U-46 Board Meeting - April 27, 2026

001Mhm. >> Hey, good evening everyone. I am going to call the April 27th, 2026 Board of Education meeting to order. Roll call, please. Ms. Kerr? Ms. Khan? Ms. Martin? Here. Ms. Nolan? Here. Ms. Schwartz? >> Here. Ms. Thomas? President Owens? >> Here. May I have a motion to move into closed session to discuss individual student disciplinary matters, pending probable or imminent litigation, the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public, or legal counsel for the public body, the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the school board, the setting of a price for the sale or lease of real property owned by the school board, an internal audit control weakness

002identification of potential fraud risk areas, known or suspected frauds, and fraud interviews, collective negotia- I'm sorry, collective negotiating matters between the school board and its employees or their representatives, or deliberating deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees, review of closed session minutes, and individual student matters. So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Ms. Martin? Yes. Ms. Nolan? Yes. Ms. Schwartz? Yes. President Owens? Yes. We're in closed session at 3:00 I'm sorry, 6:32 p.m. >> [music] >> Mhm. >> No, no. >> Everybody stand as they are able to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of 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, everyone. And just a bit of a

003little bit of housekeeping before we get the meeting started. Our electronic platform that we run our board meetings on is down this evening, so we do not have access to board docs. All of the board members have paper copies of the materials that we need, but if you are following along at home, we do have a PDF of the agenda posted so that you can follow along as well. To get to that agenda, you would go to the U-46 homepage, scroll down to the events section that's kind of down towards the bottom, click on the day of our board meeting, which is again April 27th, and then a box will pop up. All the way down at the bottom of that box, there's a line that says the meeting agenda is linked here. If you

004right click on that link, then you will be able to pull up a PDF of the agenda. And with that, we can get started with our first item on the agenda this evening. And I apologize, we might be running just a little bit slower because we're not used to using paper copies. We're going to start with our strategic plan report, Dr. Johnson. Thank you, President Owens. This evening, our first strategic plan report is the U-46 Student Summit. So, we have the pleasure of being joined by a number of student representatives this evening who will be presenting on this topic. So, we're joined by Thomas Ackmann of Larkin High School, Neha Ali and Diamond Shield, both of Bartlett High School, Jameson Baskin of Elgin High School, and Victoria Stefan of South Elgin High School, who will

005provide the Board of Education with a report or an update on the U-46 Student Summit held on March 26, 2026. And I will note that I've read everybody's formal names into record, so I know some of our students have have have have have other preferences as they kind of gave me a little a little grin as I as I read names. So, thank you for being here this evening. You can all Yeah, go ahead and come come up. Dr. Acevedo is giving directions. My name is Thomas Ackmann from Larkin High School. And on March 26, 2026 at Elgin Community College, approximately 220 students from all high schools and across all grade levels participated in this year's Student Summit. Members of the principal principal advisory board along with the superintendent student advisory council facilitated 22 tabletop

006conversations about the four following topic areas: safety, well-being, and mental health, belonging, equity, and student identity, relationships, communication, and student culture, and readiness for the future academic and life planning. So, for our first topic of safety and well-being, my name is Diamond Shield, and I'll be sharing um the many opportunities that we found for improvement that align with our topic one. So, one of the most prominent takeaways was the need for social worker intervention within student lives. Many students requested quarterly meetings with their social worker. Despite social workers visiting our classrooms during the beginning of the year, many students were not aware who their social workers were at their school or how to meet with them. To address this, we recommend implementation of sign-up forms for quarterly meetings between social workers and students. This way,

007students can feel more comfortable speaking with school staff regarding their concerns and ensure that no student feels as they are not being heard in their times of need. Another key takeaway was the lack of balanced student-staff relationships. Many students felt as though their relationships with deans and student success advocates contained blurred lines between professionalism and friendliness. This ambiguity causes confusion regarding self regarding staff authority and at times inappropriate behavior. For example, students reported seeing loitering after student would start a conversation with an SSA or a dean. To improve these relationships, we recommend the implementation of faculty-student events such as game night to allow adequate amount of time for students and staff to pres- to interact in unprofessional way. This would allow for students and staff to have better relationships, and this also would allow to

008preserve professionalism during the school day while allow students and staff to build a strong relationships. The third and final takeaway was the need for consistent implementation of appropriate consequences while addressing the root cause of a problem. Many students expressed concern that issues were being swept under the rug and not fully addressed. Um Um causing and this they they believe that this caused repeat offenses and inadequate conflict resolution. To improve overall safety and well-being, we recommend faculty commit to a balanced approach um that one that encompasses both fair consequences as well as meaningful efforts to address and identify root causes. This approach would help decrease the likelihood of repeat offenses while motivating productive and constructive conversations when it comes to conflict. Hello, everyone. My name is Jameson Baskin, and I'll be going over all of the

009feedback that we got from all of our high schools um in the area of belonging, equity, and student identity. And the three big takeaways were involvement and communication from students. Students supporting students' involvement with clubs and sports and other extracurricular activities or any outside school activities just to build student belonging, not even just with amongst their peers, but with um, and other staff and even administration. Students want to have more involvement from teachers to be get a better sense of belonging as well. The second big takeaway was recognizing all voices in schools. Making sure that we get um, to hear from a variety of students. Um, we want to we want to hear opinions from everyone including special education students, parents, staff, freshman academy and non academy students and just everybody across the board. Um,

010and the third big takeaway is preparing students for their future. Aligning grading systems from um, other districts to help prepare students for college, trade school, careers and for life in general after U-46. Thank you. My name's Neha Ali and my topic's on relationships and communication school culture. So, one of the biggest takeaways is the need for strong engagement between staff and students. Students feel that building more collaborative relationships with teachers would make a big difference along with the regular check-ins to show support and understanding. When teachers are more connected and present, it helps create a more comfortable and positive learning environment. Another important point is creating balance in how students are recognized and supported. Many students who consistently follow expectations feel overlooked. So, having fair reward systems can motivate everyone, not just those who stand

011up for negative reasons. Finally, increasing academic involvement is essential. Students want more teachers both during and after school and this can be seen through like office hours during school, whether it's like free lunch periods or after school as well as meeting in between like the mornings and whatnot. Overall, these changes could help create a more inclusive, supportive and engagement school experience for everyone. Good evening. My name is Victoria Steven from South Elgin High School and based on the feedback from all high schools, and our biggest takeaway in the area of relationships, communication and school culture Sorry. Our biggest takeaways in the area of readiness for the future, academic life and academic and life planning were career and post secondary exploration. We recommend by 8th grade or freshman year we introduce pathways, high school planning sheets

012and basic career awareness so that students can get an idea of what their high school journey would look like and then hopefully by sophomore year um, we'll be ready to focus on a more structured planning and have more serious conversations about post high school plans. Um, we also recommend having courses with outside classroom connections. And then our second takeaway is improvement of learning. Um, we recommend that we provide a structured learning to teach real world skills in return in the return of final exams or the concept of final exams to show that students are not only learning but retaining knowledge. And then our third takeaway is after U-46 skills, financial literacy and exposure to taxes, budgeting and cost of living for example. And then life skills like networking, effective communication and professionalism. Thank you. Hello

013again. Um, so unfortunately our ISBE student summit member, Zach Schwartz from South Elgin High School was unable to attend and present his lovely information that he got from the student summit down at state. So, I will be filling in for him. So, yeah. Um, so the big takeaways from the ISBE student summit were attendance, predominantly like chronic absentee, and students really students may not be able to attend as they may can maybe experiencing bullying or lack of engagement. Um, or overall just a lack of want to want to come to school. That's been a big issue that I've just seen amongst all students that I've know that tend to not come to school often. Um, another big takeaway was student engagement in school which can really relate around start time and students with later high

014schools. Um, I mean not with later high schools, excuse me. With later high school start times found to be more awake and more active and more present within like their classes, more engaged. While students that start earlier tend to feel more tired especially during first period and that's just overall lack of engagement that's tied back to the attendance takeaway. That's where a lot of our tardies, our absences are typically at, not even just at high school but in middle school as well. Um, the third big takeaway was college, career and readiness which is really just about like standard standardized testing really with final exams. A lot of kids felt that that would better prepare them for high school not high school. Apologies. College, and just higher education as a whole and help them retain information

