Galesburg Reporter

Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education met Aug. 22

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order: President Arvanitis called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

Board of Education Members

Present – Mrs. Athena Arvanitis, President; Mrs. Elizabeth Hosler, Vice-President; Mrs. Courtenae Trautmann, Secretary; Mrs. Kelly Asseff; Mrs. Kara Caforio; Mr. Jim Collins (arrived at 5:31); Dr. Kelly Henry

Absent – none

President Arvanitis stated there are 5 board members present, 1 board members absent, a quorum is present.

Administration

Present - Dr. Keisha Campbell, Superintendent; Dr. Scott Grens, Associate Superintendent; Mrs. Tonya Daniels, Exec. Dir. Communications; Mr. Rudy Gomez, Exec. Dir. Technology; Ms. Kerry Leuschel, Exec. Dir. Secondary Ed; Mrs. Katie Lyons, Exec. Dir. Elementary Ed; Dr. Kevin Rubenstein, Asst. Supt. Student Services; Dr. Joe Schumacher, Asst. Supt. Human Resources; Mr. Chris Whelton, Asst. Supt. Finance & Operations

Absent - none

Closed Session

President Arvanitis asked for a motion to adjourn to closed session at 5:31 p.m to discuss matters relating to The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity;

AND Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2)

AND Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.

Mrs. Trautmann moved and Mrs. Caforio seconded the motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Mrs. Trautmann, Mrs. Caforio, Mrs. Asseff, Dr. Henry, Mrs. Hosler, Mr. Collins, and Mrs. Arvanitis voted aye. Motion carried.

Reconvene to Open Session

The Board adjourned from closed session at 7:05 p.m. and reconvened to open session.

Pledge of Allegiance: Board members led those present in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Spotlight/Recognition

Jefferson ES Spotlight

Principal Sweeney spoke how Jefferson elementary school lives out its mission, “….to create a learning environment where students, parents and staff work together to achieve educational excellence” and one way is through the deep traditions at Jefferson. There are old and new traditions such as Science Olympiad, Thanksgiving Feast, One Jefferson One Book, and First Grade Creature Features to name a few. These traditions help bind our students and families in building relationships, which lays the groundwork for the rigorous academic programs.

DECA Int’l Career Development

Mrs. Hosler stated the District has an abundance of opportunities for our students and DECA is one of those opportunities. DECA, Distributive Education Clubs of America prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. The students competed in the Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making event at the conference and earned 3rd place. They went on to compete in the Illinois Career Development Conference, where they earned 4th place. The Board applauded the students in recognition of their accomplishment.

Celebrate American Creative Writing Contest – 5th Grade

Hawthorne REACH teacher, Ms. Sorrentino introduced the annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. The contest asks students to submit a written piece on one of the two themes: “Why I Am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants” or "What Does It Mean to be A Welcoming Nation?" The entries were judged on the basis of theme, presentation, creativity, and message and two Hawthorne students won second and third place for the Chicagoland Council. Mrs. Trautmann applauded the accomplishments of the students and then read the proclamation. Each of the Board members and cabinet administration congratulated the students individually.

FCCLA National Leadership Competition

Family and Consumer Science teachers, Mrs. Albert and Ms. Nawrocki, also FCCLA York advisors introduced the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) recognition. Five students from York High School competed in the National Students Taking Action with Recognition (STAR) Events at the 2023 FCCLA National Leadership Conference. The students earned one gold and four silver medals in a variety of events. New this year at the conference, was the opportunity to become ACF certified and two students completed the American Culinary Federation Certified Fundamentals Pastry Cook performance evaluation, in which they will receive their certification from ACF. This is the first time in Mrs. Albert’s 21 years at York students have become ACF certified. Mrs. Asseff congratulated the students and then read the proclamation. Each of the Board members and cabinet administration congratulated the students individually.

Public Comments

Public comments revolved around the following topics: Congratulations to the start of another school year; Concern with individuals spreading misinformation about our district; Social media and mobile phones affecting social emotional wellbeing, which affects academics; Thank you for the work in getting Field ES open; SEL in public education; More support for American Studies course and educators; Raise awareness of intimidation from community members; Concern about iPad and YouTube accessibility in elementary grades; School culture and climate; There should not be politics in schools; and received apology from public commenter.

