October 14, Board of Education - Business Meeting

001Good evening everyone. On behalf of the Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education, we would like to thank you for being in attendance both virtually and in person for tonight's board meeting. At this time, we would like to reconvene the meeting of the Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education for Tuesday, October 14th, 2025. Madame Secretary, please take the role. >> Marker here. St. Mark >> present. >> Mckendi, hi, I'm here. Um, Millia >> present. >> Betler >> present. >> Briquette >> present. >> You have six members. >> Okay. Uh, item four on the agenda is the pledge of allegiance with Big Timber Elementary School. Dr. Smith. >> At this time, I'd like to invite Principal Brittany Forch from Big Timber Elementary School and her students to lead us in the pledge of

002allegiance. Parents that are here for Big Timber, you are welcome to come forward and um we'll do a little bit of moving around once we get this part done. All right. Good evening, Dr. Smith, members of the board, and community members. I'm Britney Porsche. I'm the principal at Big Timber Elementary School. And I am proud uh to be joined tonight by my team, my assistant principal, Nancy Israel, who's over off to the side. Our student service specialist, Kristen Skolar, and our student adviser, Nicole Mgens. Thank you for joining us. Um it is with great pleasure that I get to introduce these amazing students um that stand before us tonight. These uh the students that were invited to do the pledge of allegiance tonight are members of our student leadership team at Big Timber. The student

003leadership team includes students who are in fourth and fifth grade who will meet regularly to help brainstorm and develop ideas that will benefit the entire school. The students chosen will develop their skills in listening to different perspectives, collaborating with others, creative thinking, problem solving, and working towards a common goal. Students learn that their voice matters and that they can make a difference. We are very excited to be working with these talented students and hearing their ideas throughout the school year. I would like to introduce them at this time. Michaela Dunan, Ava Householder, Biz Hersbine, Gianna Hetszel, Emma Korn, Jackson Weekes, Colton Keeling, and Hamza for Hot Begoich. At this time, I ask all a audience members At this time, I ask all audience members uh to stand and I ask all students to turn and

004face the flag to lead us in the pledge of allegiance tonight. All right. 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. >> Thank you, Badgers. [Applause] Thank you for parents. for sharing your students with us for the pledge. And if you don't want to stay for our meeting, you can feel free to to leave. Otherwise, uh you're welcome to stay around as well. All right. Um item five on the agenda is approval of the agenda. Uh there has been there have been no changes to the agenda. Can I get a motion to um approve the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. Madam Secretary, please call the role. >> Lindmark, >> I. >>

005Millia, >> I. >> Settler, >> I. >> Mckende, I >> Lamacher, >> I. >> Borette, >> I. >> You have six members approving the agenda. on. Up next is um recognition. Dr. Smith. >> Yes. As we continue with tonight's student recognition, I'd like to welcome Kelly Manafy, assistant superintendent of schools to the podium. she will introduce the academic honors and we will have um Dundy Crown parents come in as we will acknowledge Dundy Dr. Asia Gurnie will acknowledge Dundy Crown first then we will allow for any parents that we need to allow to come in after Dundy Crown for um Hampshire High School and then Jacobs. >> Good evening members of the board, Superintendent Smith and community members. We are so excited tonight to recognize academic scholars from Dundy Crown High School, Jacobs High School,

006and Hampshire High School. Some of these students are here for a single recognition, while others are here from for multiple recognitions. Before proceeding with the recognitions, I'd like to provide an overview of the awards. Last year, the state of Illinois changed its require state assessment from the SAT to the ACT. As part of this shift, ACT offers the preACT Rising Stars program, which recognizes ninth grade students who earn high scores on the preACT 89 assessment compared to the students nationwide. The goal of this program is to celebrate student achievement and support future college and career planning. Many of our students from each school are being recognized with this award. We also have sever several AP scholars at our schools. These awards are given in three different levels. AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor, and AP

007Scholar with Distinction. The AP Scholar Award is granted to students who receive scores of three or higher on three or more AP exams. The AP Scholar with Honor Award is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25. on all AP exams taken and scores of three or higher on four or more of these exams. And finally, the AP Scholar with Distinction Award is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of three or higher on five or more of these exams. These are all outstanding accomplishments for any of these any of these categories. Over the past several years, our AP Capstone program has continued to grow. The AP Capstone diploma is awarded to students who earned three or higher on

008AP Seminar and AP research as well as on four additional AP exams of their choice. Finally, College Board has a national recognition program called Big Future that honors under reppresented students for their achievements. The first generation and rural and smalltown recognition awards are a part of the college board national recognition program that honors academically talented high school students. First generation recognition award recognizes students who are in the fir who are the first in their families to attend college and rural and small town recognition awards honor students from high schools in rural or small communities. Students receiving these awards have scored in the top 10% of the PSATNMSQT test takers in their high school or states future generation rural and smalltown populations or have earned a score of three or higher on two or more distinct

009AP exams while maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 or higher. Many of the students being recognized tonight are highly involved in activities beyond academics. Due to extracurricular commitments and other obligations, not all students were able to attend this evening, but please know that we are so proud of all of our students and their accomplishments. At this time, I'd like to welcome Principal Dr. Asia Gurnie to the podium to honor the students from Dundy Crown High School. [Applause] I'm waiting for them all to get in. Good evening, Dr. Smith, members of the board of education, and distinguished guests. It is an honor to be here tonight to recognize and celebrate a group of outst outstanding oh Dundy Crown Chargers students. These students have demonstrated exceptional dedication and academic achievement earning prestigious awards that reflect

010their hard work and commitment. We are incredibly proud of them and grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge their accomplishments with you this evening. Students, when I read your name, please step step forward so that you can be recognized. Ryland Schmidt, AP Scholar with distin with distinction. Nitseri Sri Vorpet, AP Scholar with honors. Evangelene Culis, PEACCT rising star. Brandon Bukowski, PEACT Rising Star. Melissa Gonzalez, AP Scholar. Evelyn Flores, PreACT Rising Star. Dominic Spirina Logan, PreACT Rising Star. Sebastian Leavona, AP Scholar. Ariana Gomez, PREACT Rising Star. Nara Readusindo, AP Scholar, First Generation Recognition Award. Alicia Cruz, AP Scholar. Connor McCrae, AP Scholar with Honor. Jaylen Ola, AP Scholar, First Generation Recognition Award. Batima Ramirez, First Generation Recognition Award. Emma Stoultz, AP Scholar. Did I get everyone? Congratulations, students. Congratulations. Thank you, Dundy Crown. Now, we will allow

011you a moment to exit and uh Mr. Moira will help me here with our Hampshire High School parents. At this time, I'd like to welcome Dr. Patrick Hardy, principal of Dun, sorry, Hampshire High School to the podium to honor the Hampshire High School students. [Applause] Good evening, Board of Education. Uh, Superintendent Dr. Smith, board president. We're honored to be here. Uh I'm going to make some comments uh real briefly while uh these many many many many students Yeah, you can clap for that. And then if I can take a moment of executive privilege, if there's such a thing, I'm going to ask that the parents that are in the doorway, if you could come over here, their space, just come right across here. Just come right across >> and and right behind these chairs too

012in the front. >> Yes. Just just come on. Come on. Keep coming. Keep coming. Keep coming. And then please make some space. And I think we got them all. Now, I'm not surprised that Hampshire parents, friends, and community members came out. I'm so glad you're here. You can't snap a picture early. I'm just playing. [Laughter] from Hampshire High School. Students who achieve whose achievements reflect not only intelligence but also their dedication, their unwavering pursuit of excellence and their resilience. Our honores tonight include students who have demonstrated early academic promise. They've excelled across multiple college level courses and they have shown the highest levels of critical thinking, research, and communication. We celebrate and honor these Hampshire High School students for their outstanding achievement and for paving the way for future generations of scholars. To every student

013here, hear me clearly. I am proud of you. We are proud of you. You embody the best of Hampshire High School. You've shown that excellent isn't just a quick moment. It is a mindset. Thank you for your hard work and your leadership and for inspiring us all to aim higher. Congratulations to you and to your families. We are all proud of you. I'm going to ask if the audience would let me call all of these names and all of these awards before you applaud so that I can get through them. I know the board of education has a packed packed agenda tonight. Please let me get through it. Nolan Adam check would you please raise your hand? He is receiving the AP Scholar Award. Felicity Adriano, raise your hand. Thank you. Y'all get the trend.

