Board Brief for April 28, 2011

Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m.

Recognition:

• The Board presented Ambassador for Excellence Awards to four students for their achievement at the 25th annual Japanese Regional Speech Contest on March 26. Chase Dorn, from Addams, received first place. Margie Vollkommer placed second; Jordan Nowlin placed third; and Eliot Chang received the special award. These three students are from Dooley.
• Ambassador awards also were given to District 54 students who qualified for the 2011 Illinois You Be the Chemist competition. Akhila Rao of Addams placed fifth in the state; Arun Arjunikani of Mead placed eighth; Danielle Grubb of Keller placed 20th; and Zohra Tabassum of Keller placed 26^th.
• In addition, the Board honored 18 students who qualified for the state PTA Reflections competition. Three of these students received honorable mentions at state – Krislyn Cardoza of Hoover, Brian Modelski of Nerge and Anthony Preucil of Frost. Michael Einig of Keller qualified for the national competition, to be held later this year.
• Vincent Chang, a fifth-grade student at Hoover, won the grand prize for his entry in the National Energy Foundation’s Energy by Design poster contest.
• Krishna Murali, a first-grade student at Hoover, won a rain barrel for Hoover by entering the Illinois Department of Transportation’s rain barrel design competition.
• Teacher Jacki McSheffrey and reading specialist Shannon Steen received Above and Beyond Awards for their work with the kindergarten students at Blackwell School most in need of academic intervention.
• The School Board also presented certificates of recognition to the many crossing guards who work near District 54 schools.

Approval of Minutes

• The School Board approved the minutes of the regular board meeting on April 7, 2011

Results of Canvass for the April 5, 2011 School Board Election:  The Board accepted the results of the canvass for the April 5, 2011 School Board election.

Oath of Office for Newly Elected Board Members:  The board members who were elected on April 5 took the oath of office. They are Bill Harper, Barbara Hengels and Mary Kay Prusnick.

Motion to Adjourn Sine Die

Call to Order of New Board

Appointment of President Pro Tem:  The Board appointed Karen Strykowski as president pro tem.

Election of Board Officers:  The Board elected Teresa Huber as president, Charlotte Kegarise as vice president and Karen Strykowski as secretary.

Establishment of Schedule for Regular Board Meetings:  The Board approved the schedule and location for regular Board of Education meetings for July 2011 through June 2012. See the board meetings web page for the exact dates.

Adoption of Rules, Regulations, Policies and Procedures:  The Board adopted the rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the prior School District 54 Board of Education.

Public Comment:  No one asked to speak.

Freedom of Information Act Requests: There have been 10 requests since the last meeting related to the board policy on food allergies, renovation projects, the purchase of computers and employee health care benefits.

Consent Agenda: The School Board approved the following items on the Consent Agenda:

• Checks dated April 8, 2011
• Resignations, leaves, employment and salary adjustments of personnel
• Monthly update of revenues and expenditures
• Treasurer’s Report on Cash and Investments for February 2011
• A contract for optional, parent-paid student accident insurance
• A contract for paving work at 11 District 54 sites
• A contract for seal-coating work at 15 District 54 sites
• A contract for moving at six schools during summer renovation projects
• A contract for the replacement of playground equipment at Churchill
• A contract for the purchase and installation of audio/video projection systems in fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms
• A contract for power installation for the projection systems
• The purchase of software licensing and support from Discovery Education (for United Streaming), from Atomic Learning, from Microsoft; from Dell and from Weidenhammer CIMS
• A proclamation recognizing Tuesday, May 3, 2011, as National Teacher Day.

Reports:

• Superintendent’s Report: Ed Rafferty announced that Dooley received a $7,000 grant from the Toshiba International Foundation to buy seven document cameras for reading instruction in the Japanese-English dual language program and to fund Japanese language classes for adults and Campanelli received a $34,000 state grant for its Chinese Immersion Program.
• Report of the President: Teresa Huber thanked Karen Strykowski for serving as board president the past two years.
• District Citizens’ Advisory Committee Report: Barbara Hengels reported that DCAC offered feedback on the District 54 web redesign this year.
• Foundation Report: Bill Harper announced the golf outing would be June 13. The Foundation is seeking golfers, sponsors and donors. More information can be found at www.d54foundation.com.
• PTA Report: PTA Council President Kathy Pritscher reminded everyone the PTA Scholarship Dinner is Wednesday, May 4. Twelve students will receive $2,000 scholarships.

