District 15 Board of Education News

The District 15 Board of Education meeting was held on Tuesday, December 13, 2022. The full meeting agenda and recorded video, as well as the minutes from its November 9, 2022 meeting, can be found on the BoardDocs website.

The dedicated Leading Lions Club are a group of students from Lake Louise who are working to go above and beyond for their school, and greater community. This group has been busy this year. They have planned a food drive for the All Saints Food Pantry collecting 1,836 food items. Currently, they are working with the PTA and Girl Scouts to start a Free Little Lending Library, as well as making dog toys out of recycled materials for the Second City Canine Rescue. The list of Lake Louise’s Leading Lions that joined us is shared below.

• Abigail D.
• Catalin C.
• Julia Rita J.
• Gwen W.
• Seffi H.
• Devanshi P.
• Ruby G.
• Samantha A.
• Iyam W.

We are so proud of this club’s service mindset. Thank you for all you’ve done Leading Lions! You make us #ProudToBe15!

During the months of October and November, District 15 students auditioned for and were selected to participate in the regional Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) district festivals. These honor ensembles bring together students from all over the area who have auditioned and been accepted for their instrumental skills and achievement. This fall, District 15 had the following 12 students participate in the various band, jazz band, and orchestra festivals. Way to go!

• Grace M. (Carl Sandburg Junior High), Trumpet
• Joanna C. (Plum Grove Junior High), Flute
• Anna D. (Plum Grove Junior High), Violin
• Neel H. (Plum Grove Junior High), Alto Sax
• Sahana I. (Plum Grove Junior High), Violin
• Karen K. (Plum Grove Junior High), Flute
• Grace L. (Plum Grove Junior High), Violin
• Logan K. (Winston Campus Junior High), Flute
• Claire M. (Winston Campus Junior High), Violin
• Ashley P. (Winston Campus Junior High), Viola
• Alto N. (Walter R. Sundling Junior High), Flute
• Julian R. (Walter R. Sundling Junior High), Violin

Additionally, Joanna C., Plum Grove Junior High 8th grade, auditioned and was selected to participate in the All-Illinois Junior band, which is a premier musical experience for the state's finest middle school band students.

Since 1970, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has sponsored Those Who Excel and Teacher of the Year to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to public schools. Awards are presented in five categories: school administrator, student support personnel, educational service personnel, community volunteer, and teams.

Community Consolidated School District 15 is elated to have seven individuals or team nominations that will go on for consideration at the state level. Please join us in recognizing the following outstanding staff members!

• Teacher of the Year Nominee - Amy Muller, Plum Grove Junior High
• Those Who Excel, Education Services Personnel - Suzanne Dowd and Elizabeth Gama, Plum Grove Junior High
• Teacher of the Year, Special Education - Matt Kooiker, Conyers Learning Academy
• Those Who Excel, Student Support Personnel - Debbie Vojack, Conyers Learning Academy
• Those Who Excel, Team - SEAL Team, Frank C. Whiteley
• Teacher of the Year, Special Education - Cindy Friesen, Lincoln
• Those Who Excel, Education Service Personnel - Mario Diaz Albarran, Lincoln

The Palatine Jaycees coordinated a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Fair for children attending elementary schools in Palatine (Winston Campus Elementary, Virginia Lake, Jane Addams, and Lake Louise). Northern Illinois University STEM Outreach was contracted to provide STEM Exploration Labs in schools and coordinated a professional, educational, and interactive experience for the kids.

Palatine Jaycees partnered with Northern Illinois University Stem Outreach, Educational Insights, Learning Resources, and Hand2mind so each student could get a free gift for attending (related to education) and provide additional opportunities for prizes! Thank you, Palatine Jaycees, for helping provide amazing, educational opportunities for our students!

Dr. Heinz provided the Board with more information regarding the January 11 half day. As shared in the letter, across our district, and across the nation, staff have seen an increased need for both behavioral and mental health support in students. In response to the needs of our staff and in support of the needs of our students, and after significant deliberation, the District decided to make Wednesday, January 11, 2023, a half day of school. During this half-day, all staff will have professional development around supporting students and addressing behavioral and mental health needs. The District understands the burden this may cause families, which is why we worked with the park districts to try to provide half day care options for families. Unfortunately, not all of the programs have the staff to open enrollment up to more students.

Additionally, Dr. Heinz provided an update of other important and exciting work taking place across the District. Details can be found in the Superintendent’s Report within BoardDocs

Dr. Meg Schnoor, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services, and Renee Urbanski, Assistant Superintendent of Multilingual Programs, presented the 2022 Student Achievement Report. The student achievement report shares information about how District 15 students performed in comparison to their grade level counterparts and students across Illinois on Spring 2022 assessments. Results include the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), Illinois Science Assessment (ISA), and Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for English Learners (ACCESS). Additionally, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) measures the progress to proficiency for English learners was also reviewed.

