Berwyn South School District 100 Board of Education - April 23, 2025

001I Palace I Butler I Jay Gonzalez absent with notice. Strength I Steinfeld I Jimenez I. Motion carried. Thank you. Can we please stand up for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God. indivisible and liberty and justice for all. Roll call to establish coral. Jimenez here. Steinfeld here. Uh W. Gonzalez here. Butler here. Trenth here. Palace here. Thank you. Uh good evening everyone. My name is Elizabeth Himenez. I'm the president of the school board in South Bin Southw School District 100. Elizabeth Havis. To my left is Dr. Mary Havis, our superintendent. And thank you for coming. If you need translations, thank you. All right. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here. Uh so tonight

002we have our Persian Panthers here to we've got a big group of Persian Panthers. So we would like to welcome up um to kick off our school spotlight for Persing um principal Danna Akabazi and assistant principal Joel Duket. [Applause] Do we have a clicker? Ma's got it. Oh, sorry. Hi everybody. Welcome. Um, this is one of my favorite nights of the year because I get to talk all about Persian and how wonderful everyone is that works there. I get to show off stu, we get to show off students, staff, um, and commend them on all the hard work that they do throughout the year. So, without further ado, Persian Elementary School is a vibrant learning community where students, staff, and families come together with a shared commitment for growth and achievement. um as principal alongside

003my very dedicated assistant principal who is very data driven and incredibly funny and so relationship oriented that we just make a really perfect match and it's been an amazing year. Um and I think my staff would attest to that as well. Um, our passion for education drives us each day, especially as we work towards our school improvement goals of raising our iR scores across the board in both reading and math. Um, we're honing in on numbers and operations and algebraic thinking. Um, this year with um a focus in math on um numbers and algebraic thinking, sorry, I'm repeating myself. And in reading, we're honing in on um informational text. Um I always go off script and then I have to look again and I mess myself up. Sorry. This is why I shouldn't use a

004script. I should just talk. Okay. Persian Elementary School is currently designated as commendable on the Illinois school report card. A recognition that reflects our dedication to our staff, the our dedication of our staff, the perseverance of our students, and the support of our families. While we are proud of this achievement, our sites are set on an exemplary status for the coming year. To get there, we're taking deliberate data informed steps to close achievement gaps and accelerate student growth. Um, this includes targeted interventions in math and ELA, increased use of formative assessments, and things that Mr. Duket are going to talk about some of the um initiatives that we are working towards this year. Whoops. There we go. I'm gonna hand it off to Mr. Dukette. Thank you. I I got it. Just want to say

005I have had the opportunity I've worked across the state from way southern Illinois uh up in the Northshore. I'm from central Illinois. I worked in Springfield uh through school districts throughout and truly I know we're going to talk about persing but there is something to this whole this school district in general looking out just knowing the students that we have the parents that we have the staff that we have. It's an incredible place that we get to that we get to teach and get to be a part of. So I'm truly grateful for all this. We're going to talk about data and all these things, but um I'm very proud of everything that we've done at Persian and I'm very proud of this community in general. It's it's awesome. So, thank you all for giving

006me the opportunity to do that. Um so, here's some math data. Um we um um as you can see, you'll look here, you can see some uh of our previous years. uh in particular just comparing last year um and this year going across this is map data. So this is one of those um kind of uh broad range assessments that we do uh for math. Um this would include your just kind of run-of-the-mill addition, multiplication, division, arithmetic kinds of things plus word problems. Um all of that. Um looking at the data that we have here, this is for our second through fifth graders um that we have in the building. The column to the very far right is where our most recent screening data is at. Um the majority of our students when you look

007even when it says low average, I will tell you that that still falls like in a normative range when you're looking at a normal curve. So that's really good. And comparing that to where we were winter last year, um we have made some great improvements from fall to winter. Um in our math data, um in particular, when you look at this, um these graphs here, all of the diamonds are where we were projected to grow from fall to winter this year. So at each of the grade levels that took MAP, we are either above exceeding or at where we were projected to grow. So at each grade level we are above where we were. So fall to winter I give it up to we got a lot of teachers here and a lot of staff.

008So they have done amazing work to get our students um at a higher level of growth and performance than we had anticipated uh from our fall screening data. So that's wonderful. Um we I I mentioned a few things here. We do have some really great math growth. We are very intentional about how we go about doing instruction. Um, and each of the students we are setting student goals. So students get to look at what their how their progress is going. Um, they see the graphs. They know where they're trying to get to. And so we set goals with each of them. Um, and I will say there it's it's awesome to see when they exceed and they grow the excitement that comes from all of that. So we've had some really great things that have

009happened in our math progress this year, which is wonderful to see. um in our reading. So, we have adopted a new curriculum. You'll see the um performance that we've had from fall to winter mirrors in a lot of ways the fall to winter growth from last year. Um we're hoping that there's going to be some more positive growth in the spring. As you see, trends are very similar to last year. Uh with the new curriculum that we have, I will say it's awesome. I will stand by it 100%. Um, in previous districts that I've had, we did a lot of um, assessment in different curriculums and Amplify that we're using now is one of the winners in other districts too because it is really great. I will say that our students are learning so much.

010They're getting so much information, background knowledge. They're so invested in it. Um, which I think is one of the things that maybe is not always measured on this graph, but students when I sit and talk with them at lunch and I say, "Hey, tell me about what you were reading about. Tell me about the body. Tell me about all these different things they've been learning." They're chomping at the bit to explain. They're talking over each other, jumping over each other to tell me about all the different things that they've done, which I think is awesome. One of the things that I'm also very proud of and we have a few of our teachers here. Our dual language um we have dual language at every grade level at Persian. Um and there's been some really awesome

011things that that are going on and I'm really proud of all those students. They have to take like double the tests and assessments. They have to do so much work. Um but I think it's wonderful in particular when you look at our younger grades there. the graph that says right under the Spanish reading heading there that so the first two on the left that it's kind of hard to see but it says kindergarten fall to winter and then first grade fall to winter. So as you can see we've grown in both those so these are early literacy skills that are happening in both English and Spanish. Our students are really catching on and gaining a lot. I think we have a a really strong Spanish curriculum um that's happening within the district. But in Persian,

012we're definitely seeing the results of that. Um as well as again when you look at the map on that left graph there, students are showing progress and learning a lot um compared to um where they were. So great things are happening in terms of the data. You want to talk about this? Sure. Yeah. I can barely see that, but it's okay. I can do this. So, part of um working on our SIP goals, we had each just like you've seen in other schools, they've shown you their tree diagrams. These are essentially our tree diagrams that we kind of cut down to simpler terms and so you wouldn't have to look at the same thing again this month. Um kindergarten's focus was the pacing and um fidelity um for amplify. First grade really wanted to focus

013on automaticity with site words, um tricky word or tricky words and number sense. Um second grade was vocabulary,formational text, numbers and operations. Third grade kind of the same um vocabulary,formational text, um algebraic thinking and equations. Fourth grade, I feel silly reading to you guys, butformational text and um reading stamina. That was a big one. and fifth grade um extended responses. Their writing was really important because if they can write about it, it's a lot easier. If they can put their fe their thoughts down in writing, you know, they understand what um they're doing. With all of these focuses came specific strategies that each grade level was working on as well. Um and then there was talk of on a regular basis and their PLC's about how that strategy was working. Was it working? How did

014it work for you versus how it worked for us? why did it work in your class versus why, you know, I didn't see so much growth in our class. So, um it's not a perfect um perfect plan, but we're learning from each other every day and collaborating and I think it's going to set us on fire very soon because we're going to see some major growth from there. There's a lot of there are were I shouldn't say a lot. There's a few initiatives that are very were very important to Joel and I this year um that we tried to put in place. Not that we didn't have certain initiatives in place, but we kind of tried to streamline them more and um organize both of our thoughts um with our teams. So Joel's going to

015talk to you a little bit about our initiatives next. So a few things when we coming into Persian um that we both based on staff reports um parent reports student listening to students as well that we really wanted to highlight and the all of these things too were based on evidence-based interventions and research. So first one of our first things was making sure that our MTSS systems so this is like systems of support for students students who need additional intervention because of where their performance is at in either reading or math. We have um a room that had we have incredible interventionists at Persian that work on both reading and math uh again through evidence-based interventions. What we really wanted to do was make sure that we were using our data and information really well.

