The District 58 Board of Education held its regular business meeting on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. View the agenda and presentation links. Meeting audio will be linked here. New this month, meeting video will be posted here later this week.
Highlights from the meeting include:
Spotlight on our Schools: STEM Committee Update
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Justin Sisul and Teachers Kelly DeMarco, Meghan Beard and Julie Batkiewicz presented the Board an update on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Committee’s work.
The STEM Committee formed in 2013 in anticipation of the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which the State adopted in 2014. Early work involved learning the standards and researching available NGSS science curriculum resources. Finding no adequate resources, District 58 joined the district science collaborative. This group comprised teachers and administrators from many Illinois school districts who collaborated to develop best practices for NGSS implementation. In 2015-17, the STEM Committee hosted district science collaborative meetings, participated in NGSS trainings and intended to write District 58’s science curriculum.
In fall 2017, the STEM Committee reviewed their goals, discussed the challenges to writing a district-wide science curriculum, and decided to take a different approach. In spring 2018, the Committee reviewed 15 newer publisher science resources and selected four (two elementary, two middle) to pilot during the 2018-19 school year:
Grades K-5: TCI and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Grades 6-8: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and IQWST (Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology)
All science pilot resources are on display at the Administrative Service Center and the Downers Grove Public Library for public viewing.
STEM Committee members will report on their science pilot experiences next month. If the Committee reaches consensus on resource recommendations, all District 58 elementary teachers and middle school science teachers will participate in resource training during the March 1 institute day, with the goal to implement new science resources district-wide for the 2019-20 school year. Should the committee not reach consensus, they will identify a different path to NGSS alignment for next school year.
View the STEM Committee update presentation.
Resource: What does modern science instruction look like?
Resource: Next Generation Science Standards FAQ sheet
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli shared updates and information on several topics, including:
- 2019-20 Planning: The administrative team has begun planning next school year. The team identified increased needs for professional development, as well as curriculum, special education, nursing and psychology personnel. Dr. Cremascoli also shared that her team is exploring options for late start, early release or additional half-days in 2019-20 to provide staff additional professional development opportunities. The District will gather additional feedback before proposing a calendar recommendation in February.
- Mid-Year Assessments: Administrators and teachers are reviewing winter MAP assessment data, and parents may review their child’s results online. A district data review is planned for the winter Curriculum Workshop.
- Facility Planning: The Facility Planning Council hosted staff facility visioning sessions in December and January, and will hold community facility visioning sessions on Jan. 23 and Jan. 29. The Council adjusted its work timeline to accommodate staff visioning session delays caused by the rescheduled Nov. 26 Institute Day.
- Mark Your Calendar: The annual Science Fair is Saturday, Feb. 2 at O’Neill and the Education Foundation’s Harlem Wizards fundraiser is Sunday, Feb. 24 at Downers Grove South.
Business Report
Assistant Superintendent for Business/Chief School Business Official Todd Drafall presented the Business Report and Investment Report. He reported that expenditures are under budget; however, revenues are lagging, due to late state reimbursements. Last fall, District 58 transferred money to better fund insurance and capital projects. As a result, the District has $2.2 million less cash readily available to make up for the State’s late payments. Should the State continue to neglect its reimbursements, this could cause a cash flow issue.
Superintendent Search Discussion
Last month, Superintendent Dr. Cremascoli announced that she will resign from District 58 in June 2019 to accept the superintendent position in Wilmette District 39. Board President Doug Purcell thanked Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli for her seven years of service at District 58 and many accomplishments, and discussed superintendent search procedures with the Board.
The Board requested and received proposals from four executive search firms and will interview each during a special meeting Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Longfellow Center. The Board aims to identify the next District 58 superintendent by March 2019.
The District’s Illinois Association of School Boards representative advised that this timeline is achievable and recommended the District start its search immediately, as now is a good time to hire a superintendent for next school year.
However, Board members said that their top priority is identifying a highly-qualified candidate who meets the individual needs of the District 58 community. If such a candidate is not identified by March, the Board will continue to search.
“District 58 is an aspirational district,” Purcell said. “We are confident we will interview several quality candidates. However, we will be deliberate, and we will not rush. If we do not find a candidate who is right for our district, we will continue to look earnestly and not settle.”
Proposed 2019-20 School Fee Discussion
Manager of Business Services Katie Hannigan reviewed proposed school fees for the 2019-20 school year. She recommended that most fees stay the same or increase by the consumer price index (2.1 percent), with a couple of exceptions noted below.
