effort ensuring that we get the process underway early and do it well. We've had postings for both positions up for a number of weeks and ran a number of Indeed and LinkedIn campaigns to ensure that we got a really good pool of candidates. Um, our we've we've had a large number of people express interest and have been sending video interviews to all of those candidates. And then we're in the process now of going through all of those. It takes a lot of time to go through applications and video interviews, but it's great to have that pool. And within the next two weeks, Erin will be holding the co-ad interviews at the high
027school. We'll be hosting and uh having the interviews for the director of safety and security. And we intend to bring candidates to you at the May board meetings. >> Okay. Wonderful. This morning we had the Super Bowl of our assessments for our students who took the ACT. um 311 students, juniors were registered for the ACT and 660 students were registered. These were freshman and sophomore who took the preac 9 and 10. Um we're really excited to see the results of this. This is what we've been working so hard on. Everything from our universal data work to our intentional and very strategic MTSS intervention work truly led by um some amazing leaders. I'd like to give a shout out not only to our faculty and our students but also to Ryan Abrams, David Hayne, and Corey
028Homer for all of their work that they've been doing, even including vibe coding that we learned at Stan Stanford last week to transform how we are serving all of our students. We are going to see the results of these in um April, the end of the the uh month. And then on that note, we have some exciting uh reports about the state report card. While this will not be voted on until the end of this month by Isby, there are some significant shifts. One of the most exciting things about this shift is the idea that before everyone was ranked and sorted in um order by the state. Only 10% of our our schools in the state could be classified as exemplary. Now, we are looking forward to seeing what the results are. We um are
029hopeful that this will not be dependent solely on growth or some of those metrics like the CCI participation rate which could have in the past really affected our rating and our designation. So more to come on this and I will present this in um a more specific manner once they vote on it and that should be at the end of this month. >> Thank you Dr. Fitz Simmons. So, okay. Um, as many in the community know, this was quite the talk of most of the meetings that I was in. Um, we made good that promise of the second that we could, um, ask the community about having finals before winter break. We would ask the community, um, if they were interested in starting the school year earlier, so we could number one, keep balanced semesters
030with a lot of semester courses. That's really important to maintain the integrity of instruction and learning. Um and then number two, um to maybe think about how IHSA has even backed up, um the start of uh uh fall athletics. Is this something since a number of our students have returned our community is interested in? We made that promise a few years ago whenever we moved um final breaks or final exams until after winter break and that was because of construction. We needed that longer summer and then we found out that we could actually make something work in the next bid package if we wanted to go on and move it, have one shorter summer and then that final long summer. So, we sent the survey out and it got quite the buzz, I'm told. Um,
031but the survey results were pretty definitive and that's always great. Um, there wasn't it wasn't 55 50 45 it wasn't 5050 among all stakeholder groups. It was 68 to 77%. Um, that they want to maintain the later start. So, that August 24th, 23rd, that start of that Wednesday in August in that I believe third week, sometimes fourth week I think it depends on how August moves actually. Um that's we have beautiful summers here and that's something that was really important to our community that we are making sure that we're able to take advantage of that time for our families. So we will present a 2027 28 calendar starting um in during that week of August 23rd 24th somewhere in there just as we did this year. Um still hoping to get out that first week
032of June but we'll see. Um especially for the 2728 calendar. It is still a construction calendar so we want to have that longer summer in 2028. Um and then we will uh maintain this start moving forward with finals after winter break. Something that I do want to acknowledge it has popped in a number of the meetings that I've been in and that is you know the rules and guidance around finals and making sure we have a break that's important to the community and that's something that our faculty is very interested in continuing to engage continuing to improve upon as we really think about how we are making sure that all members of our community have that break. So we will continue to do that work too but the results are in. though we've asked and