014AP Scholar with honors, AP Seminar, Research Certificate, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Congratulations. Gianna Ariano, AP Scholar. Tristan Benkowski, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Isabella Bessonoff, AP Capstone Diploma, AP Scholar with Distinction, and Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Jonathan Batten, PEACT Rising Star, Top 5% nationally. M He ain't the only one. I'm so tired, y'all. I'm just holding on. Michael Branigan, first generation recognition award. Rural and small town recognition award. Sophia Cardinz, AP Scholar with Honors, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Mia Quites, AP Scholar with Distinction. Grace Donnelly, AP Capstone Diploma, AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Colin Falls, AP Scholar with Distinction Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Writer Fergus, AP Scholar, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Nigel Gay, AP Scholar. Zona Gay, AP Scholar with

015Distinction, AP Seminar Research Certificate, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Kaden Hannah, Pac Rising Star, top five national top 5% nationally. Quinn Hansen, AP Scholar with Honors, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Adam Ibara. Did I see Adam? Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Adam Ibara. First generation Recognition Award. Rural and small town recognition award. Ethan Ibara. First generation recognition award. Rural and small town recognition award. Eme scholar with honors. AP Seminar research certificate. Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Maxwell Maxillian Jacobs. AP Scholar. Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Olivia Jessica, AP Scholar with Honors. Andrew Kalinowski. AP Caps AP Capstone Diploma. AP Scholar Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Annalie Lane, AP Capstone Diploma, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. And now I must turn the page. There are lots

016more. Logan Ley, PACT, Rising Star, top 5% nationally. Olivia Lucas, AP Seminar and research certificate. Francis Nadi, AP Scholar. Shadindu Wuku, AP Scholar. Jerome Palanka, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award, National Merit Scholar, Letter of Accommodation. Jar Palanka, PERACT rising star, top 5% nationally. Lucas Pring rising star, top 5% nationally. I told y'all he wasn't the only one. Julia Ramirez. Did I see Julia? Oh, hey Julia Ram. And she she said it like I was supposed to know too. Right here man. First generation recognition award. Congratulations. Rebecca Rosenol. Rosenol. Sorry. AP Scholar with distinction. Jonah Rurk. AP Capstone Diploma. AP Scholar with Distinction Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Benjamin Shirani. AP Scholar with Distinction, First Generation Recognition Award. Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Dawson Smith, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Avery Tamaris,

017Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Ava Terry, AP Capstone Diploma, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Khloe Tsorro, AP Scholar with honors, AP Seminar and Research Certificate, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Joshua Velpa, AP Scholar, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Jayla Watkins, AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Seminar and Research Certificate, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Paulina W, AP Scholar. Haley, excuse me. Ella Ye, AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Seminar and Research Certificate, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Ella Zalinski, AP Scholar with Honors, Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Titi Rufi, AP Scholar with Distinction Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award, AP Seminar and Research Certificate. Micah Rurreck, AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Capstone Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award. Would you please help me congratulate these distinguished students from the Hampshire High School [Applause] I didn't

018Congratulations. Thank you. We'll allow you time to go ahead and head out, Hampshire High families, and welcome in our Jacob's families. >> Hi. >> Have a good night. Jacob's left. >> Oh, Jacob's last took Jacob first. >> Byebye. >> You're welcome. Have a good night. Yes. Just These are also Okay. And at this time, I'd like to welcome Principal Dr. Chris Testony to the podium to honor the students from Jacob's High School. [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] All right, Eagles, we got a crowd. and you're on TV, so smile big. >> Good evening, Dr. Smith, members of the board of education, and community guest. Thank you for the opportunity to recognize the outstanding achievements of the remarkable students with us here tonight. These Golden Eagles represent some of the best and brightest at Jacobs. Their accomplishments are

019impressive, but even more inspiring is the dedication and determination behind their success. These students exemplify what's possible, are truly worthy of admiration. I am incredibly proud of all they have achieved and confident they will continue to inspire others to reach their own goals as well. Students, as I read your name, please wave your hand and step forward. Medi Abdage, AP Scholar. Anya Ahmed, AP Scholar. Ella Bloom, PreACT Rising Star. Nathaniel Borcowski, AP Scholar. Vincent Krosa, AP Scholar with Honor. Eric Crystalall, AP Capstone Diploma, AP Scholar and Distinction. McKenzie Cunningham, PREACT Rising Star. Natalie Doulson, AP Scholar with distinction. Emerson Freewalt, AP Scholar and AP Seminar and Research Certificate. Everett Gerzanics, PREACT Rising Star. Natalie Goss, PEACT Rising Star. Andrew Gudith, AP Scholar with Distinction. Logan Henning, PERACT Rising Star. Charles Hoover, PREACT Rising Star. Arena

020Hussein, PREACT Rising Star. Ishan Emati, AP Scholar, AP Seminar and Research Certificate. Ethan Kendall, AP Scholar with Honor, AP Seminar and Research Certificate, and First Generation Recognition. Ashley Kirthy, AP Scholar with distinction. Malleica Khan, PERACT Rising Star. Alyssa Kovac, first generation recognition. Holly Lec, AP Scholar with distinction. Sophia Ling Lingren, AP Capstone Diploma and AP Scholar with distinction. Tyler Litz, AP Scholar with Honor. Kadijah Mahad, AP Capstone Diploma and AP Scholar with Honor. Avery Maloney, AP Capstone Diploma and AP Scholar with Distinction. Caitlyn Manoj, PEACT Rising Star. Gianna Morannan, AP Capstone Diploma, an AP Scholar with distinction. Brendan Mau, AP Scholar with distinction. Zohab Mustafa, PEACT rising star. Christine Orun say, PRAACT rising star. Ara Oza, AP Scholar with distinction. Jasmine Pah, AP Scholar with Honor, AP Seminar and Research Certificate. Jason Peak, AP Scholar.

021Kevin Q, AP Scholar with distinction. Taylor Randolph, AP Scholar. Noah Ranki, PEACT Rising Star. Lucas Wretzler, AP Scholar with Honor. Pierro Rivera, PEACT Rising Star. Ruben Rivera, AP Scholar and First Generation Recognition. Catalina Rodriguez, AP Scholar with honor. Tim Rouano, AP Scholar with honor. Sophia Shannon, AP Scholar. Summer Smeiggy, AP Scholar with honor. Mattaline Trung, AP Scholar with distinction. Allison Urezar, AP Scholar with Honor, AP Seminar and Research Certificate and First Generation Recognition. Richard Vanhovven, AP Scholar. Christian Varela, AP Scholar with distinction. Casey Wina, AP Scholar with honor. Eta Yilmas, BACT Rising Star. Austin Stevenson, AP Scholar with Distinction. Gabriella Mitchell, AP Scholar. Bri Abel, AP Capstone Diploma and AP Scholar with distinction. Mark Spernal, AP Scholar with Honor, first generation recognition. And SA Hashmi, AP Scholar with Honor. Congratulations. [Applause] I'm in there. Perfect.

022Perfect. Nice job. This did a great job. I wonder that I need a Can't get used to this here. >> I don't know him. He just told me he likes my like the name of my name. >> For tonight's staff recognition, we will be celebrating four staff groups. On September 26th, D300 celebrated Human Resources Professional Appreciation Day. From hiring and onboarding new staff to supporting employee growth. Well, as you can see in HR, we do it all. Mr. Moore is at the door right now, helping us with all the parents and students for recognition and promoting a positive workplace culture. The work of our human resources team touches every corner of our organization, literally. On behalf of District 300, please join me in thanking our human resources team for their hard work and service. On

023September 30th, District 300 recognized International Translation Day, an opportunity to recognize and thank our dedicated translators, interpreters, and family school liaison. These professionals play a crucial role in breaking down language barriers, ensuring every family is informed, heard, and valued. On behalf of District 300, we extend our sincere gratitude to these important team members. [Applause] On October 2nd, District 300 celebrated National Maintenance and Custodial Staff Recognation Recognition Day. These staff members work tirelessly to keep our facilities safe, clean, and welcoming, creating comfortable, and inviting atmospheres for our student, staff, and community. On behalf of District 300, I extend a warm thank you to all of our maintenance and custodial staff. And on October 6th, we celebrated National Instructional Coaches Appreciation Day. Our instructional coaches play a key role in supporting our educators by providing guidance, encouragement,

