October 21 Board Brief

October 21 Board Brief

Dear District 30 Family,

Thank you all for your commitment to our students during last week’s Parent-Teacher Conferences! Thursday’s Board of Education meeting included the following relevant items:

Student Recognitions                                                                                                                          

On behalf of the Board, Mrs. Artz recognized the 2021-22 Maple Student Council Board Officers Arianna Park, Oscar Lee, Helena Yang, Hanning Zhu, Jack Jack Chen, Dana Morgen, and Emma Karp. Ms. Iris Zhang and Ms. Lynn Reimer were also thanked for providing this outstanding opportunity to our students!

Personnel Report

The Board approved the resignation of Aledia Chavez (Aide at Willowbrook) and a leave request that will occur during this school year. They also approved Paulina Coletta (IA) at Willowbrook, Elizabeth Webb Peterman (Interim Assistant Principal) at Wescott, and Antwon Johnson (athletic coach), and Tray McClellan (athletic coach) at Maple School.

2022-23 School Calendar Approved

The Board approved the 2022-23 School Calendar that returns to the normal rhythm of Northfield Township school calendars. The calendar remains available from our Calendars Page, and the first day for students will be on August 17, 2022. The last day of school is set for Friday, June 2, 2023. 

Aligned with a majority of our comparable districts, we are planning to attend school on Columbus Day and Veterans Day. The calendar also includes a school holiday on Tuesday, November 8 for election day, as two of our schools serve as polling places. The calendar also incorporates an Institute Day on March 6/Pulaski Day. Winter and Spring Breaks will remain aligned across Northfield Township.

2021-22 Character Counts! Proclamation Approved

The Board of Education formally approved a proclamation recognizing October 17 - 23 as “Character Counts! Week” and called on our community to embrace the Six Pillars of Character Counts framework. The Board also thanked the District 30 Community for their contributions to our annual Food Drive that benefits the Northfield Township Food Pantry. 

2022 Summer School Fee Approved

The Board of Education approved summer school fees of $195 for in-district families and $230 for the out-of-district families for the 2022 four-week summer school program. Due to the Elementary Capacity Project and the subsequent late start of the school year, this year’s summer school program will run from June 21 through July 15. 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Approved with Appreciation

In recognition of the potential need for additional support, and with an appreciation for all that our educators continue to give, the Board has partnered with our Education Association Leadership to support COVID-19 related absences for vaccinated teachers and unvaccinated teachers, with a medical or religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine. The MOU provides up to ten working days of administrative leave for specified COVID-19 absences. 

Superintendent's School Operations Update

The Board of Education was provided with an operations update. We highlighted our continued success with full in-person learning and sincerely thanked our teachers for their commitment and hard work. We also expressed our appreciation to our students for their engagement, and to our parents for their continued partnership. 

The Board was notified that individual COVID-19 notification letters will be replaced with our COVID-19 Case Dashboard, beginning on Monday, October 25, 2021. After reviewing the draft Vaccination & SHIELD Screening Dashboard, the Board supported the shift to this method of notification. 

Board Reports

TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804 (formerly NSSED): Mrs. Artz reported on the last TrueNorth meeting and reflected on finance reports and the FY2023 Budget Calendar. 

Character Counts: Mrs. Blonder shared highlights from our last Character Counts meeting including an update on the ongoing food drive and the upcoming Character Counts’ poster and video contest. 

Northbrook Economic Development Committee: Mr. Rizki presented an update from Northbrook’s last Economic Development Committee meeting, which included ongoing discussions about the Grainger property, Allstate’s plans to sell and vacate their unincorporated Northbrook property, and current Village of Northbrook economic indicators.

The next Board Meeting will be held on November 18, 2021. Thank you all for your continued partnership, as we all continue to commit to our students! Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Dr. Brian K. Wegley
Superintendent