033we have certainly been told. Now, I'd also like to recognize we have five National Merit finalists who've been named. Um these are the highest achieving these these students are among the highest achieving in the nation and they are Emerson Brown, Matthew Kim, Cameron Cameron Mclofflin, Laura Quan, and Andrew Turlo. So, congratulations to those five students who are National Merit uh scholarship finalists. I'd also like to recognize that we had 1,071 of our students who were actually recognized for the high honor or honor role. Um, so 482 of our scouts are high honor and 589 are on the honor role. So that's always a point of celebration. Publishing those names is a long list, but we should be thrilled to see this many of our students who are excelling in their learning. >> We'll finish the
034report with upcoming events. I'd like to highlight the Drowsy Chaperon, which is the school's spring musical, which is April 16th through the 18th. And then just a reminder that due to the closure of the district for an emergency day on January 23rd, Friday, April 24th is now a regular day of school and staff attendance. That concludes uh the superintendence report and thank you for your kind attention. Of course, willing and able to answer questions should you have any. All right. Uh with no questions, uh move to public participation. So the public will hear from any comments from the public um at this point. So if anybody seeing none, we'll move on to uh our reports. So if I'd love to call up uh Ashley Malik and Tim Burkhalter for their extracurricular report, please. I feel
035like you guys need a walk up song while we're waiting. >> Who's got the timer? >> I just want to know where we're looking. >> Thank you very much. We're first going to start with the students and then we'll introduce ourselves and get started. But um school board representatives, you've been queued up. Could you please tell us in your own words how engagement has impacted your experience here at the high school? Yeah. So, um, relating to my extracurricular activities, um, I am on the exec board, um, for fellow Christian athletes, FCA. Um, I'm a part of Scout Nation. I'm a senior leader. Um, I did lacrosse my freshman and sophomore year. I danced also my freshman and sophomore year. Um, I played lacrosse or I played soccer last year. Um, and being able to be
036involved in the school for me has made a really big impact on getting to know other students that I wouldn't see every day from classes and stuff. Um, and it's also really helped me to connect with the LFHS community as a whole. Um, I really learned through being in these extracurricular activities that there's a lot more people out there than just your immediate friend group and I'm able to connect with a lot of more lot more people that I wouldn't normally see every day. Um, and there's also a really cool connection that's I can engage with with my coaches and leaders of these activities as well. and that really helps um students I've learned and myself to feel connected to the um community as a whole. Um I also feel like it helps a lot
037with time management. Being able to balance sports and school at the same time really leads me on a good path for college and stuff. I feel more comfortable. Um so yeah, that's my engagement. >> For me, my key engagement has been cheerleading. I did a little bit the high school and I did club. There's that determination of team, doing it for each is cuz doing it for doing it for a team and um really fighting for each other whether it be on football and it builds Um uh sorry I'm involved in I've been involved with student council for the past four years as well as dance and student to student. I also played fresh south lacrosse. I'm also on principal advisory council. But throughout the years, I've learned to like as you get older, you
038kind of narrow down like what clubs you're in because you find what you love most and find the people who also enjoy doing the same things as you, which um like is a super great experience. And I found that by doing by having like all these extracurriculars, they do like for sorry I'm all over the place. For dance, we do a fundra like we do lots of fundraisers and I found that that's able to help us build our relationship with the community. Like we do a corn roast at Sunset and at Sunset Foods and you just like meet so many people from around the community. So that's just one example. And also like the sponsors of clubs, you're able to connect with those teachers and build that relationship. Like I've become so close with Mrs.
039cons through student council and I go to her for things that don't even have to do with student council anymore. So, it's just a great way to meet new friends or teachers and build those relationships. >> Thank you so much. I appreciate it you guys. Um so, one thing they're highlighting also is the engagement both in and outside of the high school, which is something we're going to touch on. Um I'm Ashley Malik for those of you not known. Um I've been here with the district for eight years. I've been in education for 18. Um, and I'm the director of student activities. So, what I say is everything after school, it's not a sport. Um, and instructional director of fine and performing arts, so music, art, and theater. >> Uh, Tim Burke Calder, athletic director.