015for longer periods of time. And also with most grading systems across Illinois consider A as a 90 to 100% B as a 80 to 90% and etc. And we feel like that would also help better prepare our students for just the expectations in higher education after U-46 so they're not like wow. Um, and then the last portion for this section is across the state of Illinois, the large ratio of students to guidance counselors can make it difficult for students to seek personalized guidance for their future careers and post secondary which kind of ties back to a topic that we found in the student summit here [snorts] where we just wanted counselors to kind of have those quarterly meets with each and every single student kind of how they do with like um, like scheduling. They

016we want that to happen quarterly because a lot of even a lot of kids can fit that into their schedule and cuz we're busy too. Um, and we just want overall more support because some students don't want to not necessarily don't want to reach out. Some might not know how to or not comfortable. Um, and they don't have that middle ground kind of meet in the middle kind of so we just want that to be established. And the last big takeaway from the ISBE student summit is CTE programs and school activities. Students feel that programs such as art, >> [snorts] >> um, band, orchestra, um, chorus and theater are overlooked when considering funding compared to like sports such as football, soccer, volleyball. And we just want overall more inclus- um, inclusivity inclusivity when it comes

017to stuff like that cuz that can be overlooked at times and even with like certain clubs too and just a lot of smaller sports. Um, Just to note, um, we accidentally forgot to mention technology and AI usage. Um, students feel that AI is becoming ever more prevalent in our society and they believe that AI should start to be used as a tool and as a helping partner and that we shouldn't criminalize it or villainize it due to the fact that many students misuse it but rather teach students how to use it effectively. Um, and now I'm here if you guys have any questions or comments to ask. Thank you all for your presentation this evening. We really appreciate you all coming in. It's great that we do this every year because I know as board

018members we go back and you know, review what prior groups of students had spoken about and we can start to see those continuities, right, between between the years. So, we really appreciate getting these updates. They're really really valuable for us because we're sitting here. We don't have the same experiences that you all have. So, again, thank you for the participation and for coming in this evening. Do board members have any questions? No. Okay. Thank you so much. Have a good evening. >> Thanks, you too. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> So, do you want to as we transition our next update, I want to celebrate and recognize our student leadership. So, thank you so much for being here supporting the student summit. I also tonight want to recognize Janet Greschock, who has been so instrumental

019in supporting the superintendent student advisory council and the student summit for the as long as it's been happening which is a decade at this point. And I think as many of you recognize, Janet is retiring at the conclusion of this school year. And her support with really recognizing, encouraging and helping us support student voice and student leadership has been tremendous. And so I thank Janet for all of her contributions in helping us support our students. So, thank you Ms. Greschock as well tonight. Thank you. >> [applause] >> So, now it'll be difficult to do this. It's always hard to follow the students. But, if anyone can do it, Brian Lindholm, our chief of staff, can make this happen as he comes forward for our facility planning update. So, this evening, Mr. Lindholm will present an

020update on our facility planning work. Thank you. It is And I'm getting and and Dr. Ann Williams will be joining him as well. Hey, as Uh, Dr. Williams and Mr. Lindholm come up. Did So, separately? Yeah. Um, we Um, the public may not have access to the agenda. I've been trying to open it and it there seems to be the white pop-up box isn't closing. Just so IT knows or if people are trying to access it, it it may or may not be working. Just so we know. The work around to that is, um, if you were to right click, um, if you refresh your screen, go to the same place that you went in the original, um, section where the calendar is, scroll to the bottom of the box, and right click on that

021link instead of clicking directly on it. You should be able to open it in a new tab. It'll actually bring up a dialogue box that says open a new tab, and then you'll be able to open up in the browser. Did it work? It's still not going to work. I just wanted to bring it up in case people at home were having the same issue I was having. Yeah, so it's the the line that says the meeting agenda is linked here, and if you hover on that link and right click on it, with your, um, mouse and it it still doesn't work? No. Okay. If the the Yeah, I mean, that that is the work around that we have, but we can see if we can try to do something else to get that accessible.

022Apologies. Got it? And before we get started with the next strategic plan, are you all, Veronica [snorts] and John, are you able to see the screen okay where you're sitting? That's it. Yeah. Are you able to see it okay? Okay. I just wanted to make sure. All right, we can go ahead with the presentation. Good evening, and thank you for another opportunity to provide the Board of Education with an update on our facilities work. Tonight's presentation will include our typical monthly updates on several projects that are underway, as well as a more detailed spotlight on a project that is just about to start. So, we'll go ahead and get started with our regular monthly updates. [clears throat] Our first update is at Kimball Middle School, which again is our most complex project with a large

023addition as well as significant renovations, while students students and staff remain in the building. The Gilbane team has done a great job of keeping the project on schedule, while also being considerate of the daily needs of our Kimball staff. A recent example of this was assisting to shift the bus drop-off area to the new parking lot on the north side of the building to ensure our students can arrive and leave school safely and efficiently. Recent milestones at Kimball include exterior framing on the cafetorium, which you can see in the lower right image, interior framing and drywall in the new classroom wing, and installation of kitchen equipment. Upcoming work includes completing the cafetorium enclosure and starting work on the courtyard, as well as interior work on mechanicals, ceiling grid, and paint. This project remains on schedule

024for completion in time for the start of school in August. There is a substantial amount of work planned for the summer, and we will take full advantage of the longer summer break built into this year's schedule. We are confident in our team's ability to execute the work safely and efficiently, and look forward to opening the doors to Kimball students and staff this fall. The Canyon Woods addition is now largely complete on the interior, and you can really see the transformation taking shape here. Exterior progress includes continued site restoration, new concrete walls and landscaping, and on the interior, crews are underway with mechanical commissioning of the new systems, and also working through punch list items. With the addition near completion, we will be scheduling furniture deliveries to start in mid-May, and once school is out at

025the end of the year, the remaining site work will begin at the bus turnaround, and crews will focus on select renovations within the existing building. As we've shared previously, this project remains ahead of schedule, coordination is tight, and we are well positioned for a smooth transition into the new addition. Construction also continues at Legacy Middle School. In fact, just last week we had the opportunity to visit the site with a group of students from Streamwood High School as part of student government day. Big thanks to our partners at Gilbane and DLA for making it a cool learning experience for our students. Our next stop was at Hawk Hollow Middle School, where students got to see one of our recently completed projects, and we'd like to thank ARCON and ICI for their support and participation with

026that portion of the of the experience. We had the students assigned to three different teams to provide us with feedback on design and infrastructure, student experience and belonging, and academic achievement. Additionally, we invited them to join us at our next facilities update in May to share some of their findings. Now, back to the status update on the Legacy Middle School. At this point, the team is nearing completion with the structural steel erection and installation of temporary roofing in all areas. Current work includes installing load-bearing race masonry walls, permanent roofing, and slab-on-grade concrete pours in the single-story portion of the building. The team has taken advantage of the favorable weather, well, at least last week's favorable weather, and the project remains on schedule with substantial completion anticipated for late this fall, leaving us plenty of time

027to move in and have the building fully ready to welcome students and staff in August of 2027. Next up is Century Oaks. As you can see from this image, the addition of seven entirely new classrooms and a gross motor play area has taken shape quickly since breaking ground in December. Significant progress has been made since the last project update with roughly 50 workers on site daily at this site. Exterior elements such as geothermal welling well drilling, exterior brickwork, metal framing, and roofing operations continue to make steady progress with each favorable weather day. Full building enclosure is on the horizon as roofing work should be watertight later this week, and windows are scheduled for delivery within the next 2 weeks. On the interior, all concrete slabs have been poured, with work now focusing on overhead mechanical,

028electrical, and plumbing infrastructure. Painting and ceiling grid grid crews will be mobilizing in the next few weeks as the construction team continues to push the schedule forward in time for August occupancy. We are closely monitoring sequencing and coordination to ensure the project remains aligned with long-term delivery goals, while maintaining safety and quality standards. While there is still substantial work ahead, we are seeing steady forward movement, and expect progress to become more visibly accelerated over the coming weeks. The next update is at Glenbrook Elementary School in Streamwood. Because we have made plans to move students and staff to Hanover Countryside next year, much of the project will be starting after school is over. However, geothermal well drilling crews have begun mobilizing equipment at this site, and they're planning to begin their work later this week, with