024and strategies to help improve teaching and learning throughout our district. On behalf of District 300, please join me in thanking our instructional coaches for their continuous dedication to our students and staff. [Applause] All right. Um, can I get a motion to um amend the agenda? There's been a change to the agenda. Item 10.17, out of district student travel, has been removed. >> Can I get a motion? Okay. >> Second. >> Madam Secretary, please take the role. >> Tom Zetler. Hi >> Alia. >> I >> Bro, >> I >> Landmark >> I >> six members oppose. >> Thank you. Uh up next is item seven, public participation. Please note that the open meetings act provides an any person the opportunity to address the board under the adopted public participation policy. That being said, the board would

025like to advise the public that we will not consider statements read during public participation that are not authored by the reader to be credible unless the board has previously received the statement in writing from the author. Additionally, the author should indicate that he or she has granted the part the public participant the authority to read the statement on his or her behalf. We have had 10 people sign up for public participation. Was there anyone else who was in the overflow room that also would like to uh participate in public participation that didn't get a chance to sign up? Okay. So, um we have currently have 10 people signed up for public participation. I will call each of you individually up to the podium. Please state your name and relationship to the district and limit your

026comments to three minutes. Please note the following. Each speaker has been provided the guidelines for public participation. Minors need to be accompanied by their parents or guardians. The board will consider your comments, but will not dialogue or engage with speakers in this forum. Questions raised may be assigned to the superintendent for an answer. As appropriate, a member of the administration may reach out to the speaker to give them relevant information or to ask for additional information. This is done to make sure that the board has all the information needed to properly address the speaker's concerns. Charges, complaints, or challenges against staff members of the district will not be heard in open meetings and should be made in writing to the board and superintendent. We also ask that speakers refrain from personally attacking district staff or

027members of the board. Pursuant to board policy, this evening's public participants m public participants must limit their comments to three minutes. We ask each participant to be respectful to allow all individuals who have signed up to speak and adhere to the allotted time. We also ask that speakers conduct themselves in a civil and courteous manner and refrain from trying to engage members of the board in dialogue during public participation. Failure to abide by board time rules or those found to be out of order by the board may lead to exclusion from the meeting to be fair to all participants. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Our first speaker tonight is Ryan Keller. Hi, my name is Ryan Keller. I'm speaking on behalf of my family in Winchester Glenn um in Carpentersville. Uh my daughter

028is currently a freshman at Hampshire and I'm happy to say that uh she is thriving there. Um, she made the varsity flag football team where she's made strong connections with her teammates. She's looking forward to softball triyouts and she currently has straight A's. Uh, her closest friends attend Hampshire and are not impacted by the boundary proposal um that has come up recently. We feel that to disrupt her at this point and make her start over would be just devastating. Uh, I understand that there will be occupancy issues in the future. Uh but students who have started at Hampshire should be given that option to finish. Uh my younger daughter will be going into eth grade next year and this impacts her as well. Uh if you allow current students to stay and not graduate the

029grandfather their siblings, uh they will have to go to two rival high schools. So my daughters have been looking forward to the possibility of playing high school softball and flag football together and not against each other. most of uh most of her best friends uh will be going to Hampshire as well because that's who she gravitated towards um you know during her time at DMS. So I understand that Hampshire will run out of room in a few years. Um there are families in Winchester Glenn that would be happy with the change and gladly move their kids to Jacobs just out of the convenience. Um and that I feel might offset the ones that would want to stay. All we are asking for is an option for those kids currently attending Hampshire to be able to

030graduate from um from there if they choose and if they have siblings that would be attending within the next couple of years the ability to grandfather them in. So thank you very much for taking the time to listen to all the parents and students that came to speak today. Thank you. >> Thank you. [Applause] >> The next speaker is Andy Anderson. Good evening. I am here also to represent the Winchester Glenn neighborhood families in Carpentersville. Uh when we first moved to this area, it was with the idea to put down roots and create a community and build stability for my family and my kids. That's something I never had as a child. Uh we have successfully done that. We're actually friends with Ryan and family. Um Winchester Glenn is a great neighborhood and many of

031us and our kids are all friends. Um, when my babies were actual babies, um, that was when we first learned that we would not be attending Jacob's High School. And at first, we were very upset seeing just how close we live to Jacob's High School and just how far Hampshire High School was. However, over the years, we have made our peace with it. And my kids, like most here, were affected by CO. My son had to leave his elementary school at the end of fifth grade and then was plunked back into DMS halfway through seventh. Quite the upheaval. Middle school was awful and to put it put it bluntly, it was a nightmare for him. But at Hampshire High School, he has thrived. Uh he has had a completely different experience at Hampshire. My son

032is what many would describe classically as a nerd. Um he is loves academics, he loves learning, he loves video games. Um, and at Hampshire High School, he has made many friends. He's joined clubs. He's found his community. He's now an honor student, and he has enrolled in the dual credit program at ECC for early college credit. And as we witnessed this evening, Hampshire High School is a great place to be a nerd. Um, my daughter has watched all of this happen and our family has become part of the Hampshire High School community. Uh, we've attended family nights at Hampshire High School. We've attended awards nights, all the things Hampshire High School does to encompass their families. Um, my daughter is currently a student at DMS and has made friends with many of the Gilbert's kids

033who will not be affected by this and she will have to part from. She's also very excited to become a whipper like her older brother and to learn that she's not going to be able to do that is going to devastate her. I'm not only a parent in D300, I'm also a mental health professional and I work every day with individuals and families in our community. And I cannot stress how much this is going to devastate kids to have to upheaval their lives like this partway through their middle school and high school lives. I'm sure there's going to be some families in our neighborhoods who are going to be very happy to move over to the Jacobs High School from Hampshire High School. I'm just begging you to consider those of us who would like

034just the option to be able to be grandfathered into Jacob's High School, our kids who are currently there and at DMS. Respectfully, thank you very much. [Applause] The next speaker is Sarah Elvin, Dr. Smith, and board members, thank you for taking the time to listen to our concerns tonight. My name is Sarah Elvin. I'm a parent in the district. I have a freshman at Hampshire High School and a fourth grader at Gilbert's Elementary. and I'm here today to talk a bit about our community. Gilbert's is slightly different from a lot of the other communities in our district in that our kids start elementary school together and they're raised up through middle school and through Hampshire. My fourth grader is already so excited for all the things he's going to do when he gets to be

035a whipper like his big brother. These kids are together from day one and it's very important part of our community and who we are. I think it's easy to look at paper and see why we should move people where they should move. But the reality of the situation is that our school becomes a part of our identity. These kids go to their schools. They build their communities within their music programs, their classes, with their teachers, with their peers, with their athletics, theater, all the different clubs that they can join to pull these kids out to specifically the two I'm talking specifically about the two neighborhoods in Gilberts that would be affected. To pull those kids out of their lifelong community and force them to start over would be very traumatic to them. So I ask

036you when you're looking at the boundaries, when you're making your decisions, please respectfully think of Gilbert's as a whole instead of dividing them in half. It's how we were raised. It's why we live in that community. We love Gilberts. Go Grizzlies from the elementary all the way up to Whippers. We really don't want to have to make that change. It would be devastating. My son is only a freshman, but he already has so many friends in cross country and band and jazz band and in all his classes. and I can't imagine making him have to change. So, I appreciate your time tonight. I just wanted to point out the larger ramifications of this switch. And also, it seems a little silly, I guess, to move those two neighborhoods in Gilbert's. We're talking about maybe 20

037to 30 kids. It doesn't really seem to make sense. It's not going to affect enrollment one way or the other. So, I would ask you to please, when we vote on the boundaries, to keep Gilberts as one community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next speaker is Shasta Forner. Evening everybody. My name is Shasta Forner. I actually am a parent of two students at the lower level. I'm at the elementary school levels where the boundaries are being considered. And when I was trying to look at the research behind it, I wanted to see if there was consideration made for in the lower vicinity of Alangquin south of Algangquin and Sand Bloom uh intersection where they were talking about making the boundary. There's further considerations to advancement development being down in those areas. It seems like there's

038potential for growth around Algangquin Lakes further in which the boundary might have to be changed again to push people back to East View. Around the East View area, there is a lot less um in the current development that is causing the change in the first place. It looks like it would be on the Algangquin Lakeside. Anyway, my kids are at a very huge developmental point being at the elementary school. They have been through a lot of different thing and stages which families go through all the time. They have solidified lots of friendships and relationships not only with students but with teachers and administrators as well through the different things they've done there. As far as bus transportation disruptions, I think it would be very few if the boundary was to be drawn where it's going

