"Education is a message we send to the future, and our greatest hope for the world we want to see.”
On August 15, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Brian K. Wegley welcomed 126 teachers to the Teacher Institute Days' assembly for the last time in Maple School’s multipurpose room. Teacher Institute Days runs from August 15-17. By next August 2019, the new Maple School will be open, and the Teacher Institute Days will be held in a state-of-the-art cafetorium.
He spoke of how as a district, the focus is on the cycle of continuous improvement: collegiality and relationships, and child-centric practices, which leads to educating all students.
“We care deeply for each child, and the work inside and outside of the district fosters intellect, resilience, and a growth mindset. All schools follow the six tenets of Character Counts! which are trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring, and citizenship. We are dedicated to creating teams to collaborate for continuous improvement.”
He showed a snapshot of the district: 1,184 students; 404 at Maple School; 415 at Wescott School; and 365 (114 kindergarteners) at Willowbrook School. There are 38 languages spoken at District 30 schools.
In addition, Dr. Wegley thanked the PTOs for their ongoing support of the schools and introduced this year's PTO leaders: Maple Co-Presidents are Becky Fliegel and Erin Sommer; Wescott Co-Presidents are Michelle King and Christie Hartbarger, and Willowbrook Co-Presidents are Grace Zuercher and Katie Schick.
This year administrators are focusing on two powerful Board of Education goals: Increase District 30’s capacity to systemically collaborate within grade-level teams to execute the cycle of continuous instructional improvement and to ensure that facilities possess the capacity to support the evolving and emerging programs and contribute to optimal educational experiences.
Other strategic work outlined involved safety and security and to improve internal District 30 flow of information with an enhanced intranet.
Dr. Wegley explained that the last day of school for Maple School students will be May 29, 2019, and Wescott and Willowbrook School children’s last day of school will be May 30, 2019.
Every item will be removed from the current Maple School and will be delivered to the new Maple School on June 2. The current Maple will be demolished on June 5.
Board of Education President Chuck Gitles thanked the Teachers Association for the collaborative and successful negotiations last year. He spoke with pride about how District 30 is a destination district for educators and families.
Teacher Association President Talia Block introduced her team and thanked the Board and administrators for the ongoing support. She reminded everyone that this is a group that has the passion to keep learning and growing, and that is what makes District 30 such an excellent institution.
Maple School Principal Dr. Nate Carter and Assistant Principal Betty Holzkopf introduced and welcomed new staff, as did Willowbrook School Principal Scott Carlson and Wescott School Principal Chris Brown.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Melissa E. Hirsch reminded the staff that “You are the center of everything,” noting the many roles that teachers play every day in the classroom.
She commended the 40 teachers who participated in the Summer Curriculum program and helped revise and fine-tune specific areas of instruction for the coming school year. The seven projects included world languages, science K-5, social studies 3-5, virtual reality to support Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), math K-5, NWEA-MAP reading, and social emotional learning.
Her book recommendation for 2018-19 is “The Hate You Give” by Angie Thomas.
Teachers then broke into groups where they met to participate in building-based activities and attended welcome back luncheons, hosted by the PTOs.