New Business:

• The Board approved the appointment of representatives to the District Citizens’ Advisory Committee for the 2011-12 school year.
• The Board approved revisions to Board Policy KB – Public Access to District Records.
• The Board approved a new policy called GCBA – Temporary and Permanent Incapacity.

Announcements:

• Board members praised the District 54 recycling event (see story), the Hanover Highlands play – Get Ready, Get Set for College, and the early childhood classes at Armstrong and Lincoln Prairie.
• The Board also welcomed Mary Kay Prusnick.

Adjournment: The Board adjourned at 7:55 p.m. to closed session to discuss student disciplinary cases; the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the public body; and collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives.

Minutes from the March 17, 2011 Board Meeting

Please click here to view the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting on March 17, 2011

Board Brief for April 7, 2011

Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m.

Discussion – School Improvement Planning Process:

Assistant Superintendent Karen Hindman and the Enders-Salk SLT shared the school improvement planning process with the School Board.

A new template was created to standardize key data. The schools no longer have to create their own data charts. The template includes three consecutive years of Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) data broken down by grade level for reading and math.

After analyzing the data, each school team selects a research-based strategy to implement across all grade levels and then creates an action plan for professional development so that teachers have the tools to successfully implement the strategy. Next, each grade-level team writes goals for reading and math and develops a plan to monitor its implementation of the strategy.

The grade-level teams (PLCs) meet at least monthly to review their plan and determine if any of the instructional activities need to be modified. Schools meet every 90 days with the district’s administrative team and other schools to share their revisions, discuss concerns and report on progress (especially of targeted student subgroups).

The same process was used this year as schools developed their cultural improvement plan based on the data identified through the cultural assessment survey completed by staff in September 2010.

Six members of the Enders-Salk team explained how this process works at their school. They shared assessment data and demographic trends with the School Board, and then discussed strategies they implemented that work within the core curriculum and meet the needs of the whole child. Two of the strategies they highlighted were looping and grade-level flooding during intervention and enrichment time.

Public Comment:  No one asked to speak.

Recognition: The School Board presented a plaque to Board Secretary Melissa Hutchison to thank her for her years of service. Melissa opted not to seek re-election this year. Her last meeting will be April 28.

Freedom of Information Act Requests:  There have been eight requests since the last meeting related to union contracts, as well as renovation, painting, construction and paving projects.

Consent Agenda: The School Board approved the following items on the Consent Agenda:

• Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting on March 17, 2011
• Minutes of the  Closed-session Meeting on March 17, 2011
• Checks dated March 25, 2011
• Resignations, leaves and employment of personnel
• A contract for interior renovation at 24 sites during the summer
• A contract for library media center renovation at Collins and Fairview
• The purchase of materials for English Language Learners in the summer reading program
• The amended school calendar for 2010-11 with June 7 as the last day of school due to the use of two emergency days
• A proclamation in recognition of the Week of the Young Child, April 10-16, 2011

New Business:

• The Board approved revisions to the following policies:  IGAG – Student Substance Abuse, IIAD – Acceptable Use of the Internet, JGD – Student Suspension or Expulsion from School, JFA – Philosophy of Student Behavior and JHCDD – Food Allergy Management Program.
• The Board had the first reading of new policy GCBA – Temporary and Permanent Incapacity and of revisions to policy KB – Public Access to District Records.
• The Board appointed Jillian Gajewski as assistant principal for Mead Junior High School for the 2011-12 school year.

Announcements:

• Board Vice President Charlotte Kegarise congratulated Bill Harper and Barbara Hengels who were re-elected to the Board Tuesday night and welcomed Mary Kay Prusnick, who will be sworn in at the April 28 meeting.
• Board Secretary Melissa Hutchison reminded everyone about the Recycling Event on April 23 (click here for more information).
• Board Member Peggy Brothman announced that Charlotte Kegarise was named Schaumburg Township Senior Services Volunteer of the Year.

Adjournment: The Board adjourned at 8:12 p.m.