039straight up with Lakewood or sorry, Longwood and the circle in which includes the bus route where the drop off and pickup currently is. It's a straight shot. There would be little disruption for that. I understand for the high school levels there might be a more immediate need because they're already suffering with overflow and things like that. Um but considerations for them as well with a grandfathered in process of current students who are established there. Have siblings there? Have siblings coming in and if these changes need to be made so immediately or if there can be a process over the next year or two to find out what parents are even willing to have their kids go to the other schools. and then maybe that will offset to which the parents who don't want to leave

040who have these established relationships and East View is definitely a school of excellence. So I very much would like my kids to stay there. Um but just anything that can assist all these families with as little disruption as possible as well, especially the ones whose siblings would have to go to different schools, it would just be devastating to the families as a whole and communities as a whole, not just specific people. So, thank you very much for your time. >> Thank you. >> The next speaker is Enoch Ezendrop. >> Good evening. I had written a real barn burner of a speech if I do say so myself, but frankly, I am tired out from standing out in the cold for an hour. No, no, no. Blame laid at you guys. It's my fault that I'm

041here. Um, so, but so today, April, April October 14th would have been Charlie Kirk's birthday and, uh, it's been memorialized many times in many places, and I feel like it's appropriate to memorialize it here. Um, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because of actually what happened on uh, National Maintenance and Custodial Workers Day, October 2nd, the special meeting. Uh, I I grew up in Hampshire, uh, kindergarten through 12th grade, uh, Hampshire Township D300. Uh, I never set foot in a public school until I went to go take my ACT. Uh, my parents homeschooled all 10 of us and paid their property taxes with no bing all those years until they moved to a state with low property tax. But, um, yeah, so I never I never attended D300 schools, but my neighbors did,

042and I did live in D300. my entire what would have been my entire school career. Um, so it's it's of particular concern to me because most of my friends still live in Hampshire and Gilbert's and that area where I grew up. Um, but I'm here because of what happened on October 2nd. So my my concern my concern if nothing wrong was done, if no board member did anything wrong, why should any board member be removed? So it's clear that the board president was removed from her post and then the vote to censure came up and it was passed off. So, I'm wondering if if there is no p public acknowledgement that something wrong occurred, what's the standard for removing someone from their post? And it to me it seems a little opportunistic to remove someone

043out of convenience while not condemning a behavior because if the behavior is acceptable, then the person should not be removed. That that's where I stand. And so I I'm a little disappointed about what happened on October 2nd. And I I think that if something wrong did occur, there should be clarification. It should be memorialized. Otherwise, this is just kind of a frivolous exercise. And we're just moving chairs around on the Titanic. That's all I got. Thank you. >> You the next speaker is Gigi Land. Okay. Uh, next speaker after that is Christina Constanti. Good evening. My name is Christina and first I want to congratulate all 120 students that were recognized tonight and the students that led the pledge of allegiance. Your hard work and leadership matter and your families and community are proud of

044you. I actually came here tonight prepared to speak on another topic, but after what I experienced when I arrived, I need to address the planning of this meeting. When I got here at 5:55, the boardroom was already almost full. By the time the meeting began, we were at maximum occupancy. Not just here, but in the overflow areas as well. Outside, more than 50 parents, grandparents, pregnant women were standing, waiting, and hoping to come in to see their children be recognized. Many of those families told me that they had RSVPd to be here tonight. They made plans and yet they couldn't even get through the doors. District 300 has had this meeting planned well in advance. there was plenty of time to move it to a larger venue, Jacob's High School, or any of the many

045buildings we fund as taxpayers. The fact that no accommodations were made is poor planning by district administration. We are not here to argue. We are here because we care about our students and their success. But tonight, many parents were denied the opportunity to simply watch and support their children. I'm asking the board and administrators to please make sure this doesn't happen again. When a large turnout is expected, make accommodations, move the event, hold a separate ceremony, or find another way to include these families. A plan should have been in place before tonight. Our students and families deserve better. And I'm not just asking for acknowledgement. I'm asking for action. I hope to hear a clear commitment from the board to review this process and make sure that every family can be a part of moments

046like this in the future. Let's ensure this situation never happens again. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mark Avalar. Good evening, Madame President, members of the board, and distinguished administration. My name is Mark Avalar. I'm a 31-year resident of District 300 and hearing the earlier speakers when it comes to boundary changes. Winchester Glenn, I remember that annexation back in 2005 at Winchester Glenn and I remember fighting for boundaries back 26 years ago during 1999. Uh, I came here to address I was one of the several four dozen peaceful protesters outside of this building on o September the 15th, one month ago tomorrow, concerning the passing of Charlie Kirk. Today would have been his 32nd birthday and he was awarded the Medal of Freedom posumously by President Trump today. I've greatly on the record

047want even though he's not here. I want to acknowledge board member Florentino who honorably, respectfully, and graciously voiced his objection to the comments that were made by then President Nancy Zetler. It was forceful. He spoke for much of the community and as all of us were trying to cope and figure out what has gone wrong around us, whether it's the Charlie Kirk assassination or whether it's a young woman being brutally killed on a cable train in Charlotte within days and this nation was trying to cope. My work in recent years has been in mental health is definitely a part of my life and uh I have to live it. I respect everybody must cope as they are led to. One thing that I've been listening to experts about mental health is the devastating effects of

048social media. And I've had to graciously talk to people and say, "Look, if you're in grief, if you're in shock, the one thing you don't do is take it to social media. Talk to a trusted friend. Talk to a professional if you need to. what's happening around this country. It's like the scriptures predicted end times would be very chaotic. And whether we're seeing it right now or we'll see it in the future, the scripture is very clear it's going to come. But I do ask an honorable person would have admitted their mistake, publicly expressed their remorse, and would have honorably resigned. That did not happen. and forgiveness is for everyone. Making amends with the community is in your power to do so as an individual board member. I thank you for hearing me out. Have

049a good evening. Our next speaker is Katie Arnison. Good evening. My name is Katie Ernes. I am both a parent and a teacher in the district. Uh my kids currently attend Dundy Crown, AMS, and Algangquin Lakes. Um I also teach at Algangquin Lakes. I'm here regarding the East View Alangquin Lakes proposed boundary changes. Understand the need for the new neighborhoods to attend Algangquin Lakes due to the amount of space at East View and think it's wonderful Alangquin Lakes will be getting more students. I am concerned, however, about the proposed neighborhood switch between um the Algangquin Lakes neighborhood and the East View neighborhood that is off of Highland. Um this has absolutely nothing to do with the schools themselves. Both East View and Algangquin Lakes are wonderful schools with great staff and families. My concern is

050for the students being asked to switch schools midway through their elementary school career. It's difficult on kids and families to change when they're connected and um to teachers, friends, and other families in one building and then forced to move to a new one. This is especially true um with any students with anxiety or kids who have a hard time adapting to new routines and procedures. There are about 50 kids from Algangquin Lakes who would have to move um three to four kids per class. Um I understand it's a similar amount at East View. I'm asking you to please consider a plan that is less impactful on these students and their families. If the boundary change isn't necessary for enrollment um numbers, please just considering leaving the existing boundaries the way they are and moving the

051new neighborhoods to Gangquin Lakes. Um, and both neighborhoods do and continue to need transportation um to their current schools. So, there's there's not really a a transportation change there. And it doesn't seem like there's any any real savings with it. Um, but if the changes are needed, please consider allowing the current students to remain in their building, uh, preferably with busing and starting the changes with the incoming kindergarten class. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Derek Rayi. Sorry if I said that wrong. Good evening. My name is Derek. Um I have uh two uh kids that go to East View Elementary School and I currently live in Alangquin. and I'm here to share a lot of the same sentiments that the parents have shared thus far. Um,

052we understand that making a logistical change like this is often difficult and it comes with many sacrifices, but we urge you to consider the human cost of drawing new lines on the map. Um, my primary concern and I'm sure a concern of others is consistency. Um, so I'm a school psychologist. I've been in education for about 13 years and I do understand the value of consistency and how it impacts our kids and our families and our and our communities. Um the current school that um my kids attend right now offers a familiar physical space, an established set of expectations, and a dedicated long-standing staff forcing them to transition to an unfamiliar environment. It breaks this essential consistency risking the loss of academic momentum just as they hit these crucial developmental stages in life. Uh it

053also extends deeply into the community and the relationships. The school is not just a building. It's a vital social ecosystem. My children have established trusted relationships with their teachers who know know their first names, their last names, and they know tons about them. They have built they've built enduring friendships. their social support network which provides emotional safety and encourages the engagement in school life. Our current school has cultivated a genuinely positive atmosphere. East View is a wonderful place. Eastview excellence is a real thing and my kids have experienced it year after year. The potential ripple effects of these boundary changes are significant and they can't be ignored. The emotional and social stress forcing the school change can cause anxiety, loneliness, and immeasurable dip in self-esteem as the children lose their social anchors. It would be