040This is my 21st year in that role. Been at the school since 1999. A lot of people don't remember that I taught math uh, and coached a little bit back in the day. So, I always try to throw that in because it's my favorite trivia question to the kids of what subject did Mr. Burke teach? So now you guys know um we're really excited. Uh I I've been looking forward to this Dwey. Uh and and I say that a little tongue and cheek because Dwey always challenges us to step up our game in regards to uh meaningful engagement. Uh and I think not just uh saying you're part of something, but meaningfully part of something. And I know that one of the gold prior uh one of the board's uh priorities is is culture and
041climate with a with a a delta of 95% participation for uh our young people in extracurricular activities, sports, uh being meaningfully engaged and and I think there's some great news to share here at the end of our report tonight. Um as you can see on the screen, uh we have a very robust offering on the athletic side with 12 offerings in the fall, eight in the winter. We're really happy that girls wrestling has found its footing uh now in its second year with us. And I was just talking to our wrestling coach the other day and he's really excited about uh some of the young kids that are going to be coming from the middle schools uh to join our programming there. Uh another 12 offerings uh in the spring. Special Olympics is now in
042about its I think fifth or sixth year. uh and we have uh a great opportunity in in that particular offering for uh our our athletes to work with our our student buddies and partner in botchi basketball and track and field. Uh on the inter mural side uh we have uh four offerings listed here. Uh flag football, basketball, uh we've been doing for a long time. Bowling is now in its third year. I'm going to highlight that in a minute. And then uh Ashley and I love that pickle ball is is on my list uh this year. Um it's been an activity and uh we are really going to kick it off uh being a pilot inter mural this spring. Uh Mr. Soich is going to help us with that. Uh and we're just excited to
043bring another thing uh under our umbrella. Uh, as you can see here on the screen, we have 647 student athletes in the fall, another 237 in the winter, and then 640 here uh in the springtime for a total of 1524 student athletes. Obviously, that's more more than we have students in the building. So, uh we have uh a number of those uh athletes are our two and three sport athletes. I think we had 78 three sport athletes uh this year. Uh so, we're pretty excited about that. Uh bowling. I do want to highlight bowling here. Um we're really excited in our third year. Uh Mr. Warner and Miss Jones have really helped us uh take that from a a one day a week activity uh during the the winter months into a much more robust
044offering as an inter mural this year. Uh that culminated in uh in uh conference and state participation as individuals. we were able to enter uh four individuals on the boys and girls side uh as individuals in the conference tournaments and then the following uh week into the IHSA regional uh uh competitions. Um we had a high high water mark of about 32 kids participating in bowling with a a genuine 18 to 20 on a regular weekly basis. Um, I will be meeting with uh um the the budget team tomorrow and presenting uh boys and girls bowling for full consideration uh as an IHSA sport. Uh we are the only uh school in the North Suburban Conference that to date does not have bowling. I'm super excited that uh uh we're being welcomed with open arms
045uh by the league. Uh and I think that we've got some really good bowlers coming. Uh obviously we don't have a bowling alley here in town, so we will be using a nearby facility. Uh we've got transportation built into all that. So stay tuned as a board um excited about that coming online uh through the budget process uh this year. Um so that's that's great news. In addition to all the athletes, um we have many what I call kids plugged in on the edges. Uh whether that's managers, statistitians, student filmers. uh our student film program, we've actually had to kind of uh it's it's taken off so successfully. Uh Mr. Shaman actually oversees that portion of our student filmers and um we have kids asking, can they cover this event? Can they be part of
046that on the sideline? So, we're getting some kids plugged in. Uh we have one young man who comes to all of our events who otherwise wouldn't be counted on our roles because he plays hockey outside of school. Um but he does student filming for us. And so now he's as meaningfully engaged as anyone else in our program. So super excited about that. Um as you know, enrollment has continued to to decrease. I think uh this time over uh last year we're down about 38 students overall. Um, but we're excited about what the data is going to show. Even though enrollment has decreased, what we, and I say we, I I I've got to give full uh credit to Miss Malik. Uh, she is so good at meeting kids where they're at, trying to identify what
047their barrier might be, trying to identify what would you want to get involved in. These are our offerings. And she really tugs at those kids to say, "Hey, what about this? What about that?" And I say that because she's much better at it than me. And she is in the hallway in the lunchroom. She knows these kids. I think we have 56 of them right now that are not engaged for a variety of very legitimate reasons. Uh and she still is like, "Okay, we're going to we're going to find what is their hook." Uh and get them get them plugged in. So, we're excited about that. Um I I'm going to put this this isn't to showcase Charlie Access, but I do have her permission and her parents permission to use her slide. Uh we
048we had asked our uh we we sponsored National Women in Sports Day again this year. Uh we had one of our alums uh Ashley Dell come back. She is the uh head men's and women's swim coach at the University of Illinois Chicago. uh and she came back and had a wonderful presentation on National Women in Sports Day in our auditorium. And for anybody who was there, uh it wasn't a linear path. It was not a I'm destined to be a collegiate swimmer. I'm destined to be division one. I'm destined to coach at the division one level. She took a very uh nonlinear path. And and really the message that came out of that presentation to our kids was that uh you'll find your way if it's important and it means something to you, you'll surround
049yourself with the right people. Here we asked uh a number of our our young ladies, why do you play? And and here is a perfect example. We just heard from three of our students of of why are they engaged and what has that meant? and and you know, she's learned so many valuable lessons from playing sports, including the importance of teamwork, how to love hard work, and the impact of leadership. Uh Charlie's been part of of three different teams. Uh this spring, I mean, she was a state uh medalist in tennis. Uh she's part of our girls basketball program. And this spring, just for fun, she's playing soccer because she enjoys it. And I love that. That's her reason. That's her why for being plugged in. it has nothing to do with the next level
050or anything like that. So, uh when when we look at uh three quarters, three out of every four students at Lake Forest High School, uh being plugged into athletics, we get really excited. Uh and Ashley's going to now take it and talk a little bit about engagement on the extracurricular and activity side. And then we're going to wrap up with some great numbers. >> Tim and I have a saying, yours, mine, or ours. Um, and it's his end of the building, my end of the building, or both of ours. And the goal is any any any fit that works for students works for us. And that's part of what the work is, is making sure we can kind of finesse that. What does that look like? Um, on the right is outofdate data, happily reporting.