029completion anticipated before summer break. Work on the additions, along with building renovations, will start in the summer and extend through the following year. Our next project is Illinois Park, which will be converted from an early childhood center to an elementary school. We are happy to report that we were able to obtain the needed permits from the city of Elgin, and work is underway. The scope for this project was phased in such a way that allowed us to get a head start on night shift mechanical infrastructure work between January and April of this year. Crews were able to install new ductwork, piping, and electrical infrastructure above ceilings in 19 existing classrooms. Additionally, crews performed structural steel reinforcing for new rooftop mechanical units during spring break. On the exterior, crews have been making steady progress on site

030clearing, building pad preparations, and new utility installations. Crews are scheduled to begin the aggregate stone pier foundation system next week, with concrete operations following shortly behind. We will need to make up some time on this project as permitting took a little bit longer than anticipated, but we are confident that the site work and building renovations will be complete in time for school to start in August. The new multi-purpose room will not be completed until mid-fall, so we are planning to start the year using the existing kitchen and cafeteria. And with that said, I'll turn it over to Mr. Lindholm, who will who will provide a spotlight on the project that is up next. Uh thank you, Dr. Williams. Um yes, so now we will transition into a more uh in-depth look at the new elementary

031school in Elgin. Um where we are uh be bringing a proposal later this evening um to award the construction work and look forward to getting started uh in the coming weeks. So, as a reminder, uh in late 2024, the district uh closed on the purchase of this property, uh the former David C. Cook um property at 850 North Grove in Elgin. And um it included a lease-back period to allow the David C. Cook organization to uh wrap up their operations. They moved out late last summer, um so in around July 2025, they they vacated the the property um and moved into their new location at Randall Road, and we've had full um occupancy of the of the property since then. Uh we also met with the Northeast Neighborhood Association of Elgin twice last year, uh

032first at Gail Borden and then for the second time was at McKinley Elementary. Um and during these meetings, I mean, there was a lot of excitement about the project um and and about this new school coming into their into their neighborhood. There were questions and concerns. Um they had some concerns about the resulting traffic impact, uh especially during arrival and dismissal times each day, um some of the details around what construction would look like on the site um during during the uh during that phase of the project. And then also a lot of questions about maintaining some of the mature trees on the site, um which are which are very important um to the community. So, we worked to make sure that we addressed all of those concerns in the plans that we submitted and

033that were ultimately approved by the Elgin City Council. We also are fully committed to um keeping up uh our work with this group to make sure that they're informed um and that they're going to be proud of of the school that that we build in their neighborhood. Um and we want to make sure that we honor sort of the the unique and historic neighborhood that we'll be moving into. So, so then in February, on February 2nd, the Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of our plans um to construct the new elementary school at this location. And then later that month, on February 25th, the pro- proposal was approved by the full City Council, um which marked a significant milestone in the project. So, with that approval, uh we released an invitation

034to bid for the construction on March 6th, and bids were publicly opened on April 7th, so earlier this month. Later this evening, the board will be considering a proposal to award the construction across 18 separate bid packages. We had a very strong response with over 100 bid submissions across the 18 uh packages, and we received competitive bids that have resulted in the project coming in well below our original budget estimate. Abatement work is currently underway to ensure that we'll have safe working conditions for the demolition and then later for the construction teams, and we are currently working with the City of Elgin to finalize site permitting and building demolition logistics. The tentative schedule would call for building demolition starting early summer, followed by mass site grading, utility installation, and preparing for new building foundations in

035the early fall, and we will be scheduling an official groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of the work sometime after school starts in late August. Exterior walls and structural steel will continue through the fall and into mid-2027. At that point, work will transition to interior mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work, along with exterior window systems. We're targeting an early 2028 completion that will allow plenty of time to move in furniture and provide our staff with thorough training on building systems as we prepare to open a new school in August of 2028. This project represents a significant investment in expanding access to high-quality learning environments in a part of the district that has not seen a new school in decades. And it's fully aligned with the Unite U46 capital plan and long-term enrollment strategy. We can't wait

036to get started. So, we're now going to share uh an extensive look at the design of the new school, including a virtual walk-through uh the inside and the outside of the building. I think you'll see the team at DLA has done a really nice job in designing a modern elementary school with large open spaces, plenty of windows to provide natural light, while also using materials, colors, and other design elements that honor the historical significance of the former David C. Cook property, as well as the surrounding homes in the neighborhood. And here we go. So, we start with the site map, and you can see how the building is set back from North Grove Avenue. >> [music] >> Uh parking is off to the right or the north of the property, and the bus drop-off is

037to the south. I'm going to have to speed it up. Um and then we swing around to the north side of the building. You can see the main entrance. You might have got a peek at the historic oak tree there um that we've made uh careful plans to preserve. [music] We move into the commons, and if you look on the left-hand side, you see graphics on the wall that show the theme for the building design, uh using the classical elements of earth, water, fire, and air. We're now in the multi-purpose room, which is the water theme, and here we go. [music] Too slow. Uh so, then we're in a corridor here where we you can see we move from the blues and greens into like the browns and oranges. Uh we turn the corner, and

038you see the large fire graphic off to to the right. [music] We then move down into the gross motor room, uh which will be a really fun uh active space for our youngest learners. And then we move into the library. So, this is another two-story space designed um under the earth element. Uh you see the stairs connecting the first and second um floor, [music] and we've been able to create some kind of unique like reading nooks and comfy spaces around around the stairs that we think kids will really enjoy. Uh then we move outside, and you see some of the outdoor patio furniture that kind of extend learning outdoors. You look back at the building from the Fox River from the bike trail, and here where where you can really see the elevation change. It

039comes up quite a hill as you uh come up from the river to our property. We swing around to the south, [music] and there you see the uh bus drop-off area. And now we move [music] back inside, and I think we go into the gymnasium. Yes, so the gymnasium, uh which also serves serves as a storm shelter. Uh the design theme in here is under the air theme, um and you see the um acoustic panels on on the wall there um kind of in the leaf designs. Come back and look at the library from the from the second floor, and you really see some of the the natural light we're able to bring in. Also up in this area is a learning [music] hub uh that has a uh foldable wall that would allow them

040to extend it out into the corridor. We'd be able to host up to two two classes at a time there. Um you see the view from the commons in the upper area where you got a really nice uh view of the the trees and looking out in the Fox River. Then we have a look at an art room here, and then I think next is a science lab. The ceilings in here um it adds a lot of volume, a lot of character um following that sawtooth roof design um that you see here from the outside. And this nice twilight view, again, there's the historic oak [music] tree that that we've kind of uh designed the front entrance around. And that's the new school. Great job, Dr. Mr. Lindholm. All right. >> [applause] >> So, yeah,

041uh thank you. That concludes uh this evening's presentation. Um we'd be happy to take any questions. Thank you, and that video was very exciting. Thank you for sharing that. Do board members have any questions? Veronica? Just I not really a question, but if if we don't get BoardDocs up and running, can we get that video shared with us separately? Definitely. Awesome. Anyone else? Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, the next item on the agenda is comments from the audience, Dr. Johnson. Thank you, President Owens. This evening, we have one public comment, uh Jonathan Medina. Good evening. We are now opening the public comment portion of the Board of Education meeting. Those who completed a request to speak card will be called to provide comment in the order in which the cards were received. Online

042participants have been provided meeting access via Zoom. Written comments emailed to [email protected] have been posted to the agenda for public viewing. To ensure that all comments are heard, speakers must comply with the following procedures. Individual comments are less than 3 minutes, and comments may not mention the name or personal information of any student other than the speaker's own child. Please note that while board members listen to speakers, they do not respond to comments or answer questions. Thank you. Buenas noches. Damos inicio a la sección de comentarios públicos de la reunión de la Junta Educativa. A los asistentes que completaron un formulario de solicitud para hacer un comentario se les llamará por orden de llegada. A los participantes en línea se les proporcionó acceso a >> Board, nice seeing you guys. My name is Jonathan Medina,

043and of course I'm here because of previous um complaints I made. Um of course I sent a written formal complaint to the board, and I got a response from um the superintendent. Um but I still haven't heard back from Trish Ocean or Mark Moore about what was going on or anything like that. Um so I'm pretty sure I'm just still waiting to see why the SRO officer was coming out to see me when she first, you know, the first interaction was with this person. Um I was a written explanation of um of what policies, if any, justified this response for her to even come up to me, and let alone showing my ID or anything like that. Uh and what corrective actions to ensure that no parent is subjected to this kind of treatment again.

