2025-11-03 CSD99 Board Meeting - LIVE EVENT

001All right, Julie, it's 6:30. Would you mind calling the role, please? >> Certainly. Cara Castton >> here. Ken Dawson >> here. >> Chris Espinosa >> here. >> April Fein >> here. >> Don Rener >> here. >> Michael Riskey >> here. >> Ryan Enright >> here. >> And Romina Paper Vera Gonzalez >> here. Thank you very much. >> All right, having a quorum, let's stand 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, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right, Hank, I'll turn it over to you for student perspectives. All right, and I'll invite Courtney up. >> All right, good evening everyone. Thank you uh again for everyone for joining us tonight. We

002have a lot of really cool things to showcase this evening. So our first up is our student perspectives and I would like to call up Kathy McDonald. She is one of our sponsors of our new club called HOSA future health occupations. No professionals. F I I cannot internalize this. Future health occupation professionals. Future health professionals. Thank you. The kids will talk about it and they will get it and I will not. Um, so I'd like to introduce Kathy who will introduce our students of our new club this year. >> You're welcome. >> First of all, thank you for inviting our club to speak. Um, I'm Kathy McDonald. I'm the certified school nurse at North High School. Um, this past semester, the students along with Mr. Hines had started kind of creating this club and this

003year it's like formally formed. It started in 1976 as a um a US organization. It's now international. It's a studentled organization and recognized by the US Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. And its mission is to empower the future health professionals to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience. HOSA promotes career opportunities in the health industry and enhances delivery of quality healthcare to all people. So, I would like to introduce these four students who are going to give you a little more information. I'll let you each introduce yourselves and then share more about the club. >> Hello, my name is Kira Chry. I'm a co-founder and co-president of this club. I'm Chloe Lang. >> I'm Ava Joseph. I'm a vice president and the parliamentarian of

004this club. My name is Ava Langley and I'm also a co-vice president of this club and we're some of the leaders of Health Occupation Students of America or HOSA and we're here to tell you about this new club and what it contributes to our school and community. >> Just let me know when you want me to advance your slides. >> Next. So basically our mission is to expose the students to like the variety of different healthcare careers um because there are so many of them. It is a very um there's a very wide range of careers in the medical field and we just want to shed light on all of them. So we also want to provide like volunteering opportunities like service um participation in competitive events is a big part of HOSA. So basically

005you can compete online and if you also qualify for state you can um go to like conventions that are held in different states across uh the country. Um there's also a support network that we want to collaborate um and foster for students who you know are like-minded and they um have similar interests in going to similar medical careers. So, some of the volunteering opportunities we've already done and are continuing to do is fish pantry food drive, which is a local food drive in Downer's Grove that is currently low on food resources. So, we are trying to work on a food drive, which I'll let Chloe go more into depth on our process for that. And one thing we've recently done for volunteering is plank blankets for pediatric cancer patients. Um for that we also collaborated

006with a couple other clubs like woman in leadership for um as for educational opportunities we often have guest speakers come around. So sports medicine physicians, family practice, uh nurses, physical therapy. And this is all just to get um our HOSA club members more um oriented with their future careers. >> Okay. So, I'm going to talk more about our fish pantry food drive because that's what we're doing right now. We started it this week and it's going to [clears throat] last for um the next two weeks. So we're hoping to alleviate food and to toiletry shortages during the cold seasons and giving the opportunity for our school community to make a difference in our local community. So we have some amazing volunteers helping um work these food drive stations and then also you are given an

007opportunity for every student to donate some food. So it's a really good opportunity to make a difference in our community. I did. >> So another one of our educational opportunities is the competitions that are hosted. So right now upcoming we have a December 1 competition which is online where there's a variet huge variety of competitions that everyone can be a part of. So each individual student will choose one and then from there everyone has to take a multiple choice test online and based on that the top scorers get to advance to the next round where it's more hands-on and demonstrated interest. So like if you were part of the CPR competition, you'd have to demonstrate CPR knowledge. Some of them require presentations, debates, um speeches, a lot of things like that. And then the one

008thing that's really beneficial about these competitions is that there are scholarships involved. So I think most of these are for freshman to seniors. And even though it's not necessary to do competitions to get the scholarships, it definitely opens up more of a variety. So there are certain scholarships specifically for each competition. For example, if you were interested in dentistry or family medicine, um you could apply for those specific scholarships. >> Um so we do have quite a few future like plans for the future. Um specifically our organization of like larger scale initiatives um such as the food drive we've been talking about. um and continuing our uh exposing our members to volunteer opportunities um such as one we did last year with at a local senior living home. Um we brought like art supplies and

009they all got to work together with these. It's um um we're hoping to introduce more of those this year. Um we have discussed uh future uh field trip opportunities, specifically one to Midwestern University. Um and then the volunteer opportunities that would the shadowing opportunities that would come from that. Um and bringing in more guest speakers, our connections um in the healthcare world, bringing them in to share their experiences. Um and also creating uh kind of like a digital resource library for students who are going to be in those competitions um so that they have resources to compete. um can like creating study groups for the competitions and the competitors and with the competitions coming up we would increase like our meeting frequency probably to like once a week. Um yeah, thank you so much for

010your time. That's what we [applause] >> run away there might be questions. Oh, there there definitely are. >> [laughter] >> So, uh, I didn't hear any of you um comment on what your interest in healthcare is and what you may may be pursuing down the road. Like to hear about that. >> Um, so personally, I'm interested in becoming a physician. Um, not completely sure yet which kind, but right now I'm thinking of pediatrics or orthopedics. I am hoping to go to physician assistant school and I do know I want to work with kids. So in the pediatric world of healthcare >> dentistry for me I currently work as a dental assistant and I really enjoy it. So I'm hoping to go to dental school. So, I don't really know exactly what I want to be

011um when I grow up, but I'm planning on majoring in like neuroscience or like biocsychology or biology. It depends on like what school I go to. And I hope to go to med uh medical school. So, >> well, healthcare is a a really important industry. Um you know, my my wife, my sister, my mother are all in healthcare. Um, and even in this economy, if you if you look, the number one job growth out there is in healthcare. Uh, so I think that's pretty important. So, um, I hope that all of you stick to it and and this club gives you the inspiration to pursue your dreams in that regard. >> I'd like to commend you guys for your timing for the food drive. I mean, it's such a [snorts] needed thing in our community,

012in our city right now, and for the next two weeks, for you guys to be taking the initiative and doing that is really fantastic. So, thank you for all your efforts. [applause] >> Thanks for coming tonight. Appreciate it. >> Thank you, guys. >> [snorts] >> All right, [clears throat] student board member reports. Who'd like to go first? >> All right. [clears throat] Hi everyone. How are you? Um I'm hope you're doing hope you're doing well. Um we're about more than halfway through the semester. So that's kind of exciting. Um from the student perspective, there's been a lot of um excitement across the building and across our community with athletics and activities. For instance, girls volleyball is competing at sectional semi-finals tonight or tomorrow night at Lions Township. Um football has advanced to the second round

013of IHSA playoffs and will be competing at Glenard West on Saturday. And boys and girls cross country teams qualify for state this weekend with boys team in a strong contention for state championship. As fall sports or as fall sports wrap up, winter sports are beginning. Um and there's just a lot of excitement among students and staff honestly and coaches too. Attendance and engagement. So recently we've seen a decline in attendance among some seniors um which administration is working hard um to combat that. Last week morning inter interventions took place both at at both entrance at both entrances. Students who were tardy at first period checked in with administrators and deans. These check-ins were designed to be supportive conversations. So overall it's been a positive and proactive effort to support students in developing good habits and

014accountability. And I say like accountability in a capital A like that's super important is student account. Student accountability um is what we've really been working on especially as a board. Um so moving on to college and careers. So November 1st was the early action deadline for a lot of colleges. Um students are I feel like there's just a weight off everyone's shoulders when it comes to college applications and stuff. The college career center is a great resource especially for scholarship tracking and future pathways when it comes to secondary planning. Um, I already know during access, um, the college and career center is coming in and showing seniors what scholarships are coming through. Um, and just ways that you guys can that you can save on the college admissions process. Um, for the phone policy continues.

015Um, what I've seen [clears throat] across several classes is phones have made their way out. So, in in several departments with the support of administration, um, these departments, especially the English department, is moving towards requiring students to store those phones in the assigned phone pouches. Um, that's what I did in my English class today. Our our English teacher um gave us each number and we put them away. Um, did I feel like that u minimized distractions? Um, I think that's super important just to minimize distractions. I think it was super positive today. Um, I kind of saw them not making their way out. I keep seeing students with the book open and the phone in the middle of the book. I'm like, it's great. Like, um, so I think it's super important that we're minimizing

016distractions and protecting that institutional line. I feel like when you draw the line in the sand and that it just keeps getting closer and closer and closer. So, everyone holding their ground is super supportive and having that follow through. Um, there has been consequences handed out to my peers to to other students around me and I think it's super important especially from administrative level and that consistency along all eight periods. On a positive note, the scanning scanning is working in super well. Um, and attendance errors are minimal and it's easy to correct them with the attendance office. Overall, this year's been really great and please let me know if you have any questions. >> Thank you. >> Um, good evening everyone. Rumina. Um, again, like uh Ryan said, we're almost halfway through the or more

017than halfway through the semester now, so everyone's pretty much in their routine. Um, I've noticed that everyone's pretty accustomed to the phone policy. Um, again, I think that's really thanks to uh teachers having the tools required to kind of like immediately um settle that situation down pretty quickly. And I think the consistency of the message throughout the building has truly impacted that. So for me at least um phones have not been truly a factor in the classroom. Um with scanning most students seem used to it. And last minute I did mention that I had noticed that um my classes were getting sometimes interrupted by staff kind of checking in if a student was in class or not. But I have noticed that a decrease in that. So, I think that again has shown how everyone's

018used to it and it's just working pretty well. The only thing that I do notice students um complain about is the new bathroom policy. I think again we're still getting used to that. It's a pretty big change. And then sometimes again the pass system to like leave the building. Um students seem to sometimes be a little confused on how that's all working and um there seems to be a little confusion on that. Um for activities today we had yearbook pictures. It was cool to see everyone um that's involved in activities throughout um the building. We also had the distribution of our first edition of the blueprint which um the board members have with them and I know how much like hard work and dedic dedication goes into that. So it's very exciting to see a