Per board policy 2:230, it is not the Board’s practice to directly engage in discussion, ask, or answer questions with the individuals addressing the Board during public comment.

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes

Approval of Regular Board Minutes: July 25, 2023; August 8, 2023

Approval of Closed Session Minutes: June 13, 2023, June 26, 2023, July 25, 2023, August 8, 2023

President Arvanitis asked if there were any changes to minutes and hearing no changes, the minutes were declared to stand as presented.

Reports and Presentations

Summer Programming & Professional Learning Update

Dr. Campbell introduced the presentation for Mrs. Lyons to review last year’s district wide instructional priorities & professional learning, along with highlighting the summer’s professional learning and this year’s district wide instructional priorities. Dr. Baker continued by providing information on the 2023 Summer Programming, which included the summer learning opportunities such as, Acceleration, EL & Dual Language Summer Programs, York Credit Recovery & Bridge, Extended School Year (ESY), Fine Arts and Jumpstart to name a few. He provided additional summer programs highlights to include enrollment, overall program satisfaction and the next steps for 2024. These next steps include, Monitor progress for Acceleration participants through ECRA; Refine identification and recruitment for Acceleration; and Refine program rollout timeline.

Board member, Mrs. Trautmann provided a huge shout out for the amazing student experiences, which she hears from the community, from drivers ed, to different academic experiences, and for Project Lead the Way (PLTW) opportunities. She likes how each summer the program continues to grow.

PSAT Suite & Kaplan SAT Prep Course

Dr. Campbell stated that part of our Student Journey of Excellence framework, Student Success, is identified as student growth and achievement, part of that framework is for students to achieve academic excellence by ensuring all students master essential skills and content. This presentation speaks to the work of ensuring to continue to elevate academic excellence for our students. Ms. Leuschel presented the number of participants who attended the SAT prep course from the current senior class of 2024, along with information that students who attended all or 8 out of 9 sessions grew 28 points more from the PSAT10 (junior year) to SAT than the overall class average. Ms. Leuschel spoke about the dates for the PSAT suite of assessments for the class of 2025 (this year’s juniors), along with prep course highlights that include: 18 hours of live virtual instruction on test strategies & content review; 1 live virtual proctored practice test (3.5 hours); 8 practice tests - including 4 official College Board exams; 4 SAT prep books; and 6 months of access to online resources. District 205 continues the partnership with Kaplan to provide students with supplemental learning opportunities in an effort to achieve student excellence.

The following is a summary of the Board’s comments and wonderings: Totally support additional opportunity for our students but wondering why we need additional funds if we are using available seats from last year; Noted that it is not typical for Kaplan to rollover seats not used in the previous school year; Seniors should also have the opportunity to take the SAT prep courses; Great opportunity for sophomores to take these prep courses too; Important point that when students reach a certain benchmark it sets them up for success, so it is just not about test taking; Maybe provide an education piece to both parents and students about these prep courses for the opportunity to improve scores with the potential to earn scholarships dollars; Will this program continue every year because the more students we have in prep classes the better it improves student outcomes; Think senior students would be very interested and thank you for embracing prep classes for our students.

Consent Agenda Items

Personnel Report

Financial Reports

EIS Administrator, Teacher Salary, and Benefits Report - School Year 2023

Approve Board of Education 2023 Joint Annual Conference Expenses

Special Education Supplemental Staff Contracts

President Avanitis asked for a motion to approve the following consent agenda items: A. Personnel Report; B. Financial Reports; C. EIS Administrator, Teacher Salary, & Benefits Report - School Year 2023; D. Approve Board of Education 2023 Joint Annual Conference Expenses; and E. Special Education Supplemental Staff Contracts

Mrs. Trautmann moved and Mrs. Hosler seconded the motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Mrs. Trautmann, Mrs. Hosler, Mrs. Caforio, Dr. Henry, Mr. Collins, Mrs. Asseff, and Mrs. Arvanitis voted aye. Motion carried.

