School District 57

From the Desk of the Superintendent

February 16, 2024

Dear District 57 Families,

February marks Black History Month, an important time for acknowledging the multifaceted history and significant technological, academic, and cultural advancements made by Black Americans in our nation. Across classrooms, students are utilizing our District’s Social Studies TCI resources, which foster exploration and discussion around relevant biographies, contributions, historical events, and more. We strongly encourage families to continue these conversations at home. Valuable conversation starters can be found at The Searchable Museum: National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Last night, District 57’s Board of Education held its February 15 Regular Business Meeting. A special thank you to Troop 47459 for starting the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Great job, students! Below are the highlights from the meeting, but as always you can view the meeting in its entirety here.

Superintendent Goals Update

In the spirit of transparency and accountability, I regularly update the Board on efforts the District is making toward our annual goals. These goals align with our Strategic Plan goals of creating outstanding student experiences, investing in staff growth & support, fostering family & community partnerships, and ensuring strong fiscal stewardship & facility planning. You can view the goals update here and listen to the related segment in the Board meeting here. I am pleased to report that the District is making exceptional progress in all goal areas, efforts that work to support our District’s vision of Inspiring every student, every day to reach their full potential.

Reading Instructional Materials Recommendations (K-5) & (6-8)

Presenters Dr. Kristin Vonder Haar, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning; Aaron Wilkins, Assistant Director of Professional Learning; Katie Kelly, Lions Park Principal; and Amanda Spenner, Fairview 5th Grade Teacher, updated the Board on the District’s English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum review for grades K-5 and 6-8.

About every six years, the District evaluates ELA curriculum to ensure that the classroom materials are relevant, useable, and following current teaching pedagogy. The recent District ELA curriculum review was also influenced by a new initiative called the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan, a statewide roadmap to ensuring all students receive “developmentally appropriate and evidence-based literacy instruction” (ISBE, 2024). This plan takes into consideration what literacy supports mean for multilingual, advanced, and specialized needs learners.

During the curriculum review process, classrooms across our District piloted the top two proposed ELA programs selected by the ELA committee. They solicited feedback from students & staff on each of the programs, and - using this feedback and other data - arrived on a recommendation for the new District 57 ELA curricula (K-5, HMH Into Reading & 6-8, My Perspectives). The team also reviewed for the Board what implementation of the curriculum will look like as well as the rubrix for assessing its effectiveness at improving literacy once implemented. You can view the presentation here, and the related segment of the Board meeting here.

Preview of FY25 Staffing Plan

Karen Schwartzwald, Director of Human Resources, presented a preview of the 24/25 Staffing Plan. Typically, staffing changes are a result of fluctuations in enrollment from year to year. Personnel needs are ever-changing and hard to predict this early in the year; we will be keeping a close eye on all predictors of staffing needs for the FY25 school year and will adjust this plan as needed. The Board will take action to approve the FY25 Staffing Plan at the March 21 Board Meeting. You can view the preliminary Plan’s details here and view the related segment of the Board meeting here.

Summer 2024 Site Work & Building Improvement

Jason Kaiz, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, updated the Board on proposed Summer 2024 site work and building improvements across the District. Summer work includes a boiler replacement at Fairview to address hot water and heating concerns, improvements to ventilation & air handling systems at multiple schools, among other items. All proposed work is within budget. You can view additional information here and view the related segment of the Board meeting here.

So much time and effort goes into preparing and running each of our Board of Education meetings. Last night during community comments, a parent took a moment to thank the Board and Cabinet for their hard work and dedication. I want to echo this appreciation. Last night showcased students, principals, teachers, parents & guardians, community members, and Board members. Everyone present was deep in discussion, celebration, and reflection with one purpose in mind: to strive for the best in everything we do for our children. It is moments like this that make me so deeply proud to be a part of this incredible community.

Lastly, I want to bring your attention to a community effort that impacts the families of Mount Prospect. The Village of Mount Prospect is undergoing a study of the existing bike routes and are seeking community comments on current conditions, needed improvements, and suggested priorities moving forward. One of the primary outcomes of this study will be to develop safe ways for kids to get to school. To that end, the Village is holding a Community Open House on Wednesday, February 21 from 5-7PM in the Community Room at Village Hall, 50 S. Emerson Street, Mount Prospect. Please consider lending your voice.

Thank you for taking the time to stay up-to-date on important information affecting our District. Enjoy the long weekend, and we will see our students next Tuesday!

In the spirit of education,

Dr. Mary Gorr

Superintendent