District 15 Board of Education News

Silvia Salvatierra was selected for the Above and Beyond recognition for the month of October following a nomination by building administrators. Silvia is a Bilingual Psychologist at Lake Louise. Lake Louise administrators shared that Silvia works closely with teachers, students, and administration to ensure success at Lake Louise. Silvia's strong commitment to systems has been paramount to helping Lake Louise rebuild systems and efficiently and effectively identify students needing additional support.

Thank you, Silvia, for going Above and Beyond for your students, staff, and school. The Lake is lucky to have you!

District 15 and the Board of Education were proud to recognize Winston Campus Junior High School (WCJH) for being selected as one of 11 schools internationally – and the only school in Illinois – to receive the prestigious 2023 School of Distinction award from the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE).

AMLE’s Schools of Distinction program recognizes exemplary schools while supporting them through a process of strategic vision setting to help foster ongoing growth and success.

Principal Martin Da Costa and seven members of his staff were present to be recognized by Superintendent Heinz and the Board of Education. Mr. Da Costa shared his appreciation for his staff’s hard work, deep dedication to students and the support from the District. We are proud of and excited for Winston Campus Junior High!

To learn more about WCJH, please visit its Schools of Distinction Profile. The AMLE website offers more information about AMLE Schools of Distinction and The Successful Middle School Program.

District 15 and the Board of Education are excited to share Pleasant Hill and Frank C. Whiteley, in partnership with their PTAs, have been named 2022-2024 National PTA Schools of Excellence. This recognition program supports and celebrates partnerships between schools and families to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for all students. PH and FCW are two of only nine Illinois PTAs, and 368 PTAs nationwide, to be designated a 2022-2024 National PTA School of Excellence.

The path to becoming a School of Excellence begins with a joint commitment between PTA and school leaders to strengthen family-school partnerships. The PTA then asked for community input to create goals and a plan of action to address identified needs. Throughout the 2022-2023 school year, they took part in training, peer-learning calls, and communications to fortify their work.

District 15 is extremely proud of the work that Pleasant Hill, Frank C. Whiteley, and their PTAs have done and appreciates our whole school communities for their participation in providing feedback.

Thank you for your continuing support of family-school partnerships. If you are interested in joining your school’s PTA or PTO, please visit your school’s website.

Following feedback from families, the District updated the graduation dates to the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, May 22 at Harper Community College

• Walter R. Sundling Junior High School at 5 pm

• Winston Campus Junior High School at 7 pm
  
  

• Thursday, May 23 at Fremd High School

• Carl Sandburg Junior High School at 5 pm

• Plum Grove Junior High School at 7 pm

Four District 15 Cross Country athletes are heading to State this year! Congratulations to Evan S., Ella H., and Elia D. from Winston Campus Junior High and Emma K. from Plum Grove Junior High! Good luck on Saturday!

Mindy McGuffin, EdD, Interim Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, along with Director Tracey Wroebel and Assistant Director Verna Neumann provided an update to the Board of Education regarding the current status and future direction of the programs administered by the Student Services Department.

The presentation shared a wealth of information about programs and services we provide students within our Continuum of Services model, programmatic reviews that are underway, summer professional development opportunities for staff, family engagement efforts, Extended-School Year offerings along with some of the challenges we are experiencing linked to staffing shortages and intensifying student needs.

View the Student Services program review and update here

MJ Warden, Chief Technology Officer; Julie Powell, Director of Instructional Technology; Colleen Seick, Assistant Director of Instructional Technology; and Beth Rihtar, Coordinator of Instructional Technology; presented new AI Guidelines.

The Instructional Technology Division of the District 15 Technology Department presented an overview of the new Artificial Intelligence Guidelines. This internal living document is designed to help educators and staff understand and use generative AI responsibly. The guidelines emphasize the importance of data privacy, bias, and information literacy, as well as the potential for misuse. Educators will receive training on how to use AI to support student learning and enhance instruction while critically thinking through the issues of copyright, misinformation, AI Hallucinations, and biased content.

The District is committed to ensuring that AI is used in a way that benefits all students. These guidelines will be reviewed routinely as artificial intelligence technology continues to evolve.

View AI guidelines here

On behalf of members of Dr. Heinz’s Cabinet, Thomas Edgar, PhD, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services presented the finalized strategic plan along with the key performance indicators used to monitor progress for each specific goal.

The plan was completed by Laurie Heinz, EdD, Superintendent of Schools; Thomas Edgar, PhD, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services; Mindy McGuffin, EdD, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services; Lori Lopez, PhD, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Assessments; Renee Urbanski, Assistant Superintendent of Multilingual Programs; and Mary Jane Warren, Chief Technology Officer.

The team reviewed and refined all goals and added equity components, updated community engagement goals, and collaboration components to staff engagement goals.

Next steps include the Technology Department finalizing the KPI dashboard structure and the development of a communication plan to roll out the plan to staff and our school community. Administration will share KPI data in Board presentations over the course of the year and implement departmental team updates for action plan progress.

View finalized plan and key performance indicators here

Elizabeth Hennessy, Managing Director at Raymond James and Diana McCluskey, Chief School Business Official, provided an update on the October 3, 2023, competitive sale of General Obligation Bonds Series 2023A and General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source) Series 2023B.

The competitive sale for the District’s Aa2-Rated General Obligation School Bonds resulted in 6 bids for the Series 2023A Bonds and 7 bids for the Series 2023B ARS Bonds.

The sale of the $43,000,000 Series 2023A bonds completes the issuance of the referendum approved bonds with an all-in true interest rate of 4.602%. The monthly tax impact is $12.18 per month for a $300,000 market value home which is very close to information shared with the community during the referendum campaign ($12.16 per month).

The District also issued the $40,000,000 Series 2023B alternate revenue bonds with an all-in true interest rate of 4.71% that are repaid from the operating funds. The District budgeted for this payment for the first time this year at $3,000,000. The annual payments will be on average $3,075,000 which is very close to the budgeted amount.

Mrs. Henessey shared that given the volatility of the market, we are very happy the interest rates are locked in now for the majority of the “Moving 15 Forward” financings within the parameters discussed with the voters.

View the Pricing Report for Series 2023 A&B Bonds

• 9.1 Approval of Salary Adjustment - approved
  
• 9.2 Approval of Personnel Report: Recommendations for Administration, Certified and Non-Certified staff members - approved
  
• 9.3 Approval of Semi-Annual Review of Closed Session Minutes - approved
  
• 9.4 Approval of Board PRESS 112 Policy Second Reading - approved
  
• 9.5 Approval of Family paid health insurance for Directors (non-certified), Assistant Directors (non-certified), and Assistant Principals - Revised - approved