Results shared illustrate:

• The District as a whole is at or above state averages on state assessments.
• Though progress has been made to increase traditionally underrepresented populations in the district’s accelerated academic offerings, continued attention is needed.
• The District has seen an increase in challenging behavior among students and professional development in culturally responsive practices, structured classroom routines, and inclusive classroom practices should continue.
• There is a need for continued focus on academic intervention particularly at the primary grade levels.

View 2022 Student Achievement Report in BoardDocs

Deputy Superintendent Kowalczyk, presented an update on our current residency reverification process, how it links to registration for the 2023-2024 school year and how some procedures will change.

For the 2023-2024 school year, the District will:

• Continue to require all Kindergarten and students new to the District to provide proof of residency upon registration;
• Continue to run all families through a third-party residency verification system to ascertain whether everyone trying to enroll is actually a D15 resident. If the verification process deems any families as questionable, they will be required to provide proof of residency through the production of key residency documents outlined on the District website.
• Require all families with month-to-month or yearly leases to provide proof of residency that aligns with lease start and end dates; and
• Disenroll students from the District if they do not prove residency. Being disenrolled means a family will not receive a classroom assignment, a bus route, or be able to attend school. This reflects a tightening of our process to ensure we are not educating students that do not live within District 15 boundaries.

For the 2023-24 school year, online student registration will begin on Monday, January 23, 2023. Student fees are due June 1, 2023. Invoices are no longer sent home, but parents are able to see the amount they owe for student fees in Infinite Campus when they register their child(ren). More information regarding registration and residency will be sent to families soon.

View the 2023-2024 Registration and Residency Report in BoardDocs.

Elizabeth Hennessy, Managing Director for Raymond James Public Finance, presented the recommendation for underwriting the first issuance of referendum bonds. District requested underwriting proposals from four firms and received three thoughtful and well-written proposals to act as senior underwriter on the District’s first tranche. The proposal responses came from Baird, Mesirow, and Stifel.

In the past, the District has pursued competitive bond sales given its strong “Aa2” bond rating from Moody’s and relatively stable bond market. Given the District’s desire to make bonds available to interested and qualified investors in the community in the wake of a successful referendum effort, a negotiated bond sale was recommended. Only in a negotiated bond sale will the District have the ability to make bonds available to the community. A negotiated bond sale also provides additional flexibility given current market variance.

View the First Bond Issuance Report in BoardDocs.

one-five Foundation

Board Member James Taylor was not present so Dr. Heinz shared that the one-five Foundation recently announced the mini-grant winners, they will launch the 50/50 raffle in February, and they are working to secure a date for the rescheduled Fun Run/Walk for this spring.

Equity Committee

Board Members Zubair Khan and Samantha Ader shared they have been participating in the strategic planning meetings and look forward to bringing a draft plan to the Board in the spring.

ED-RED Committee

Board Member Frank Annerino shared there was a recent committee session, but items related to education were not discussed.

Finance Committee

Board Members Wenda Hunt and Anthony Wang shared they met on December 6 to review the 5-year forecast, the bond sale, the transportation fund, and partnering with the Johnson research group in regards to the Chicago Bears potentially coming to Arlington Heights.

• 10.1 Approval of Resolution Rejecting Teacher's Resignation and Authorizing Submittal to ISBE for Consideration of Licensure Sanctions - rejected
• 10.2 Approval of Personnel Report: Administration, Certified, and Non-Certified, as Presented - approved
• 10.3 Resolution Authorizing Final Aggregate Tax Levy for Tax Year 2022 and Certificate of Tax Levy - approved
• 10.4 Resolution Authorizing Reduction of Certain Fund Levies for Tax Year 2022 - approved
• 10.5 Resolution Authorizing a Supplemental Tax Levy to Pay the Principal of and Interest on Outstanding Limited Bonds of the District. - approved
• 10.6 Resolution Providing for the Issue of not to exceed $50,000,000 General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2023, for the Purpose of Paying Certain Costs of those Capital Projects Approved by Referendum at the November 8, 2022, General Election, Providing for the Levy of a Direct Annual Tax Sufficient to Pay the Principal and Interest on said Bonds, and Authorizing the Proposed Sale of said Bonds to the Purchaser Thereof. - approved
• 10.7 Resolution Authorizing the Emergency Expenditure of Funds and the Approval of an Emergency Transportation Agreement for Unassigned School Bus Routes - approved
• 10.8 Approval of Resolution Awarding and Assigning Trade Contracts for 2023 Addition and Renovations at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School - approved
• 10.9 Approval of Board Policy 6:260 - approved