Dear District 30 Family,
I hope that this communication finds you well! We completed our second virtual Board Meeting last Thursday evening that included the following relevant items:
Recognitions
Mr. Dan Levin and our principals recognized our PTO Co-Presidents to thank them for another outstanding year of support. Thank you to Maple PTO’s Becky Fliegel and Sonia Rizki, Wescott PTO’s Ankur Singal and Norbert Barszczewski, and Willowbrook PTO’s Grace Zuercher and Tricia Brown.
Mrs. Nancy Artz recognized our committed District nurses Katie Weissler from Maple, Pam Kriska from Wescott, and Lisa Mullen from Willowbrook, for their exceptional support and care of our students.
Mr. Ammar Rizki thanked Mrs. Sarah Arends for the opportunities she provided to Maple’s Maple's Math Competition Team. They celebrated her team and student Stephanie Mei for making it to state this year. Other team members recognized included Lauren Lee, Yaeji Hyoung, Sebastian Mark, Josh Zingerman, Kaylee Hwang, Sungmin Park, Roger Yang, Dylan Fuh, and Aidan Dai.
Mr. Jeff Zuercher shared the Board’s appreciation for all of the opportunities Ms. Robin Dombeck provided this year to Maple's Science Team. They celebrated team members including their competition team Roger Yang, Captain (8), Evan D’Souza (8), Yaeji Hyoung (8), Harper Kaplan (7), Audrey Lam (8), and Managers Lauren Lee (8) and Stephanie Mei (8).
Mr. Zuercher also celebrated the Challenger Team members: David Liss, Rina Matsunaga, Claire Noh, Sungmin Park, Chloe Zhu, Kieran Layland, Samantha Field, Anna Koziol, Eubene In, and Hanning Zhu. Managers were Shradha Mehrotra, David Lipkind, and Atchaya Muthupalaniappan.
Mr. Keith Karchmar shared the Board’s gratitude with Mr. Kitt Kopach for his leadership of Maple’s Wrestling Team, They also celebrated the student-athletes that were IESA State Qualifiers this season. They were Niko Odiotti (5th Grader - Wood Oaks), Justin Jaimes (8th Grader - NBJH), and Max Brown (8th Grader - Maple). Maple School’s Max Brown is only the second wrestler in program history to be a three-time IESA State Qualifier.
Mrs. Zivit Blonder, Dr. Nate Carter, and Dr. Scott Carlson congratulated this year’s District 30 Character Counts Writing Essay Contest Winners: Fifth-Grade 2nd place winner Vanessa He from Wescott School, 6th-Grade 1st place winner Katelyn Tian from Maple School, and a clean sweep by Maple in 7th-Grade with 1st place winner Chloe Zhu, 2nd place winner Kristelle Widjaja, and 3rd place Daniel Song.
Personnel Report
The Board officially hired Lauren Loby as a Special Education Teacher at Wescott, Sam Pilnick as our next District Band Director, Carolyn Ornstead as a Special Education Teacher at Willowbrook, Kristin Bryden as a 3rd-Grade Teacher at Willowbrook, and Cheryl Wilson as School Psychologist at Willowbrook. The Board also approved Julia Kedzior as the School Psychologist intern at Maple. Please help welcome all of these individuals into our District 30 Family!
Transportation Contract Amendment Approved
Due to the closing of public school buildings through the end of the school year, First Student, Inc., the district’s transportation contractor, requested financial assistance from the district to minimize financial impacts on bus drivers and essential branch location workers. The Board also approved an amendment with its food services provider, Quest Food Management Services, in April, with the same goal of continuing our partnerships with essential service providers, to help ensure a smooth transition when schools reopen.
First Reading of New & Revised Board Policies
District 30 revises Board Policies twice a year. Revisions and additions occur due to new legislation and the need to ensure that our policies support and align with our practices. We completed the first reading of the following Board Policies revisions:
New Policy: 265 Board Attorney; 280.03 BOARD MEMBER SERVICES - Board Member Compensation and Expenses; New Policy: 410.02 Use of Credit and Procurement Cards; New Policy: 500.03 GENERAL PERSONNEL - Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act; New Policy: 500.77 GENERAL PERSONNEL - Compensatory Time-Off; New Policy: 500.80 GENERAL PERSONNEL - Personal Technology and Social Media; Usage and Conduct; New Policy: 513 GENERAL PERSONNEL - Responsibilities Concerning Internal Information; 520.06 PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL - Travel Expenses; 540.02 GENERAL PERSONNEL - Sick Days, Vacation, Holidays, and Leaves; and 645.02 Acceptable Use of the District’s Network
Superintendent’s Report
I updated the Board on our ongoing effort to manage this COVID-19 pandemic, including our continued e-Learning effort. I shared our appreciation of our teachers for providing a sense of normalcy, as they thoughtfully move our students forward, our students for their continued engagement, and our parents for their support. I also highlighted strategic planning efforts underway with our administrative team, as we plan for the fall.
Maple School Report
Dr. Nate Carter and Mrs. Betty Holzkopf reflected their deep pride in Maple by celebrating the 2019-2020 School Year with a video. It captured the period from the tearing down of the old Maple to the last day of school on March 13. It highlighted Maple’s grand opening ceremony when Dr. Carter’s final season was announced, featured excited students entering our new Maple School, and captured the joy of being together at Maple School throughout the year. Seeing their video reminded me how thankful I am for all that is District 30! Mrs. Holzkopf, the Board, and I also celebrated Dr. Carter’s outstanding service in District 30 and Maple!
Summer Curriculum Projects
Dr. Melissa Hirsch previewed our summer curriculum projects that include the Time Study Committee, Remote Learning K-8, Team Read K-1, Social Studies 1-2, ELA Curriculum Work 3-5, SEL-Interventions for Tier I supports 6-8, Math/Bridges K, and K-5 Report Card.
Board Reports
Mrs. Nancy Artz shared a summary of Northern Suburban Special Education District’s (NSSED) most recent Board Meeting and previewed NSSED’s new Financial Model. Mrs. Zivit Blonder shared an overview of the latest Character Counts meeting and highlighted Character Pillar reflections that were shared.
I wrap up this update with a sincere thank you to all of the members of the District 30 Family who continue to support each other through this challenging time. We look forward to ending this year well!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Sincerely,
Dr. Brian K. Wegley
Superintendent