019final product. Um we also had a lot of sports events. We had like state for tennis sectional for girls swim and dive. Um, we had the end of the boys soccer season, um, the end of the football season. We also have, um, sectional semi-finals for girls volleyball tomorrow against DGN. Um, we also had boys and girls cross country qualify for state. So overall, like a lot of um, of the fall sports are wrapping up and winter sports. I know some trials started today. So that's also um, something going on in the building. Last week we also had our trunk or retreat which is always very fun. I was able to go with Key Club and just like walk around and it's always very exciting to kind of like see the community and just be able

020to be engaged and kind of have a like a break from the academics and something a little more fun. And then other upcoming activities that are very big for both schools are Snowball, which is next next week, which I know a lot of students love and are very involved in, and also the Grove Express, which is also a great um a great event for everyone and the whole community. um for access and support overall. I've noticed that it's there's been an initiative to kind of like motivate students to be in class and try their best. And um I know the school has been implementing implementing different things such as the gold level access for seniors and also um celebrating Mustang scholars during access. Um that was very exciting and very fun for everyone and I

021I think again it's very good to inspire students to be there especially some of your attendance can get a little harder so I think it's great to motivate students and then with support again the college and career center all is always giving support to students both seniors um with like scholarships college applications and also overall to any student that's planning their career um whether that be going to college or not. It's always again there's always a lot of support there. And there's also always infinity campus and parent square um which allows students and parents to like stay connected to the community. So overall there's a lot of support um for everyone in the community. Thank you. >> Thanks. Thanks. >> Uh any questions? >> Where's the volleyball game tomorrow? Is it tomorrow? You said >>

022Yeah. Lions >> Lions Township. Yeah. >> Yeah. at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow. >> I'll be there. So, [laughter] >> will you be there? >> Uh, Romina, I have a question real quick. >> Yes. >> Um, so on the front of this very nicely done, uh, newspaper, there's a picture of students lining up to scan in. >> Yeah. >> And it seems like a pretty big line. Um, can you guys talk a little bit, Ryan? I would like to hear what's going on at North as well. Um, will you guys tell us a little bit about scanning in and how that's going and if it's getting to be are are there really backups like this or is are things going smoothly? >> Um, I've only noticed this backup for resource. Okay. >> So, that's something that we're

023still working on. Um, there's no backup for like classes. Um, that seems to be going pretty smoothly, but this is again because students have to wait until the bell rings and then they start scanning. So there is normally a line that builds up especially for resource. >> Okay. So this picture is not every day every class occurrence. >> No, no, there's no barely any lines. There's no I've noticed no lines in like classrooms or the main entrance. >> Great. Yeah, I'm not familiar with the necessarily like context of the picture. Um but overall, especially at the main entrance, there really hasn't been an issue um with scanning in. Um, I think obviously when the light changes at Main Street, it might get a little congested congested, but it would be for 30 seconds. Um, especially

024in classes, students are just kind of most students are actually having a screenshot now, so they're not really relying on the app loading. Um, so that was causing some delays in the building. Other than that, people are kind of getting used to it and there really hasn't been any lines. >> Okay, great. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Of course. >> Any other questions for the either of us? >> Thank you both. our students that came and presented tonight. I don't know if they stuck around, but they're welcome to go at this point. So, if they haven't, [laughter] they already [clears throat] left. They're they're good students. They know. [laughter] >> Just wanted them to know that they didn't have to stick around. All right. Uh I'd like to invite the Ed Foundation, representatives

025of the education foundation forward. [clears throat] Sure. >> I'm so short. Um, we're very very happy. Thank you. >> Happy to be here. May I just take this off? There we Thank you. Very happy to be here. It's always good for me to be back in the boardroom. I'm Julia Beckman. I have the honor of being the president of the foundation and [clears throat] we are very happy tonight to be here to celebrate some of the grants that we have given in the past few months and I'm going to introduce as you already know her Donna Dawson who is our grants chair and we have some very very exciting grants to talk about. So take it away Donna. >> All right. Hi everybody. I'm Donna Dawson and um first of all thanks everyone for turn.

026>> Oh okay. Thank you. Okay. Again, we appreciate your time for us to be able to come here and recognize our leaders. Last spring in uh 2025, we awarded $9,500 in grants. It was about six grants that we supported across the district. Tonight, we are excited to present two of the projects and celebrate these incredible educators that made this happen. So, first of all, we have from Donald's Grove North, our CS department. So, come on up here. Don't be scared. I'm great. [laughter] >> We have Caitlyn Panic. >> Panky. Thank you. If I >> I can handle panic though as a counselor. [laughter] >> You're trained. >> And I'm going to stick with first names. And we have Ashley. [laughter] And what I'm going to do is have Caitlyn and Ashley share a little bit

027about the project that we awarded the $1,600 grant for. >> Sure. Um, sure. Um, so, uh, I got the grant provided me to go to Columbus, Ohio this summer to do a three-day training, um, to get certified to teach a Sparks curriculum. Um, it's a national program. They're in 48 states. It's evidence-based and data based. So, um, what's great about it is it's a 20week curriculum program targeted for our young women to develop their leadership confidence. Um, we cover a lot of issues like body image and social media and the stress and pressure and college and career and um, so Ashley is actually the one who brought it to our district because she uh, was trained in it already. Um, but we wanted to widen the net and offer it to more students as an

028intervention opportunity. Um, so I was fortunate enough to be the one to get to go and get certified. Um, what Ashley handed out to you is just a little one-pager about the organization and some of the data um and what it targets and how it supports our our female students. >> Yeah, of course. >> Did you want to add anything? >> Um, yeah. Sorry, I was kind of half listening while I tried not to trip and walk around and hand these to you. Um, but rocks is something that I started doing when I was in grad school. I went to grad school at Ohio State, um, which is obviously where this started in Columbus. So, um, I've tried to bring it with me wherever I go and, um, I definitely wanted to bring it here.

029I ran it last year with a group of 10 girls. Um, and they are banging down my door trying to do it again. Um, but we stick with sophomores. Um, and we want to try to, you know, expand it as they go. So, we're not just repeating the same thing with the same girls. We try to do different group each year. Um, but as you can see from the data, it is it's an effective program. It's data driven. Um, so they collect data each year from all the girls who do it across the nation. Um, and they'll adjust and adapt as social media changes, as things in our country change, and they'll, you know, really try to keep it relevant and up to date for the girls. And I always tell the girls, um, we

030talk about real things. This isn't just let's share our feelings and, you know, sit and yap about nothing. We're really getting into some things that are affecting girls in our society and in our school. >> Beautiful. We would like to present with you our your ch >> [laughter] >> as advertised. >> You made a joke. >> Big check. >> Check. >> Big bucks. Big check. >> Thank you for applying. We will take a photo afterwards. >> Okay. Are there any questions? >> Yeah. >> So, you said this is year two of the program. You started it. >> Yes. I ran it last year just myself and so this year we're doing it together with a Yeah. >> Can you just talk a little bit about So, you said it's focused on 10th graders, the size

031of the group or how >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Um, yeah. Uh we had 23 referrals this year. Um we invited all 23. 12 of them have committed the last two weeks to coming. So I think we're going to be at about 12, which is a nice size for also the space we're in. Um the other piece we didn't mention is that there's a parent component to it. So um it's a very, you know, a lot of our intervention groups are very student targeted, but the parents are getting the information as well. There's a the book that the girls get. Um the parents get there's news memos and leadership and and opportunities for us to connect with them. So it's more comprehensive. Um last year it was run during as an access group which is shortened.

032The time gets crunched. She lives on some curriculum and so this year we advocated to run it as a regular group would where we rotate periods throughout the year. And um already we can see the the difference in that and the effectiveness and the bonding of the girls. So >> yeah. >> All right. >> You said the girls are referred referred to you. >> Yeah. So we um ask our CS staff, we ask for referrals based on their knowledge of students. Um we have a broad range of girls. Not everyone needs to develop every aspect of what we're looking on because working on because you want, you know, some leaders, some quieter kids to step up. So um they're referred based on the criteria and then we met with them and interview them and introduce

033them and invite them and they say yes. Currently, are you seeing any trends in the particular challenges which are young people are having in today's world? I would say the biggest thing is social media and how that's impacting um you know their body image or how they're supposed [clears throat] to act um whether that's in friendships or romantic relationships or we spent a lot of time last week talking about um parents perceptions of them and and how that you know do I think we posed the question do your parents think they were more stressed out than you are um so that >> caused a big conversation um you know there's no right or wrong answer it's just kind of what what they're going through now and how that could be similar or different and they

034had some really good insights even too about well maybe they did you know maybe there were some things that were more challenging for our parents and >> so yeah we do a lot about social media that's obviously a big >> big part of their life >> yeah and it's it's a space where they're talking about these things that permeate into other aspects of their life but they don't really get a chance to process so um like especially with the confidence when we were asking about like are you capable of doing your dream job and they underestimate themselves um more so than they should and so we break that down too. So I think that to answer your questions >> all of it. [laughter] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> There's a lot which is why it's it's

035such a comprehensive program. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. No, thank you. Thank you. >> As a as a father of three young girls that very [laughter] appreciative all all the efforts you're talking about here. Um, you know, some of my daughters struggle with confidence and it has a real impact on how they respond to social pressures like you're talking about. So, this is really important stuff. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Yeah. I just as the father of two girls, [laughter] it's something in the water. I'm not sure. Uh, but uh yeah, thank you. That's that's for for providing that space uh that they can uh with like-minded, confident women like you. That's that's awesome. Thank you. happy to do so. Thank you for the support. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] >>

036Okay. So then our second grant comes out of downer south from our world language department front row seats [laughter] Diane and PJ and their project was called enhancing teacher feedback with supplemental technology and we granted them $2,000 to purchase four Apple iPads, the stylus and also protective cases. I'm going to let the group come up and talk about this particular grant. via slides. >> Do you want me to advance or do you want to run the clicker? >> Either choice. >> Um >> or you can just say go. >> We can say go. [laughter] >> Good evening and thank you very much for your time tonight. Um, Alysia here was a first year teacher here at South with us last year. And over the course of the school year, we saw her using an iPad

037frequently in her classroom and in the office and just it was it wasn't just doodling and watching YouTube or anything like that. [laughter] And of course, and of course, you know, in my inquisitive nature, some might say nosy, but [laughter] Diana and I had asked, "What is it that you're doing with your iPad?" Would you mind [clears throat] uh clicking to the next slide, please? And so Alicia had shared with us that there are a number of apps in particular that are only available on Apple devices which really limits our uh Microsoft devices that we use throughout the district. And a lot of these apps, well, one app in particular allows for handwritten notes, importing PDFs and audio recordings syncing or audio recordings synced to notes and allowing us to provide direct feedback in a

038manner that is different than pencil and paper. Next, please. And one app in partic Notability is what Alysia had been using and providing her students with amazing feedback. And it just snowballed into a conversation of how can we do this? How can we use this? And obviously we got to a point of we don't have the funding ourselves. Alisia was using her own personal iPad and in talking to our tech department and our AP in charge of tech, we realized that we needed to get our own iPads in order to connect to the network and then ultimately we're working towards connecting to our projectors so we could write directly on the iPads and students can actually see what it is that we're working on directly in the same way as if this was our classroom.

