USD116 BOE Update: June 18, 2024

The Board was given a progress update on the year one goals of the Equity Action Plan (EAP). The EAP is an accountability framework to identify, measure and sustain actions to advance equity. It is a collaborative process developed with district stakeholders and relies on systemic commitment to best serve all students. The EAP has five strands, each with its own set of objectives.

Some of the year one results included:

• Updated guidance was provided to administrators for consistency regarding exclusionary practices (suspensions/expulsions), bullying investigations and procedures, and accurate data reporting
• An African American/Black Affinity group was formed
• Out of the 419 staff members of color, 92.84% are returning for school year 2024-2025
• The implementation of Illustrative Math (year 1) and the adoption of new ELA/SLA curriculum
• Data was used to communicate with staff about the disparities in learning within our African-American and Latino/ELL students groups to inform data driven decisions and school improvement goal setting Intentional professional development

View the presentation

Q: What does the Minority Enrichment Coordinator do?

A: This position has been at the high school for several years. This person provides varying supports for our students of color.

Q: What are other ways that parents can come and participate in the school day with their children, besides coming to a planned event?

A: There are different events during the day for families. They can also reach out to the school to discuss opportunities that fits their schedule/needs.

Administrators from Urbana Early Childhood, Dr. Williams, Dr. King, Leal, Thomas Paine and Yankee Ridge presented the progress on this year's school improvement plan goals.

View the presentation

The Principals will come back at the beginning of the school year to present their school improvement plan for the 2024-25 school year.

The Board of Education worked with an Illinois Association of School Boards trainer during a

Goal Setting Workshop to create “District Ends” and next steps for the 2024-25 school year. The priority areas are:

• Student achievement: Ensure all students meet or exceed proficiency at or above grade level.
• Dual Language Program: Exceed performance standards addressing bilingual, biliteracy, academic achievement, and sociocultural competence.

• Facilities: Provide a safe, inviting, learning environment
• Finances: Align fiscal responsibility with equal access for student success.
• Culture/Climate/Community: Intensify safety and positivity among our community of learners.
• Redistricting: Cultivate diverse and equitable schools.

These six areas are going to be the pillars of the strategic planning process. There will be community groups that will then meet to focus on the goals the Board has set for each of these areas and come up with plans and metrics to measure progress against those items.

The Board of Education received a tentative budget for 2024-25 (fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2025).The following are dates for developing and adopting the final 2024-25 district budget:

• June 25, 2024: Adoption of tentative budget.

• September 3, 2024: Public Hearing and Study Session on the budget

• September 17, 2024: Board approval of final 2024-25 budget.

The Board approved the calendar for the 2024-25 meeting dates. The meetings will be at 6 p.m. (Please note the time, this is a change).

The Board approved the PRESS Plus 114 policies as well as the Educational Equity Policy with proposed language in PRESS regarding Racism-Free Schools.

The Board voted to keep the same officers for another one-year term.

• President: Paul Poulosky
• Vice-President: Tori Exum
• Secretary: Sheri Langendorf
• Secretary Pro Tem: Ben Baxley

Dr. Ivory-Tatum's Superintendent Report is available here: June 18, 2024

Highlights:

• There are still scholarships available for Camp Invention held at Leal from July 8-12
• Register your returning student(s)
• July 29: Registration assistance for Spanish and French speaking families: 3-7 p.m. at Yankee Ridge
• Centralized Registration for new families at Urbana Middle School: July 30 from 2 to 6 p.m. and July 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The BOE had an initial discussion around goals it wants to achieve next year (2024-25):

• Review the cell phone policies in our buildings
• Examine the social media policy of the District
• Look at our students coming from UECS to kindergarten and see if we need to change our transition support for UECS to kindergarten and kindergarten to 1st.
• Implement a strategic plan
• Hear a presentation on the Industrial Arts Program at UHS
• Review the Board public comment policy

*This is just an initial list and more items may be added.

Additionally: Jettie Rhodes Day is this Saturday, June 22 from 12-4 p.m at King Park in Urbana. This is a free event with food, activities, dance performances, games and more.