Dr. Wegley's September 19, 2019 Board Brief

Dr. Wegley's September 19, 2019 Board Brief

 

Thank you all for an exceptional start to the school year! Last Thursday’s Board of Education meeting included the following relevant items:

Personnel Report                                                                                                                     

The Board approved the resignations of Sara Betsoleiman, Elspeth Losch, Amanda Hershman, Jane Park. 

The Board officially hired Aleida Chavez, Bari DeGraff-Korner, Dianne Isley, Sarah Jarad, and Nazia Saddal as Instructional Assistants along with Megan Stevens as a 4th-Grade teacher at Willowbrook; Paige Dalton and Nicole Rugen as Instructional Assistants at Maple; Deborah Blumenfeld as an Instructional Assistant along with Sojung Kim as an ELL Teacher at Wescott. Please welcome them all to the District 30 Family. 

The Board also approved two leave requests that will occur during this school year. 

Budget Approved

The Board formally approved the fiscal year 7/1/2019 to 6/30/20 budget that follows our financial projections and continues a controlled deficit spending plan. Excluding construction/capital project costs, this year’s revenues include $25.12M, and our expenditures are projected to be $25.95M. 

Superintendent’s Report

I shared the New Maple School video that has been created by a few former Glenbrook students to capture the creation of our new school. Enjoy!

I also shared our Sixth-Day Enrollment report and highlighted enrollment increases each of the past five years with 1184 students this year, up from 1160 students last year, and rising from 1092 in 2015. 

Discussion/Information Items

2020-21 School Calendar

The Board reviewed a draft 2020-21 School Calendar that represents a return to our normal calendar after two years of modified calendars that supported Maple’s construction. The draft calendar tentatively sets the first day of student attendance on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Two Teacher Institute Days are tentatively set to occur at the beginning of the year and will take place on Monday, August 17 and Tuesday, August 18. The last day of school is tentatively set for Wednesday, June 2, 2021, with emergency “snow” days spanning until Wednesday, June 9. 

The draft calendar also continues attendance and remembrances of veterans on Veterans Day (November 11), an emergency “snow” day on Presidents Day (February 15) if we have a day of school to make up before February 15, and an institute day on Polaski Day (March 1). The Board of Education will further discuss this draft calendar and accept public comments at its October 3 meeting. It will then approve the draft calendar at its October 24 Board Meeting. 

Spring MAP Report & PARCC 2018 Results

Dr. Hirsch reported on MAP and on the IAR (Illinois Assessment for Readiness) assessment data from the spring of 2019. Overall, students of District 30 continue to show strong growth and achievement. Mathematics scores show students at multiple grade levels exceeding growth targets and scoring at high levels. Reading scores at multiple grade levels, 2nd-7th, show increases from last year’s scores. There is still evidence within our reading data that support students would continue to benefit from more Informational Text/Nonfiction learning experiences.

Dr. Hirsch informed the Board that the Spring of 2019 was the first year Illinois gave the Illinois Assessment of Readiness. Though it was the first year for IAR, the assessment utilized PARCC’s question bank. Our results show improvements from the previous year at 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in ELA and in Mathematics.

Board Reports

Mrs. Artz presented an update to the Board on NSSED’s last meeting, including the upcoming work on their financial model. Mrs. Blonder reported that the Character Counts’ poster and video contest is underway and that posters and videos are due by Monday, October 28. She also thanked Maple’s Student Council for their $500 donation from last year’s CCQ.

Thank you all for the fantastic start to this school year! Have a great weekend!