039So, I'm going to allow Alicia and Diana to continue and share their experience. [clears throat] >> So, I've just started diving into um what we can do, but um I have some student examples from um two of the levels that I teach. So, in three honors um they have to we were talking about superstitions and then they have to create their own stories. And so, um I was not there that day. I was with my son at a um doctor's appointment and uh gave them everything and they turned them in. And as they were turning them in in the doctor's office, I was able in my iPad to immediately take them and start u making the corrections and giving them immediate feedback. Um and so just circling things and the nice thing is is that

040it makes a copy for them. Next slide please. And this is just another one. So I can with some of them I got a little bit more and did a little bit more grammar and with with others I just circled. But it was just giving them that feedback and then it makes a it edits a copy for them and then um they were able to see it right away. And now when we [cough and clears throat] do our next writing they have this that they can go to take a look at it see what mistakes they've made and then make sure that those mistakes don't happen in the next one. Um next slide please. So then for level one, um obviously they're still, you know, learning how to write. Um and this was all through

041Google Classroom. So I was able to access um Google Classroom app through um the iPad. And then uh here I had students take a screenshot of their paperwork that they created and then they turned it in through Google Classroom and then I was able to just immediately go through and make the corrections. So then again, they have that and it's nice because it saves it for them. And a lot of times in the past when I was like, take out that paper that we did, there was a lot of kids that were like, um, I recycled that or I don't have it anymore. So this saves it for them. So whenever we need to go back, it's right there at their fingertips. Um, and they have it. So so far I've been really happy, but

042I know there's so many other things that we can do with it. >> Okay. So here we're talking about two uh separate components. First we have um uh giving feedback to the students, grading their work and giving them that feedback. And then we also have the instructional delivery piece which are two separate components. Uh through the use of Google classroom I um I assign the students a homework assignment once a week that is collected and where I give them that personalized feedback. So I'm able to give them that feedback through grading that assignment on my iPad in u in Google classroom. If you go to the next slide you will see an example. So there for example on the right side you have um a homework assignment that I give the students. They I make

043them write their work on paper because it's language and I want to make sure that I can give them that specific feedback that they need so they can see what they need to work on for the following assignment or so they can show growth. So they I make the students take a picture of that assignment that they write on their paper as you can see on the right side right there. And then I go ahead and grade it on my iPad. I'll open that assignment in my um in the iPad Google classroom and then just edit it and give them that feedback as on paper. On the left side, you can see another sample. This is from one of my colleagues that uh she was sharing how she has to grade essays for the students.

044So then she has to print every single copy of those essays and then grade it manually and then you know complete that rubric. Then I showed her this other option that she could do if she had an iPad that she could save all that paper and um [laughter] and be able to give the students that personalized feedback and uh it's something that the students can retain with them forever because it's there. It's not going anywhere. It's in Google Classroom. Plus, in addition to that, the student is not only getting that specific feedback that they need uh to grow on or to work on as they can progress in the semester, but also the parents at home. You can ask your child to open up their their Chromebooks and go to Google Classroom and show to

045you whatever assignments they have completed and there is that record right in there. So you can check you know from the day one of the semester whatever assignments are graded in there all the way to the end of the semester and you can see that growth for your students at home and you're you you're able to actually help them in something that they might need help if you can help them or you can see that that progression throughout the semester. So this is the um the grading piece that I I am so excited to you know be grading this way because I just see the the change and the transformation in the students throughout the um the semester. And if you go to the next slide you see another example for example on the left

046one you have that one homework that was uh homework number three. So you see the simple sentences that they're writing and then how I'm able to write all this specific feedback that that student needs at that moment in the lesson. And then on the right side you see the growth, how much they have progressed from one week to the other week in the writing patterns in Spanish. This is a Spanish level two. And if you go to the next slide, you'll see somebody like this is like a week five for example in the units. Uh that's a lot of Spanish to be writing in a level two. And they're able to come up with all that based on that personalized feedback that they're getting um that they're able to check uh you know whenever they

047they need to. Um, so that's once again the the grading piece and giving them uh that personalized feedback in order to to focus on some specific um skills that they need to work on when it comes to putting sentences together and writing to communicate. But then on the other hand, if you go to the next slide, you can see um the current way that we display um on the left side, the current way that we display or we teach the students in the class through the um Elmo, this camera thing that projects uh to the to the screen, the projector. So the teacher has to be sitting in on the desk in order to be able to use this Elmo and write um for example answers or explain something uh to the class. But then

048on the other hand, if they had access to an iPad, a notability, the teacher could be uh walking around the classroom, be next to the students, be able to uh write on the iPad uh with different colors, you know, to uh to make it more appealing to the students, and even open up a little text box like I did right there on the on the right side bottom. You see that little text box? I opened up on on the spot right there and was able to, you know, write it as if I was writing on the board and make it more appealing to them to help them stay more engaged, more focused, and be able to actually follow along with the whole class. A lesson that they needed a specific component of the lesson that

049they needed to be taught in a way that uh that made sense to them and in a way that I could also use this little thing that I can um uh it looks like a little light that I can just I forget what that thing is called, but that thing [laughter] the pointer. Yes. Uh so the students can guide along and follow me along. Uh but right now we don't have that kind of a connection. Um but we're working on that. So if that was a possibility, I mean the it's having access to this is limitless and it will make just teaching so much um more engaging and and more I I wouldn't have to be stuck at a desk. I could walk around, help the students and [clears throat] be able to teach them

050um anywhere from the classroom. For example, if you go to the this one was a grammar lesson, but on the next one, you can see like for example a reading uh to help the students uh you know guide them along a reading and read it out loud for example or just you know select specific components. I'm able to highlight specific parts of the of the reading um make notes, annotate it, edit it, do whatever whatever you can imagine you can do on this on this uh notability app on the iPad. So this is just something to look forward, something that we are working uh on to be able to uh project from the iPad connected to the projector and be able to to make um teaching um more engaging and more appealing to the students

051at the end of the days. That what that's what it comes down to. Do you have any questions for us? >> I have one. Is the applicability more for kind of more entry levels of the language where you're noting like would this be used as much in more advanced >> language? You can use this at any in any classroom. I mean any any subject any level um it just makes it easier to explain anything instead of uh giving your back to the students and being writing on the board. Now you can write it right here in front of them and uh whatever you put on your iPad on this app they can see uh whatever you can think of presenting to them um you can just do it looking at them face to face and

052you can just be writing it or you can be talking to a students a student one-on-one and uh showing it to them right there while the whole class is looking at and they can follow along. So it can uh help in the in the learning curve when it comes to learning any subject anything at any point in any lesson. I think this is fantastic. you're able to provide personalized feedback in such a timely manner because I would think it's critical if you can to engage with the student and you know give them that feedback and stay engaged before they've moved on to another class or another I this is the future of teaching really >> and uh my previous district uh they were I guess an Apple school but you don't necessarily have to be

053an Apple school to be able to connect an iPad projector and be able to provide this type of uh delivery in the classroom. >> How are the students receiving it? Do they really like it? >> They they like it. They they're doing amazing. I mean, as you saw in those uh samples in a Spanish two, um I I mean, you make the the feedback as personalized as possible instead of talking to the student because sometimes we can't talk to each each student oneonone. So then you just write it there for them, give them specific uh goals to focus on and then build upon that uh as the unit progresses. And they they take it and they just, you know, uh, apply it and and show growth on the next lesson right away. >> I think

054that they can go back and find it and so that they can find it and they can see their mistakes and then make sure that they're correcting it for the next one so they know where everything is. It just keeps everything organized. It's an organized record pretty much of their work in the class. Um, so another thing that I didn't mention is that um I make my students take a picture of the homework assignments or whatever work and just turn it in that way. But uh for anybody that has their students type up like an essay or whatever it is, whatever document it is, as long as they turn it in Google Classroom, you can open it up on your um iPad and then with that stylish, you're able to edit it and just write

055the comments instead of um typing in the comments. When you type in the comments, not every student can see those comments, which is something that I experience at my other school and it it takes forever to load up and it's just some sometimes it's hidden. They can't find it and this way it creates like a copy of their actual original document. So it has the original copy and then the the copy the edited copy with the notes and the comments >> and I mean for parents I when we had open house and um parent teacher conferences I made sure the parents knew that hey this is what I am doing. So, I want to make sure that you go home and ask your student to show you the work that they have done in class

056and you can follow along with them to see where they're at in the lesson and what they need help with. So, you can have that once again see that personalized feedback the students are getting from me and then that way you know what your child needs to work on so they can raise their grade. For example, if there's a specific grade they want their kid to get in the class. >> Fantastic. >> Yeah, I think this is this is great. um just the ability to like keep record for the students like to to go back and look at that's an inval in invaluable resource that they have to in their future classes if they're in Spanish 2 to three and etc. Um and I think anything to make your lives easier as educators is fantastic.