051um because it's in the um passport that I put on everyone's spot. That was what was handed out at the scout experience this year. So, it's last year's engagement data trying to more candidly celebrate what our students are into. Um what kinds of clubs and after school activities are offered. You can open it up. You'll see the foundation grant sticker maker from last year. It's beautiful. It's in action. Every club had their very own sticker and freshman, incoming freshmen were supposed to go around to all the different club tables and get a sticker for the clubs that they were excited about or interested in so that they had a visual reminder of which clubs they put on their on their pamphlet so that they when they come in in the fall, it's not like, I
052don't know, I signed up for a lot. It's instead which ones did I think were cool, which ones am I going to follow up on? Which ones do I want more information about? It gives them a visual to take with them. um board. I selected a variety of stickers for you. Check them out in the fall if you want. Um number one, I realized when we started to dive into our data is um our students are hard workers and if we set a bar, they will meet it. Um and so with that while trying to engage as many students as we can, we want to find a balance and our data is showing the balance actually there is a um threshold to which your GPA will increase by being involved in extracurriculars and it kind
053of plateaus after four. So it's four extracurriculars is your sweet spot to be engaged and to see the biggest impact in your student individual student GPA. Um, so what that means, it's not yours, it's not mine, it's ours. They're probably involved in all of the things. So if it's four extracurriculars, what that could look like is you have a fall varsity or fall tennis player, a model UN student in the winter, maybe they're in track in the spring, or maybe they're in FBLA in the spring. So it's an evolution of the year-long progression. What I was really excited you guys mentioned and what I truly see is our student data aligns to try a bunch of things, see what you like, see what fits, see who when you walk into that space, you're like, I
054didn't even know that everybody else thought like I did, but this space is really cool. And that's really what pop culture club is. And that's something cool to walk in and see Ellie celebrated tonight because when you walk in there, there is something you are interested that everyone else in the room automatically knows what you're talking about. and that friendship is built there. Um, and so what we try to celebrate is the slow build. You don't need a huge resume. You need long-term commitment over time. Sustained interest is more important than 12 things. So showing you started as a freshman or sophomore involved in a club or on a team, by junior or senior year, you're the captain, you made varsity, you're showing commitment that you've stuck with it. Um, even having a story saying,
055you know, I tried a sport and I'm not in it now, but I did it junior year because I wanted to stay connected. I want to stay active or get stay involved. Um, and I think that is truly what we want to celebrate with our kids is balance and finding time to delve deeply into things that they love. Um, and so that's kind of the freshman secret is what we gave them and put it in their hands. And the parents were kind of like laughing. They're like, "This is great to know that they don't have to do everything." And I was like, "No, no, no. The goal is that you don't get every sticker. It is not every sticker, just the ones that you were really excited about. So you that you walk in and
056remember um what it was you were excited by last January. Um several pictures up here. I will tell you that they many of them are seniors now. Um five of these kids are transfers, new to the building and they're found their way and their engagement in our building. And so it's really fun to kind of see them as they evolve. Um, another handout I have and handed you, um, every single, this is how we did outreach this fall and I really think it's working. Um, with scout seminar, um, I was invited and I went into every single freshman level study hall. Um, gave them this sheet, front front sheet. My conversation looks like this. What are you interested in? Sometimes they look at me blankly and I'm like, okay, what kind of things do you