044Or and well, and the training for the staff on de-escalations, um parent engagement, and appropriate use of an SRO officer. So pretty much it's just seems like, you know, like the kids are saying here, stuff seems like it's getting swept underneath the rug. Nothing's being done. And I'm just wondering what's going on. Thank you. Okay, the next item on our agenda is other business board member and superintendent update, if necessary. Do board members have any updates they would like to share? Okay, Dr. Johnson. Uh very quickly I want to um recognize that a little bit later this week we have superintendent uh scholarship uh recognition. So we'll recognizing students who uh with support of the foundation and some of our very generous donors are receiving scholarships. The scholarship is for uh students who are first

045generation, students who will be attending uh college or the university uh moving forward. So I want to one, celebrate our students, let everybody know that they should be looking forward to uh learning about some of those stories about our students and their successes, and two, a a thank you to the foundation and to our community members and our donors who make this possible. So that'll be happening later this week. Thank you. The next [snorts] item on the agenda is FOIA requests. This evening we have 10 Freedom of Information Act uh requests available when it's working on the public uh domain of board docs, but they will also be on the U-46 website later this week. Thank you. Next item is consent agenda, Dr. Johnson. >> Yep. All right, this evening we have quite the consent

046agenda. So to begin, we have personnel report and workers' compensation cases. Minutes of board meeting, February 23rd, 2026. Resolution for the disposal of surplus personal property. Bid, fine arts age and obsolescence scheduled equipment replacement for the 2025-2026 school year. Bid, operations Unite U-46 Glenbrook Elementary School ACM recommendation. Bid, operations Unite U-46 Century Oaks Elementary School ACM recommendation. Bid, plant operations Liberty Elementary School building envelope project number 1102-26. Bid, plant operations Fox Meadow Elementary School heating, ventilation, and air conditioning project number 728-26. Bid, plant operations Tefft Middle School heating, ventilation, and air conditioning project number 532-26. Bid, plant operations Huff Elementary School warming kitchen project number 1003-26. Bid, plant operations summer 2026 moving the U-46 district classroom moving services. Bid, post-secondary success Bartlett High School furniture, fixtures, and equipment phase two construction. Bid, post-secondary success Elgin

047and South Elgin High Schools career and technical education equipment. Proposal, post-secondary success full-time dual credit. Proposal, post-secondary success AVID schools 10038 grant and annual membership. Proposal, operations Unite U-46 Kimball Middle School library makerspace. Proposal, assessment, accountability, and student success Blue Streak math fluency software. Proposal, assessment, accountability, and student success Hand2Mind math and literacy take-home kits. Proposal, assessment, accountability, and student success Kane County Regional Office of Education extended services. Proposal, assessment, accountability, and student success Libreria classroom library books. Contract, assessment, accountability, and student success climate and culture training. Contract, post-secondary success South Elgin South Elgin High School career and technical education equipment. Contract, specialized student services EPS Learning Spire resource. And building permit one, South Elgin High School exterior exterior door replacement project number 283-26. Thank you. Are there any items that board members would like

048removed from the consent agenda? Hearing none, may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as read into the record? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Ms. Martin? Yes. Ms. Nolan? >> Yes. Ms. Schwartz? >> Yes. President Owens? >> Yes. Motion carried. Okay, the next item is discussion action, Dr. Johnson. >> Thank you, President Owens. Thank you, President Owens. The first item is itemized bills, April 27th, 2026. Coming forward is Dr. Kyle Von Schnase, deputy superintendent of operations, to respond to questions from the Board of Education regarding the attached bills. May I have a motion to approve the list of bills in the amount of 44,401,600, I'm sorry. Let me repeat that. List of bills in the amount of 44,401,768.25. So moved. Second. Any questions for Dr. Von Schnase? Okay, roll call, please. Ms.

049Martin? Yes. Ms. Nolan? Yes. Ms. Schwartz? Yes. President Owens? >> Yes. Motion carried. Thank you, President Owens, for reading that. You're welcome. Our second this evening is a recommendation for the 2026-2027 student advisor to the Board of Education. Uh this evening again, we have members of the superintendent student advisory council, Thomas Ackmann of of Larkin High School, Niha Ali and Nidhi Chaudhry of Bartlett High School, Andrew Panos of Elgin High School, and Victoria Steven of South Elgin High School, uh who will be recommending, with my full support, two finalists in order of preference to be the 19th student advisor to the Board of Education. So students, if you would please come forward at this time. >> [snorts] >> Good evening, Dr. Johnson, President Owens, and members of the Board of Education. I'm happy the entire

050student advisory council. Let me thank the board for the opportunity to be involved in the selection of the 19th student advisor to the board. This was a process that we took very seriously. Like us, I'm sure you will find the two finalists for the student advisor to the board are standing candidates. Either of them would be an excellent addition to the board. The process of selecting the student advisor to the board has been one of the most important tasks we've done this year. The process as followed was completely student-driven. However, we do want to thank Dr. Johnson for the guidance and support she provided us throughout the school year. In the winter of the 2025-2026 school year, high school principals were asked to select nominations for the position, which would be submitted to the school's

051principal advisory committee. The principal advisory committee for each school was given until January 31st, to select and submit the names of two candidates along with the following information. A letter of reference from a faculty member or principal, student transcript that demonstrates that this candidate is in good standing, a student written essay explaining why the student would be a good nominee for the position of the student board advisor to the Board of Education and then a resume highlighting their education, accomplishments, job or volunteering experience, skills, and other points of interest. We received a total of 11 student nomination packets that were completed and submitted by the deadline. This included students from the following schools: Bartlett, Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin, Streamwood, and Abbott Academy. We then held a meeting to narrow down the the candidates and concluded

052that we will interview six candidates based on their strengths that they each possess. In March, the Superintendent Student Advisory Council then interviewed all six of them. During our interviews, we looked far beyond student performance in narrowing our list. Our goal was to select those students who could represent the voices of all high school students and who are driven to make a difference. Based on the review of each candidate and the interviews we conducted, we are recommending to the Board of Education our two finalists in this preference: Stephanie Flores from Elgin High School and Erika Hawk from Bartlett High School. It is my pleasure to recommend Stephanie Flores, an exceptional 11th-grade student at Elgin High School, as the next student board member for the 2026-27 school year. As an International Baccalaureate student, Stephanie has demonstrated remarkable

053academic excellence maintaining an impressive GPA while taking on a rigorous course load. She is widely recognized for her strong work ethic, intellectual curiosity, and genuine commitment to learning. Stephanie consistently goes be above and beyond not only in her academics but also in her involvement within the school community. Stephanie is a dedicated and impactful leader who actively contributes to her school and community. As president of the Organization of Latin American Students, she leads meetings, plans events, and creates an inclusive environment where all students feel valued. One of her most notable accomplishments includes securing a sponsorship from Chicago Bears bringing recognition and pride to her school and community. In addition, Stephanie serves on the Superintendent Student Advisory Council and the Principal Advisory Board, participates in Mock Trial, and represents the Elgin Police Department Explorers at the national

054level. Through these roles, she consistently demonstrates initiative, professionalism, and a strong commitment to representing her peers. Beyond her achievements, Stephanie is compassionate and driven in is an indi- driven individual, my apologies, who leads with empathy and purpose. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and has earned the Seal of Biliteracy often serving as a valuable resource for students and families in her community. With a strong interest in law and public services, Stephanie aspires to become an attorney, a goal that reflects her sense of justice and dedication to making a positive impact. Known for her integrity, confidence, and ability to connect with others, Stephanie is well prepared to represent the student voices at the district level. I strongly recommend Stephanie Flores for the 2026-27 student advisor to the Board of Education as she will serve with