057So thank you so much for uh bringing this. >> Thank you. >> And then your check [laughter] >> another big check. [applause] Thank you all for being here this evening and presenting. >> Thank you again. We appreciate your support. >> Thank you foundation. >> Thank you. >> Last word. >> Oh, [laughter] >> two last words. Actually, I neglected to introduce Steve Ruffalo who is a board member of ours and some of you may recognize him because we tend to get teachers to to retire and come on our board. It's really exciting [laughter] and I thought this was a good time when you see all the wonderful things that we do with the money we raise. It's money from people like you and other people and we will be we are sending out a letter our

058annual appeal. If you get one in the mail that would be fabulous if you would respond to it and you can go to the district 99 foundation uh website and just click donate or you can send a check to this office. So, I would love it if you could support it because 90% of the money we collect goes to students, teachers, and families. We're very proud of that record. Thank you so much for having us come. We'll be back in the spring. [applause] >> Thank you, Education Foundation. Yeah. >> Uh continuing the theme uh this evening, uh we're moving on to uh innovative staff brought forward by our principles. And I can't remember who's up first. >> Oh, we're south first. [laughter] [clears throat] >> Good evening, everyone. Um I'll just speak for um both

059Courtney and I. We were really excited um to be provided with this opportunity for the board to showcase the innovative things that we see in classrooms honestly nearly every day. This is the time of year when we're in classrooms all all the time and wonderful wonderful things are happening. Um I'm really excited to highlight the work of building thinking building thinking classrooms which um our two teachers will talk about. Um, but we have been embracing this specifically in our math and science classes at Downer Grove South and it really is transforming learning. The anal quick analogy that I'll give you is I think we all know that if you're learning how to say ride a bike that you are not no one would ever raise their hand and think that like watching a teacher ride

060the bike would be a good way to learn how to ride the bike or reading about how to ride a bike would not be a good way to ride a bike. you actually have to practice um the act of practicing and that's what building thinking classrooms does from both a physical and intellectual way. So I'm going to turn it over to both um Lisa Olsen and Mary Beth Spencer who Mary Beth is a science teacher, Lisa's a math teacher um and they're both piloting this work in their classes. So I'm excited to introduce you two now. >> Hello, I'm Mary Beth Sensor and I teach physics at DGS. Lisa Olsen and I teach pre-calculus and math 3S. >> Next slide please. >> So this is building thinking classrooms based on the work of Peter Liladall

061from his book. And if we go to the why of why we started this work to begin with. If you look at a traditional old school like math or science class, you have students sitting at desks uh problem solving on paper. And the dream of a math or a science teacher is we want the students to be thinking deeply about the concepts and why do they work the way they are and how do they use those concepts as tools to solve problems. That's the dream, right? But if you actually interrogate the students as to what they're thinking when they're sitting there at a desk with paper in front of them, that's the pie chart that you get. Um, so you do have some of them in that tried it column or the tried it slice

062of the pie, but more than half of the students are really just mindlessly mimicking the steps that they observe the teacher doing without trying to understand um why it works that way. Um, so in comes building thinking classrooms. How can we get as many students as possible into that tried it slice of the pie? >> Excellent. >> So the idea is to get them out of their seats. Uh, we go vertical. Um, [cough] these are two pictures from the science lab and they're spread out. They have rolling carts as well that helps them out. The idea is to go vertical, to be standing, to be talking and one marker per each group and erasable so they can erase if they have make mistakes, fix it with each other. Um, and again the one marker thing

063for me for math is so that um, they're talking with each other, they're processing it together and going from there. Um the next slide, that's my classroom. I redesigned the boards. I got some ribbon and some magnets. So I have 11 uh possible positions to make smaller groups because there's the research that shows. And I noticed in the spring when I had bigger groups, they weren't all talking. This lets them talk more. And then I randomize them too that we'll talk about in another slide. >> So some of our takeaways um you can go ahead and just click through to bring them up. Um it used to be we'd have the day where the students would solve the problems and then a day or two where we would go over their solutions and have them

064discuss those things are now happening simultaneously in real time. So we get through um as much or more content in less time. Um we also find that whereas in previously when we had okay this group's going to present problem one and this group's presenting problem two they were just sitting there waiting for their turn to present and weren't as fully engaged in the other problems. Now every student is fully engaged in every single problem um along the way. Um it also focuses a lot on the conceptual nature. Instead of having students take a finished product from their paper and present the finished product to the class, they're all seeing every single step of the way unfolding around them. They're seeing the mistakes as they're happening, which is hugely important. It is not a polished finished

065product that's being presented to the class. Um, we're also giving them feedback not only on their solution, but oh look, they labeled their steps here or they like used color coding there so that we could tell what they were doing. Um, giving them constant feedback and positive reinforcement for the way that they are communicating their ideas. Um, even when I go to grade a test now, it's so much clearer to follow what they're doing. I can give them more partial credit because they're showing their work better because we're giving them feedback. We're teaching them how to show their work well. Um, reduced fear of failure. As I mentioned, they're seeing the mistakes happening instead of sitting there being like, "Oh my gosh, all of these presentations, they're getting the questions right, but I got them

066all wrong on the first try." Guess what? Everybody gets them wrong on the first try. That's okay. It's normal. The students gave that feedback to me when I asked them at their end of year survey last year um that this was very impactful to them. Um I also want to mention I teach um a physics for beginning English learners class that I'm very excited about. We're providing science opportunities for our beginning English learners and um collaboration is a vital part of the science curriculum. But if you are just beginning to learn English, how do you collaborate? I mean, for fluent English speakers, it's hard to explain your reasoning of why did I solve my physics problem that way? Um, so what the heck do you do if you're just learning English? Um, but I've noticed

067that when I get them standing up at the whiteboards, they are able to have real- time collaboration and building off of each other's ideas because you don't have to be able to speak English to be able to draw a force diagram or a velocity versus time graph um and like work off of each other's ideas that way, which is a really cool um unique application of that. Um, you want to add >> um I use Flippery to put their names in and I can make all different types of groups. uh 11 groups or seven groups, bigger groups, smaller groups. And then it's randomized and I click it like three times, four times so they know that I'm not purposely putting them with certain kids. So they have a variety and they get to work sometimes

068with their friends and sometimes with people they're getting to know. And I just love the variety. So it's never the same groups and it's not preassigned at all. And I think they like that. That's part of the research in the book that he talks about that random groups are good for them. Um, for me, I love this because there's times where, okay, they're not getting this concept. It's something from our prerex skill. All right, let's go up to the boards and try this. Um, and I make stuff up at the last minute as I need to. So, it's not something I have to always pre-plan, which is great. So, we you you are able to create what you need to help them learn. Honestly, I just graded a test in pre-calculus and the problems that

069they have had issues with in the past, I kept reviewing using the whiteboards. They did so much better. It was so nice. It was so easy to grade that test this year. It was a It really made an impact. >> Questions? I I think it's so fantastic to see you guys utilizing those whiteboards because as we know the whiteboard started with a grant that you received and now it has [laughter] >> and now it has just expanded and it's being used more and more and it makes educating easier and more effective. That that's just fantastic. And with your creativity, it's really awesome to see the application of it on a daily basis. >> Yes. Without the boards, there's no way I could do it in my room. We needed that whole wall on that other

070wall. So, thank you. >> It's infectious, too. There's more. Uh, so like the chemistry team is starting to adopt this. We've got cross town some of the other physics classrooms. We're working together collaboratively with the rest of the physics team. So, yeah, it's only going further. >> Yeah, that's great. >> Yeah, this is great. As a as a former uh district 99 student who suffered with sitting in one place and [laughter] working through all those problems, being able to get up and use the whiteboards. Like that's got to be really fantastic for all the kids. So, thank you for um implementing that and and and seeing the measured outcomes of it. I think that's fantastic. >> As as as a former mathlete, um [laughter] I I only imagine what how many more ribbons I could

071have possibly won. [laughter] No, this this is Yeah. Well, first of all, let me say I get excited by your excitement. like that. That's cool to see that you guys like to see you guys that's that's awesome. First of all, my first observation. Um and then yeah, just the teach and you alluded to it. I think it it's more >> than just teaching the topic. It's the collaboration, the critical thinking, the teamwork and everything. Yeah. So, that's that's fabulous. Yeah. Um I wish I wish I could have the opportunity to I would I probably would not do as well as they as I did back then, but but no, this is great. I I appreciate this. This is very exciting. I'm glad you're excited about it. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> I I

072think it's easy to to just do what you've always done and um when you challenge yourselves and try to innovate um with the fundamental purpose of trying to make a better experience for your students, I think you're model examples of what teachers should be in our districts. And I'm really proud of both of you. Thank you. >> I just want to add to that from the student perspective. Last year we did building thinking classrooms. I was in math three um and it was so beneficial. At first it was really difficult kind of getting up there and um kind of trying to figure it out on your own. But I feel like there's something to be said about that failure and I think it's really interesting because when I was going through the study guide at

073the end I was like oh I remember I failed on this now I know how to do it. And I don't know if you guys do the same um we have the cards so like I don't know how you so you pass out the cards and then the randomized groups. Um so it was kind of the same thing. you said that everything was temporary on the board and then at the end we did like a review sheet and everything that was on that review sheet was what we took away from what we did on the boards that temporary idea. So I just want to say that that implementation is great. Did it last year, we're doing it this year. It's it's been great. >> Yeah. >> Thank you very much. Thank [applause] you. All right.