054a a real hard thing to pass by the street that my kids would have to go to Eastview to go to Algangquin Lakes um every day. So that would be a very difficult change for them and for us as parents. The academic disruption. Losing the trusted relationship with a favorite teacher or guidance counselor can help make a child less likely to seek help and potentially stalling their academic pro progress. It's hard for me to speak like this. Um, but I just wanted to be here and advocate for my children and the other community members um on our side of uh uh Alangquin and Eastfield. So, thank you for your time. >> Thank you. So that concludes public participation. So next up is the superintendent report. Dr. Smith, we will have Joe Sowski, executive director of

055college and career readiness, join us at the podium. Um Joe, if you could please introduce everyone that is here with you this evening. Good evening, Dr. Smith, board members in the D300 community. I'm Joseki, executive director of college and career readiness. Tonight, I have the privilege of introducing a few key individuals who support work-based learning across the four uh northern Kain County school districts, including U46 based in Elgen, District 303 based in St. Charles, District 301 in Burlington, and District 300. Uh, as well as uh a few D300 students who participated in competitive regional internships last summer. Tonight we will be presenting the following. What a career development experience is, what a career development experience opportunities D300 offers, an overview of the regional competitive summer paid internship program, and to hear directly from D300 students

056have previously participated. To start with, a career development experiences experience is most commonly referred to or known as an internship. Internships are defined by the Illinois State Board of Education as an authentic career experience reinforcing previously gained skills and knowledge. State guidelines require students to complete at least 60 hours of supervised hours aligned with their career goals, including consistent feedback from an industry professional and must be uh for high school course credit or a paid experience. District 300 students have four distinct ways to participate. One is the summer competitive paid internship programs uh that you'll hear about tonight. District 300 also offers an internship course that students can take in the fall or spring semesters or they can uh participate through school-based enterprises. This is where some advanced CT courses such as culinary business in

057incubator or automotive technology programs integrate career development experiences right into their advanced courses. And the last then is student paid experience through direct employment. Our ability to provide high quality career development experiences relies heavily on strong mutually beneficial partnerships with local employers and organizations. We are always looking to grow this network. If you or someone you know would like to uh support by hosting an intern someday or partnering in one of the many other ways, please reach out. I'm now excited to introduce the key individuals who led the regional summer paid internship program. I'll start with Mr. Terry Stro, director of the Northern Kane County EF 110 office, Mr. Todd Stern, Northern Kane County EF 110 workbased learning specialist, and Mrs. Nancy Coleman, executive director for the Alignment Collaborative for Education. I'll now hand this

058over to Mr. Terry Stro. Thank you. Well, good evening everyone. First, I'd like to say thank you to Dr. Smith and the board for the opportunity to come and speak tonight. Uh, as Mr. Sakowski pointed out, uh, Northern Kane County represents the four districts or EF uh, in the region there. And our work is for uh, supporting career tech education both on the business side and our curriculum side across the region. Northern Kane works to support districts by developing business partnerships with businesses and community organizations. As part of this work, Northern Kane has partnered with Alignment Collaborative over the past four years to build our summer internship program. As you can see here, over the past four years, we've grown quite a bit, going from 65 applicants our first year to just over a thousand

059this past year. Uh with that, D300 students went from 24 to 60 students this past summer. Uh, and as you can see, our overall demographic representation is in line with where we're at as a region. Uh, overall, we had 57% of our students of color participating in the program this summer. When we look at this, we were able to fill 52 of those spots our first year, and we've now been able to fill 243 spots this past summer. uh with 146 of those coming from Alignment Collaborative and then the school districts and Northern Kane making up the remainder of those positions we had to offer. With this um to have over a thousand applicants alone was 850 resumes to have to read through and place students in those positions. Uh and the students do a

060great job. So I don't want to take too much time up here this evening because it's more important we let them speak about their experiences overall. But thank you once again to the board for allowing us to come and share the good news and we'll share send this off to Nancy Coleman. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Perfect. Oh, good. >> Thank you uh to the school board this evening and especially to Dr. Smith for allowing us to talk a little bit about the alignment collaborative for education and this remarkable internship program. As you can tell, it is a very strong collaboration. If you look at just the data and the impact that this program has had, we have over 200 business and community partners that make up the alignment collaborative for education across the region.

061We look uh we basically have that distribution of about 10 different industry clusters. So that allows us to be able to grow this internship program as quickly as we are. Just to give you some of just the the uh specifics of that program, a student does at least t uh 60 hours of study in the program and they receive at least a $900 stipen for the internship program. Most of these internships run through the month of June and into July, but we have had opportunities that have lasted all summer and then even after the internship ended, they went to work for the organization throughout their senior year. Examples of that include Athletico, Bob Lorio Auto Group, Wind Trust. So you see it's not just in one industry sector, it's across the board. When we look

062at what this means to the region in future workforce development, we had 55 organizations involved offering those 243 interns. We paid students over $240,000, which is wonderful, especially when students need a part-time summer job. If they can do it in the field they're interested in, that much better. But what is incredibly unique and says a lot about this region and the commitment to youth and future workforce development is the number of volunteer hours invested. These companies invested in organizations invested over 14,000 volunteer hours. If you do a return on investment on that, that's about over $700,000 that was returned to the schools and the region to support all these young people. This slide right here just kind of shows you the breakdown of the 10 industry clusters and the placements. Uh, as Terry already mentioned,

063there were 60 placements in district 300. You can see from this, and I'm sure Dr. Smith is pleased to see that education was very high. That's part of teacher pipeline, your engineering, your manufacturing, and your health care. You're going to get to hear from those students tonight. We have engineering and healthc care here and let them tell you about their experience. This next slide, we're very pleased. Uh we kind of sweat this every year. We want to see all 11 high schools have uh because these assignments are competitive. We want to see all high schools having students selected. We have yet to have a problem with that. We've been doing this now with all four uh regions for three to four years and we are seeing this nice spread of students at each high school.

064If you look at just the high schools in district 300, Hampshire had the largest percentage. I think that's attributed to Joe's work and all of the strong CTE programs that you have in that area. That's extremely attractive to business and industry partners. And then you also have uh strong placement at Jacobs and Dundy Crown. So we are just hoping to grow this as fast as we possibly can. Uh this gives you an idea of some of the new programs that have actually come on board. Out of those 55 host sites that I mentioned earlier, 19 of them are new this year. So we are rapidly trying to expand this as quickly as we can. healthcare, manufacturing, IT. Those are three areas that we are heavily trying to grow because all of our industry uh projections

065for the next 10 years say that those will be the fastest growing industry sectors for this particular region. If you look at um student survey feedback, this is what they told us. 78% said ranked eight out of 10, eight, nine or 10 and their response to how well the career experience, the knowledge that they gained from the experience. If you look at how many of them said it helped them decide what they wanted to do during graduation, you had over 73% rated an eight, nine or 10. That's the beauty of these high school internships for parents. students get to see and get to actually be in the job for 60 hours. You can tell a lot in 60 hours. You can tell if you want to be a civil engineer or nope, that's not what

066I want to do. So, you begin to focus on mechanical or manufacturing engineering. You you change course. If it's what you really thought you wanted to do and the internship is perfect for you, then that is awesome, too, because then that student just keeps going. But we have had some wonderful stories and you're going to hear it from tonight. So I'm not going to talk any longer. I want you to hear from them. But we just appreciate your support of this program and we hope to come back next year and tell you that it's even grown even further. So thank you for your time. And I'm going to turn over to Dr. Stern. He's going to actually introduce the three students. >> Good evening, Dr. Smith and members of the board of education. Uh you

067have much to be proud of in the students of your school district. Uh earlier tonight, uh you had numerous students come forward to be honored and this is the second time that these three students will be coming forward tonight. So I didn't realize that at the start of the evening, but um I've always felt that we do a good job if our graduates go on to be leaders in their family, in their vocation, and in their community. And I can tell you this from my short time of working with your students that I know that you're producing great individuals that um I'm going to really enjoy having them take care of me in my future as well. So um proud to introduce these three exceptional student interns and we selected them to share their experiences

