Dr. Wegley's October 24, 2019 Board Brief

Dr. Wegley's October 24, 2019 Board Brief

 

Thank you to our teachers and parents for their shared commitment to our students during Parent-Teacher Conferences! Last Thursday’s Board of Education meeting included the following relevant items:

Personnel Report                                                                                                                          

The Board approved the resignation of Bari Degraff-Korner. 

The Board officially hired Ruth Pikler as our elementary Orchestra teacher and Lydia Chronos as an Instructional Assistants at Willowbrook. Please welcome them all to the District 30 Family. 

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

2020-21 School Calendar Approved

The Board approved the 2020-21 School Calendar that represents a return to our usual calendar after two years of modified calendars that supported Maple’s construction. This calendar sets the first day of student attendance on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Two Teacher Institute Days will occur 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. 

This calendar, which is accessible on District 30’s calendar webpage, 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). 

2019-20 Character Counts! Proclamation Approved

The Board of Education formally approved its 2019-20 Character Counts! Proclamation recognizing October 20 - 26 as Character Counts! Week and called on our community to embrace the framework’s Six Pillars of Character Counts. I also thanked the Board of Education and all of the District 30 Community for their contributions to our annual Food Drive that benefits the Northfield Township Food Pantry.

Superintendent’s Report

The Board and I publicly celebrated our Principals during Principals Appreciation Week!

Discussion/Information Items

Enrollment Projections

I shared Dr. McKibben’s ten-year enrollment projections for District 30. Enrollment has increased each of the last six years and is predicted to continue an upward trend.

Year

Wescott

Willowbrook

Maple

Total

2016-17

377

339

399

1115

2017-18

420

324

388

1137

2018-19

415

346

400

1161

2019-20

414

365

399

1178

2020-21

410

384

417

1211

2021-22

405

404

431

1240

2022-23

391

409

453

1253

2023-24

391

416

460

1267

Dr. McKibben summarized that our increasing enrollment continues to be driven by families moving into District 30, and he emphasized his forecasted assumptions are sensitive to the housing market and interest rates. His projections support the fact that our tight elementary condition will continue and intensify.

Increasing enrollment and program evolution have expanded our core elementary room capacity needs from 34 classrooms in 2014-15 to 43 today. I reviewed several examples of learning challenged by the lack of capacity at Wescott and Willowbrook, including learning occurring within hallways, several support services being provided simultaneously within one room, and Navigate being taught in the library at Willowbrook.

Our projections reinforced the need for us to determine the best way to increase capacity within our elementary schools.

Maple School Principal Search Update

Dr. Hirsch and I thanked our staff, community, parents, and students for their input into our new principal profile (read more in my recent Maple Principal Profile blog post). This vital position is posted, and the effort will be informed by the insights we have received. Our goal remains to name Maple’s next principal by February and to celebrate Dr. Carter for all that he has given District 30 throughout the spring. 

New Maple School Exterior Waterflow Work 

Representatives from ARCON and their engineering firm presented a solution to reconnect off-site water flow through that was inadvertently disconnected during construction. They also shared a plan to address pooling water near the front entrance that appears to be from a natural source. 

Board Reports

On behalf of Mrs. Artz, I presented an update to the Board on NSSED’s last meeting, including progress on updating their financial model. Mrs. Blonder shared highlights from our previous session and gave an update on our food drive, and the Character Counts’ poster and video contest. She shared several happenings with member organizations and reminded everyone that posters and videos are due by Monday, October 28. Mr. Rizki then shared a report from Northbrook’s last Economic Development Committee meeting including ongoing discussions about the Granger property, affordable housing, and the study for commercial development on the north-west corner of Willow and Pfingsten.

Our next Board Meeting will be on November 14, 2019. Thank you to our parents and staff for their shared commitment to our students through last week’s parent-teacher conferences! Have a great weekend!