074So, continuing on with our innovative staff members, I'm really excited to um introduce to you uh two of our staff members who combine our efforts of our certified staff and our SSA staff. And this year um these two lovely women um taught actually our did took some time on institute day and worked with our SSA staff on um some things that they're going to talk about. Um but I would like you to I would like to introduce you to Rebecca Menarees and again Kathy McDonald. So please [laughter] do double duty. >> My name is Rebecca Mangaras and I work as the physical therapist for district 99. I have the privilege of working in all three buildings each week. I work closely with our pair professional educators, classroom teachers, case managers, and our students and to

075help our students overcome the physical barriers in order to access their school environment. Additionally, my role is to keep our students and our staff safe. I take this role very seriously. I have specialized knowledge in how the body moves. This knowledge feeds my daily work in the district as I support our students and our staff. Because our pair of professionals do a great job of filling in where needed, they have to be ready for anything. Sometimes that means lending a hand in our multi-needs classrooms. uh when this is not their typical placement. I found myself reviewing things frequently um retraining as we had staff changes and just repeating myself a lot. I also had feedback from our staff members saying that they um they wanted to know more and they wanted to understand more and

076they continued to have questions. So this summer I prepared a pres presentation to provide an introductory training for our pair of professionals. The goal was to equip us with equip us with common vocabulary, introduce the devices and the supports that we use for our students with highly individualized needs. Um also to introduce safe wheelchair transportation setup and introduce emergency procedures for our highly dependent students. I welcome the opportunity to expound on these topics in the future and to provide staff support to promote confidence and maintain safe safety for our staff and our students. This all came about because I was hearing feedback from our staff because I was also given the opportunity to be heard and because our superiors listened. Thank you to Jory Bertnet, special services department chair at North for listening and getting

077the ball rolling. Thank you also to Ken Sorenson, associate principal at North. um for setting everything up, for getting the time figured out, the space and the tech figured out for us. Um and thank you to the team for giving us that time during the institute days. It was really helpful and special to have the whole district together because additionally I'd asked Kathy McDonald uh to share the opportunity with me. So also thank you Kathy for your medical insight. >> So again I'm Kathy McDonald. I'm the school nurse at North. Um, as Rebecca mentioned, this past August, I had the opportunity to teach pair professionals on some health needs, um, emergency care and things of that nature with students. Um, I think this training was especially meaningful because PAR professionals are often the first people

078to notice when something is wrong with a student. At DGN, we serve students with a wide range of medical conditions, including seizure disorders, anaphylactic food allergies, severe asthma, diabetes, and other acute or chronic conditions. In emergencies, a quick and informed response is critical. And in a large school building, I simply can't be there everywhere at the same time. So, I think thanks to this training, our par professionals are better prepared to recognize signs of a medical emergency and respond appropriately. And I valued the chance to connect more closely with them. Uh my hope is this collaboration leads to stronger coordination of care for our students moving forward. I'd also like to thank Dr. Demet and Dr. Sorenson for the opportunity. >> Any questions? >> This all came out of your ideas on the institute day.

079Is that right? >> Yeah. Through the past two years that I've been here in the district, the paras will come up with questions and they just wanted the opportunity to learn more. So um I had seen that as a theme between all three buildings because I am really special that I get to go to all three buildings and I I love that opportunity. Um so I had seen those common themes and then I was able to bring that up the chain and up the chain listened. So >> yeah, >> um it was it was nice to see everything work. >> Like um the pair of professionals questions about lots of medical situations and like kind of like errors and thinking that I was seeing some of them kind of guided the topics that I wanted

080to teach them about. >> Was the training for everyone at the institute today or did you focus it on the pair? Like does >> it was for par professionals focus on paralle in the district. So all three buildings don't usually have an opportunity to be together very often. That's just the nature of of the um you know schedules and stuff like that. So it was really nice to >> have that opportunity for everybody to be together. >> It's great. >> Is that institute in institute day training going to be an ongoing thing every year? >> I hope so. [laughter] >> I'm up for it. Um they found time to be able to put it in the schedule this year. I know it's a big puzzle piece that you guys all put together. Um but yes,

081I will sign myself up. I will do it again next year. [laughter] >> I think it would be beneficial to um survey them too on particular like health conditions that they see that maybe they would like some help with. >> I'm glad you raised the point about um the collaboration between uh boots on the ground and the administrative team within the buildings. Um that cooperation is super important and that's what is going to make the facility and the district as a whole stronger. So, >> yeah. And I I wanted to point that out to you guys that it just it worked. >> That's great. >> Thank you. >> That's really good to hear. >> Thank you. Thank you both. [applause] >> Shout out to Rebecca's family for being here tonight. Thank you. You were so

082good. [laughter] >> All right. And last but not least, I'd like to introduce Caitlyn Schaefer. Um I had the absolute privilege of uh being a part of what she's going to talk about tonight. And um I just cannot explain to you how impressed I was with what the kids did and I just I wanted to show it off. So and I want her to show it off. So Caitlyn uh welcome. Um Caitlyn is our fashion merchandising teacher and she'll explain the project. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. I'm Caitlyn. I teach at North. Um I teach culinary interior design, fashion construction, and fashion merchandising. So this is a business meets fashion. Um and being a fax teacher, I kind of put a different spin on it. More like fashion design. um you know and then also

083the marketing aspect. So um I told Dr. Dement that this came to me in a dream quite literally >> [laughter] >> um I'm being dead serious. Um and I had seen you know she really loved to wear you know different types of shoes. So this was the second year that I did this project. Um and so I asked her you know like what's your shoe size? Kind of a weird question. Um so bought you know just nude colored shoes. Um and this was kind of a bridge between our elements and principles of design unit and then going into like target marketing and so um Dr. Dement came into our classroom the students came up with you know 20 questions or so we kind of went around the room they interviewed her um and they came

084up with all the questions and then they went to work um you know [clears throat] just what what she liked what she didn't like and so I had to bring all of them today. Um, so this first group, oh, and one more thing. Um, the there is a mystery item that they had to incorporate somewhere into the the design. And this year, I thought um I did a Lego piece. And when I told them that, they're all like, what? Like, how are we ever going to accomplish this? And they did. Um, so that's the fun part is to see where is the Lego piece that they put in there. Um, so this shoe was inspired by um her previous shoe that she has that has like print ad all over it. So the students took

085the student newspaper and put it on the bottom. Um, and they were very proud of the DGN's feathery friend as one of the titles on the bottom there. Um, and then um, you know, they talked about symmetry and balance and they when they were presenting to her, they tied in all of those things that we talked about. So that was kind of that cool moment. And I I didn't even tell them they had to be part of it. Um but yeah, that was cool to see. Um the second group, this was Friday Night Lights. So um cheerleader and then they got cheerleaders to sign the bottom. And this is like a football like the cleat, the spikes on the back. And they got football players to sign the bottom. >> This one's my favorite. [laughter]

086>> I like that they got other students involved and it was just very creative. Um, this group, we were all amazed that the student quite literally watched a YouTube video and within two minutes was drawing all of these leopard prints on here and everyone was amazed. Um, their Lego pieces on the back. They bedazzled that. And then, oops. Um, this group, this is their Lego piece on the bottom. So, this could never ever be worn as an actual shoe. that [laughter] was a major tripping hazard. Um, so they wanted to go with the Christian Louis Vuitton shoes that Dr. Demen said she liked. And then, um, leopard print is a neutral. Um, so it goes with lots and lots of different options there. And then these students chose to go with an asymmetrical look. Um,

087she said she liked bright colors and so they incorporated rhinestones and then butterflies signify a change. Um, and so they incorporated that in their presentation as well. So, uh, the students really had a lot of fun with this. They collaborated. Um, you know, just seeing them just be excited to come into class. Um, you know, I teach elective classes, right? So, they're super engaging and, you know, I want them to have a great experience. Um, because I tell them like this is your, you know, like exciting kind of relaxation of the day. We're still learning. Um, but something like this, you know, I mean, it's really hard to recreate and the products just speak for themselves. So, thank you. >> And the students are currently voting in >> Oh, yes. And they were on display

088today. Um, yeah, >> because I cannot possibly pick one. >> Yeah, she Yes, she cannot pick one. So, we uh had everybody else vote in the school. So, I have over 450 responses. So, >> but you're going to wear the winners. >> Well, >> I don't want to break them. So, [laughter] that's my >> because some of the Yeah, like it might come off. Yeah. >> But amazing. And I And I I It's hard. It's so hard. choose just one person to showcase because our teachers are doing really amazing things. But this was just um really really cool and became kind of a school thing. This is the second time, second or third time I think. Second time we've done this. So >> it became kind of a schoolwide project with kids voting and stuff.

089So just >> Oh fun. >> Did I hear you say leopard is in neutral? >> Yes. [laughter] >> I didn't clarification on that. >> Yeah, for the record I was not aware of that but yeah [laughter] black or brown. and blues and pinks and purples and reds and >> interesting. >> Thank you. >> Thank [laughter] you. >> Any other questions? >> I think it's just very encouraging and impressive that our teachers feel empowered to pursue their dreams and their ideas, you know, to improve the students experience, [clears throat] try new things. and all of the teachers that presented tonight, you know, were stepping out on new ground and looking at new innovative ways to educate our our children. I think it's fantastic. >> Yeah. And I'm thankful that we have the resources as well, right?

090>> Right. That's, >> you know, give me your ideas and let's make it happen. So >> So, are you going to do men's shoes next? >> You never know what next year brings. [laughter] >> I was looking for a new pair of shoes. >> Yeah, I noticed your Nikes over there. Thank you very much. [applause] >> All right. Uh, moving on to another topic that we've talked a lot about this school year and our student board members have done a great job of keeping the board up to date on this. Now, it's time for the staff uh to give a little perspective on the implementation of the new cell phone policy. Um, so I don't know who's up first, but uh we have a a whole team here this evening. >> Yep. Y >> All

091right, cool. Um, I'm D'Angelo Gerald. I'm one of the deans over at Downro South. >> I'm Tim Tolton. I'm one of the deans over at Downro North. >> I'm Alexis Stan. I'm a math teacher at South. >> Good evening. I'm Morgan Beyond special services teacher over at North. >> All right. So uh just this first slide just gives you just a quick summary of uh what our updated policy looks like. Uh students are expected. We all have the best that I could describe it as slotted slots [laughter] in the classroom for uh students to leave their electronic devices. Um each staff member has been uh explained to that we would like all students to utilize those uh slots just so that they could store their phones uh during classes. then after class they can go

092retrieve it. Uh we started this process on the first day of school. Um it's really really been impactful. Uh our whole purpose is trying to limit the number of distractions within the classroom setting. Uh so eliminating cell phones from that uh has like slowly been beneficial. Um so we're hoping that it continues. Uh if you go to the next slide, you'll see um just information on where our numbers look right now in comparison to last year. Um last year through the month of October, we had uh only 39 referrals across both schools. Um you see that number and then you see the other number uh where it says 339 referrals. Uh this time uh this year um we don't necessarily see that necessarily as a bad thing. Last year uh we had a policy where

093um teachers really had uh autonomy in regards to how they did their cell phone policy. Some had it just where it's away. Some people had a specific area where you put cell phones. So, it was all very different um especially how the teachers responded to it. Some would just give prompts. Hey, put that away. Uh no write up ever coming. Uh some would write you up on the first time they seen it. It was just um I guess different across each teacher. Now, with um a district-wide policy, it's very uniform in regards to how we're handling it uh at both schools. Uh which hence the increase in the number of referrals. We don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. More so as we are currently going through a transition in regards to how we're