016Uh, and it's very easy at times to become very anecdotal in how we pick and choose which students go to certain certain areas. Uh, there's a feeling that you get, but it's not always necessarily based on what the need is for the whole system. So one of the big things we did was kind of reooking at our MTSS as a whole building because it's a one of the parts of MTSS is just the core curriculum as well. So our tier one making sure that that was done with fidelity done very well and then our tier two and our tier three which again is kind of teacherled and then interventionistled in uh interventions with our students were again being done with fidelity but then also we're constantly monitoring checking looking at the data as an admin

017team we're looking at it very often um with those interventionists and with those teachers we're we're doing that uh the new curriculum we've talked a lot about I'm sure many people here, if you've come to these before, have heard about new curriculum. Uh, but it is wonderful what we've done. Um, and then just on the math side, I don't want to leave th those folks out. We are just continuing with a pretty strong math curriculum that we have and making sure that that's done implemented again with Fidelity done well. Um, and uh, listening especially to staff about what is the tricky parts of that? How do we problem solve? So there's a lot that goes into the new curriculum, but um we've also had a ton of district support as well throughout this whole process

018and implementing it that's been extremely helpful. A couple of the things these next two schema building and collaboration, you'll see this picture. Um we have um we have really been building around building schema basically the the way that you that that our students are approaching the curriculum, the topics, the the instruction that they're receiving in general and making sure that we're incorporating some really cool but again evidence-based ideas, not just fun party time for our kids, but things that will keep them engaged. The two things we were really looking at was building engagement with our students, keeping them uh um going with all of the instruction, but then also building their con making connections essentially between all the background knowledge that they have, experiences that they've gained in their life and the curriculum itself. And

019what we're seeing is some really cool things come up with our students where they're starting to to again make those connections, talk about them more, talk about it in a deeper way. um that's really helped kind of tie into the new curriculum and it goes into collaborative um efficacy. So, we bring in not just our general ed teachers and special ed teachers, but also the specialist teachers to say, "Hey, we're going to talk about this topic at first grade or we're going to talk about something at second grade. How can we then incorporate that into science, into PE, into music, using the same language, being more collaborative and connective across the whole system so that students are getting the same thing throughout their entire day. And the biggest thing is that the whole staff is

020then starting to speak the same language. We're all saying the same things. And that really goes to I don't know why it doesn't have the I anyway. Uh there should be an I in front of PT there, but our intervention planning team, we've got some intervention plan team members over there. Um so this was one of the things that we really wanted to do to connect in our behavior management. So we have whole we have we we have whole school behavior management systems like um making sure that we're safe, respectful, responsible. Those some key principles that we have and then defining those more specifically for students. So giving them things to do like being respectful. What does that exactly look like? Maybe that looks like giving a compliment. How do you greet somebody? Um and

021giving them specific ways of doing that and then the teachers and everybody within the building reinforcing that from our fizzed teacher all the way to our reading interventionists are all sort of saying the same thing and doing the same thing. The intervention planning team then takes it to a next level where again we're super data driven. So, we bi-weekly look at data like uh behavior referrals, attendance. We've tried to work in things like uh uh nursing visits so that we're catching both externalizing symptoms and internalizing symptoms for students. Um and then we're taking a more proactive approach to making sure that we're meeting the needs of those kids. So, if there's an intervention that needs to happen, they may not be flagged necessarily or we're not waiting for a teacher to refer them. A teacher

022may refer them. that's still an option, but we're also looking at the data and saying this kid, we're seeing a few of these red flag indicators is what we call them at um at Persing and then making sure that we're proactively and preemptively putting some things in place to make sure that that student is uh being successful as they can be. Let me just say one more thing. One more thing about our IP that I think is really important is it's also an opportunity for our staff to take on leadership roles. So, IP, the intervention planning team, Joel and I are on that. And then we have one specific teacher. Um, and most are support staff. They're not in classrooms. They um they are in charge of one grade level. So, they are taking this.

023It's not that there is a child that is needing some extra love, some attention, behavior, attendance, whatever. Um, we're not the ones necessarily flagging them. these teachers who are in charge of these grade levels are talking con you know collaborating with the grade level team members and then we talk about it at our team meeting. However, I just I thought that was a really cool part because we have a lot of leadership at Persian and I love that we're able to spread it um because our IP team has been doing a fantastic job of staying on top of it and helping with sometimes it doesn't even need to come to Joel or I you know sometimes it's fixed before we need to even get involved. So I think they're doing an excellent job at that

024too. And um on the data side, I think we can be pretty proud. We've cut down I think last year we there was 25 behavior like referrals, teacher referrals. Now we've only been we've cut that down to five this year. So um it's effective in those ways. U and then there's ongoing problem solving. But the other part of that is we've incorporated a lot with those proactive strategies. things like um a meant we we have three kind of basic main strategies that we're working for um plan discussions. So training our teachers how to have discussions with a kid around problem solving any behavior concerns that they may have in the classroom and doing that fluently checking in on that making sure that there's positive consequences built into that. Uh we have mentoring so non-contingent. This

025isn't based on like if you do this then you get to go see your mentor. the mentors are just there to be a positive connection within the building uh with our students. And then uh the other one is meaningful work. So creating opportunities for students to to have meaningful jobs within the school community where they feel like I'm accepted. I'm I'm being you I'm use youthful. I'm wonderful. And then obviously all those things create these great praise opportunities for our students. So um lots of great things happening there. And then the last thing is just the our PBIS structure and the programming that we have for that. Um we have uh redone a bit how we're doing um our positive like our schoolwide positive consequences for all these different things. So each month we have

026a different uh set of behaviors that we're looking for and they get really specific. We model those for the students. We teach those in whole uh whole school assemblies. Uh we give out paws and then we run raffles where they can earn fun things like uh whole school we do it. So this this month I've been reminded a hund times from kids that everybody's getting a popsicle. So we will be doing that popsicle day for the whole school. They're like when is that happening? When is it happening? I keep blaming the cold weather but uh it'll be warm next month or next week so I don't have an option. We are doing that. U but we've had other things like whole school dance parties and other fun things that the kids are all working towards

027as a whole collective. And then at grade levels we run raffles for extra recess time and other fun things. And then you'll see in just a moment, we we've created a goldpaw for students who are exceptional, not just one day, but over weeks, over months, who demonstrate what it means to be a Persian Panther based on all these different things. Um, and then they get the the opportunity. Um, we had ideas for different um sort of uh awards that we would be giving, but there's one that has really stuck out now. I don't think we can ever get away from it. It's what we call our principle for the day. So, we have a student who who it was a gold Paul winner. So, exceptional behavior. They get to be a gold they get to