068with you because each of them demonstrated excellence, professionalism and initiative throughout their internships. uh they served as shining representatives of district 300 of their schools and of their families. Um this program is made possible as you heard earlier through the efforts of alignment collaborative for education region 110 and our partner districts of which 300 is one. Um, from Hampshire High School, I'd like to introduce uh, Esme Inso, who completed her internship with Good Shepard Pharmacy, gaining hands-on experience as a pharmacy technician. Esme also had the opportunity to visit the Chicago College of Pharmacy at Midwestern University in Downer's Grove. I actually joined on that tour where where I got to watch her learn compounding from pharmacists there, which was very cool. Uh, also from Hampshire High School, TT Rufi inter interned with Hoffer Plastics where

069he explored advanced manufacturing in business operations and developed a particular interest in advanced automation technologies which he'll talk a little bit about. And finally, from Jacobs High School, Austin Stevenson completed his internship in engineering with Hampton uh Lenzini and Renwick HLR, contributing to meaningful civil engineering projects both in the office and in the field, gaining practical hands-on experience as he prepares to transition to college. Each of these students will share their reflections. Uh what was their role during the internship? What was the most important things that they learned about the work themselves and their future career? And how did this experience connect them to their learning at school influence their future goals and why they would maybe recommend it to other students? Please join me in welcoming Esme, Titi, and Austin. [Applause] Good evening, members

070of the community and the board of education. Thank you for having me tonight. My name is Esma Enskco and I'm a senior from Hampshire High School. This past summer, I secured an internship with Alignment Collaborative for Education, allowing me to gain practical experience in a hospital setting. I was beyond excited when I received my hospital ID badge and a navy blue lab coat, giving me a pass key into a world I had only really known from television in my own imagination. I was placed at Good Shepard Hospital where I shadowed pharmacists, learned from professionals in the field, and successfully earned my pharmacy tech license. During this internship, I observed pharmacists in several key areas, including the ER, CICU, ICU, and the endoscopy unit. I also spent time with an essential pharmacy, assisting with fulfilling tasks

071like medication carousels and observing the stale preparation of IV bags in the clean room. Witnessing the coordination across these units demonstrated how the hospital functions in a dynamic and complex system. Achieving optimal patient outcomes requires critical communication and seamless teamwork across every department. My observations for of the different care teams confirm my interest in healthcare, showing me the precision, dedication, and compassion healthcare professionals demonstrate daily. The experience directly connected to my science and health related coursework, illustrating how concepts of chemistry and biology apply to actual patient care. I gained a better understanding of how various professionals collaborate to support patient recovery. Like many high school students, I lack direct access access to the career I want to pursue. Since my parents work in other fields, figuring out educational path for medical careers is intimidating. The

072conversations I was able to have with different professionals gave me examples on how they chose their college program. This information was important because as a high school senior, I can report we remate frequently on college planning. I plan to use my pharmacy tech license and experiences to deepen my understanding of patient care as I prepare to my future studies. The internship at Good Shepard was highly valuable. Hands-on opportunities for high school students in fields like healthcare directly aid future decision-making by allowing us to explore areas, roles, and pathways. This kind of experience provides students with the clarity to make informed career decisions before starting college. Providing these opportunities is a key for having wellprepared next generation of healthcare professionals. Thank you. It's going to be tough to beat right there. But um hello. I just

073like to thank you all for hearing me out today on why on my internship experience and why I think it's so important. So I had an internship at Hoffer as Mr. said and basically I started off as a rotating uh engineering intern. So I walked I went through different departments and I basically got to see every aspect of engineering and before I got into this internship I really wanted to be a mechanical engineer. If you try to argue about me, if you try to argue with me about it, I would tell you to argue with your mom. But basically, at the end of the internship, I was able to specialize in automation and electrical engineering. And I think you can understand where that's going. I learned that I don't want to be a mechanical engineer

074through this internship. And I learned that I can't sit behind a computer screen all day doing all that modeling. Now, it collect it connected closely with all my coursework because I was um I do a lot of mechanical engineering at school. So I did a lot of manufacturing, a lot of CAM and CAD and I got to see all that in person in the field which was really nice to see like the applications of what I was doing but at the same time it just didn't seem as interesting to me. So it really helped me shape my future goals by realizing that I didn't want to be in a field that's already like it's already done basically. I want to be on the forefront of innovation and that's where mechanical engineering or electrical engineering is,

075software engineering is and that's where I want to be. And the reason why I find this internship thing to be so important is the fact that if I walk around here right now, I see a lot of parents here. If I were to ask you how how many of you guys like to waste money, nobody would like to no one would say yes, right? If I had gone to college for mechanical engineering, I would have found out real quick that that's not what I want to do and I would have wasted so much money. So the fact that I had this internship opportunity to see that I actually want to become an electrical engineer was really vital to me pivoting to electrical engineering. Thank you. >> Hello. I'm Austin Stevenson uh and I engineer or

076and I interned with the engineering company HLR which is Hampton Lensini and Renwick. uh and I also did with the architecture department at Judson University. Uh and the most important thing I learned about engineering and architecture is that they have many different fields within them. There's things such as structural, civil, environmental, there's just so many different kinds. And I was interested in engineering before the internship, but I wasn't sure exactly what a job in engineering would look like. So, this internship really helped me to figure out what I would be doing as an engineer, what they do every day and every day of their job. Um, so this internship was a huge help to decide what I wanted to study in college. Uh, because I was able to find out that engineering is really something

077that I like. Um, so I would really recommend this internship to any students that are remotely engine interested in engineering or architecture. Uh, because it can help them learn if they're fields that they are actually interested in pursuing in the future and it can help them decide between what kind of engineering or what kind of architecture they're interested in. Thank you. And that concludes our presentation. Any questions? >> Yeah. Can I say something? Um, over the summer I was at a um at an event and I I came across one of our students and I didn't know it was one of our students. um in between the event um someone someone from there that knew I was on um the day 300 on the board came up to me and told me that the the

078the student was she's from am um internship and I kind of watched her through the night on doing different task and whatnot and I was pretty like proud of her and impressed with what she was able to do. So just just wanted to I mean put that out there that I'm really really supportive of this program and it really works well for them. It's great to hear, >> Joe. Like usual, everything's great. You're doing a great job, and our program just gets better and better all the time. And thank you all for participating and giving these kids the opportunity to do the internships because they are crucial and they're very important anywhere you go. So, thank you for everybody for doing what you do. We appreciate it. >> Yeah, I'd like to agree with that

079and thank the students especially. It's really great to hear from you like your experience. Um, and I hope my daughter takes advantage of some of these programs. I'm excited for her future. Um, because I think it, like you said, all the reasons you said are great reasons why to try this now. So, congratulations to you for doing that. >> I just want to say besides the three very remarkable young people that we heard from, thank you for being here. Was very impressive. I was most impressed with the growth that you showed from last year to this year. I mean, that's just mind-blowing. and knowing what goes on behind the scenes to straddle that and make all that happen. Kudos to all of you and I I I would love to see those numbers double next

080year. So, I know you can do it. No, really. Thank you for everything you do. Remarkable work. >> We have set a goal for 300 right now for next year. So, we we're working toward that >> across the region. >> I also just want to across the region >> extend as we can. We're opening up opportunities. We've got an internship breakfast and fundraiser at the beginning of Dece trying to do everything we can to expand the program as quickly as possible. >> I also just want to again extend thank you for the partnership that we have through the programming. Nancy, Terry, and Todd, thank you for your support. Um Joe also has a team. He works with our workbased coaches that um help place these students in the internship. So, their role is critical as

081well. and John isn't here this evening, but I'm always happy when we get to do our talk, but we highlight and actually let the kids have a voice in what's going on. So, I'm very appreciative that you added that to the presentation. Thank you. >> And I would like to highlight that there are approximately 100 students currently enrolled in our internship course. It's just not paid um most of the time. Um so that is in addition to our 60 uh or so summer internship students as well. >> Okay, now you're bragging, Joe. I got to throw it out there. So, the summer is one part of it. We also have stuff during the school year as well. So, >> awesome. >> Thank you. >> Wonderful. Wonderful job. Thank you. [Applause] I think we're on to

082the part of the superintendent report that everyone's really been waiting for. >> Yes. Boundary and capacity presentation. Mr. John Hmel, Chief Technology Officer. Um, I will do my best with maybe a couple of our team members if needed to help fill in for Dr. Williams. >> Thank you. Uh, Dr. Smith, Board of Education, and community members. Uh we are here tonight to present on the district boundaries and our capacity concerns. Uh like everything we do in this district, we concentrate all of our work around our district strategic plan. For tonight's presentation, we are focusing on goals four, engaging stakeholders, and five, the use of district resources equitably and efficiently. Now, when it comes uh to us discussing these issues as a committee, we have four guiding principles that we follow. maximize building capac occupancy, maximize