094viewing cell phones within the classroom environment. Um so seeing that significant number, we're also seeing that a number of those are firsttime offenders and then we don't see them again. Um which is also a good thing, meaning the conversations and consequences that we're utilizing are actually working. Um in other instances as well it's also providing a very clear-cut process in regards to how it goes. Um teacher sees phone uh teacher talks to student about the phone. Teacher reaches out to parents to let them know that they saw the phone. Um and then we obviously engage the student as well as the parents in regards to the consequences from the dean side. Um, it just makes it so that everybody is on the same page in regards to not only what our policy is, but how

095we're implementing it. And then the process along the way is all uniform for all students. Therefore, there's no confusion as to, oh, this dean does this or this dean does that. Nope, it's it's the same across the board. Uh, provides a little bit more clarity. Uh, less questions as well. >> If you click to the next slide, it's just like Yeah. Um, so I guess some of the takeaways um that we see is like I said, uh, we're not necessarily seeing the increase in number of referrals as a bad thing, more so as a good thing as far as how our district is managing the policy. It seems like everybody is being consistent with it. And obviously, as that number continues to grow, we see that we have to shift certain things or uh send

096out reminders to families or whatever it may be. It allows us to view that data and then work with it as we go on. Um the other piece is is like I said this is the first full year. We're going through a transition period in regards to cell phones. So unfortunately it it might look a little bad uh initially uh but in hopes uh this will continue throughout the school year and into next year where we have less violations because now it's just the norm. It's nothing new. Um so we're hoping that that continues. Uh the next steps we'd like to see from the dean's office is just reinforcing uh consistency, making sure all teachers are utilizing that uh in every classroom. That's that way there's less discrepancies in regards to how students view the

097policy. Um and we also want to definitely lean into um just ongoing cultural adjustments. If we're seeing that uh cell phone violations are popping a little bit more frequently, have some discussions with families, send out the reminders and things of that nature. Um, and if we're seeing that we're doing a great job, keep doing what we're doing, obviously. Um, so yeah, that's what we would like to see from uh the dean's perspective in regards to teachers. I'll let them touch base on what they see within the class. >> Can you go to the next one, please? >> So, I will give you some background for my class as well. So, I teach two sections of math 1s, which is predominantly freshman sophomores, and then I have college algebra, which is mostly seniors with some juniors.

098So, I've kind of see the implementation of this across the grade levels. Um, another thing is that I have a lot of my former math one kids in my college algebra. So, I kind of have seen them now four years later. Um, a little mad that I changed this on them at first, but it really didn't take long. Now, it's very habitual. They know scan in, put it back in their cubbies. Um, to what D'Angelo said, like in our math rooms, we have them back a lot of times by the scanners. So, it's usually just scan in, put it away. Um, you know, and I found too, a lot of times when students forget, I don't see it, you know, under a table. I don't even see it out. They just forgot it in a

099backpack. So, it's it's not [clears throat] something that they're trying to hide anymore either that they're on it. It's simply forgotten, which speaks a lot to how much they're not on the phones anymore. Um, this has been such a great change. I mean, a big part of my classroom is that the social piece has to be just as important as the academic. Seeing them actually talk to one another um in group work, they are so engaged. Class time, I mean, I'm happily exhausted at the end of the day. They're so so intrigued with questions. They're wanting to ask us things. They're wanting to be with their partners. Um, it's just a very big change overall. I've seen a really big change in our scores as well. Um, our first three unit test, I saw like

100a 5 to 10% increase in their grades. Um, I know there's several factors we could talk about with attendance and phones, but I really do believe the engagement would match that. Um, it's consistent in both classes. My seniors talk more, they're engaged with each other, but even with myself, I've noticed they're willing to ask a lot more questions out loud or with me. So, it's a very big piece. And something that I added on the next steps was I've noticed that this is the first class that is used to this. So my freshman, this is the only rule they've known. And so my older kids, you know, it took a little bit of time, but they didn't fight back. So I'm really excited to see if we keep implementing it how would continue for after

101class of 2029. >> So I have a very unique role at North. I keep a lot of my students for four years. I also am granted the opportunity um to go and attend other teachers classrooms. So I am seeing this through all grade levels in all departments. So I have a very unique lens in that piece. I'm also a PBIS coordinator at North and a member of our Trojan Leadership Council team. One of the things that we've implemented this year through PBIS is adding a whole class nomination to recognize. So it's no longer individuals. Um teachers can recognize whole classes for things such as following the cell phone policy, scanning in um being more engaged in class. And so I want to read a couple quotes from the teachers because I think it's very important.

102Uh common trends were that they're arriving before the bell and scanning in on time. They're placing phones in pockets without prompting and they're staying focused and collaborative throughout the lessons. Some direct quotes are this group shows up ready to learn every day or they've built a routine that makes learning smoother and more connected. Um I believe that building consistency right takes time. It takes buyin from the students. Teaching those routines is very important. Um, I want to thank the board and administration for not only hearing what teachers have said, um, but supporting us through that process. And I think the big increase in referrals that we're seeing is because teachers do feel supported and valued and that we have the sh same shared vision for our students. Um, one of the things I tell my

103students all the time is one of the best abilities that you can have is availability and students are more available to learn. They are more present. They are more willing to engage. Um, I teach a social thinking curriculum as well with my students because they have social communication needs and this has been a huge help with that piece. Um, I do have students that use the Notability app that was up there before. So, we do talk about responsible use of technology which I also appreciate. Um, in the policy it says, you know, according to teacher discretion as well because part of my job is teaching them when they leave um, high school how to use those accommodations in the real world as well. So, uh, collaborating with our occupational therapists and our social workers and

104our speech pathologists, we use certain apps, whether it's on their personal devices. Um, some students do bring in their iPads so that we can help them transition from high school to life beyond. So, learning responsible um, use of personal devices and we've had no issues with that. Um, as always, right, kids are going to push the envelope, but staying consistent and reviewing those expectations has been really wonderful and valuable um, to see. And this has been something that we've talked about at Trojan Leadership Council for the past few years and to see it come through um I have nothing but great fabulous things to say. I brag to all of my teacher friends about how wonderful uh the change has been. So thank you very much and we truly appreciate it. I think it's also

105important to to note that the messaging that started even over the summer at both schools uh throughout the district and at both schools um to parents to students and you know like I said before school started once school started they were you know I had students going yeah I know cell phones right they had already heard it many many times um some didn't fully believe that and [laughter] it's evidence there by 339 um but Again, it's also speaks to uh this is a transition phase that they for a very long time have gotten used to certain ways and now it's time to change for the better and sometimes that takes has some growing pains, right? So, we do appreciate the support that uh the district had put forward on this initiative from the very beginning

106too. It made our jobs much easier to roll out actually once school started. So, >> do we have any questions? >> Yeah. Um I'm glad it's working out well for everyone because I know it was something that teachers were asking for for a while. Um, on the dean side of things, because of that increase in referrals, are you seeing um more challenges with issuing uh consequences uh for those referrals in a timely manner? Is there um does it become like too much of a a task on? Is there a little burnout from that at all? >> Um the short version of it is no. Um, like I feel I feel like a combination of everything maybe. Um, like if you start to take into effect all of our referrals, attendance, things like that, maybe then.

107Um, but strictly with cell phones, I feel like those are those are honestly pretty easy. Um, because it's okay, teacher saw you with your cell phone out. Um, where's your cell phone supposed to be? Ah, it's supposed to be away or it's supposed to be in the pocket. All right. So, were you seen with it out? Yeah, super quick. um is is like as deep as the conversations can go as far as like hey you know this can impact your learning and things like that students are truly ear like owning up to it like I know it's supposed to be a way I'm sorry I it was just a quick text message I know it's wrong I got you it won't happen again and so far what we're seeing is that it won't happen again

108um with some students obviously we know they'll be uh repeat offenders but for the most part processing them is going pretty quickly just because like it's it's a pretty clear-cut rule. You can't have your [clears throat] cell phone out in the class. Um, so if it's seen, there's no really denying it. So, [laughter] so it makes it very clear. So, it's no backup on it. >> Okay. >> I I would agree with that. Um, additionally, too, um, we're getting a ton of parent support when it's time to call home and go, "Hey, this happened." And most of the parents have heard from the the teacher already. Um, you know, going back to is it manageable? Yes, it is right now. In fact, a lot of times we're able to get to the to the cell

109phone referral that day, maybe the next day at the latest, but the teacher reaches out right away. Um, but parents very very little um, you know, uh, push back, a lot of support. They're they're seeing the need for student focus also. And I would say too in a lot of my conversations, I think a lot of the students are seeing the exact same things. They may not come up here and say that in front of this, but maybe some will. Um, and you know, they're they're seeing, you know, they're seeing all the rest of their friends not being able to be on the phones, too. And so that helps the the um, you know, the lack of FOMO that's out there that, oh, I got to get back right away because no, you can't get

110back right away. you know, 5 minute passing periods, lunchtime after school, that's when you can expect to hear back from your friends or [clears throat] to to reply back. And so, it's a still a slow process, but I I I believe it is definitely uh you know, working in the right. Again, not perfect. There's still some growing pains, but it is uh by and far a good thing so far. >> Thank you, parents. Like, for real, big time. [laughter] >> Thank you, parents. Thank you guys for coming and presenting. I mean, this is just fantastic feedback and nobody is better equipped to give us the feedback but you. And I'm I really think that high number is due to students being students. They're going to test the boundaries and push it. See if they can

111push the envelope. Once they find out the envelope is a brick wall, they they they will stop and get in line. Um, number one. Number two, parent support. That is so good to hear because it's all about, you know, the parents and the students. And if the parents are supporting it, you know, it really makes makes it successful. [clears throat] And so I'm really happy to see that our parents are communicating their support to it. And lastly, it really helps the teach our teachers um develop the critical communication and interpersonal skills which we need to have these young people develop. And with the pandemic, you know, we we we have a lot of people who are behind the curve and this is one step to help erase that and, you know, really get the interpersonal