Agenda Action Items

Special Education Progress Monitoring Tool

Dr. Campbell stated that over the past year we have worked to identify a common progress-monitoring tool for students in our special education programs. Dr. Rubenstein continued that during a special education program review, is was recommended that a common tool be utilized by the District in its schools to assist IEP teams in utilizing data in the areas of reading and math to help development stronger IEP goals. We are excited to bring to the Board two products, Fast Bridge Reading and Math Curriculum Based Measures implemented in K-8 and Renaissance Star Reading and Math Curriculum Based Measures implemented in grades 9-12.

The following is a summary of the Board’s comments and wonderings: How often will assessments be given to the students; How quickly can we pivot based on the student’s results; How will this help to increase IEP student growth; Will this go into the data or be separate; Clarifying that the cost is already included in the budget; and Great to hear we get results back immediately.

President Arvanitis asked for a motion to approve the contracts with Renaissance Learning and Fast Bridge at a cost not to exceed $19,106.00. Mrs. Hosler moved and Dr. Henry seconded the motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Mrs. Hosler, Dr. Henry, Mrs. Trautmann, Mrs. Asseff, Mrs. Caforio, Mr. Collins, and Mrs. Arvanitis voted aye. Motion carried.

Superintendent's Communication

Back to School Highlights

Dr. Campbell shared the following highlights of 4 successful days to the start of the school year; Field elementary school ribbon cutting; students welcomed back to updated facilities at Fischer, Hawthorne, Jackson, Jefferson, and Emerson elementary schools, Churchville, Bryan, and Sandburg middle schools, and York media center including YTV facelift; staffing update siting 99.6% of certified staff positions filled, 78.6% of Paraprofessional & School Related Personnel (PSRP) positions filled, 94.4. of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) positions filled and 83.2% of Food Services positions filled; next bucket of updates highlighted the student handbook, which covers topics such as, attendance, bullying, and cell phone/electronics expectations; the launch of curriculum nights begins August 24 through first week of September, and the Field community open house on Saturday, September 16. Dr. Campbell also addressed the communication sent out to families regarding the extreme weather prediction for heat this week.

The following is a summary of the Board’s comments and wonderings: The kids are excited to be back and thrilled in the new updated spaces; It’s great seeing the excitement continue even after the first day; Thank you for the Field community open house invitation update; and When can parents expect to see the handbook on the website.

FOIA – Freedom of Information Act Requests

Dr. Campbell reviewed the following FOIA requests since the last board meeting.

- 3 FOIA requests for specific staff communication w/specific community members & organizations, granted.

- 1 FOIA request for former staff communications, granted.

- 2 FOIA requests for notice of remedy, 1 granted, 1 denied.

- 2 FOIA request for withdrawal disciplinary action, denied.

- 1 FOIA request for Local 73 settlement agreement, granted.

- 2 FOIA requests for questions of library/classroom materials, unduly burdensome.

- 1 FOIA request for Elmhurst Patch FOIA requests, granted.

- 1 FOIA request for student discipline report, unduly burdensome.

Social Media Highlights:

Mrs. Daniel introduced the social media highlight video. The video can be viewed in BoardDocs, under Superintendent’s Communication - Social Media Highlights.

Board Communications: If applicable, Board members present reports and/or share information to the full Board. There was no information

Upcoming Meetings

- September 6, 2023 Policy Committee Meeting at 5:30 p.m. - District 205 Center, Rooms 215, and 216

- September 13, 2023 Finance & Operation Committee Mtg. at 5:30 p.m. – Dist. 205 Center, Rm 215 & 216

- September 19, 2023 Board of Education Meeting at 7:00 p.m. - District 205 Center, Rms. 215, 216, & 217

Adjournment - End of Meeting: The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 p.m.

We certify this document as the correct minutes of the regularly scheduled meeting of the Elmhurst CUSD 205 Board of Education held on August 22, 2023.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/elmhurst/Board.nsf/Public