A video from tonight’s meeting will be posted to the District 54 YouTube channel after it has finished processing.
Recognition
Prior to the School Board meeting, the Board of Education presented Ambassador for Excellence Awards to more than 150 students. Ambassador for Excellence Awards are presented to individuals who have received an award outside District 54 and by doing so brought recognition to themselves, their school and our district.
- Anika Neklikar who qualified for the 2025 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision competition
- Abai Erkinbekov who received an Outstanding Student Technology Award from Infinitec North
- The 13 Mead students who qualified for the Illinois History Day competition, and two who received special awards at the regional competition
- Three students who took first, second and third place in the District 54 Geography Bee
- Teams of students from Collins, Hoover, Blackwell, Frost, Addams and Mead who placed in the Chain Reaction Competition
- Five students from Mead and Addams who placed in the District 54 App Challenge
- Hirdey Deepak and Diya Kolasani who are advancing to the international First Lego League tournament
- Teams from Keller, Frost and Mead who placed in the District 54 Junior High Math Competition
- Five Dooley students who placed in Japanese Language Speech Contests held at the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago
- Five students who advanced to the national level in Reflections, a PTA writing and fine arts competition, as well as 34 students who advanced to the state level
Click here for a complete list of winners.
Call to Order
Public Comment
No one asked to speak.
Administrative Report – Spring Instructional Updates
District 54 continues to strengthen instruction through the adoption of new curriculum and targeted professional development.
New Math Curriculum
In January 2025, the School Board approved Origo Stepping Stones and Imagine IM math curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade. Professional development is now underway to prepare teachers for implementation, and more offerings will be available during the summer and through coaching at school sites this fall. The updated curriculum will provide students opportunities to engage in hands-on learning, problem-solving activities and mathematical discourse.
K-2 Literacy Update
This fall, all kindergarten, first, and second grade classroom and support teachers were provided professional development and resources to support implementation of the K-2 Comprehensive Literacy Plan. The plan was developed to support staff with understanding, teaching and assessing the reading foundational standards during initial instruction and small group differentiated instruction, and professional development will continue during summer yearlong planning and the summer symposium. A family resource was created to highlight the reading foundational, informational and literature standards and provide suggestions for how families can support these areas at home. Current kindergarten and first-grade students will receive the resource in May, along with additional supports for summer learning, and incoming. These resources will be distributed to families during kindergarten orientation.
Assessment
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Fluency and MAP Growth, in conjunction with classroom assessments, are used to monitor student progress. Interventions, such as StoryChamps, Hearbuilder and Read to the Code, are used for primary students needing additional interventions in decoding or comprehension.
Solar Panel Lessons
Solar panels were installed at Addams and Hoover schools this fall, allowing all elementary and junior high students to participate in solar power lessons studying data specific to our community. Students participate in hands-on activities and interact with a digital solar energy monitoring tool called AlsoEnergy. Through this tool, staff and students can monitor energy production and consumption levels by the hour, day, month, year and lifetime.
Freedom of Information Act Requests
District 54 received and replied to 10 Freedom of Information Act requests since the last report to the Board related to purchasing records and annual expenses.
Consent Agenda
The Board approved the following items on the Consent Agenda.
- Minutes of the regular and closed session Board of Education meetings on March 13, 2025
- Resignations, leaves, termination, retirement, employment and re-employment of personnel
- Checks dated March 7 and 21, 2025
- The treasurer’s report on cash and investments for February 2025
- The monthly update of revenues and expenditures for February 2025
- The 2025-2026 Consolidated District Grant Plan
- A resolution requesting free transportation for students due to approved hazardous conditions for the 2025-2026 school year
- Declining a one-year contract for Fiber Optic Wide Area Networks Services, maintaining the current contract with Comcast Business Communications
- The release of the minutes of the closed-session meetings held on August 8, September 12, December 12 and December 16, 2024
- The destruction of the verbatim records of the closed-session school board meetings held on September 14 and October 12, 2023, for which approved minutes already exist
Board President’s Report
Board President Jim Pye congratulated everyone who was re-elected to the board. District 54 celebrated the 30 anniversary of the dual language program April 4 at MacArthur School, where the program began. Upcoming events include the STEAM showcase on April 21 and 28, the Spanish Speech Contest on May 2, the Rocket Launch on May 12 and 13, and the Battle of the Books competitions which are already underway.
DCAC Report
Board Member Barbara Hengels reported that the District Citizens’ Advisory Committee heard a presentation on belonging.
D54 Foundation Report
Board Member Bob Kaplan reminded everyone that the D54 Foundation Golf Outing will be held on June 9. All funds raised are used to support the District 54 Food Pantry and Families in Crisis Fund.
PTA Report
Board President Jim Pye read a report from PTA Council President Colleen Carlson. On March 14, the PTA raised almost $16,000 at its annual Auction Dinner, which funds high school scholarships for trade schools and college, and elementary scholarships for summer camps. The PTA will celebrate the high school winners at its Scholarship Recognition Dinner on May 14. Elementary winners will be announced in May. The PTA will have a Reflections Reception on April 28 to celebrate the 36 students who qualified for the state level of the PTA Reflections competition. Five of those students qualified for the national PTA Reflections competition. Winners will be announced on May 1.
New Business
- The Board Policy Committee brought the following policies for a first reading:
- 5:340 – Employment of Employee’s Relatives,
- 5:360 – Staff Protection-Incident Reporting,
- 5:40 – Employees with Chronic Infectious Disease,
- 7:130 – Student Rights and Responsibilities,
- 7:140 – Student Searches,
- 7:190 – Student Behavior and
- 7:190(a) – Prohibition of Weapons.
- The Board approved a contract with Quest Food Management Services for Free Lunch Service for the 2025-2026 school year.
- The Board approved a contract with Hollander Storage and Moving Company for summer moves at two district locations.
- The Board approved a contract with Lenovo for the purchase of Chromebooks for the 2025-2026 school year, including warranty, licenses, parts locker and services.
- The Board approved the purchase of computer assessment software from Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) and the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL).
- The Board approved the purchase of technology licensing and support from Pear Desk Learning, Classkick and Follett Destiny.
- The Board approved May 29, 2025 as the last day of this school year, revising the calendar due to using one emergency closing day on February 12, 2025.
- The Board approved the contracts of Associate Superintendents Nicholas Myers and Jillian Sagan for the years July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2030.
- The Board approved the contracts of Assistant Superintendents Colette Bell, Chris Bingen, Steve Miller, Scott Ross and Holly Schlicher for the years July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2030.
- The Board appointed Logan Walther for Principal of Nerge Elementary School for the 2025-2026 school year.
Announcements
Board members spoke about attending science fairs in District 54 and a town hall held by U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.
Adjournment
The Board adjourned at 8:03 p.m. to enter closed session for employment/appointment matters and student disciplinary cases.