112skills where they need to be for them to be successful as they move forward in life. So, thank you guys. Keep up the fantastic work and it's awesome. Um, [clears throat] our number one priority this year was focusing on absenteeism. Um, and along with that, we changed our our our cell phone policy. We implemented infinite campus and the scanning. All all of those things are focused on accountability and holding our students accountable for their their actions and their behaviors in the classroom. And I'm just really excited to hear all of this feedback from from you specifically about how it's having a real impact in the classroom. Um not only for the students in um engagement in the classroom, but also just from a teacher's ability to teach. Um, I'm really excited to see how our

113focus um is going to have an impact on test scores and um, you know, overall success of our of our student experiences. So, I'm I'm really happy and I know I I know I heard it a couple of times tonight from all of you about you thanking the board and the administrative team for listening, but there's as much thanks that needs to go your direction. Um when we surveyed the administrative team, the board and the staff, we were all on the same page about we need to hold our students accountable and we needed to take measures to take back control of the classroom and all of us collaboratively worked together to to determine this was our number one priority. And I think it's it's working. Um, you know, we it's only been a few months,

114but I think we've see a lot of positivity here. And I can already see it in in the morale of our of our teachers and staff as well. And I can hear it in in the feedback we're hearing from our students. I'm really really happy with uh that priority and the way it's being carried out by all of you. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you all for being here. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] Next topic is a school report card. This is the first of a probably a couple of presentations. Tonight, Gina is going to give you the overview of the school report card that was released last week. >> As Dr. The said, we will talk about the school report card at least twice. Uh sometimes it will even go into

115um further [clears throat] discussions as the year goes on. school report card came out last Thursday and every year the state puts out a school report card that gives a lot of information about schools and not just test scores, not just student performance, not just about absenteeism, but across the board in terms of talking about students, teachers, finances, everything you can think of. Tonight is going to be very much a higher level look at it. We'll talk a little bit uh about our summitive designation. Individual schools are given a summitive designation. It's like a rating. The district is not. So, we'll look at that for each of our campuses. We'll also talk about graduation rates and talk a little bit about what those look like at the different intervals. As you know, last year was

116the first year that we moved back to the ACT [clears throat] as the grade 11 assessment. So we'll look a little bit at just some very high level um averages of scores on that. [clears throat] As already mentioned, attendance is a major focus for us this year. Chronic absenteeism. We'll talk about what chronic absenteeism is and what our rates look like relative to that. And then also our daily attendance rates. As we look tonight and in future presentations at the school report card, it's always a year in the rear. So, we're looking at data from last year, not from this year. Because, of course, the state needs time to collect it over the course of the year, calculate the data, and then they publish it every year right around usually the day before, but right

117around Halloween. So, those are the key areas we'll look at. The first one I mentioned is the summit of designation. That's like a rating. So they they basically look at schools and they decide what category or what designation the school gets. Again there's no summitive designation for the district just for individual schools. There's basically u five ratings and the highest is exemplary. The next one is commendable which is the largest group by far the largest group of schools fall in that commendable range. And to be commendable you And the definition obviously is there, but you cannot have any underperforming subgroups. You need to have a graduation rate that's at least 67%. Which ours is clearly above that, but you're not necessarily in that top 10%. Um, and we have been commendable every year with the

118exception of the years where the designation carried over, which technically we were still commendable because it carried over, but also during the pandemic there was there wasn't an assigned designation in 2021. So for the years in which there was an assigned designation, we've been commendable. One of the newer aspects of the report card that I absolutely love is and and I think this is the second or third year, I can't remember. The second year, um they put together the schoolhouse. And I like the schoolhouse because it's just a nice visual of our our scores, how we rate on each area, and how each indicator weights. So when we're talking about high schools and they're we're talking about that summitive designation, half of that is determined by graduation rate. So as you can see on the

119schoolhouse and this is obviously [snorts] North High's schoolhouse 50% graduation rate and North High with their graduation rate which we will look at in a few slides. Um they earned all the points for that. So 50% they earned all 50%. And so you can look at each category to see how that rating was determined and what weights are there. So for example, ELA proficiency, which is determined through the ACT, math proficiency, also determined um through the ACT, 7.5% of the rating on both of those. And then you can see um ninth grade on track, which is something we'll talk about uh in the next presentation. [clears throat] And then science proficiency is factored in climate survey chronic absenteeism which we'll look a little bit at tonight. And then the other one is EL progress to

120proficiency and that's really a growth measure looking at a small subset of the population of a school and how they're growing over the years with the expectation that students will enter uh an EL program and exit via an access test score within five years. So that's what that EL progress to proficiency is [clears throat] looking at. At the top or towards the top of the schoolhouse, I should say, you see the overall index score for North High was 87.41. And that's taking all those factors into consideration. This is just a visual representation for all students. And I think that's really important to point out because you can also, if you go into the website, look at it for different groups of students and for different years. So this is obviously last year as I said

121um that score of 87.41 uh puts North right there approaching exemplary but not quite there to be exemplary 92.95. You might say well that's not 10% and it's not but several schools will rate the same way. There's multiple ties as as you go through. Switching over to South High. Um obviously this is the schoolhouse [clears throat] for South High. Obviously, it's going to be measuring all of the same factors we just looked at very briefly. Um, South High's all students index [snorts] score was [clears throat] 83.51, which again is exemplary. And you can see >> commendable. >> Sorry, >> commendable. >> Oh, commendable. Thank you. As you can see here in this display where South rates and where the commendable starts, which is probably why I was jumping ahead a couple of sentences. I apologize.

122um but 92.95. So, graduation rates each year when we look at graduation rates, we look at the four, five, and sixyear and each one of those does factor in with the largest one factoring at the four-year rate because the goal of course is [clears throat] for students to graduate high school in four years. So the 50% of that rating, the bulk of that, the majority of that is the four-year graduation rate. This displays the four-year graduation rate. And we also look at the five-year average. So last year, you can see we're district 99. And now what we're going to look at from this point on is all going to be district. Okay? District 99 at 91.6% where the state was at 89%. You can see our five-year average at 92.8%. The state's average being a

123little bit lower uh than the average this year. You will note that 21 was coming out or really during um the pandemic. So, graduation rate districtwide went down just a little bit last year. the five-year graduation rate um as you can see here was also down a little bit from the previous year and also down a little bit from the average. But as we continue, one thing I should say up a little bit, one thing I want to point out which is really important and I know Dr. mentioned this several times over the last year or so is the state for the first time this year removed from the data those students who typically go on to our T99 program. The only way a student can be in our T99, a transitional program, they still

124have to be enrolled in the district, right? So if a student graduates, they can't be enrolled in T99. And so you'll notice some of these figures being a little bit different, particularly seeing it at the five and sixyear rating. Um and and you can tell there um where that difference lies. Even though the difference might be very small like 1 2%, it's not a huge you know group of our population, it does make a difference. And so and that really was I believe based on input from the superintendents that the state changed the way they started to look at the graduation rate and that's reflected in the data that I'm showing you really last year's data and will be reflected moving forward. So um I think the five and sixyear is where you really see

125it the most. >> Are you saying by keeping our students within T99 we're having [clears throat] a lower graduation rate? >> We were. We were >> we no longer are because those students are factored out. So they're not even considered when they're calculating the rating anymore >> post post when like starting this year. >> Yeah. Starting this year, >> but but not affected not not we're not seeing it in these numbers. >> You are because you're seeing it in the 2025 number. >> 2025. Okay. >> So it's this year's report card, but it's always a year and right. So that's where it becomes kind of confusing. We'll see it again a year from now with the 2026 report. >> So the numbers you're comparing are the 93.4 in 2024 and the 94.5. That's the improvement

126you're referring to. >> Okay. >> And you'll see [clears throat] it in all three, but you'll see that it it it comes out higher in the 5year and the six year. >> I see. Okay. Thank you. >> So this is the fiveyear obviously. And then the sixyear um we see 93.6 six, which actually was down a little bit even though the numbers um it eliminated those transitional students. Um but pretty close to the five-year average. And our graduation rate pretty much stays strong um particularly with really all three rates, but you'll see this particularly with the five and six year rate as well. But that was a change from previous years that started in 2025 and will continue So ACT rates um also as I mentioned earlier, we're back taking ACT, which we had when

127we had the Prairie State. That was day one. Um and then we moved to the College Board assessments. Now we're back to ACT. Last year, grade 11 students, juniors took the ACT, which is a graduation requirement. Um when we look here you can see that we looked at specifically at ELA and math and it's very difficult to look at comparative data because like this is the first year of this test but we in comparison to the state you can see um did substantially better than the state average. We will at the next presentation look a little bit more as we look at other districts and how our rates look. Um, and this just kind of shows that in a different format. Um, comparing what the state now has two levels, proficient and not proficient. And

128the standards have changed in terms of the degree of proficiency. And so this really is kind of a new start for all schools in the >> Were there more levels before than two? >> There were. and they state what they called right-sized standards because our standards were higher >> than what was considered college and career ready. So even though we're talking about a different test, right, when we're talking about the SAT, what we were expecting students to get to meet standards was higher than what research shows students need to be successful as freshmen in college. And so the state did a lot of work with input from educators and resized or refactored. They looked at it. They took in a lot of inter or um a lot of advice, a lot of comments, did all

129kinds of work to resize it and came away with the new standard which is timely because obviously new test. >> Gina, just can you stay on that slide for a second? just >> members of the public, you know, >> who might look at that and say, well, only twothirds of our students in D99 are proficient in math. So, does that mean that one-third of our students are failing and just behind in math? I mean, that I've heard that from members of the public in the past, and I'd like just a quick explanation as what it means to be proficient and how to interpret that. So, so it doesn't necessarily mean that they're failing in math. They they may be doing well in math classes, but based on this score on this test on one day,

130this is not a growth measure. This is one day, one test. There are other ways that students, even in the report card, which if we were to go in every aspect of the report card, we'd have a presentation at every board meeting um for the rest of the school year. But even in the report card, it looks at other ways to look at math. For example, like uh we have a transition math program, our PQL, prep for quantitative literacy. That's a transition math program where our students who are successful automatically go into uh they go into the community college system and even in some four-year uh right into credit bearing courses. So there's other ways to show proficiency. This is one way. Okay. Also, when you look at the college and career readiness indicators that