055insight, professionalism, and an unwavering dedication. Erika Hawk is an outstanding 11th-grade student at Bartlett High School whose academic excellence and determination sets her apart. She consistently demonstrates strong intellectual curiosity and a deep commitment to learning approaching challenges with persistent and focus. Erika is a thoughtful commentated communicator who asks meaningful questions and engages fully in her education reflecting both confidence and a genuine desire for growth. In addition to her academic strengths, Erika brings a unique perspective as a student who has experienced multiple schools within the district. She quickly built positive connections with peers and contributes to a collaborative and supportive environment. Erika is dependable, insightful, and unafraid to speak up in pursuit of understanding. For these reasons, we confidently recommend Erika Hawk as a 2026-27 alternate student advisor to the Board of Education knowing she will

056represent her peers with integrity and dedication. Let us emphasize again though that each of the candidates we reviewed would make an excellent student advisor to the Board of Education. Our deepest appreciation goes out to those students who were nominated and agreed to participate in this process. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the hard work of the entire Superintendent Student Advisory Council for dedicating additional time out of their schedules to review applications and conduct interviews. Thank you for your time. Thank you all again. >> [applause] >> So, thank you for the time that you put into both this presentation but more importantly into the the work that you all did to uh review the candidates, to go through the interviews, to put this presentation together for us. We really really appreciate it. We recognize that that's

057a lot of work on top of all the other work that you're doing as part of uh your schooling career goes. So, um thank you. Thank you because this is a an important link and I know that the the link that the student board member has between the work that we do here on the board and what she can deliver the the student board member can deliver back to the um to the students as far as being a voice um is really important in the work that we do. So, um very much appreciate it and to Ms. Hawk and to Ms. Flores, thank you for participating. Um we look forward to welcoming uh as the new board uh student board member um and thank you for for participating in the process. We really appreciate it.

058Do board members have any questions? Okay. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay, the next item on the agenda is work session, Dr. Jackson. Thank you, President Owens. Our next item is the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school calendars. Mark Morris, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, will provide an update to the Board of Education regarding the proposed calendar calendars for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school years. Here we go. All right, good evening. Um as you know, every year around this time we present a calendar for not the upcoming year but the year after. This time we're going 2 years out cuz many of our peer districts are starting to do that and there's really no reason not to give advance notice to the community on what the calendar will be. So, we're presenting 2 years now and then

059in the future we'll be two school years ahead going forward. So, next year we would bring the 29-30. Uh the first one up is 27-28. As you know, this next school year we're starting considerably later than we have been for construction. So, we're not starting till um the week before Labor Day or a week and a half before Labor Day. This next calendar moves us back a week but not all the way to where we are currently with no intent in the future to get back to the uh second week of August. So, our pattern, which you can see on this calendar has us start the third week of August on Monday when teachers return and students on Thursday. So, Monday is August 16th of '27. Thursday is August 19th of '27. The um moving

060through, as you probably remember, in some years there's an election day in November in the even years. In the odd years, there is not. So, on even years we would assign an institute day to the election day in November. In odd years, there is no election day, so it's no issue. Uh we do continue to serve as polling places for much of Cook the schools in Cook County. King County does not use our schools and I we may have one in DuPage. But because we have electors coming into our buildings, we want to not have students those days. But there's nothing there's no um reason not to have teachers and employees on site. So, we'll use them as institute days. Uh a change starting in November of '27 is a full week off for Thanksgiving.

061That is in line with District 300 where they have uh parent conferences Monday and Tuesday but no students the whole week. In St. Charles 303, they have uh had the whole week as non-attendance for many years now. So, our neighbors to the north and the south already don't have students those days. We'll join them. Um many and as you know, many of our families like to travel for Thanksgiving and uh of course, many of our employees do. Our attendance for students goes down, our attendance for staff goes down that week. Um so, we'll just avoid that and and uh have vacation or holiday. Um continuing back then from winter break, as usual, we come back as uh the first Monday after New Year's Day. And this year it would be January 3rd, that's the earliest

062we would ever come back. Put an institute day in there. Moving down, there's always an election in March, uh typically the third week in the even years. Uh it's primary election. So, in this year it's the 21st, we use an institute day there. The agreement among the King County districts is that spring break will be the week that includes March 31st. So, you'll always see spring break somewhere that week where the 31st is part of spring break. And then uh ending school in this year on June 2nd of 2028 with graduation moving to Saturday that year as we've already uh adopted the contract with the Now Arena for that day. Uh it is certainly to our benefit to have school end as close to graduation as possible and if we had readopted the current calendar,

063we would be out of school more than a week before graduation. I don't think that's a good situation for staff or students. Questions on that year? Done. I guess this would be a question for both calendars, so you can save it for later. Have you received any feedback from staff on these two calendars? Uh we did share both with ETA leadership and gathered feedback and incorporated their feedback uh partially into the calendar. Um we don't send it out for general um survey purposes. Okay. And then for the um 27 28 calendar, the one you just went through. Yep. I'm assuming parent-teacher conferences will still be that time in October, at towards the end of October? >> That would be the the 29th, yeah. Okay. Thank you. Done. So um I'm kind of looking at it

064just like kind of the larger changes, so our community kind of is is aware of the ones. One of the things, and I think this is more of a high school um change than really for um elementary, and probably not middle school, is that um end of first semester will now be after the holidays. That's correct. Um and I know that we don't really do final exams anymore. I think it's just good for the community to understand, so our high school students know that that shifts. Um I'm assuming we didn't really get pushback from any high school staff on that, like there being concerns with that semester ending later. We did not get feedback from ETA leadership. Perfect. Thank you. And then the other um and this is more specific to 27 28. Um I

065know one of the things we're going to hear from from the community is the summer. >> [laughter] >> Cuz we're going from an extremely long one for construction this year. It It looks to me when I looked at it, and now of course it's a little bit more difficult for me to look at it now. It It looks by us starting at the 17th, this goes back to very close to the summer we had last year. Is that accurate? That they're not losing This summer isn't extremely That summer won't be too super short. Right. So this summer we're ending a few days earlier than normal and going back to school almost 2 and 1/2 weeks later than normal. Yes. Um so it's it's close to four extra weeks this summer. The summer of 27, we're

066letting out on June 9th, assuming no snow days. And going back on August 19th. So it's 2 months plus 10 days. And but that's similar to what we used to do. >> It's still going to be a week to two short of what everyone's used to from prior summers, but there's really there's really no way around that. We knew it was going to be a change. Just trying to make sure we're not doing anything too crazy to our students and staff the that first summer with the change. >> Yes. Thank you. Any other questions? Proceed to the next. The next one follows the very same pattern, so we start that same week of August in 2028. Uh continue down. Of course it's an even year, so there is a November Hold for a second cuz

067it's not up on the screen yet. >> [snorts] >> Can I close it and reopen? I think. Were you all able to see that okay? Okay. So summer of 28, we would go back that same week of August as in 27. Teachers on Monday, uh students on Thursday. There is an election in November, so we would have the 7th and the 6th off for institute day. We're trying to avoid when possible the Tuesday off as that does not lend itself to encouraging attendance on Monday. Uh so we go with two institute days, one of those would be the parent conferences. 6th or the 7th. Um full year full week for Thanksgiving again, and you'll see that in calendars in the future, we expect. Then after break, um Christmas and New Year's are on Monday, so

068this is where the break moves to mostly after New Year's instead of before Christmas, as happens every 6 or 7 years. Uh end of the semester right before Martin Luther King birthday. Um spring break again, including the week that includes Mar- March 31st. And then we have uh the spring election in 29, which is the consolidated election, is on April 3rd. So to avoid the have a whole spring break, come back Monday, have Tuesday off, we put the spring holiday on April 2nd. So for teachers, spring break goes the whole week plus Monday. For students, it includes Tuesday. So it is a longer spring break than normal for students, but the arrange- It's just from the arrangement of the days. There's not another day off somewhere else. Um institute day on the 27th. Uh something

069I should mention is in fact what's happening this week. As you know, we're We originally scheduled this week's Friday to be an institute day. We had a snow day this year, so instead of having students on to say I mean we've got, you know, on this agenda item alone, we've got a number of attachments. Um I'm assuming that there might be some more follow-up questions this this go around because we don't have access right now to be able to ask further questions when we have these presentations. Um so uh for board members, um you know, when you're able then to see these attachments, um go ahead and send the questions to Dr. Johnson and to myself, um and then we will work to to make sure that we get the the questions answered, but, you

070know, understanding it's a little bit difficult to ask questions when we don't have the paperwork in front of >> get you those answers when you have them. Questions? But does anybody have any questions having said that? I just have one question. When are we Are we voting on this at the next meeting? Yes. Yes, for here on out where everything is pushed to vote on the next meeting, so there's nothing actionable from this point forward. So yes, we have time to to get those questions answered. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, our next item, advancement via individual determination AVID 7 8 and AVID 1 through 4 curriculum proposal. Beth McKinney, coordinator of instruction programs and supports, will present to the Board of Education the AVID 7 8 and AVID 1 through 4 curriculum

071proposal for the 2026 2027 school year. Administration recommends approval of the AVID 7 8 and AVID 1 through 4 curriculum proposal at no cost to the district as it is included in the board-approved AVID membership. And requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. And I think that you do have a presentation. >> I'm having trouble I think I clicked I can see it on my screen, but I don't know if it's going to the other screen. There it goes. >> it now? You see it? Yep. Excellent. Okay. I'm trying to get it into the slideshow view, but it doesn't want to do that for me. Are we okay with this view?