057do? What kind of hobbies do you have? What kind of shows do you watch? What kind of things are you finding yourself like you what kind of books do you read? Um and sometimes it's like I really like independent like doing things independently. I'm really creative. I'm crafty. Um other times it's I have no idea but I think I like I like competition. I like debates and then I'm like okay we're going to the competitive club section. Other times it's the other side of the piece of paper and the kids. I if a kid is heavily scheduled I just say when are you free? And we just go through and they're like I'm free Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm like, "Cool. Here's what meets Tuesdays and Thursdays." And at any given day, we have over eight
058clubs meeting. So, something usually is going to tip the mark with the students. Um, handing out the pens to the freshman in the fall kind of made me laugh because, as they say, they're actually good pens. So, I hope you enjoy writing with them. Um, there's a QR code that takes you directly to the LFHS student activities website. Um, where further information about our clubs is available and even engagement style. It'll tell you if this is a collaborative club, is this an independently driven club, is it debate, do you need to study? Um, some of our organizations. I was walking out today and a student was wearing um two students were work were wearing um oh my gosh, sheets, bed sheets, and they were like, "It's the fall of Rome." And I was like, "E2
059Buddhist like I was like, okay." And that's literally they were studying and they're like, "We are performing now the fall of Rome." This was not theater. I was like, "Okay, have a great time." And they're laughing. These two boys are wearing togas. I'm like, "See you. Have a great time." But I think what's cool is some kids are really excited by the competitive and the historical research and that drives them. And so what we try to do, like Tim said, is meet them where they are with what they're interested in. And sometimes it's just an offshoot of like I looking at their classes and being like, "This might be something you should check out." Next up, our student engagement. We've been working at this um since 2016. So before I've been at the district um
060there's some asterisks at the early ones because we have altered the way we capture data. Um the first two years was really handin paper and then we've ingrained some of our systems and attendance taking and participation and ID scanning. You guys probably have seen those perfectly aligned. You guys wore IDs when I was like ready to scan them on the system. I was like this is perfect. So, um, our engagement as of today is 95.7%. Um, and it kind of freaks me out because I'm afraid of what next year will bring. Um, but I can tell you it's really fascinating to see the difference I think in the supports with our freshmen and the wraparound support that Scout Seminar has brought. the openness and candidness we have had in conversations with parents about here's what
061we do, here's how we do it, here's what we want your students to show up. Um, getting them in and on the activity bus and letting them know. I mean, I had a kid call me today through the main office. JT's like, "What time's the activity bus get here?" Because a student needed to make sure they got on it and since it was a different bell schedule, they wanted to confirm it was going to be running. I was like, "You're good." Um, so it's cool to see that those barriers, the more we're openly acknowledging those barriers and keeping them and removing them or talking kids through what they can do, um, it is yielding engagement and success. Um, of those 56 students, I can tell you 19 of them went to an optional one-day outside
062of school event, and I'm not counting that, so it doesn't count yet, but they're on my spreadsheet now. um they're on the short list of people which we will be talking um but 12 of them are graduated early. I can tell you there's 340 324 freshmen, four are not engaged. And to me, I'm like, I've never seen 99.1% student or freshman class engagement because you guys know what you do freshman year, you go hard and then you taper. And and that's what our data shows. Seniors, you guys are relaxing. And that's okay. You've earned it. And that's what we want you to do is by senior year, you're celebrating, but you're still a part of our community. Freshman year though, if we don't have you hooked in freshman year, it's hard to get you there.