131the state looks at, one of the factors that they look at is GPA. So, there's multiple measures for determining whether or not students are performing. [snorts] This is one [clears throat] measure. [cough and clears throat] So daily attendance rates um since we are focusing this year I thought it would be really important to kind [clears throat] of show uh what our attendance rates look like. Daily attendance is different than chronic absenteeism. We very often times and will look at chronic absenteeism which is affect [cough] daily attendance is basically [clears throat] your percentage of students that you have in school on a daily on a regular basis, right? um and and it's a percent of your overall students. So, as you can see, our numbers remain pretty consistent um from year to year with our average

132over the last 5 years being 93.2%. Last year, or in 2025, I should say, was down just a tad from the previous year. Chronic absenteeism we have presented to the board for many years now. Chronic absenteeism is actually defined through federal law. It is also part of the state's ESSA plan which is one of those multiple measures. Remember when I showed the the schoolhouse, right? That was one of the measures was chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism means that a student has missed 10% of the school year. excused or unexcused. [clears throat] There are very few absences that do not count. Very few. And those would be, for example, if a student is hospitalized for whatever reason, but is receiving education at the facility, right? It could be a medical situation, for example. That doesn't count because

133the student's in school. It's just a different type of educational experience. Um but if a student goes on a college visit, if a student is ill, goes to the orthodontist, those kinds of things all count even though they may be excused absences. So if a student misses 10% of the days and and and a day can be a quarter day here, a half a day here, a period here, five periods there. So it it's that sumitive, right? That accumulated amount. It also can be students and this [clears throat] is often something that is hard to explain but we have students who sometimes will join us let's say mid year right so they enter November 1st let's say and in the previous district maybe they missed a lot of school and maybe for us they only

134miss a couple of days but it looks at that student over the course of the entire year and that student can count for both schools >> so the school that they came from right before November first in this example and then our school that they transferred to. And so sometimes when you think about it in that way and we pull all kinds of data throughout the year and we have um you know you look at students and you're like how is this student chronically absent? Only missed a couple of days because at the end state reporting falls out of my office. We pull reports to look at every student that was chronically absent. One to ensure the date is accurate but two to try and understand the larger. They don't discount if you moved here.

135They count you. They don't count. That's crazy. >> No. And actually, there's a lot of parts of the report, not a lot, there are several, I should say, >> parts of the report card that are like that. >> For example, >> I briefly mentioned when we were looking at the schoolhouse that EL progress to proficiency. You might say, well, five years. Well, we're going to do great. We're only four. We only have four years of students, right? But it counts if that student spent four years in the elementary school district or school schools. It could be multiple schools even. it still counts for us, too. So, it's five years for the student, not necessarily five years. >> Oh, I see. >> For district 99. So, there's several parts of the report card that are like

136that. >> What about those five mental health days? Are they still in there, too? >> They count and they still count. >> And I I can say from my communication um in several of the um groups that I'm in, we have communicated that concern to the state. I believe, and Dr. The can speak more to that obviously than I can, but I believe superintendents have also communicated that concern >> very much. So, >> one of the things that the state did change I want to say two years ago was that we have to record mental health days separately. So, there's a special code we have to record separately. So, the state can get a picture, right? They can pull data on how many students are taking mental health days and what's the average number and

137those kinds of metrics. Of course, my hope is that someday because they have that data, they'll be able to filter out or will at least allow that. But again, and that's really why I started this by saying it is a federal definition, >> those mental health days were granted or are granted through the state. So, um the state is required to follow the federal definition for chronic absenteeism. [snorts] >> Is that 10% of the chronic absenteeism uh 10% of the whole year or is it up until that point in the the year? It's the whole year because we only look at data at the end of the year. >> Okay. >> Right. So, this is all of the 2425 school year. >> Okay. Gotcha. >> Now, there are certain times that like summer school, things

138of that nature that won't necessarily count. It's those school year days that count. So, yes, mental health days count there. The only one I can think of off the top of my head that does not count is when educational services are being provided but in an alternate type setting. So like the example if a student is hospitalized um wouldn't wouldn't count against but there's very few codes with the state that do not count towards chronic absenteeism. Now, if a student, let's say if a student um is is outplaced for some reason, it is one of our students, but attends a different school, they're receiving educational services, but if they're absent from that school, it's it's going to count obviously. Um so, looking uh very quickly at our chronic absenteeism, um you can see that for

139last year as a district, we were at 23.7%. um which again is a little bit higher than last year, but if you look a couple years ago, uh we seem to be to be falling back um to where we were roughly in 2022. And this is a a problem for for many schools and we'll look a little bit more um and can look at more comparative data. Um but this is a focus um for district 99 but also a focus in many districts across certainly across DW page county and I would say across the state if not nation. Any other questions? Again I'll be coming back next uh next time I think that's on the 17th. We'll talk about for example um nth grade on track which is something we always present about. That's freshmen

140who have met certain criteria. We'll also look at some of the other [clears throat] indicators and some comparative data relative um to our sport. >> All right. Thank you. Thank you, Gina. >> Thanks, Gina. >> Thank you. >> All right. Uh next one is Ken's. >> Okay. We have the ISAB meeting coming up and [clears throat] we'll be voting on one resolution. Hopefully you all have had a chance to look at it and as well as uh some con 10 constitutional amendments. Uh the one thing I wanted to highlight was the one resolution which is pretty much a no-brainer. It's uh school bus safety funding uh based on the 2025 enactment of Senate Bill 191. It requires all school buses to include lap and shoulder belts, but there was no state appropriation added to make

141sure that this happens in all districts. So the resolution is providing a variety of funding options including a grant so that we can make sure that all the districts have an opportunity to comply with this. So as D99 I think we uh overwhelmingly would want to adopt that resolution and would vote accordingly. the 10 constitutional amendments, eight of them are rew rewrites of membership and resolution articles. I don't know if you had a chance to look at them. Um the only two of real interest is one which is increasing the elected officers the president vice president term from one year to two years which I think is excellent because it may take a year to really get your feet under you and get you know into the flow and then be yanked right out. So

142that's uh pretty much a no-brainer. and the other is giving authority to the ISB board of directors to make decisions in case of an emergency. So if the governing governor or the president calls a state of emergency like the pandemic, they have the opportunity to vote and make changes and adjust accordingly, which is a good thing in today's world. Um, and it's being proactive and it's taking something positive out of the pandemic and moving forward so we're better prepared in the future to ensure that all of the students and state of Illinois can continue as seamlessly as [cough] possible. So, [clears throat] what we want to do is make sure that we're all in agreement on that. And at the at the meeting, I will vote do adopt for all of these. And if we

143could take a poll vote, all that in favor say I. >> I. >> All that oppose say nay. >> We're done. >> All right. Do you have your marching orders? >> Yes, sir. >> All right. Moving on to item number five, the reception of visitors. This is an opportunity for audience members to address the board on any topic pertaining to community high school district 99. Comments will be limited to three minutes to provide all visitors an equal opportunity to address the board. Individuals needing more time should submit their thoughts in writing to the board secretary. Visitors addressing the board need to submit a comment slip to the board secretary and will be invited to the microphone. Prior to addressing the board, audience members should state their full name. The proceedings may be tape record for

144the purposes of producing accurate meeting minutes. The board's presiding officer reserves the right to modify these protocols if circumstances warrant. Audience observation of these protocols is greatly appreciated. >> Julie, do we have any slips? Yep. >> One slip for Bobby Zato. >> Okay. >> Uh yes. Uh thanks for the time. Last time we were here, um, I had an opportunity to speak and we heard today so much good that's happening with the staff, but I'm here to point out the evil. As we know from last year's rape arrest, evil does happen. So, when you see something, say something. And that's what I'm doing here. Uh, one of the topics I'm glad we had the cell phone audit. Oh, my name is Bobby Zato. I apologize. Didn't state that clearly. Thank you. Um we had the

145cell phone uh report from the staff. Uh last meeting it was noted that uh from some student advocates that some teachers are not requiring students to put away the cell phones and I did write to superintendent and I commented on that. I was really hoping someone was going to ask what is a repercussion of a staff member that does not enact that policy. um because as we heard that is happening. So also um I talk about inappropriate books that are given to students. Um last meeting and before I shared images from those books the board shared with me that the images from the books are so vulgar, pornographic and offensive that they don't feel safe. Adult school board members do not feel safe looking at the images in these books. How can staff and principles

146allow the students to get the books when adults don't feel safe? If adults don't feel safe, I mean, I'm uncomfortable. I don't like to show those images. I didn't like to read what I read. I don't want those given to students. So, they should not be given to students. And per Secretary of Education of Illinois, the principal does have the power to say, "Hey, this is pornographic and we are going to remove this. Students aren't going to be allowed to have it." Uh, superintendent, thank you for sharing the library link with me, but that book that I read was pulled from another library, meaning it's not archived in Downer's Grove South library. So, that's what uh library staff can do. They can go and they can pull all different kind of books. And my question

147remains, what other books are they giving kids? Other types of pornographic bestiality. I mean, where do we draw the limit? Uh that's very important. And finally, another very uncomfortable topic for me to talk about is girls dress code. This morning, every day I drop off my child and I see how girls are dressed. Today there were four young women wearing opaque tights. You could see their buttocks and vaginal area. Um, a leader said it very good. Kids push the envelope. It's the responsibility of staff and leadership to make sure to say, "Hey, girls need to wear pants." A requirement. Oh, you cannot have underwear lines, so the girls would just stop wearing underwear. Can I have extra minutes? Okay. Thank you very much for all your time and attention. >> Thank you. Uh, as a

148reminder to the board, I communicate back on the district's behalf to any communications that we receive from the community. At no point did I communicate on the district's behalf or on your behalf that any of you were uncomfortable, nor was it with any presentation done at the last board meeting, nor was it shared with me from any of you that you were uncomfortable with any presentation made at the last board meeting. Um the board protocols and policies are always followed for materials that are placed in our libraries. The process for challenging those materials have been shared with Miss Zato. So uh all of our board policies, all state laws are followed within our school district as expected by the board. So thank you. >> Thanks Hank. Um, all right. Can I get a motion to

149adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Moves 10 [clears throat] seconds. All in favor? I >> I journed. >> Thank you everybody. Thank you for your service, board members.