District 15 Board of Education News

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August 8, 2023

The District 15 Board of Education meeting was held on Tuesday, August 8. The full meeting agenda as well as the minutes from its June 14 meeting, can be found on the BoardDocs website. A livestream of the meeting can be viewed on our Youtube channel.

Pledge of Allegiance: Dual Language Culture Camp

Some of our wonderful students who participated in the Dual Language Culture Camp along with their Teacher, Froilan Bustos, lead the Pledge of Allegiance at our first Board meeting of the 2023-24 school year. Director of Multilingual Programming Kari Keith shared that during the Dual Language Culture Camp students had the opportunity to focus on the third pillar of dual citizenship - socio-cultural competencies. Over 100 students had the opportunity to engage in a variety of language and cultural activities from Spanish-speaking countries this summer!

Students from the Dual Language Culture Camp

Staff Recognition

Keith Garcia, Assistant Manager of Technology Services, was selected for the Above and Beyond recognition following a nomination by school administration. The Principal reached out to Mr. Garcia for some very time sensitive tech assistance. Mr. Garcia dropped what he was doing to assist the administrator and was a huge support in resolving the issue. We are so grateful for Keith’s dedication to our students, schools, and all things District 15 technology. Nice job, Keith.

Working Cash Fund Bond and Alternate Bond Public Hearing

The District held a Public Hearing concerning the intent to sell Working Cash Fund Bonds not to exceed $40,000,000 for the purpose of increasing the District's Working Cash Fund and (not to exceed) $40,000,000 General Obligation School Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source) for the purpose of altering, repairing, and equipping school buildings and facilities, constructing building additions, and improving school sites.

Opening of the 2023-2024 School Year

The District has been hard at work preparing for the opening of the 2023-2024 school year. Construction projects took place across the District this summer and many will continue into the school year. The District held four different summer school programs and was able to extend time spent learning for over 1,500 students. There have been many hiring initiatives underway to fill our open positions including job fairs, posting in the community and on various job boards, as well as launching a LinkedIn page for the District. The District offered many professional development opportunities over the summer including an Administrative Advance and a New Staff Orientation in which 150 new employees participated. The summer is always a busy time in D15 as we prepare for the return of staff and students.

Strategic Plan Update

Dr. Laurie Heinz, Superintendent, Dr. Tom Edgar, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, and Dr. Lori Lopez, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, presented a strategic plan update as a continuation from their presentation in May 2023. The presentation spoke about drivers of the plan as well as indicators that will help us monitor student growth and achievement.

Strategic Plan

District 15 embarked on crafting a fresh strategic blueprint, enlisting the expertise of Hanover Research, a nationally-recognized research and analytics firm to help facilitate a steering committee that penned the new plan. The plan includes four areas of priority:

Success and Belonging
Staff Retention and Engagement
Parent and Community Involvement/Participation
Master Facility Plan and Moving 15 Forward Transitions

The presentation at the August 8, 2023, Board meeting included:

A review of the revised Mission, Vision, and Values;
Three leverage points that help improve student achievement;

High Expectations
Alignment of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Data-informed Instruction

Our Assessment Program, including our balanced assessment portfolio; and overview of formative and summative assessments; and the importance of status and growth targets; and
A summary of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and their alignment to each of the Strategic Plan’s Priorities and associated Aims.

This month, Hanover will help finalize KPI and action plan development. By early October the KPIs will be finalized and the plan will be shared with staff and the community.

Committee Reports

ED-RED Committee
Board Member Annerino shared several legislative updates including bills that were passed to increase contract value for the competitive bid processes, an update allowing more flexibility with employee mandated training, the 10-year dismissal hearings which now includes student protections, and a mandate for full-day kindergarten by the 2027-2028 school year. Mr. Annerino also shared information on mega-pilot legislation that has been postponed.

one-five Foundation
Board Member Taylor shared that the one-five Foundation is in dire need of additional trustees. If you are interested in becoming a trustee, please visit www.one-five.org.

This year, the one-five will sponsor a Lego League at Willow Bend. In addition, the one-five Foundation donated $5,000 to the District to purchase books for our students which were given out at two community Back to School events.

Staff get ready….the teacher mini-grant program will go live this fall!

Finance Committee
Board Members Hunt and Wang shared there were no new updates at this time.

Equity Committee
Board Members Khan and Ader shared there are no new updates at this time.

Action Items

11.1 Approval of Personnel Report: Administration, Certified and Non-CertifiedThis Agenda Item Contains an Attachment. - approved
11.2 TIE Negotiated Agreement 2023-2027 Ratification - approved
11.3 Approval of Amended 2023-24 School CalendarThis Agenda Item Contains an Attachment. - approved
11.4 Resolution Appointing Samantha Dezort as Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Authorized AgentThis Agenda Item Contains an Attachment. - approved
11.5 Approval of Resolution Awarding and Assigning Trade Contracts for 2023 - ArconThis Agenda Item Contains an Attachment. - approved
11.6 Approval of Resolution Awarding and Assigning Trade Contracts for 2023 - Wold - approved