072I don't know if it's going to move for me. Veronica, does it have Do you want to move over to another desk or Don? I mean, it is really small. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, we can Well, every time I click on the slideshow to view it, it just stalls out on me. Thank you. Does that help? There we go. Thank you very much, Claire. Does anybody want to switch seats with me to be able to see better? Okay. Would you like us to ask them to get rid of the side by side? Yes. If it's perfect. Thank you. Okay. Is that better for everybody? Okay. Thank you. Okay. Again, my name is Beth McKinney, coordinator of instructional programs and supports in post-secondary success, and I'm presenting a proposal for the adoption of aligned curriculum for

073the advancement via individual determination or AVID elective in grades 7 through 12. We are seeking adoption of an aligned curriculum. Um we call this AVID 7 and 8, and then in the high school, it is called AVID 1 through 4, the elective course. The purpose of our curriculum work was to reduce variability in the implementation of the AVID elective across the district and to strengthen the vertical alignment of skill development within the program. The AVID middle The AVID elective curriculum is aligned with the school district U-46 strategic plan goals 3 and 4. The course standards support rigorous academic preparation as outlined in goal 3, academic growth and mastery. Additionally, the opportunity knowledge standards promote student learning that advances goal 4, ready to embrace a diverse and changing world. The work of the curriculum team was

074informed by the AVID college and career readiness framework. The AVID elective standards are organized into three categories: rigorous academic preparedness, opportunity knowledge, and student agency. Further, the academic preparation of the course is accomplished through writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading skill development with the overall purpose of college and career readiness. The development of these skills is rooted in belief in self. If students believe they are capable, there's a foundational confidence to learn and a resiliency to overcome setbacks. The work of the curriculum development was accomplished by two committees, one for the middle school and one for the high school. Our work um was shared among those two committees so that they could further think about um the way skills were developed vertically, and each committee was comprised of teachers from multiple schools across the district

075who met on multiple occasions to collaborate. On this slide and the next are a list of those teachers who dedicated their time to this work. I should note that this um work with the AVID elective, which has been supported in the district since 2009, had never been undertaken in this district. So, teachers have been implementing with great success, but without having alignment in their work in this way. The development process began in fall of when the curriculum committee convened to analyze the standards. Each grade level's AVID elective includes 64 standards, which were systemically organized into essential learner outcomes. These outcomes were then aligned with ELA Common Core, WIDA, and Illinois social emotional learning standards. A key component of this work involved identifying the vertical progression of skills embedded within the standards. Educators concentrated their efforts

076on designing summative assessments to measure each essential learner outcome. This slide shows a typical week in the AVID elective. A typical week balances organization, academic support, and college readiness. Early in the week, students often focus on organization, goal setting, and learning WICOR strategies, writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading. Two days of the week are dedicated to tutorials where students work in groups to solve questions from their core classes through inquiry-based discussion. And throughout the week, students also build college and career skills such as note-taking and time management. The week usually ends with reflection on learning and progress. The proposed AVID curriculum is grounded in multiple standards frameworks to ensure comprehensive approach to student development. It integrates standards focused on student agency, rigorous academic preparation, and opportunity knowledge alongside Common Core ELA and social studies, WIDA, and

077Illinois social emotional learning standards. This alignment supports both academic achievement and the development of essential social and emotional skills. This curriculum utilizes the AVID-provided resource Weeks at a Glance included with our AVID membership. These units incorporate activities aligned to AVID standards and include formative assessments to monitor student progress towards those standards. The Weeks at a Glance materials were updated by AVID in 2024 and 2025. The new curriculum for AVID 7 and 8 and the high school elective will be implemented beginning in the fall of 2026. We'll begin preparing teachers this summer for strong implementation of this updated curriculum. Professional learning for teachers will be delivered through AVID events and the post-secondary success department across multiple phases in 2026. This spring, AVID elective teachers will begin receiving training on the new curriculum. During the summer, teachers

078new to AVID will participate in a regional path training, receiving instruction directly from AVID Center on the specific skills and strategies that they will be implemented in that elective. And in the fall, we will have meetings um and professional learning to focus on deeper curriculum work, analyzing those standards, and showing how they are aligned to the summative assessments. Costs for the AVID Weeks at a Glance that are included in our annual membership, um which are included in the annual membership for each AVID school, the total cost of those memberships for the 15 middle and high middle and high schools implementing the AVID elective is $74,760. In addition, the cost for the professional learning of up to six staff members from each secondary school does total $61,650, and those are numbers for the 2026-2027 school year.

079AVID educators will continue advancing the implementation of a ongoing collaboration, including regular analysis of student performance data from summative assessments to inform and refine instructional practices. AVID site teams will systemically report data for students enrolled in the AVID elective and complete our secondary implementation tool on an annual basis. Additionally, site teams will conduct comprehensive analyses of student outcomes, including course grades, enrollment in rigorous coursework, and and attendance trends to guide continuous program improvement and decision-making. Thank you for the presentation. Do board members have any questions? Okay. Thank you. Okay, and the next item. Our next item is Honors Spanish 4, Advanced Placement French and Spanish Languages, and Heritage Spanish Curriculum Proposal. Celia Banks, director of curriculum and instruction, and Jacob Vandermartel, coordinator of K-12 social studies and world languages, will present to the Board of

080Education the Honors Excuse [snorts] me. Excuse me. The Honors Spanish 4, Advanced Placement French and Spanish Languages, and Heritage Spanish Curriculum Proposal for the 2026-2027 school year. Administration [snorts] recommends approval of the Honors Spanish 4, Advanced Placement French and Spanish Languages, and Heritage Spanish Curriculum Proposal in the amount of $29,961.16 and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. It's showing on our end. How about getting it up there? There we go. Awesome. Thank you so much. All right. Well, good evening, everyone. I am Jacob Van Mortel, curriculum coordinator for K-12 social studies and world languages, joined by Ms. Celia Banks. Um and we are seeking the adoption of the funding for our

081new curriculum and curriculum resources for those courses. Uh AP French, honors Spanish 4, AP Spanish language, and heritage Spanish. And I think anytime uh someone from the CUSD department stands here, we're obviously speaking to strategic plan goal number three around academic growth and mastery through the adoption of high-quality instructional materials and aligning that to a rigorous curriculum. Uh tonight, I also believe we're speaking to goal four uh about being ready to embrace a diverse and changing world because we are looking at advanced placement opportunities and seal of biliteracy opportunities through the culmination of these courses. I also think we're speaking to goal two around safety, sense of belonging, and inclusion uh both because of the interculturality that the resources we are selecting and the way we are doing the the culture component of ACTFL uh

082fits in and because we're listening to our students about um the types of courses they want to have and I think that that builds sense of belonging as well, too. So, tonight's rationale really Tonight is the completion of our transition towards advanced placement courses being the culminating course for students in a world language pathway through all four years. We were here last year uh doing that change, talking about how we were moving to advanced placement, and with your approval, we went ahead and put those courses in the course calendar uh course selection sheets. Students selected those courses, teachers are excited about those courses, um and I said we'd be back with the resources and the curriculum for this sort of in-between um course, honors Spanish 4, because of the unique relationship that our students in