028be our principal for the day. Um, if they're picked if they're picked. Yep. It's still like there's there's a sort of a raffle that goes into that. Um, and those students, they get lunch. They get to lunch wherever they want from wherever they want. Sometimes it's really good and I always make sure I get that lunch, too. And then they get to have it with a friend, but they get to set a school rule for the day. Um there's been uh we had one today. It was plushy day. So everybody got to bring a stuffed animal to school was the principal's rule. Um so really fun things like that. Plus they get to go around and reinforce all the kids go into every classroom. They participate. We've had them participate in interviews with um all

029kinds of fun things. So they basically get to be a principal for the day. Uh they may tell you their favorite part is just being out of the classroom for a bit, but I think that they all do some really awesome things. And the kids love it. They are they love to see the principal for the day. They're always asking about it. So I think it's really wonderful. And with that in mind, meet our leaders. So now these three leaders, we've had more, but these three leaders in particular are um three of our fine Persian principles for the day. And um we couldn't be more proud. We could definitely we definitely have a lot of golden paw winners and we have a lot of kids that love the fact that there's principal for the day

030but are also very very mad at us because their paw is not picked to be the principal of the day. So without further ado, I'd like to call all three of you guys up here right now. Um Miss Camila Favlla and K from first grade, Mr. Ezra Paneda from fourth grade and Miss Maya Sodto from fifth grade. Come on over. Come on over. I'm going to read a little something about these three students in particular. And no, these are essentially our portraits of a graduate. But again, different, you know, slides. I I like different. I don't know. Um but these are definitely some of our portrait of a graduates. But Camila here was our first ever. And man, she set the bar high. She was taking notes. She didn't go anywhere without her notebook and

031her pencil. She had opinions on everything. Um, and let us know them. She had great song choice. Um, but Camila is a shining star in our kindergarten community. She approaches each day with confidence, curiosity, and a kind heart. Always eager to lend a helping hand. And Camila is the first to support her classmates, whether it's sharing materials, offering encouragement, or helping tidy up the classroom. Her strong work ethic and positive attitude set a wonderful example for her peers. Camila takes pride in her learning and consistently puts forth her best effort in everything she does. Her dedication, leadership, and compassion make her a student who truly deserves to be celebrated. Camila is getting the confidence award because it didn't matter if Camila was in her first grade classroom, a kindergarten classroom, or her she went into

032her sister's third grade classroom and gave some um pointers on what their what their slide deck should look like and things that they were working on. So, congratulations, Camila. Now, being as their principles for the day, Camila is going to share something she'd like you to know about Persian. You can see them here. There we go. This for you. Got it. Can I have everyone's attention, please? I would like to thank Miss Bos and Mrs. Duket for this wonderful opportunity. I will remember this forever. Hi, my name is Gam. I am in first grade and I'm six years old from Purging. I love how every morning the principles come with a warm welcome and they celebrate other cultures by doing the day of the dead. It is special for me to remember loved one who

033passed. Person makes me feel at home because in my class we do games just like we do at home. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Next we have Mr. Peneda. Mr. Peneda is a remarkable fifth grade student whose determination and heart truly set him apart. Through hard work and perseverance, he is one of the few students to complete his programming on Lexia for and he's only in fourth grade. So next year, no Lexia for Ezra because he finished. um an impressive accomplishment that reflects his commitment to growth and learning. Beyond his academic success, Ezra consistently shows empathy and kindness, making him a valued friend and classmate. He listens with compassion, offers support when others are struggling, and always looks for ways to help to lift those around him. Ezra's blend of grit, human humility, and genuine care

034for others makes him an inspiring role model and a student who deserves every bit of this recognition. Ezra is getting our um empathetic award because of his very very big heart. And principal Paneda is now going to tell you a little bit about the clubs and events and family engagement at Persian. Hi, my hang. Hi, my name is Ezra Paneda and I'm in fourth grade at Persian Elementary. I want to tell you all about the cool stuff we get to do at our school. Our school has tons of sports. We have basketball teams for boys and girls, volleyball, soccer club, and even flag football. The clubs are super fun because we get to play outside with our friends and learn cool moves. We also have awesome clubs like yearbook where kids take pictures and make

035our school yearbook. I think that's really neat because they get to capture all their memories. We had a science fair this year and it was such a cool event. Some kids made robots with and others did experiments with plants. Our teachers help us but we get to do most of the work ourselves. Our school also rewards us with hard when we work hard. After we take the IA test, kids who try their best got invited to a VIP party. There is pizza, games, and dancing. and it makes taking tests not so bad. Friendsgiving is awesome because our families get to come and to our school and eat together. And we can't forget about the talent show. Kids sing, dance, tell jokes, and do magic tricks. This year, some students play the piano and everybody clap

036really loud. We also had chorus where we learn songs and perform concerts. All these activities make our school special. They help us learn new things, make friends, and have fun while we're learning. Thank you for supporting our school and all these awesome activities. Thank you, Asa. There you go. Say hi, [Applause] Mr. O. All right. And I do have to give a special shout out because I know I saw some of the lovely ladies here for our Persian PTO. I don't know if you guys hear about them enough, but I am always shouting them out on Twitter and anytime I am possibly able to because half of these events and and family engagement opportunities would not be possible. Friendsgiving was unbelievable. We were able to raise so much money for families in need because of

037our amazing PTO. Would you guys just stand up back there because you're here? Just stand up. Just stand up. Come on. They're wonderful. You saw them. They were at Freedoms, too. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. They're amazing. All right. Sorry, Maya. I wasn't I wasn't slighting you. Here we go. Next is Principal Maya Sodto, and she's going to be talking about the academics and what it means to be a Panther. Um and Maya is getting our certificate um for determined. She is quite determined. If you would have saw her science project, you would absolutely know that she's got one of the best um personalities and sense of humors of anybody at Persing. Her her I I wanted to put it up here on her slide, but I didn't want to embarrass her. Her Halloween

038costume was weird. Like it was so good. Maya was so good. All right, here's your certificate. Maya is a is a standout fifth grade student whose confidence, determination, and collaboration spirit make her a true joy to be around. Whether she's tackling a challenging assignment or working with her peers, Maya brings energy, focus, and positive attitude to everything she does. Her sense of humor keeps everyone smiling, and her amazing taste in music adds a unique flare that her principles just love. As a natural leader among her peers, Maya has a gift for lifting others up. She's kind, a friend who's always in your corner cheering you on with genuine encouragement. With her strong work ethic, big heart, and infectious personality, Maya makes our school a better place every single day. Now, Maya is going to tell

039you about our academics and what it means to be a Panther. You got this. Hi everyone, my name is Maya Sto and I'm a fifth grader at Persing. Today I want to tell you about all the cool cool ways we learn at at my school. One of the best things about our school is that teacher is that the teachers really care about us. They always say they want all of us to do our best. It makes me feel good knowing that they believe in me. After school, we have this thing called homework club. If you're stuck on a problem or need help with your science problem, you can stay after school and teachers will help you. There's also a t tutoring for kids who need extra help. Our new curriculum, our new reading curriculum is

040really interesting. We don't just read boring stories. We learn about all sorts of cool stuff. First graders learn about the body, like did you know that your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day. In second grade, they read about ancient grace and all their gods and myths. Some poems are funny and some make you think harder. One of the funniest books we read we read parts of was Don Kyote. It's a really old book about a man who thinks he's a knight. At first, I thought it would be boring because it's so old, but it was actually funny. We also learned about Native Americans and their cultures. I never knew there were so many different tribes with their own languages and traditions. It's pretty cool to learn about people who lived on this