063So, um maybe I am excited about next year. >> Um with that engagement does connect to success in the classroom. Um Tim and I I mean I was Tim and I were working on this report and he's like student athlete. I was like athlete student athlete and I was kind of laughing at like yeah I get it. You're right. It is you are students first always above all. um talking and looking at the musical students today. I told the directors to give them a nudge. I said, "Make sure no one is late to class next week. I know it's tech week. It's exhausting, but get through it. They are students." Um gave another student a high five for doing her homework. You can guess who that one was. Um and I was sitting there doing
064homework. She goes, "I am not behind yet. I'm not falling behind this week." And I was laughing at her and I was like, "I'm proud of you. That's awesome." And I think that is all about trying to find the balance of 95.7% is not easy to get but also hopefully it creates a lot of structures that they are following and valuing their time and connectedness with the faculty and the famili familiarity with the building knowing our systems wanting to be a part of our community. Um and those kids that are not involved are just one more way that we are trying to make adjustments for next year. So, they're already on the list. >> We need to figure out a warning light process because I will tell you every single student on the list, I
065met with the deans, I met with some social workers, I talked to school counselors, not a single kid was on that list that someone didn't have eyes on and know what happened, know what the story was. Sometimes if a student's been outplaced or they are coming back and transitioning in because they've been on leave for uh medical leave, typically I'm not going to talk to them. I'm going to leave them and get back into the groove of things. And I I said to John Maher today, I was talking to him about one particular student. And he's like, you gotta leave her alone. I said, I respect it. I get it. But you got to tell me when I can talk to her and you got to tell me if she's ready. And so it might
066be next fall. But it is something that I think this is what I love about our school is it's small enough that we have this small enough net that we can just go in and say, "Who's this kid? Tell me their story. What's going on?" um and they already have a support in place. We're just trying to find the right time to be like not more, but what if you might like this, you know, and it's trying to kind of like not scare them away, but maybe this can help and maybe this creates balance and connection to others and you don't have to feel, you know, so daunted every time you walk into the building. Uh a couple things that we're really thankful for for the board. Uh the the activity bus for our extracurricular
067activities. It uh Lupe gets on the PA every day and announces you got a fiveminute warning. The the 4:45 bus is getting ready to depart and then later in the evening she'll do the the the the athletic bus. Um the commitment that this board has made in providing that has removed some barriers that existed and we are going to continue to look at those uh points that might be what is it that we can do as the adults in the equation to eliminate those barriers. uh if that's we don't have that. Well, let's how do we get that? If that's something that uh we really like organic uh when our kids come up with uh gosh years ago, I remember the birth of the yo-yo club. Uh and I was like, "What? We have a
068yo-yo club?" And then all of a sudden they did a presentation and people like, "That's really cool. I want to be in the yo-yo club." Right? So, uh, we're always looking at opportunities to, uh, work within, um, those things where really it is about one lake forest, a place for everyone. And I know that this board and and our administration has been, um, incredibly committed to that cause. So, we wanted to say thank you for that. Um, another thing is to align some of our plug-in engagements to those really rhythmic parts of the year. Uh, there are start and stop points that are natural, whether it's fall sports. I'm not going to maybe be all that plugged into some other uh, club or activity right now because I I play my sport, right? And I
069I I I look at Josie who in the fall it's a little bit simpler with dance, but then you get into the winter and man, that's just a ton of time and commitment. And then then you have go, how is she on student council while she's doing all that? It's crazy. So um we really want to look at those conversations at those uh launch points. Um and then uh finally utilizing the five-star student platform to further connect data across department. That's been a real big tool. Uh I I would be remiss if Ashley and I rely on Corey Homer uh a ton to synthesize a lot of our data that's out there uh and and to bring forth ideas that hey let's see what where that's it in fivestar where's that on on uh uh
070the student system uh software. So um we're really excited about that and uh we were disappointed last year at 944. We're really really excited at 957 uh to say that uh that seemed uncsurmountable where you know 10 years ago we've raised that bar 10%. All while enrollment continues to go down we raise engagement and we're super proud of that. So happy to answer any questions you guys might have. >> Thank you. >> Any questions or com? I just thank you. I mean I it's I've been here a bit so seven years and we've had the same discussion. So I yeah this is so meaningful. for someone like myself where where sports and athletics was clearly my hook into just existing at school. Um it's it's so meaningful because again the the you don't know like
071you said Ashley you don't know where it's going to hook to which point in time for them and what their journey is going to be and and again giving them the power to have that experience in a way that they can now see and feel how many people actually are interested in them. And I think that's the the difference. I think when I came on the board, we had issues from, you know, things that happened in 12 and 13 that were just traumatic and difficult and the efforts that the school went through. But the difference now is that I think the kids, the parents, the families, you all people know who the students are and the students are understanding that there are people in their in their corner helping them out. So, I think it's