083transportation efficiencies, maximize pro programmatic efficiencies, and understanding future housing developments. It's important to keep these in mind as we get into our recommended boundary changes. Um, I want to put this into perspective with regards to the other large unit school districts in Illinois. As shown here, enrollment across the state's largest districts um has decreased over the last six years. This could be attributed to different interest uh rate environments, low birth rates. Um, according to the Illinois Policy Organization, Illinois has lost over 127,000 students since the pandemic. D300, like all districts, was impacted by the pandemic. However, unlike other districts, um, we have started to see an increase in student enrollment. Viewing this chart, we can make the assumption that if we continue growing and the other districts continue losing students, D300 uh could move from

084the sixth largest district in the state to potentially the fourth. Now, the slide here um is you're viewing is now the enrollment um for our district as of September 30th. This is our yearly cutoff for tracking enrollment numbers. We are currently at 20,91 students not including Cambridge Lakes which at that time was 801 students. Now these numbers are less than a 1% difference than what was predicted to be our enrollment numbers for this current year meaning that we are continuing to grow and also our predictive analytics are reliable. Now our demographers decision insight provide us with enrollment predictions and housing development analysis. Um, when I talk about our district growing, this is why the map you see now shows all of the known and projected housing developments within our district. We have 27 different developments

085in progress. A large amount and most of the larger projects can be found on the west side of our district. Now, to orient you with this map, um, you can see that center line, the blue line down the middle is Randall Road and a kind of a dividing line between our eastern and western parts of our district. Based on all those developments shown on the previous slide, our demographers have predicted an increase of roughly 4,166 students over the next 10 years. Now, we have noticed that many of the developments have been completing different phases of their construction ahead of the schedule that was provided to our demographers. Uh this is just one of the reasons why we're here today to discuss the impact of this influx of students. Um what we are trying to illustrate

086here is that you have what we have seen we are getting a lot of new housing developments and as we stated before most of the developments are on the west side of our district. We are looking at about 2500 additional students for the west side of the district over the next 10 years. This provides an important uh variable for some of our conversations around our master facility plan. Um remember that side that showed the declining enrollment um of the larger unit school districts. You can see here that we are projected to grow to a point that puts us in contention with the fourth or fifth largest district by 2033. Okay. So now we've come to the part of our presentation discussing boundaries. Uh the first is between Hampshire High School and uh Jacob's High School.

087This would send Hampshire High School students to Jacobs. Um before I move on to that uh discussion, I do want to call back to our guiding principles. We are looking at maximizing building capacity. We are looking at maximizing transportation efficiency, programmatic efficiencies, and understanding housing developments. These principles are what we use as a committee to guide us towards the proposal we're presenting tonight. Okay. When we first presented this proposal at the September 9th operations committee meeting, we were looking at extending the proposed boundary from Route 72 down to I90 using Tyrell Road as a type of natural boundary. That would have made the entire block from Huntley Road down to I90 as part of H uh Jacob's High School. Uh whereas currently the majority of the students in that area are going to Hampshire High

088School. Now, taking into consideration some of the feedback we've received from our first presentation and a review of student feeder patterns, we have created an alternative option. The updated proposal takes into consideration current students who attend Gilbert's Elementary School that will metriculate to Dundy Middle School, Dundy Middle School, and then to Hampshire High School. thus maintaining elementary cohorts together uh to the best of our ability at this time. Given the amount of current known housing developments affecting Hampshire High School boundary, we must continue to monitor student enrollment very cautiously with awareness to the capacity of Hampshire High School um to include future considerations for the Gilbert's communities. Um we just showed you what we are proposing. Now let's discuss the why. If you look at the enrollment and capacity projections, we see that Hampshire High

089School is going to run out of space in the next four years. In ca in contrast, Jacobs High School has enough space to accommodate the current students residing in the proposed boundary shift as well as students already predicted to uh go to that school. There are no new developments within the proposed new boundary lines that would add additional students to Jacobs. However, with this move, we are preparing for the possibility of new developments within the area south of 72. Um, if those areas were to remain as part of Hampshire High School, it would only add to their already troubling capacity issues. Furthermore, as we stated earlier, the Hampshire area is the one that is growing the most, and there are many other areas in that area that can be developed. So, we should take this

090proactive step now to alleviate our capacity concerns. Okay. So, what happens next? We presented in September at the operations committee meeting and we are presenting again tonight. Uh we will uh begin reaching out to affected families informing them of our proposal. Then we will bring our proposal to vote at the next board meeting. If approved, we will work with the communities and families affected. Current 11th grade students will be allowed to remain at Hampshire High School for their senior year. and current 9inth grade through tth grade students or next year's sophomores and juniors. Um, after this presentation, someone from our district will be contacting you with further information. Current eighth grade students within the proposed boundary shift will be reporting to Jacobs next year for their freshman year of high school. Now, based on um

091new information we received tonight, um we are uh postponing any considerations on our East View boundary. Um, we may come back to that at a later time depending on changes in our demographic and and construction. >> Get ahead to my notes. All right. So, now uh we're going to move into our capacity concerns. We were dealing with boundary shifts. >> So, just to clarify, we will not be bringing forward a proposal for ECU and Alangquin Lakes for a vote. >> Correct. >> So, we will not be presenting anything on that this evening. >> Correct. Okay. Okay, so now with capacity concerns, um we have real concerns about the capacity projections for both Hampshire Elementary School and Hampshire Middle School. The first concern is for Hampshire Elementary School. There are two new developments proposed for the

092Hampshire Elementary School boundary. The problem is like many of our schools, Hampshire Elementary is using all of its available space. And these two additional schools or two additional um housing developments are going to have Hampshire Elementary School without space. When we look at the other two elementary schools, you can see they are also getting full and cannot absorb the entirety of Hampshire Elementary School for an extended period of time. Now, if we zoom out and look at all of Hampshire, we see that the we see the impact that all these housing developments are having on our next concern, Hampshire Middle School. We've already addressed how we want to help uh Hampshire High School, but boundary shifts are not really an option for Hampshire Middle School. As you can see here, based on our most current

093projections, Hampshire Middle School will be out of space in the next couple of years. The problem keeps getting worse as more developments continue to pop up. So, what do we do next? Um growth is coming and with it the need for additional space, resources and infrastructure outlined in the master facility plan. The question is not which projects we begin with but how can we fund the that how can we fund the many that will soon be necessary. Additions and building modifications come at a significant cost and our available fund balance is limited by policy and the need to maintain reserves for emergencies. With the anticipated increase of more than 4,000 students, it is important that we begin planning now to ensure that we are ready. As we look ahead, exploring a range of funding strategies

094will help us meet these needs in a sustainable and responsible way. And as you see our timeline here, as we're presenting tonight, we presented in September. We are bringing our boundary proposal to the next board meeting October 28th. After that, if approved, we will hold some meetings with the community and families and then it will take in effect for the next school year, the 2627 school year. >> And so you do not see a boundary proposal or specifics of the master facility plan, but the concern for Hampshire Elementary and Hampshire Middle will bring us to a conversation of a timeline for the need for new schools or additions to those schools. And so, um, that will happen through our master facility plan process and needing to time out what that looks like in our future

095based on our capacity and enrollment concerns for those two buildings. >> Any questions? >> Is Cambridge Lake Charter School at capacity? And how if not, how close are they to be at capacity? We didn't prepare that information for this meeting, but we can we can get it. >> And my second question is you mentioned because I saw this presentation at the operations sites twice now. You've said that students I think that are current freshman and sophomore will be contacted. What is that just to let them know, hey, your school's changing or will they be presented with different options they could pursue? How what does that mean? >> Correct. We're going to provide them with information on what the next steps are. Um, specifically also for any uh students who are current 11th graders because we

096will need to know if you do want to continue on at Hampshire. We need to know who those students are. So, it'll be how they can communicate with us and also what the options are for the remaining families. Any other questions? Thank you. >> Thank you. Instructional materials adoption. Dr. Melanie Grall, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Instruction, PreK Elementary, and Mrs. Nikki Woodbury, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Instruction, Secondary. Good evening, Dr. Smith and members of the board. This evening, Mrs. Woodbury and I will be providing a highle overview of the 2025 instructional materials review process. will include background information and details in support of our request to publicly display recommended materials. Accompanying information has been provided in the board memo for this evening's agenda item. First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone who has