041land before us. Our school even had a family math night. Parents came and all did math together. Parents got a chance to learn about the math that the students were doing at school. Everyone was having fun with math. These things make learning fun at our school. Even when something is hard, our teachers find ways to make it interesting and help us understand. I think that's what makes our school special. Thanks for supporting our school and helping us all helping us have all these great learning [Music] [Applause] opportunities. Okay, way past time. All right, lastly, we have to acknowledge and recognize two really real superstars at Persing. Now, I could literally talk about everybody. Um, but specifically Joel and I easily when we talked about who are we recognizing, these two people popped in our head

042immediately. They're first year teachers and they just got it. They got it. From the time they walked in their room to today, these two teachers um are Oh, I guess I should tell you who they are now. Um they're probably They didn't know they were getting recognized tonight. I was just kind of trying to get them here. So, our two extraordinary teachers that are being recognized today are both dual language teachers and one is Myra Lopez and the other is Carla Maya. Would you please come join us up here, [Applause] [Music] please? Now, stand while we talk. Wait. Okay. Miss Carla right here. In her first year of teaching, Miss Carla has demonstrated exceptional skill, passion, and dedication as a dual language third grade educator. She has created a warm, inclusive classroom where students thrive

043academically and linguistically in both English and Spanish. Her lessons are constantly engaging, culturally responsive, and thoughtfully differentiated to meet the diverse needs of her learners. Through strong classroom management and a nurturing approach, she has built positive relationships with her students and families, earning their trust and admiration. Carla's commitment to her student growth, coupled with her reflective mindset and eagerness to learn, makes her an emerging leader and a tremendous asset to our school community. Thank you, Carla. [Applause] [Music] I will also have you know that she is nothing like the teacher I used to be because I've never heard her voice go over this loud in her classroom. Yet perfect, you know, not perfect. I mean, no classroom's perfect, but her classroom management is tiptop. And then we have Miss Myra Lopez here. In her first

044year as a dual language fourth grade teacher, Myra Lopez has quickly distinguished herself as a thoughtful educator and a rising leader at Persing. With a natural ability to connect with students and an unwavering commitment to bilingual education, she fosters a classroom environment that celebrates language culture and high expectations. Maya brings fresh ideas to her team, consistently contributing with initiative, collaboration, and a solutionoriented mindset. Her professionalism, strong communication skills, and willingness to support schoolwide goals set her apart as someone ready to lead beyond her classroom. Myra's drive, reflective practice, and deep care for her students make her an invaluable member of our school community and a promising future leader in education. Congratulations, Maya and Carla. We love you and are so, so proud to have you at Persian School. And we're done. Thanks, everybody. Thank you

045so much for the principles and the staff and the parents for supporting your students. It is for caring for them. It is an honor to be uh here in front of all of you especially as Persian was my home for many years. So I one thing that I always say that I miss about Persian is the families, the connections and I hope that that continues. So thank you for all the parents for supporting them. depression. Wait one second. One time. Okay. Hi guys, good evening members of the board, district leaders, and fellow families. My name is Teresa Ruiz, and I have the honor of serving as the PTO president of Persian School. Tonight, I stand here not just as a representative of the parent community, but as a very grateful mom. I want to take

046this opportunity to highlight something that often goes unnoticed. the heart, the time, and the constant commitment that our principal, Miss Ba, and the staff at Persian, pour into our school day after day. As a PTO, we have had the joy and sometimes the chaos of hosting events that bring our families together from dances, sometimes movie nights, and everything in between. We've come up with some pretty big ideas. And every single time the Persian staff not only says yes, they show up, they stay late, they jump in with both feet, and they help guide crowds, calm nerves, and make sure every child has a moment of magic. But it goes so far beyond the vents. What really moves me and so many other parents is how our principal, Miss Bos, leads with her heart. She knows

047every student by name. She greets them with warmth and encouragement. She sees them. Our children walk into school every day knowing they are loved, that they are safe, and that's what they that that's what matters. And in today's world, that is everything. For many of our students, Persian isn't just where they learn, it's where they feel most seen, the most supported, the most themselves. This doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of the leadership that goes above and beyond and a staff that leads with compassion and care. I also want to add that you really can tell the leadership that Miss Bos and uh Mr. Duket actually have. They really do compliment each other really well when you can see the difference and you feel the difference as soon as you go in there. So

048tonight I just want to say thank you. Thank you to Miss Bos, Mr. Duket, to teachers, to every member of the Persian family for treating our school like it's not just a place of learning but a second home. I also don't know if this is a district-wide thing or if it's just a Persian thing, but cuz I'm there sometimes in the mornings and during the morning announcements during when they're almost about to get done wrapping up, you hear Miss Pause or Mr. Ducat say, in case you didn't hear it today because of the chaos of the morning, we love you. You are loved. So, I think that's really cute to hear cuz sometimes, you know, as a mom, we're like rushing out the door like screaming, yelling, let's go, let's go, let's go. But to

049hear that at school, you know, you are loved. In case somebody tell you today, we love you. Um, so just wanted to say thank [Applause] you. Congratulations to our students that were recognized tonight as well of our as our staff. And thank you to all the Persian staff and families for being here tonight. We appreciate all of [Applause] you. All right. Um, next we are going to move on to a presentation about our middle school schedule. So, we have had a committee um working since November um really working very hard, working through problems, working through um lots of ideas about how we can better serve um our middle school students. So, I would like to bring up um representatives from this committee. How many total were on the committee? About Okay, 28 to 30. So,

050we have a group um representing the committee tonight. So, we'd like to invite up Mary Piccasta, Jory Stevens, Claire Bohanka, Beatatrice Maldonado, Enrique Oha, Michelle Hower. Happy birthday, by the way, Michelle, Lindsay Cindy, and Teresa Adelfia. I don't know. All right. All right. So, when we come up, we are going to introduce ourselves and our building. So, Batrice Maldonado, assistant superintendent at Leverne and for district 100. And in our district, as you know, we are guided by one powerful belief uh to inspire a passion for learning in every child. and that guiding principle fueled our deep dive into reimagining the middle school schedule. Over time, we recognized some challenges in the existing structure that made it difficult for us to really realize that vision and align our district priorities. So, we brought together a dynamic

051team of representatives here and also some that are not with us here but are here in spirit of middle school teachers across all content areas, special education, dual language educators, interventionists, exploratory team members, social workers, special education coordinators, and both building and district administrators. United by a common purpose, we set out to design a schedule that stays true to our core beliefs. Tonight, a small group, as you can see, will share a glimpse of what we co-created. This is just the beginning. Our work is ongoing, and we remain committed to collaborating with key middle school staff in focused subcommittees and content specific teams to refine and build on this foundation. Good evening. My name is Claire Poena and I am a teacher at Heritage Middle School. Um, we came together as a committee like Miss

052Maldonado said and we had to create a purpose. So the purpose of the middle school schedule committee is to create a student centered schedule that balances academic achievement, equitable access to opportunities and time for social emotional learning and well-being. My name is Mary Piccasta and I've been serving as a teacher at Freedom Middle School um with seventh graders for eight years now. And um I'm going to give you guys a little bit of an idea of how the process worked. Um as be mentioned earlier, we formed a committee of teachers around 30 and pulled from um staff members that were a part of every aspect of the middle school um teaching experience. We started the process with um a little research and looking at one of the texts um that we use was called the

053successful middle school schedule. Um, we looked at and researched uh several surrounding middle school schedules from uh a variety of districts, some similar to ours, some um a little different. Uh, and then we talked about some of the challenges, the current challenges that we have with our schedule that we have now, and then identified um what we wanted to cover as far as student needs um in our middle school. We continued um by creating some surveys and we distributed those to parents um students and teachers. So, I'm going to show you guys um the results of our student survey, one of the um things that stood out to us the most was out of 675 responses, we had a vast majority of the students um indicating that they disliked the 88 minute um classes that