072uh it's really neat to see the culture change and just that effort and I and I think I just see so many more people that are happy. You know, you think about just the the joy that that comes I think from the parents um and the teachers and the people. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If I could quickly, at a time when phones and the world seem to be pulling us apart, what you guys are doing to bring everybody together to know these kids by name, um to to have a very short list of people that that aren't quite there yet, but um the data analysis that you're doing, the work that you're doing, we're so grateful for it. It's so meaningful. It's so important. So, thank you. Thank you, >> Ashley. I
073would imagine that you're hard to say no to. You You just your energy, your smile as you're talking about this, you can tell that this just like fuels you and it's got to come across to the kids. And I'm sure that that's one of the reasons we see this number going the way it is is because you're going and tapping them on the shoulder and they turn around and see you and the enthusiasm you have about how fantastic their engagement will be in their life. So, I bet they have a hard time saying no to you. >> I wish my nine-year-old felt the same. >> Thank you. >> All right. Now, you should go home because it's been a long day. Uh, liaison reports. So, Ed Red and legislative update. Uh I'll have something tip
074written up in May. Uh we've have been trying to make some conversations with some legislators. Uh we look to have a call sometime I think in June with one of the senators on some special ed stuff. So we're keeping an eye on things there and we'll try to continue to make some efforts that are positive to us and the state as well. Um second item uh True North Educational Cooperative Amy Connell Danghue and or Matt whoever would love to give us a little update on that. Um there is another executive so there's an executive meeting what's today? Tuesday yes tomorrow uh with the superintendents and then there is a uh council meeting in the evening uh for an adjustment that is uh was unexpected because of some changes that are happening in 113. So the
075the significant amount of reduction in force for True North happened at the last month's meeting and because of some changes in 113 the council is coming together again tomorrow night uh to make a few more resolutions because of the impact because of 113 going in a slightly different direction. So that'll be tomorrow night, midday and then in the evening. And then at that point then we should be set for the subsequent school year and moving forward in a positive direction. Thank you again both of you for the the time and work on that. I know it's financially in a positive way helping us as well as a lot of those other districts and it's becoming a much more functional solution for everybody. So that's a really great time. Thank you. Right. On to action items.
076Uh action item number one. May I have a motion to adopt the resolution for student resource officer Mark Long? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Miss Helms, >> I. >> Mr. Sve, >> hi. >> Miss Connell Donahue. >> I, >> Miss Zenzer. >> I, >> Mr. Noble. >> I, >> Mr. Wine Burner, >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Uh item number two. May I have a motion to approve the administrative and confidential exempt compensation? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. Noble, >> I. >> Mr. Sylve, >> I. >> Miss Helms, >> I. >> Miss Enzer. >> I. >> Mr. Wine Burner. >> I. >> Miss Connell Donahghue. >> I.
077Motion carries. >> Thank you. May I Item number three. May I have a motion to approve an in the installation of the stage pit extensions and safety net netting east campus RMA. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Uh any discussion? >> I have a roll call vote please. >> Miss Zenzer >> I. >> Mr. Noble >> I. >> Mr. Wein Burner >> I. >> Miss Helms >> I. >> Miss Connell Donahue. >> I. >> Mr. S. >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Item number four. May I have a motion to approve the intergovernmental agreement to IGA for the shared services with district 65, 67, and 115? >> So moved. Second. >> Any discussion? >> This is just a physical therapist position that we're sharing between all three districts. >> Great. Thank you. May
078I have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. Wine Burner. >> I. >> Mr. S. >> I. >> Mr. Noble. >> Hi. >> Miss Helms. >> Hi. >> Miss Connell Donahghue. >> Hi. >> Miss Zenzer. >> Hi. Motion carries. >> Thank you. Uh item number five. May I have a motion to approve the contra contract for the band and orchestra trip for spring break 2027? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> This is a annual trip. Uh this year they're going to Italy uh visiting Naples in Rome. >> I was just going to say if you need a school board representative, I'm I'm happy to volunteer. >> Be careful what you offer because it can be a robust trip with all the teenagers. I may I have a roll call vote. Not that
079it's not wonderful. >> Miss Helms. Hi. >> Miss Zinder. I >> Miss Connell Donahghue. I >> Mr. Sylve. >> Mr. Wine Burner. >> I. >> Mr. Noble. >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Item number six. May I have a motion to adopt the resolution authorizing the notice of non-renewal of non-tenure teacher Sarah Dwarkin not in a final probation probationary year. >> So moved. Second. Any discussion? May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Miss Helms, >> I. >> Miss Enzer, >> I. >> Mr. Noble, >> I. >> Mr. Sve. >> Hi. >> Miss Connell Donahghue. >> I. >> Mr. Wein Burner. >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Item number seven. May I have a motion to adopt a resolution authorizing the honorable dismissal of a non-tenyear teacher, Lauren Aguina and
080Mattaline Bugamin, Papa George. Not in final probation. for probationary year. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Miss Zinder. >> I. >> Mr. Sve. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wine Burner. >> I. >> Miss Helms. >> I. >> Mr. Noble. >> Hi. >> Miss Connell Donahghue. >> Hi. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you so much. Item number eight. May I have a motion to adopt the resolution authorizing the honorable reduction of non-tenure teacher Anamarie uh Bank Bowen. Uh Rebecca Ferrero. Yo, Fang Penn and Joe Pettinger. Not in final probationary year. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Discussion. May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. Sve. >> Hi. >> Mr. Wine Burner. >> Hi. >> Miss Zenzer. >> I. >> Mr. Noble. >> I.
