Superintendent's Corner

• The Viking Fund - Why It's So Important
• Science Olympiad - Winning Regionals & Living the Mission
• Teacher Conferences - New Approach & Sign Up
• Women's' History Month
• Fees for 2023 - 2024: District 37 Approach
• Galileo Summer Camp at Avoca West in Summer 2023

Later in this issue, I do include a reminder of how the Board of Education comes to set student fees for each school year, which is made particularly difficult this year due to the increasing costs of certain services because of inflation.

However, one of the main arteries of life in Avoca District 37 is the ability for students to participate in everything we can offer, from Science Olympiad to Orchestra/Strings to Athletics to After School Clubs, and more. Unlike at New Trier or in some larger schools and districts, being in a small district like ours means every student who wants to find an engaging extracurricular activity can - as long as fees are not a barrier.

The Viking Fund is designed to make it possible for families who qualify as economically challenged to have their students' extracurricular fees paid so they can participate fully in the rich experience Avoca can offer.

Typically, The Viking Fund requires an annual balance of $12,000 to make it possible to meet the need in our community. Right now, the balance is less than $5,000.

If you can find your way to contribute to The Viking Fund, it would be a generous gesture, and one that makes so much possible.

Please click here to contribute.

Few students embody the mission to Inspire Curiosity, Cultivate Academic Growth, and Nurture Diversity the way our Marie Murphy Science Olympiad program does.

Continuing a dominating year, Science Olympiad won the regionals on Saturday at College of DuPage, out pacing the competition by a factor of almost 4 and coming within 1 point of a perfect score (they won 22 out of 23 competitions).

Thanks to our staff coaches - Jim Gravagna, Darren Persino, and Joyce Kim - our coaches from Northwestern University, and our coaches from the parent/guardian ranks have made it all possible.

We look forward to the team's continued success at State.

Don't forget to sign up for Teacher Conferences on March 23rd & 24th.

Wednesday, March 22rd conferences are in person for those who are seeking or willing to have in-person conferences.

Thursday, March 23rd conferences will be held remotely, as conferences were in the Fall.

Click here to sign up for conferences at Avoca West

Click here to sign up for conferences at Marie Murphy

If you have any difficulty with registration, please email Beth Haugeberg haugebergb@avoca37.org

We will continue to monitor participation and feedback from staff and families about the most effective way to conduct conferences.

I have the honor today and have in the past had the honor of working with many accomplished women professionals. However, careers in many fields did not readily admit women and many fields still have substantial barriers to women advancing. In fact, our society is not currently designed to promote the advancement of women on an equal basis with men.

That is just one reason why we must continue to celebrate Women's History Month and hold up for all of our students - no matter their gender - examples of women who have made important contributions to our society.

A good place to start is how we can share resources and stories with each other and our students. Below are some excellent examples, and I hope you will take a moment to peruse them and consider sharing them at home with your own child.

History Channel Page for Women's History Month and More

The National Women's History Alliance

Fees are often viewed as an expenditure. When applied to programs at our schools, what parents/guardians pay for fees and what the District pays to run important programs and services, really represent an investment in high quality experiences for our students, many of which set our District apart from others.

In February and March, the Board of Education approved a range of fees for the 2023-2024 school year. Some of these are required fees, what are called "Instructional Fees," and most are optional fees for a service or experience, such as Transportation Fees and fees to participate in an extra-curricular activity, like Science Olympiad or a sport. Food Service prices will be finalized in May. Families who meet specific Federally defined economic requirements are eligible for fees to be waived or to receive waived fees through the Viking Fund.

When the fee statements are sent, often families do not understand why a fee increased, and now is a quick primer to help understand how the Board of Education has set fees in recent years. These goals have been centered on sharing costs and sustaining the District's financial health.

For Transportation and Extra-Curricular Fees, the past goal of the Board has been that fees cover 50% of the total expenditure of that service or experience - meaning fee payers and taxpayers share the costs of that investment while the fee payer's student is in school. (There are some minor exceptions to this due to overall costs of the program, e.g. Orchestra/Strings, Band, Science Olympiad. Clubs are a simple flat fee.) Once the 50% threshold was met, the intention was to only raise the fee by the Consumer Price Index (inflation) annually.

For the Instructional Fee, the goal has been that fees only increase by the Consumer Price Index annually.

Right now, not every fee has met the 50% threshold and some programs/services costs have increased by more than inflation. However, when your fees for 2023-2024 will be published and mailed out before the end of the school year, by-and-large they will reflect increases based on the explanation provided here.

The Board now and the newly seated Board will continue to examine how it sets fees in light of inflation and the District's ongoing financial status.

Website: www.avoca37.org
Location: 2921 Illinois Road, Wilmette, IL, USA
Phone: 847-728-4128
Twitter: @OsburnSupt