054we we currently have. So, if you don't know what the middle school schedule looks like right now, we have four blocks that last 88 minutes. Um, students attend math, excuse me, ELA and then science and social studies every other day and then a PE and exploratory class every other day. And the reality is that it that with the middle school brain is that it is difficult for them to focus for long periods of times especially an 88minute class even with teachers implementing brain breaks um and movement breaks throughout that class block it still uh remains difficult. So again um thinking about what is ultimately best for our students in the middle school setting sort of drove our conversations. Um and then we continued to go back to that student purpose or the purpose of the

055committee and that Claire mentioned um to start. Hi, I'm Michelle Hower. I'm the principal at Heritage Middle School. Um and so as many people have already mentioned, um we kind of came back to um some of and uh the current challenges that you see up here. Um there were more, right, when it kind of all came down to it, right? There's a lots of things that we would say are positive things that currently exist. Um, but really kind of looking at what some of our current challenges are. These were some of the pieces that we kept coming back to. Um, so students are pulled out of exploratories currently to receive interventions. Um, and they also are pulled out to receive band instruction at the sixth and seventh grade level. Um, and so students are missing

056out on a a large um portion of their exploratory classes. Um, so if a student is in art, um, they are going to potentially miss 40 minutes of that class every every day that they're scheduled to be in that class. Um, and so it presents different challenges not only for the students but also for the staff to having to continuously adjust um, their exploratory curriculum for those students coming in and out of those classrooms. Um, in addition, um, we are really proud of our dual students and having a dual program. Um, and it is something that, um, I know both Enrique and I have talked a little bit about through our board presentations this school year. Um, and that there's been significant growth in that. Um, and we have many students that are sitting in

057our dual classrooms that, um, are doing wonderfully. Um, and so one of those pieces though is that we do offer an AMCLA course um, across both buildings. And that is something that there's a lot of differentiation and support that's happening within those dual classrooms now. um but our dual students are not able to attend that class. Um and so that is something that was something we wanted to look at to see if that could be a possibility moving into a different schedule. Um we also um as many people mentioned right trying to think about are there ways that we could offer more classes every day instead of running a black schedule. Um and so trying to look more specifically um at the science and social studies piece where that happens every other day. Is there

058a way for that to happen every day? Is there a way for PE to still happen while still maintaining recess? Um, trying to make sure that those things would be possible. Um, and also the exploratory class as well. Um, currently, um, as you know, we have adopted a new ELA resource of amplify. And so our dual students, um, also have adopted, uh, Galleria as well. Uh, and so that is something that we, um, are are teaching within the 88 minute period. Um, so we currently run about 50 minutes of universal instruction. Um, and then the remaining time is then based off of our Spanish language arts curriculum of Galleria. And so really trying to think about how can we, um, ensure that students are getting right that full 88, you know, minutes, right, or that

059full universal instruction of the ELA, but also ensuring that we are following that dual language model that we um that of for our students. Um and then right as it was reported um both um our parents and our students um said that there was definitely some benefit for maybe some classes being longer, right? Parents were like maybe a little more understanding u than some of our students, but definitely students. Um that was only one question, but there was many questions that resulted in um that kind of being the theme of a lot of the data that we saw um was that there was going to be some classes that were definitely too long, not enough kind of changes. Um and again, right, not maybe being in all of those classes every day presented some challenges,

060not only for um for presented challenges for our students. Um, so those were the things that we kind of kept coming back to of things that we wanted to kind of look at as we continued in the process of looking at a new schedule. Um, and so these were just some highlevel things that um, the team's going to talk a little bit more about as some key benefits um, for that schedule change when we kind of tried to narrow it into specific things that we were looking um, to make sure we were focusing on in our planning process. Hi, I'm Lindsay Cindy, director of learning management and assessment. Um, and the first thing that we really want to to to kind of put this in the context of is equity. Um, we want to make

061sure all of our students receive the appropriate support without being taken out of other classes. One of the most important things about middle school is the ability to try new things, to experience new things, to um explore, right? And that's why we have exploratory classes. But as Michelle said, if you're in an intervention, you're missing a lot of that exploratory. And for some of our students who struggle in reading and math, those exploratories are where they find success, where they find joy, and they look forward to that. And then we take them out, and we add another challenge of those students having to jump in and out of that class. And so we want to make sure all students have what they need without missing that core instruction as well as the classes, PE, um,

062art, music, all of those pieces that we know are really valuable for our middle schoolers as they're starting to figure out who they are. Um, we definitely have want to make sure that we have that equitable time for Spanish language arts. One of the pieces now is um, a dual student in in their ELA block, they're getting their ELA and their SLA. Um, but during social studies, if that dual student needs an intervention, they are missing some of social studies to receive an intervention. So, we don't have that equitable piece for our dual students in those content areas. Um, and then obviously that honoring that student voice and choice by limiting those 88minute classes and making sure kids have the ability to move and um talk and chat and and interact with one another um

063which is so important in middle school. The next piece is instructional time. Um, while the 88 minutes makes for less transitions in a middle school, which at times can be nice, less times where all the kids are in the hallway, um, it also makes it where they don't get to see a lot of other students and so they're with the same group of students for long periods of time in the same classroom, the same environment. Um, as well as our AB schedule. So if we have a Monday off of school, if you had a a day on Friday, then your next A day isn't until the next Wednesday, which means you'll have science on Friday and then not again till Wednesday. So the continuity of instruction is really complicated when you know middle school kids

064walk back in, they don't even remember what they did on Friday. And so you have to spend that time reviewing. Whereas having the courses every day is very valuable to our students. Um, we know that PE every day has extremely important benefits. Um, and this schedule will address that. Um, access to uninterrupted exploratories, we talked about that before. Um, we don't want our students missing out on those opportunities. We don't want them to have to make a choice. Um, and often it isn't their choice because their needs for reading and math um, are really important, but we don't want to value that more than their need for expressing art, their need for participating in music or band or those other pieces. Um, Spanish language arts will be a standalone class and so that course that

065time will be dedicated to Spanish language arts to ensure that our dual instruction is um, the way it should be and is valued in that manner. Um and then interventions will be delivered based on student needs and not on schedule contra constraints. So the way in which our schedule will be built, our students are scheduled into those interventions very strategically rather than the way it is right now. Um many of our students are receiving their tier 2 interventions um in the class that they happen to be in, not in the exact perfect place that they could be. And so this allows us to really be targeted in our interventions and ideally right get our students out of intervention and not need that and continue to grow our students and their abilities. Good evening everyone. I

066am Teresa Dia, assistant director of curriculum and instruction. Um so another piece that we really wanted to make sure we focused on was opportunities for enrichment and advanced courses. Um just as we wanted to ensure equitable practices for students who need more support, we also want to make sure that our students who are high achievers get um more opportunities to to continue to grow. And so with this schedule, it does provide that opportunity for stu students who are in that dual program to also take part in that ELA aims. Um something that we haven't been able to do before and so they will be able to get those too as their enrichment. Um in addition to that with um the way the schedule works, we have additional slots for more exploratories. And so we are

067currently working with our exploratory teachers to think about how we can bring in more of that PACE framework, which is the the postsecary career um and college um framework that Illinois um is going to be implementing. And so we want to work with those teachers and think about how can we give our students more opportunities to explore careers through art, through music, through steam, and through all of these things. And so that was a really big focus and continues to be something that we're working on. Uh my name is Enria and I serve as the principal at Freedom Middle School. Um, one huge benefit for of our new schedule, um, is be having time within the schedule to provide support and individual and focus support um, for the needs of all of our students. Um,