083our district have to learning Spanish languages, whether they're coming from middle school or dual language programs or heritage programs or move-ins. There's a lot of different ways, and so the feedback was we need to have a an in-between space uh that's like honors Spanish 4. It's not quite AP yet. So, we're also bringing the curricular parts of that forward. Sorry, this is a long slide. I'm going to keep talking through it. Uh obviously, this speaks to um the reason we're moving towards uh AP is for those opportunities for college credit uh both through the AP exam as well as a seal of biliteracy. Uh and that talks That brings us to the advanced placement text. Uh we have taught AP Spanish language for many years in this district. We've been using a text called Temas

084from Vista Higher Learning. And with the changes to that exam this year, our teachers actually came to us and said, "Can we do a one-year renewal while they get their new product that speaks to the new test?" We went to the They said, "Yes." And because we have traditionally bundled that resource with our heritage Spanish resource, Galería, from the same company, VHL, we said, "Can we bundle those both for 1 year to see the savings and then we'll evaluate both of those once they have their new AP books ready next fall." So, lots of different things going on in this proposal, but they are all related. Our committee, it's nice when you have an amazing team of world language teachers. All of our Spanish 4 teachers participated in the selection of the resource and then

085the alignment of the curriculum to that resource. We only have five AP French teachers, and they all universally were on board with our choice for AP French. And then again, with AP Spanish language, it was the teachers who came to us and said, "Can we do 1 year?" We said, "Yes, we will." And so, they'll also be invited back when we review those materials for next year as well. Um kind of a reminder of where the process was. It was in 2023-2024 when we were rolling up the fourth year of our Japanese program that was new. Uh we made the decision to move away from sort of just an honors 4 model to an AP model for the reasons we've we've talked about, the externally validated credit, college opportunities, things like that. The following year,

0862024-2025, when we were redesigning the entire world language pathway and purchasing new resources, we recommended the same thing for the rest of our languages. And that was last year, so this year we're bringing forward the resources for those uh as well as like I said, the feedback from our teachers, our students, and our counselors was that there was still um a need for a place for students who were not ready for AP Spanish language, but were in a fourth year of language study, and so we spent this past year determining um what the contents of that honors Spanish 4 course would be, and we're bringing that forward as well. And then next year, in school year 2026-2027, we will finally have all of those fourth-year culminating options available and running for our students. Um all

087of them leading to some sort of external validation. Uh we use the Illinois State Board of Education's world language standards, which are quite literally copied and pasted from the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Um that is where we get our proficiency scales from. I'll talk more about those in a moment. Uh but what's also important here is because we are heading towards uh the College Board AP classes, we align all of the courses that lead to those uh with their themes um and all the courses essentially are building like a pre-AP course as well. So, on this particular slide, you'll see French and Spanish. That's because um we're bringing forward the resources for AP French tonight. That's because we already did AP Japanese 2 years ago, thank you very much. And uh

088as I mentioned last year, we are using for AP German the book that we had previously used for German 4. So, there's really no need to bring those tonight, so I'm highlighting them French, but I will note that is the German and the Japanese and the French program sequence. You start as a freshman with French 1, French 2, then as a junior you move to honors French 3, and then you have the opportunity to take advanced placement French language and culture. It's a little bit different in Spanish because there's so many different ways you might get there. Many of our students will take Spanish 1A or 1B in 7th and 8th grade of middle school and then start in Spanish 2 as freshman in the high school, then honors Spanish 3, then they can take

089AP Spanish language or they could take honors Spanish 4. Um after that, there's some other options as well, but we're not touching those tonight, so I'm not even going to try and add that to the slide. Um but the important thing here, and I'm just going to go into the weeds for a minute. On the ACTFL proficiency scales, there's essentially several levels. It starts with novice, um novice, intermediate, Sorry, I'm blanking. Novice, intermediate, advanced, superior, distinguished. And then in each of those, there's a low, middle, and high. We've aligned those to each of our each of our courses has a a landing point where by the end of the year you should be at that. And I'm going into the weeds because it's important to note honors Spanish 3 ends at novice high. And both

090advanced placement Spanish language and culture and honors Spanish 4 begin at the next level, which is intermediate low. So, it's not like if you do well, you go to one, or you don't do well, you go to the other. The option is there. You're ready for both classes at the end. The difference is advanced placement Spanish language goes all the way to advanced low or to advanced mid. So, you're doing like a year and three quarters in span of a year. Whereas honors Spanish 4 starts in the same place, but gets you to intermediate high. So, you do a little bit less rapid advancement. The key here though is obviously the uh advanced placement course has the opportunity for college credit by getting a four or a five on the AP exam. Honors Spanish 4,

091students who are achieving the expected proficiency of intermediate high are ready to take and pass the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy exam. So, both of these courses still culminate in an opportunity for an externally validated credit potentially at college. It's just the speed and how far beyond they go is a little bit different, and that depends on each student. So, the resources we're recommending here um I've kind of bunched them by vendor. So, you'll see up here uh from They're both from Wayside. AP French is We're recommending AP Pronoms. I'm not a French speaker. I'm not sure if that's right or not. Um and that's from Wayside as well as for honors Spanish 4, Entre Culturas 4. Um these are natural fits. They're industry leaders. I'm not going to read the entire slides to you,

092but what's really good here is that this is the company and the suite that our students are learning language on from the beginning. Our teachers are familiar with it. There's a fantastic online suite of feedback tools to give students feedback on both how they speak and how they interact with each other. Um and so, teachers are really excited about that. And then for um AP Spanish language and our heritage classes, we're going through a company called Vista Higher Learning. AP Spanish language is this the one-year renewal of Temas. Um Temas has a fantastic online suite of audio, video, uh constantly updating authentic texts. Uh teachers have used this book for a while. This is the one I mentioned at the very beginning that they do not have the new test book ready, but they will

093starting next year. And so, we're doing the one-year renewal to give them a chance to get that together. There's very few resources on AP Spanish language in the marketplace. So, to wait until that one's ready before we do our review made a ton of sense. And like I said, because we have always bundled them together, they were um they came to it at the same time. We're also bundling Galería in there as well for 1 year. We'll review Galería going forward for next year, too, along with any other heritage things, knowing full well that through this process and talking with the vendors, if we do elect to go with both together, there are significant savings to be had. Implementation plan, um there's lots on this slide, but I'm going to highlight this year is what

094we've been doing. We've been writing these courses and choosing these and making sure kids know that they can take them. It's next year that they will be fully available and be running. And because they'll be running, we'll have common assessments in the data to determine is what we say we're doing working, where we know exactly what the proficiency scales are and how students are doing. That will then lead into next year when we review Temas and Galeria or alternative options for those courses for a longer term adoption, and then all the courses will be up and running with full text adoptions, and we'll be able to evaluate both usage of the resource as well as the um the alignment of the the common assessments to the actual proficiency scales, which leads to Seal of Biliteracy

095and Advanced Placement. Um Professional learning is uh relatively short because our teachers are familiar with both of these products, and so next DCD, we've got 2 and 1/2 hours on each of the things. Um similar cost, grand total of $11,000. And then the you've got two costs here, Wayside uh and VHL. Wayside is the AP French and Spanish 4 at $29,961.16. And then VHL is for our AP Spanish language and for our heritage learners. It's $90,589.25. That is one year, and it is significantly higher. That's because we have many more students in those classes than the other two. Um I told you I I believe that we are speaking to strategic goal Sorry, strategic plan goals two, three, and four. And if we are doing what we say we're doing because of the inclusivity and

096the um the way these text speak to the entire Francophone world or the entire Spanish-speaking world and the way that they try to place students in different cultural settings, we believe that they will students will be able to see themselves as world learners. Uh and because we heard their feedback around we need to have a different sort of class for our that's not just AP Spanish, we believe that'll also lead to an increased sense of belonging, which should reflect itself in our Panorama. Uh for goal three, uh these we are deriving our common assessments from these, and this is the curriculum derived from those, so we're very excited to see that data start to roll in. And then goal four um is the state Seal of Biliteracy and the Advanced Placement scores. And so if

097indeed those are the proposed results, the evaluation of change would be simply looking at the Panorama scores, the district common assessment scores, and the Seal of Biliteracy and Advanced Placement scores when they come in. That concludes this presentation. Thank you for the presentation. I especially want to thank you for the explanation on the range of both uh Honors Spanish 4 and the AP class. That was my my question and how they both would set students up for the Seal of Biliteracy test. So, thank you for explaining that. Do board members have any questions? No? Okay, thank you. Okay, that moves us on the agenda to work session resolutions, Dr. Johnson. Thank you, President Owens. Uh first is a resolution declaring the need to continue usage of temporary classrooms. Sheila Downs, Assistant Superintendent of Operations, will