081>> Miss Connell Donahghue. >> I. >> Miss Helms. >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. All right. Uh, the consent agenda. Um m it has been requested to pull one item out of the consent agenda. Item number 13. >> John, it's actually I think I believe on mine it's item number 17. It's the meeting minutes from the February third 3rd um board meeting. >> Actually, it's 13. Do we your question was addressed and they have been adjusted accordingly? >> I don't know if they have. I think I saw a copy of them and I think they were still in air. So I' I'd ask that we move that to next the next meeting and approve them then. >> So uh what I'm going to do is may I have a motion to table the
082consent agenda item number 13 and the number 17. So uh number 13 being the release of the exe executive se session minutes December 24th and November 20 2025. Item number 17, the minutes of the regular meeting and workshop February 3rd, 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? I may have a roll call vote for that. >> Mr. Noble, >> I. >> Mr. Sve. >> Miss Helms. >> I. >> Miss. >> I. >> Mr. Weiner. >> I. >> Miss Connell Donahghue. >> Hi. >> Motion carries. >> All right. Thank you. So, may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda a agenda items including uh the human resource report listing new hires, resignations, retirements, certify faculty tenure, probationary employment contracts, leave of absences, including the recommendation withhold the special leave absence for request
083for Kristen Goodman, and the resolution discontinuing the educational support position of of assistant athletic director and the honorable dismissal of Craig Shaman. And so and also for items 1 through 12, items 14, 15, and 16, please. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> I have a roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Weiner, >> I. >> Mr. Miss Connor Donahghue, >> I. >> Miss Helms, >> I. >> Mr. S. >> I. >> Miss. >> I. >> Mr. Noble. >> I. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. All right. So then we have uh foyer requests. Uh Jean Carla Troada one of one completed. Jim Carr one of one completed. Clarefront Alliance one of one completed. Kevin Omero one of one completed. Parents care four of four completed. Philippe Molen four completed. At this time offer
084any opportunity for public participation. Right. Seeing none but I also had to All right. Uh the announcements. Uh joint board president coffee uh 6:30 this Thursday, April 9th. Uh joint policy committee meeting the uh May 4th, Monday at 5:00 pm. And then our next board meeting would be uh along with the education committee of a whole on Tuesday, May 12th at 5:00 pm board meet board of education meeting at 7 p.m. here at the Lake Forest West Campus boardroom. The press releases that we released uh Riley Mills to play in the Super Bowl uh 60 Lake Forest High School celebrates girls and women in sports. Lake Forest High School talent show 2026 disco Lake Forest Honor Roll 900 plus students. two additional items that are not listed that were are these press releases as well?
085Yes. All right. So, the Lake Forest High School girls field hockey honors and the national merit updates and all press releases can be found on the district's website under the communication page. So, this is something I think we I I don't know if we did a couple months ago, so postmortem needed to put in some of those, but as part of our communication effort, we'll be doing these on a regular basis and announcing those. So, thank you again for the work on the communication side. Uh, may I have a motion to adjurnn Lake Forest High School Community High School District 115 board meeting for April 7th, 2026? >> So, moved. >> Second. >> Have a voice vote. All in favor say I. >> I being adjourned. Thank you everyone.