068as Teresa mentioned, there are additional slots or different additional periods that are going to be in this new period, I'm sorry, in this new schedule. Um, and making sure that we're utilizing those periods to support the needs, specific needs of all the students. So the first point of EL students having additional support in that personalized setting, we can have EL teachers meeting with a small group of students, EL students so that they can meet their progress to proficiency. They can have the support needed that is directed towards them specifically additional support for stu uh support for students in special education. Um, we are currently using a Sunday's program to help with phonics and we are going to be ili utilizing spring math that also helps students with IEPs. Being able to utilize those two curriculums

069in these additional periods in smaller settings, giving more individual support for our students with IEPs, helping them grow. That's what we're all here for here for, right? Um and then the interventions based on the students needs allowing time so that our students can have their tier 2 have their tier three interventions in these additional periods. Um and and as pre someone I think Lindsay mentioned before the goal is they're getting these interventions these that eventually they're transitioning out of it. Um so having more flexibility within the schedule to have that more individualized support. Hello everyone. My name is Jory Stevens. I currently teach seventh grade at Freedom Middle School and math. Prior to that, I was very fortunate to start my career here at Irving for the first 20 years. So, please do not do

070the math for me. I've been here a very long time. Um, and I she will probably not like me saying this, but I actually student taught with Dr. Havis, so I was very fortunate and learned from the best. So, um, but wrapping up for tonight to talk about discipline, attendance, and emotional learning. So, our goal, as you've heard mentioned throughout the evening, is to incorporate more movement for our students throughout the day. The current block scheduling that we have really does not allow for that. I believe Mary had mentioned that we are really trying to find creative ways to get movement into our classrooms, but sometimes that's just not enough. So, implementing shorter blocks, more passing periods, and for our students having physical education every single day instead of potentially every other day, we really

071know that's going to benefit them in the long run. So one of the other pieces that was part of a survey that was conducted was parents and students along with staff mentioning how important was for our students social emotional learning. So one of the things that was part of our conversation was we all know how important that is especially today for our kids to be able to have important conversations for them to feel like they have been heard and for us to tackle important topics with them. So currently that is structured differently in both middle schools, but what we are hoping to do next year is to get that more streamlined across the board. And one of the conversations was potentially having more of a rotating schedule where and again this is not finalized but

072having a rotating schedule for our students where staff members it's not just their Excel teacher like who currently takes care of that social emotional learning but that that would maybe rotate week by week with different staff members so they could hear different perspectives actually have conversations with different classmates and not the same students every time in a weekly basis. So I really think that could benefit them as well. Hearing from multiple staff members and other students and then teaming that is the basis or the backbone of any middle school they will tell you that. So the ability to have more deeper conversations about our students and talk about what their needs are as opposed to sometimes whether there might be subbing needs not all team members might be able to meet based on our current

073schedule. So we want to be there for our students and our next steps. So, we're going to continue planning. I believe be had mentioned this, continue planning logistics with our middle school subcommittees and our staff and our admin. We will meet with exploratory staff to plan courses and build learning progressions. We know that we have meetings coming up, I believe, the second week of May with some of those committees and staff members. We will obviously communicate with internal stakeholders and then finally communicate with our students and families once decisions have been finalized and all schedules have been worked on. Some of those subcommittees have been working on alternative schedules as well because as we know we have late starts, we have half days. So that is just one committee for example that has been working

074on certain pieces of this. We know like be had mentioned there is still some work to do but we definitely have put in quite a bit of time already and are proud of the work that we've done. So thank you so much for your attention tonight. Do we have any questions? I have a I have a comment and then a question. Thank you very much for focusing on the dual language. I think that's awesome that they can be in as dual language. I have a question about um student are you going to take any more student input as to um going forward or was it just the survey? Are there any students going to be involved in as the planning goes on? You know that's something I don't know if any of you want to

075take that. Sure. Um so some of the components um of like first implementation um is we'll definitely want to be getting feedback as we kind of continue with the new schedule especially for our six from our sixth and seventh graders um and then also from our staff as well um to ensure um that it is working right and to get some of that feedback. Um there are some things in regards to like um and I don't know if you have ideas specifically of the student component but we are looking at um things like Teresa mentioned with the PACE framework um that there are some like legal components of things that we want to make sure that we're implementing for that like college and career components um and so we are looking at some of those

076things um based on some feedback that we got from students of things that they were interested in and then also from families as well too um while still kind of trying to keep the PACE framework and some of all these other um kind of laws that we have to follow in place as well too. Um so that might answer part of your question but maybe not all of it. I just know middle school kids have a lot of opinions. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Uh and I think and you know they definitely do and I think the biggest piece was that is you know they their their biggest comments across the board was that 88 minutes is a long time and that was pretty consistent. Um, and that was pretty clear. Um, I think that that

077is the biggest takeaway from the initial piece. Um, and so that's where we're kind of doing behind the scenes of what it could look like um, within right within what currently exists and what are some of our restrictions are um, to then allow for hopefully some feedback as we kind of move through um, the transition. I have a couple questions. Again, thank you for all for working on this. I'm sure it was a lot of time that you put into it. Um, one of my questions, how long will the passing periods be? Yeah. So, um, it's dependent on the grade level and the time of day. Um, just trying to be aware of some of the components of um, you know, Freedom has three floors, Heritage only has two. Um, so trying to be aware

078of some of those pieces. Um, in regards to, you know, moving up and down, um, you know, hallways and things of that nature, there's times where it's very quick for there to be like a two-minute passing period versus a three or four. Um, so it is a little different depending on the time of day um, for individual um, students. Thank you. Um, I have another question. Sure. So, you mentioned about the dual language students having um, SLA and ELA. Will they be having both with the new schedule? Uh yes. So they would attend ELA for um currently um they would attend for like two periods. So ELA and math in the in kind of what we're we're looking at right now, ELA and math would still be two periods. Um so they would attend ELA

079with their a dual teacher or an Ames teacher depending on what they um if they qualify for Ames, they would move to the Ames classroom for the like the monolingual English class. Um and then they would attend SLA. Yes. Thank you. Um, and now I have a recommendation. So, I was uh privileged to go visit Fido Middle School. Um, and I was able to be with a newcomers and the program. I don't know what is it called. I don't remember if I even asked, but that's where all the newcomers meet with the social worker. And having been an immigrant as in early when I was 10 years old, I honestly think that that is very beneficial to them because it's a place where they can come together and ask questions about what can they learn.