098present the attached resolution and updated summary list of mobile classrooms that will be used in the FY2027 school year and will respond to questions from the Board of Education. The FY2027 temporary facility reports are attached and contain a part one and part two. Administration recommends the Board of Education approve the resolution declaring the need to continue usage of temporary classrooms. Do board [snorts] members have any questions? Thank you. Thank you. Any next item? Oh, I'm sorry, that's the next the next next agenda item is work session bids and proposals, Dr. Johnson. Thank you, President Owens. First is a bid, Office of Schools elementary supply kits. Dr. Annette Acevedo, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, will present the attached proposal summary and will respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends award to the lowest responsible

099bidder, School Family Media DBA Educate, in the amount of $631,869.57, and Paul's Supply Company Incorporated in the amount of $77,644.80, for the total amount of $709,514.37, and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure [snorts] will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Thank you. Do board members have any questions? Okay, next item. Next bid, Office of Schools secondary planners, Dr. Annette Acevedo. Acevedo is now joined by Julie Shoemaker, Executive Director of the Middle School Network, who will present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends award to the lowest responsible bidder, Global Printing and Design Incorporated, in the amount of $38,522, and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure

100will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Thank you. Do board members have any questions, Don? So, I'm going to apologize because I don't have the documents in front of me, and if I did, I would have this answer. Are these planners for high school and middle school? Yes. Thank you. >> [snorts] >> Any other questions? Okay, thank you. Next is a bid, Plan Operations South Elgin High School intercom and clock system replacement. Sheila Downs, Assistant Superintendent of Operations, and Jolene Lindeman, Capital Projects Coordinator, will present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends award to the lowest responsible bidder, Low Voltage Solutions Incorporated, in the amount of $2,885,733, and requests [snorts] authorization for district administration to

101execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the operations and maintenance fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025-2026 through 2026-2027 fiscal years. Do board members have any questions? Okay, thank you. Thank you. Next is a bid, Operations Unit U-46 Kimball Middle School capital improvement project abatement. Brian [snorts] Lindholm, Chief of Staff, and Dr. Ann Williams, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, will present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends award to the lowest responsible bidder, MNO Environmental, in the amount of $160,600, and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the capital projects fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Okay, thank you. Next item.

102Next bid, Operations Unit U-46 New Elgin Elementary School construction. Uh Romani Nathadeas, Brian Lindholm, Chief of Staff, and Dr. Ann Williams, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, to present the attached proposal summary and will respond to questions from the Board of Education. >> [snorts] >> Administration recommends award to the following lowest responsible builders bidders, sorry, including base bid and alternates 001 and 002, in the total amount of $41,988,842, and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. Now, I'm going to read every package description, recommended bidder, and award amount. Um so, everyone just hang tight. All right, package number one, excavation and site work, Kellerberger Incorporated, in the amount of $3,730,875. Package two, landscaping and retaining walls, KD Landscape Incorporated, $1,879,000. Package three, building concrete, Ed Fogarty Concrete Construction Incorporated, $2,329,610. Package four, masonry, Awanski Masonry

103Incorporated, $5,740,000. Package five, steel, Affordable Welding US Incorporated, $3,235,000. Package six, roofing, Melcor Roofing of Illinois Incorporated, $1,837,400. Package seven, general trades, Hargrave Builders Incorporated, $4,672,450. Package eight, glass and glazing, 3F Corporation, $1,985,000. Package nine, painting, Uptown Painting and Construction Incorporated, $365,190. Package 10, flooring and ceramic tile, Diversify Pro LLC, $1,398,646. Package 11, casework, Hargrave Builders Incorporated, $843,450. Package 12, fire protection, Nelson Fire Protection Company, $332,689. Package 13, plumbing, Hartwig Mechanical LLC, $1,000,000. $565,000. Package 14, HVAC, DeKalb Mechanical Incorporated, $4,825,000. Package 15, electrical, Carey Electrical Contracting LLC, $5,026,888. Package 16, kitchen equipment, Trimark Marlin LLC 204,413 dollars and 91 cents. Package 17 building demolition American Demolition Corporation 861,230 dollars. Package 18 asphalt paving and site concrete Schroeder Asphalt Services Incorporated 1,157,000 dollars for a total of 41,988,842 dollars. This expenditure will be charged to the

104capital projects fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 fiscal years. Do board members have any questions? Don. Thank you for bringing this forward. Um Our original estimate was about 60 million dollars. Were there any substantial changes to the project itself or do we just think it is a very favorable bidding environment at this time? Well, we believe that it was a very competitive bidding environment at every one of our bid openings prior to this. We spoke about what was coming and there was additional work. So, we did have over 100 companies come out for this bid and that also it's also important to keep in mind that this is the construction cost exclusive of fees, exclusive of soft cost, furniture and all of those pieces. So, we do anticipate

105that the total will be probably somewhere around 58 million. >> Okay. Which is still below our initial estimates. Yes. >> Great. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Next is a proposal information services 2026-2027 student Chromebooks. Jim Wolfe, director of information services will present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the proposal from CDW Government LLC in the amount of 3,381,600 dollars and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Thank you. Next is a proposal Office of Schools Instructional Empowerment. Dr. Annetta Acevedo, assistant superintendent of schools, will present the attached proposal

106summary and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the proposal from Instructional Empowerment in the amount of 273,600 dollars and 60 cents and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. Cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Okay. Thank you. Next is a proposal plant operations age and obsolescence food service truck purchase. Sheila Downs, assistant superintendent attendant of operations, and Nick Corin, coordinator of grounds, will present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the proposal from Trans Chicago Truck Group in the amount of 381,586 dollars and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged

107to the operations and maintenance fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fiscal years. Do board members have any questions? Thank you. Thank you. Okay. The next item on our agenda is work session contracts over 35,000. Dr. Johnson. Thank you, President Owens. First is a contract renewal curriculum and instruction HMH Ariba La Lectura. Celia Banks, director of curriculum and instruction, and Jacqueline Johnson, coordinator of literacy and libraries, will present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with HMH Ariba La Lectura in the amount of 107,970 dollars and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Do

108board members have any questions? Thank you. Next is a contract renewal curriculum and instruction Newsela balanced assessment by formative. Our team is still here to present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Newsela in the amount of 494,444 dollars and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Okay. Thank you. Uh next is a contract renewal curriculum and instruction Gale Cengage Learning. Again, our team is here to present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Gale Cengage Learning in the amount of

109818,550 dollars and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 through 2028-2029 fiscal years. >> Do board members have any questions? Okay. Next item. Next item is a contract renewal curriculum and instruction Scholastic News. Our team is still present to provide the attached proposal and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Scholastic Classroom Magazines in the amount of 174,000 304 dollars and 7 cents and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included [snorts] in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Okay. Next item. Next we have

110a contract renewal curriculum and instruction ProQuest. We're getting all of these taken care of tonight. Um our team is presenting the attached proposal and will respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with ProQuest LLC in the amount of 110,580 dollars and 57 cents and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Okay. Next item. Next contract renewal curriculum and instruction Vista Higher Learning. Joining Celia Banks, director of curriculum and instruction, is Jacob Van De Mortel, coordinator of K-12 social studies and world languages to present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval

111of the contract renewal with Vista Higher Learning in the amount of 90,589 dollars and 25 cents and request authorization for the district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Okay. Thank you. And lastly, contract renewal plant operations train maintenance and service. Sheila Downs, assistant superintendent of plant operations, and Josh Beu, coordinator of maintenance operations, will present the attached proposal and will respond to questions from the Board of Education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Trans Chicago Service in the amount of 2,167,987 dollars and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the operations and maintenance fund. The cost is included in

112the budget for the 2025-2026 through 2028-2029 fiscal years. Do board members have any questions? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. That is the last item on our agenda. I will take a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Ms. Martin. Yes. Ms. Nolan. >> Yes. Ms. Schwartz. >> Yes. President Owens. >> Yes. We adjourn at 8:45 p.m. Thank you, everyone. >> Yeah.