097contributed to the 2025 instructional materials review process. We are greatly appreciative of the time and collaboration that went into this very important process. for our students and staff. And we would like to especially thank LEAD for their dedication and engagement throughout the process. Annually, District 300 engages in an instructional materials review cycle for identified courses. Instructional materials utilized for each course are reviewed every six years. This year we will reviewed instructional materials for K through2 courses in the following departments. Career and technical education, fine and performing arts, math, science, and world language. As a part of the established process, instructional materials were reviewed by three teams. First materials were reviewed by the district review team which includes various members from multiple departments of the academic team such as education services, student learning and development, e

098and world languages and the MTSS and assessment systems department. At the same time, our district technology team vetted these resources to ensure that they would function with internal D300 systems and platforms. From there, teacher teams met to review the instructional materials. Each team completed a scoring rubric and provided feedback on the strengths and opportunities of the materials reviewed. We are requesting the board of education's approval for the public display of the following recommended instructional materials for childhood growth and development one. We are recommending understanding child development the 11th edition copyright 2027. This edition will be released on January 1st of 2026. For childhood growth and development 2, we are requesting to display beginnings and beyond foundations in early childhood education. This is the 11th edition. Copyright 2024. The childhood growth and development teacher review team

099noted that these materials were well aligned with core standards and they offer engaging up-to-date content. Additionally, they noted that the digital platform is easy to navigate and includes accessibility supports such as customizable readaloud features and text annotations for fifth through 12th grade instrumental music. We are requesting to display Make Music Cloud by Make Music Inc. This platform offers a comprehensive suite of musical selections including performance music methods books and applications for site reading and composition. These instructional materials are aligned with the course curricula, the national core arts standards and the Illinois art standards. For K through8 math core instruction, we are recommending Desmos Math by Amplify. This is the first edition copyright 2026. These materials will be utilized by all students during math core instruction in the general education setting as well as those in

100high incidence self-contained special education classrooms. Our kindergarten through 2 grade students in the dual language program will be engaging with Desmos math materials in Spanish. Amplify Desmos Math was highly received by the teacher review team for its usability, featuring a familiar digital platform. Our kindergarten through fifth grade students currently use Amplify CKLA for literacy and sixth through 8th grade is familiar with the digital platform Desmos. Reviewers appreciated the ample student workspace and visually appealing student workbook. Positives included strong support for skills-based learning, fluency instruction and practice, the promotion of manipulatives in students hands, integration of routines, and also practice similar to the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, also known as IAR. The team especially appreciated that the materials are available to support all learners to enhance core instruction and for reinforcement and enrichment. Teachers appreciated the

101well-designed lessons that build conceptual understanding, offer specific language goals for multilingual learners, and provide strong support for adaptation for our diverse learners. At this time, I will invite Mrs. Woodbury to the podium to continue with our instructional materials recommendations for courses in the science and world language departments. Thank you. >> Excuse me. >> Thank you, Dr. Kell. Um, for our advanced placement biology, we are recommending biology for the AP course, second edition by Bedford Freeman and Worth, also known as BFW. Teachers cited its strong alignment with the College Board's course and exam description, purposeful use of AP vocabulary, and high quality AP style practice questions. The resources clear organization and graphics were praised along with supplemental materials that support instruction. While more accessible than a traditional college level text, teachers agreed it maintained the appropriate

102rigor needed for the course. This adoption is expected to support student learning and exam readiness in the AP biology. For environmental science, we are recommending environmental science, your world, your turn. Copyright 2021 by Savas. Teachers highlighted its project projectbased structure, strong accessibility features, including translation into multiple languages and read aloud supports as well as engaging interactive tools such as 3D maps and graphing practice. The resource is organized around anchoring phenomenon that connects real world applications to content. This adoption is expected to enhance accessibility, engagement, and student achievement in environmental science. For advanced placement AP Spanish language and culture, we are recommending Henion AP copyright 2026 by CLT world language. The team determined that Henion AP reflects a deep understanding of instructional needs and assessment expectations. They highlighted its thoughtful integration of test test practice opportunities

103throughout and its vast database of resources, activities and lesson plans for advanced placement AP Spanish literature and culture. We are rec recommending Azulejo second edition copyright 2012 by Wayside Publishing. Azulejo includes all 38 texts and aligns closely with the college board's expectations. Reviewers noted its logical, organization, and structured, which effectively builds the knowledge and skills students need for success on the AP exam. Strengths highlighted by the team included AP style practice exams aligned to the rigor and the format of the AP test as well as a comprehensive coverage of all of the required texts. The team concluded that Azulejo will support student achievement in AP Spanish literature and culture. For French one through four, we are recommending Ray Porte Franophone 1 through four, copyright 2026 by CLT World Languages. Strengths highlighted by the team included

104its modern and visually appealing design, integration of authentic resources, and strong differentiation. Teachers also valued the quality of assessments and readers, noting that these features make the resource engaging for students and staff to utilize in their French courses. At this time, we are requesting the board's approval to publicly display these recommended instructional materials for the next 30 days from October 15 through November 13, 2025. Pending approval, members of the community wishing to preview these materials are welcome to call the central office front desk staff between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm Monday through Friday to request a digital access. Following the public display period on November 18th, 2025, we will formally request the board of education's approval to adopt these instructional materials and be implemented for the 2026 2027 school year. Again, we

105would like to thank all of our review teams for engaging in this lengthy but very important process. Any questions at this time? I was just going to say um thank you to the teams again and also um our team that's in the back that did all the leg work on this with our teacher teams. Um wave. Um uh thank you for that. >> Thank you. Thank you. All right. Item nine on the agenda is board discussion. Uh item 9.1, board committee reports. Um their next board operations committee meeting is Monday, November 10th at 4:30. Um so that is where you can hear about a lot of the things that we vote on um at this meeting in more detail. So I encourage people to attend that or or watch the video after the fact. Uh

106item 9.2 board discussion. Do any board members have anything they would like to share or talk about? Okay, moving on to item um number 10, items for discussion. I will read each item individually and allow time for any discussion. Item 10.1, board meeting minutes. Item 10.2, disposal report. Item 10.3, treasurer's report. Item 10.4, donations report. Item 10.5, Park View addition bid asphalt paving. Item 10.6, rooftop unit bids. Item 10.7, elevator maintenance contract. Item 10.8, graduation venue contract renewal. Item 10.9 leadership development services contract. Item 10.10 technology related services contract addendum. Item 10.11 telecommunication services contract. Item 10.12 parent group recognition. Item 10.13 budget calendar design resolution. Item 10.14, open enrollment services renewal. Item 10.15, boundary and capacity utilization. Item 10.16, board policy review and revisions. Item 10.17, out of district student travel was removed from

107the agenda. Item 10.18, Freedom of Information Act report. That moves us on to consent items. The consent items are standard procedure it procedure items or items that have been previously reviewed and discussed at the board operations committee meeting and need no further discussion. Is there a motion to approve the consent items? >> Second. >> Madam Secretary, please take the role. >> Setler >> I. >> Lindmark I. >> Melia I. >> Bquette. >> I. Lamacher I. Mckendi I you have six members. >> Thank you. Uh item 12, roll call action items. 12.1 approval to display proposed instructional materials. Is there a motion for the approval to display proposed instructional materials? >> So move. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion? >> Madam Secretary, please take the role. >> Millia. >> Lindmark. >> I. >> Mckende I.

108Zetler. >> Hi, >> Lamaka. >> Hi, >> Borquette. >> I >> You have six members approving that. >> Item 12.2, approval of revisions to board policy 7:30. Is there a motion for the approval of the revision to board policy 7:30? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Madam Secretary, please take the role. Zetler >> marker. >> Hi >> Millia. >> Hi >> Lemark. >> I >> Bquette >> I >> Mckende I You have six members approving that. >> Thank you. Uh item 13 close session. Is there a motion to go into close session for the purpose of discussing one the appointment employment compensation discipline performance or dismissal of specific employees of the P public body to PNC 1. two, litigation, two, paren1, and three, security procedures, school building

109safety and security, and the use of personnel to respond to an actual, a threatened or reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, the public, or public property to PN C8. >> Second. >> Madam Secretary, please take the role. Settler. >> Hi, >> Melia. >> Hi, >> Mckende. I Lindmark. >> I >> Lamar. >> Hi, >> Burquette. >> I >> You have six members approving that to go into close session. >> There will be no action to follow that close session. Thank you everyone.