080So they were had very wonderful questions. Some of the questions were like, "What do you recommend I take in classes so that I could go well in in high school and then go to college and like so they were many and they felt comfortable asking them in Spanish and helping each other, supporting each other. So I hope that that program continues. So I don't know if it is or not, but it's fluid depending on the students. So that um the the group of students you had the honor of meeting as the newcomer Excel. So we do have two staff members that work with our newcomers in the morning to start their day and kind of get them ready for the rest of their day. In our new schedule, we don't have an Excel time built

081in. But that is one of the next kind of logistical things we're looking to create. Where is that that home base? When you think about a middle school schedule, there is a home base for students. Um how do we create that into this new schedule? How do we make sure it's consistent? and how do we provide support for the various types of students. Um yeah, that is definitely something that we are looking forward to. Another thing is in these extra um periods we could say how can we support our newcomers even with our dual language teachers. Um that is something else that we've been trying to consider. I have a question. Um it sounds like there's going to be more instructional time or is it about the same like when you switch over? She's the

082math girl. I I I think I'd have to do the math on that. Um, we are adding a couple passing periods in the sense that the more classes you have, the more passing periods you have to have, but by not having that Excel, a lot of those minutes then became part of the class. So, I think it's about the same, but just organized differently. I think that's great. I think it's a much more equitable system in general. Right. Thank you for your work on that. It's a good question. No, I Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you for all your work. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you to the entire committee for all of the work that's been going on this year and for the work that will still be continuing in these last

083few um weeks of school. Thank you. All right, we're moving on to um board member recognition. So, we have um just two things to address tonight. So, um the Illinois Association of School Boards um does recognize board members for individual time and effort devoted to learning and leadership activities. Um and these are recognized um by the IASB at spring division meetings. And so at that meeting um board president Elizabeth Jimenez was recognized for being an established board leader. So, congratulations [Applause] Elizabeth and also um um Joelle Gonzalez could not be here tonight, but today would be his last meeting as a board member in our district. Um and while he was unable to attend tonight's meeting, we want to recognize his contributions. Um we honor and thank him for his years of service on the

084school board. Um Joel's strong support of district initiative and goals coupled with his role as a true cheerleader for our district has made an impact on our district and community. His calm and thoughtful presence has been a steadying force in board discussions and we are grateful for the insightful perspective he brings. as a parent and a board member. His frequent presence at the school events at uh Persing um and across the district reflects his genuine commitment to our students, staff, and families. We acknowledge him tonight, thank him for his service for the last four years, and look forward to his continued support as a current Persian parent in our district. On behalf of the board of education and the district, he will receive a plaque to commemorate his time on the South Berwin Board of

085Education. So we congratulate and we thank um Joel [Applause] Gonzalez. All right. Um this month we did have um two FOYAS, one from ACB regarding some financial information um and one from data specialists regarding standard um employee information. Um the dashboard uh is available within board book and I will turn it over to Jenny for the financial report. Thanks Mary. Our bank balance as of today is 40,500,000. We also have in investments 32,500,000. Our revenue for the month of April to date is 4,36,000. Um, our cash flow report, which is up above, our revenue for the month of March was 13.5 million. That was our second installment of the taxes that came in. Um, our year-to date is 54.6 million. So, we're at the 83 mark. If you've, as you're following along, we were always

086low in revenue. This is where we catch up. So now we're actually ahead of that 75% for this time of year with 83%. Um our expenses for the month of March were 4.6 million year to date 47.9 million. We're right on target with expenses as budgeted. Our next is the grant snapshot. Um we have roughly 4.3 million um in grants this year and to date we've received um a little over 3 million. So grants are progressing as normal. The next one on your agenda tonight item E is to approve the tentative amended budget. If you remember we approved the tenative amended budget kind of shore things up in account lines. Um it's on display for 30 days. We actually have it on display over 30 days and then the final will be approved in June.

087Um and submitted to the state. Um I want to call your attention while you have that there. Keep it right there, Ernesto. Um the it's like the seventh or eighth line down where you see interest investment interest. We had budgeted a million so far year to date. Yay. we've received 1.7 million. Um, so I'm I up increased that budget amount. So then if you scroll to the very bottom of the second page, Ernesto, right there. So originally we were budgeted to have around a $900,000 surplus. We now look like we're going to have around a $1.8 million surplus. Keep in mind this is only through the end of March. um as we get closer to June will have a clearer picture, but that extra revenue that came in from investments is um a fantastic thing.

088Um our expenditures uh are looking uh just as they are. They look like they're going to be an even pace through the end of the school year. Also on the board agenda tonight to be approved is a uh item G for a new school bus. Um this is a small school bus, not a big large one, but a small school bus that we use. We we have one route in district where we transport our um special ed students to their out of district placement and these are wheelchair bound students. Our current bus that we have is in very bad shape. Um and in talking with Victor, I didn't realize there were certain things that functionality that you need for that bus. So, with your permission and your approval tonight, we would like to put forward

089to purchase a new bus for these students. Um, the bus needs to be built first. Um, but the order goes in now, but it likely won't be paid for until next year. So, we'll have it in the budget for next year. And that's the end of my report. All right. And that concludes the superintendent's report. Thank you, Mary. Can we have um someone on finance? Uh yes. So we we we reviewed the uh uh revised budget. Uh and then uh Jenny shared an a resource uh about the whole budget process that with me and then that'll also be distributed to the rest of the school uh rest of the board members as well. Uh kind of a cheat sheet of school finances in two pages. So, it's there's a lot there. Thank you. Policy. Uh,

090in policy meeting today, we um looked over some items in our policies that we did like a little bit of an audit. And there are a few that are not included in the press uh policy uh infrastructure. And so, we're going to integrate those policies that were like uh unique to D 100 into our press policies and then revisit next month. Thank you. Um, legis legislative report. Uh, yes. I'd like to highlight three things. Um, it was shared that the Illinois State Board of Education issued a statement and sent a letter to the US Department of Education stating that it had previously provided required certifications and that it would continue to comply with our Title 9 and Supreme Court cases uh that interpret Title 9. Um, our Illinois State Board of Education also indicated that

091it would not be collecting asurances from local school districts. This is a very big concern that is um affecting a lot of educators and people in education across the nation. Um, but that's where uh that's where that stands as of now. Title 9 is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Another thing that I'd like to highlight is there was a March 20th executive order on the closure of the Department of Education. um despite tax pay uh taxpayers spending 60 billion annually on federal school funding. However, um please note that ele uh eliminating the department of education would require an act of Congress. This executive order does not provide um that the Department of Education will continue to execute all statutory requirements that fall under their agency's purview. And lastly, um, on March 28th, the US

092Department of Education revoked its prior approval of Illinois's request for an extension in federal pandemic relief ESER funds. Uh, that uh, affected or affects 27 Illinois school districts, two regional offices of education, and three other entities um that have previously been granted an extension um, to spend uh, 77.25 million in outstanding ESSER funds. Those funds have already been obligated uh for various purposes including construction projects, transportation for homeless students and social emotional supports. And that concludes the legislative report. Thank you. Correspondents, we had one email correspondents. Thank you. Um public comments, individuals appearing before the board are expected to follow the guidelines outlined in board policy 2230. Thank you. Hello, George Lambis, director of buildings and grounds. Um, I just want to invite everyone out to our annual Earth Day events this Saturday. It's happening

093at all schools. You can come to Heritage, you can go to your kids school, you can go to board members, you can go to any school you like. Um, and then come back here for a hot dog lunch to thank our volunteers. We have t-shirts. Every school and I have to really give it to the principles. They've really made this thing take on a life of its own at each school. Each school does something unique. So, I hope to see you guys out here on Saturday. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for organizing this. Any more comments? Okay. Uh action items. Consent agenda items may be removed from the consent agenda and the request of any one member. Items not removed may be adopted by general consent without debate. Removed items may be taken up

094either immediately after the consent agenda or placed later on the agenda at the discretion of the board. Okay. Seeing none, can we please have a a motion to adopt the consent agenda? I'll motion. I'll second. Thank you. Roll call. I a Jimenez. I. Steinfeld. I. Drenth. I. Butler. I. Palace. I. Gonzalez. I. Motion carried. Thank you. Um, any other public comments? Individuals appearing before the board are expected to follow the guidelines outlining board policy 2 to 230. Okay, seeing none. Uh board member comments. I have a comment. I've been delinquent. Um the middle school musical this year is The Lion King. Please come out and support these kids. They've been working really hard. Um it's May 9th and 10th. Tickets are on sale. There's one show on Friday night, May 9th. Uh there's two shows