The District’s preschool programming will increase from four-days-per-week to five-days-per-week in 2019-20. This change adds 27 additional school days to the preschool calendar, and the proposed preschool tuition rate accommodates this increase. In addition, the District completed a program cost analysis and recommended that outdoor education fees increase by an additional $20, plus CPI, to better reflect the program’s actual per-student costs.
The Board is expected to take action to approve the proposed fees during the February Board meeting.
Board Self-Evaluation Discussion
The Board’s annual self-evaluation meeting offered Board members the opportunity to reflect on and discuss their successes and opportunities for growth. President Purcell shared that during their recent self-evaluation, the Board discussed how the reception of visitors during the Board’s regular business meeting is intended for public comment, and not community engagement or back-and-forth conversations.
To give community members additional engagement opportunities, the Board is considering offering community meet and greet opportunities before four Board meetings per year. This new community engagement opportunity would be in addition to the five extended community engagement sessions that the Board offers during its workshops as well as the PTA visits, building tours and staff meet-and-greets it also hosts. The existing business meeting reception of visitors would continue to act as an opportunity for one-way public comment, and speakers will be limited to three minutes to allow opportunity for all who wish to speak to have an opportunity to do so.
Committee Reports
Board Member Jill Samonte reported on the Dec. 18 Policy Committee meeting. The committee continued its work aligning District 58’s Board Policy Manual with the Illinois Association of School Boards’ model policy guide and recommended the revision of six policies and the deletion of one policy, which the committee deemed duplicative. They approved the first reading of the policies and will place them on the February agenda for final approval.
Board Member John Miller reported on the Jan. 11 Financial Advisory Committee meeting. The committee reviewed the audit report, discussed the merits of producing a comprehensive annual financial report, and held a preliminary discussion on 2019-20 school fees.
The Legislative Committee and District Leadership Team have not met since the last Board meeting.
Indian Trail Spotlight
The Indian Trail Student Council, PTA and principal shared school news. Among other activities, the Student Council’s candy cane fundraiser raised $398 for the American Cancer Society and the sno-cone fundraiser generated $427 for the American Cancer Society and Wellness House. View their presentation.
PTA Member Amy Vogt shared that the PTA’s recent pie fundraiser sold 460 pies and generated $2,300 in profit for the PTA. About 60 pies were donated to a food pantry for Thanksgiving.
Principal Robin Brubach gave a presentation on the transformative difference that Seesaw has made on parent-to-school communications. She cited several ways teachers, parents and students use the Seesaw app to share and enhance learning. View Bruebach’s presentation.
During the Meeting, the Board Also:
- Accepted the 2017-18 Audit Report, as prepared by Miller Cooper & Co. and presented by Auditor Betsy Allen.
- Recognized Herrick and O’Neill fall and winter athletes.
- Recognized the Downers Grove Junior Woman’s Club as a valued community partner that has annually provided the District and its families with opportunities and support.
- Received comments from 10 visitors related to the superintendent search, the medical reserve fund, the benefits of the Seesaw app, and the benefits of additional staff professional development.
- Approved minutes from the Dec. 10 regular meeting and the Dec. 18 special meeting.
- Approved all items presented in the Consent Agenda as presented in the agenda materials.
- Adopted a resolution to transfer $2 million in the working cash fund to the transportation fund to address transportation cash flow needs.
- Approved second readings on four revised policies: #4011-Personnel: Ethics, Political Activity, and Gift Ban; #4138-Personnel: Ethics, Conduct and Conflict of Interest; #8260-Internal Board Operations: Uniform Grievance Procedure; and #5139.1-Students: Equal Educational Opportunities. The Board approved revisions to the four policies.
- Approved second readings on one policy for deletion: #4010-Personnel-Gift Ban. This policy was considered duplicative, and the Board approved its deletion.
Upcoming Events
- Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m.: Board Special Meeting at Longfellow
- Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 3:45 p.m.: Legislative Committee Meeting at the ASC
- Thursday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m.: Board Building Tour/PTA Meeting at Highland School
- Monday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.: Board Regular Meeting at Downers Grove Village Hall
District 58 Board of Education members are: Doug Purcell, president; Elizabeth Sigale, vice president; Kirat Doshi, Greg Harris, Darren Hughes, John Miller and Jill Samonte, with Dr. Kari Cremascoli, superintendent; and Melissa Jerves, board secretary.