095on May 10th, one in the afternoon and one in the I think 5:30. So please come and support them. It's a really big auditorium. We need a lot of people to fill it. So please remind us what is the the Lion King. Thank you. Thank you. Any other comments? Um yeah, I I have a comment. Um uh I wanted to bring to the the board uh just to everybody's attention. Uh I've been doing some work uh specifically focusing on policy 810 uh 8.10 um and looking at district communications. Um so I'm going to be sharing some resources with everybody over the next month. Uh if you could take a look at those and I'd like to start having some conversations about that. Um and just again just looking at uh at how we can continue

096to improve communications within the district. So um like I said, I'll be sharing that information to everybody so you can review it. Thank you. Anyone else? Yes. Um, as a proud Persian parent, I just wanted to say thank you. Um, and I echo the sentiment um, that our PTO president uh, shared. So, um, I love Persing. My kids love Persian, and I couldn't ask for a better school for them. So, thank you for all that you do. I I also although they they left uh we get to hear from a lot of principles but it was really nice to hear from Miss Sodto and Miss Favlla and Mr. Pineda today. Uh that was quite a treat. Yes, I agree. I would echo that. I also think it was nice to see some teachers being honored

097uh at Purging School today. Um and I also want to give a shout out to the committee at middle school schedules. I think scheduling is like one of the hardest things you can do. um and especially giving of your time and thinking forward thinking around what's best for students and I like seeing that the pace framework is included there. That's just like a nice forward way D00 to represent. So thank you. Thank you. Today is administrative professionals day. So we want to thank MNA and we want to thank all of our um all of our district 100 um administrative professionals. We could not do this without them. and they are very much appreciated. MNA, I'm sorry for not responding to that email. Yes. Yes. Thank you for all that you do. Okay. Can we please

098have a motion to adjourn regular board meeting? I'll motion. Second. I'll second. Roll call. I Jimenez. I. Steinfeld. I W. Gonzalez I Butler I Drenth I Palace I motion carried. Thank you. Okay. Can we have a motion to reconvene into the reorganization meeting? I'll move to reconvene. I'll second. I palace I. Jimenez I. Steinfeld. I Gonzalez I. Butler I. Drenth. I. Motion carried. Call to order. Um, I call the meeting to order at 8:23 p.m. Okay. The following me I think we have to do another roll call. Thank you. Go ahead. Uh, here. Jimenez here. Steinfeld here. Gonzalez here. Butler here. Drenth here. Palace here. Okay. So, I am going to um point President Prompor. Is that how we say it? Yes. Uh so I'm uh I will appoint superintendent Dr. Heavvis as president prompor.

099Okay. Um in front of you, you have the results of the election. Um if I can ask for a motion to accept the official election results as prepared by the Cook County Clerk. I'll move to accept. A second. I or uh Steinfeld. I Palace I. Jimenez. Hi, Gonzalez. Hi, Butler. I Dr. Hi. Motion carried. All right. And if I could ask newly elected board member Adriana Cabayro to come up to the board table and have have a seat here. [Applause] And actually, you can remain standing. and the rest of the board is also going to stand and join you in taking the oath of office which everyone should have in front of them. So, Elizabeth, you want to you want to start? Yes. Yeah. Everybody's going to read it together, right? So, we're going to

100read it together. Just mention your name when you're supposed to say your name. I, Elizabeth Okimenez, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of member of Bor of Education of Berwin South School District 100 in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the States of Illinois and the laws of the state of Illinois to the best of my ability. I further swear that I shall respect taxpayers interest for serving as faithful protector of the school district's assets. I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a high hearing pay for the board while respecting the privacy of students and employees. I shall recognize that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and

101the decision can be made only by majority a vote or a public board meeting. I shall abide by majority decision of the board while retaining the right to seek challenges in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels. As part of the board of education, I shall accept the responsibility for my role in equitable and quality education of every student in the school district. I shall foster with the board of extension participation of the community, formulate goals, define outcomes, and set the course for district 100. I shall assist in establishing a structure and an environment to design to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework. I shall strive to ensure a continuous assessment of student achievement and all conditions affecting the education of our children in compliance

102with the state law. I shall serve as an education key advocate on behalf of students in our community schools to advocate the division of district 100 and I shall strive to work together with the district superintendent to lead the school district toward fulfilling the division of the board has created fostering excellence for every student in the areas of academic skills, knowledge, citizenship and personal development. That was all right. [Applause] All right. We will now move on to election um of board of education officers. Nominations are now in order for the office of president. Are there any nominations for the office of president? I nominate Elizabeth Himenez for office of president of the South Burwin District 100 board. Okay. Are there any other nominations for the office of president? Okay. Hearing no further nominations, the nominations

103for the office of president are closed. Um member Jimenez being the only candidate nominated for the office of president. the chair. We hereby declare her the elected by acclamation. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. And now I will turn it back over to you for the rest of the Thank you. Okay. Now we have any nominations for vice president of the board. I would like to nominate uh board member Karen Styfel. Any other nominations? Okay. So there being no other nominations, the nominations for office of vice presidents are closed and we are appointing Corin Steinfield. [Applause] Okay. Uh now we have any nominations for secretary of the board? I nominate Wendy Gonz Gonzalez. Any other nominations for secretary of the board? Okay, being no other nominations for pre of secretary of the board, we appoint uh

104Wendy Gonzalez for secretary of the board. Thank you. Okay. Now, uh adoption of board of education meeting is scheduled. Do we have to Yeah, sorry. We have to adopt of the board of education meeting. Uh any motion? A motion to adopt. We're not adjourning. Adopt. Thank you. Second. Second. I'll second. Thank you. Roll call. I a Gonzalez. Hi. Palace. I. Butler. I. Steinfeld. I Drenth. I. Cabierro. I. Jimenez. I. Motion carried. Okay. Now we are going to appoint of committees two people maximum for each committee. Uh do we have any volunteers for the policy committee? I'll volunteer. Okay. Cavayto I volunteer as well. So Adriana Cavayto and Amanda Trent. Anyone else? Okay. Then Cavayo and Trent will be on policy finance. I'll volunteer. Anyone else on finance? [Laughter] It really is the coolest committee. Building

105and grounds. I said it really is the coolest committee. I would volunteer for buildings and grounds. Sorry. Sorry. For buildings and grounds. Okay. I volunteer for buildings and grounds as well. So, anyone else? No. Okay. I would I would Do we have three on it or no? No, we only two. But if you want to, you can do it if you want to. If you really I feel real invested in the building. Yeah. Is it okay? That's fine. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. That's okay. Um in two years I'll do it. Okay. Do because I that's the only one I haven't done. So that's why I want to do it. Um appointment of representatives. Uh do we have any volunteers for ISB governing board? Wendy? No. I would volunteer. Are we still able to do This

106one we only need one. Is this the delegate position? The delegate position. So I'm happy to do it unless Cavaya wants to do it. It's okay. Okay. Thank you. Legislative report. I'll volunteer. Thank you. Wendy, you don't want to be in finance? I'll do finance. Thank you. It's the best. It is the best. He says it's the best. Thank you. So, um, now we have, uh, any public comments. Individuals appearing before the board are expected to follow the guidelines outlined in board policy 2230. No. Okay. Seeing no comments, uh, can we have a motion to adjurnn? Now we are journ. I'll motion to adjourn. I'll second. Thank. Roll call. I or Butler. I Drenth I Gonzalez I Caviierro I Jimenez I Palace I Steinfeld I Okay, thank you everyone for believing in me and supporting

107me again. I appreciate it and thank you everyone for coming. [Applause]