Board RECAP
October 19, 2023
April 25, 2024
The District 211 Board of Education met Thursday, April 25, 2024, in the auditorium at Fremd High School. The following is a recap of key items acted upon and reviewed.
Administrative Appointments
James B. Conant High School – 10-Month Assistant Principal
Kim Davis has been appointed 10-Month Assistant Principal at Conant High School. She currently serves as a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) coordinator at Maine East High School, a position she has held for the 2023-2024 school year. She began her career as a social worker at Lake Zurich High School in 2017 and since has served as a Student Assistant Program Social Worker and Intervention Coordinator at Evanston Township High School. Kim holds a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Illinois, a master’s in social work from Loyola University Chicago and a master’s in Educational Leadership from Concordia University-Chicago.
Hoffman Estates High School - 10-Month Assistant Principal
Rebecca La Porta has been appointed 10-Month Assistant Principal at Hoffman Estates High School. She currently is an Assistant Principal at Heineman Middle School in Huntley Community School District 158, a position she has held since the 2021-2022 school year. She began her career in education as a math teacher in Metamora Township High School District 122 in 2013. From 2014-2018, she served in that same role at Richmond-Burton Community High School. In 2018, Ms. La Porta took a position as Dean of Students at Lake Zurich High School, where she stayed until moving to her current position. Rebecca holds a bachelor’s in mathematics and secondary education from the University of Iowa and a master’s in Educational Leadership from Concordia University-Chicago.
Administration Center – Controller and Treasurer, CSBO-Elect
Kathy Zalewski has been appointed Business Manager/CSBO-Elect. She currently serves as Business Manager/CSBO of Evanston-Skokie School District 65, a position she has held since 2001. For the past year, she also has served as the district’s treasurer. Prior to her current position, she served as a senior consultant at Pandolfi, Topolski & Weiss (presently Crowe), a public accounting, consulting and technology firm. Kathy earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Recognitions
The Board of Education recognized students who earned state honors, as well as two educators who achieved honors.
Palatine High School
IHSA Boys Basketball: 4th Place
Presenter Eric Millstone
Logan Argeaga
Kalala Balanganayi
Darrin Dick
Ian Dow
Thomas Elter
John Gatis
Jack Houser
Ethan Hunt
Andreas Iliopoulos
Gibson Lindell
Emmett Maude
Connor May
Kasey May
Jordan Mok
Carter Monroe
Conrad Okulski
Dev Patel
Justin Ray
Patrick Zondlo
Illinois Debate Community (IDC) - State Debate Tournament
Presenter Samantha Dolen
Ishhaan Mishra - Lincoln-Douglas Debate Semifinalist
Timothy Sakwa - Lincoln-Douglas Debate Quarterfinalist
William Fremd High School
Illinois Debate Community (IDC) - State Debate Tournament: Student Congress Finalist
Presenter Soinna Chong
Mithun Arun
Prithika Devarajan
Omkar Marathe
Sanvi Pakala
Siddhanth Rao
Aadi Shah
Katherine Shidle
Ishaan Srivastava
HOSA - Future Health Professionals
Presenter Marcquel Hawkins
Sysesha Sakhuja - 1st Place Clinical Laboratory Science
Navya Sai Borra - 1st Place Community Awareness
Nitya Sai Borra - 1st Place Community Awareness
Samaira Alur - 1st Place Health Career Display
Niyathi Girish - 1st Place Health Career Display
Amber Chandra - 1st Place Medical Terminology
Mitali Atwale - 1st Place MRC Partnership
Rishya Khosla - 1st Place MRC Partnership
Rahee Patel - 1st Place MRC Partnership
Riya Patel - 1st Place MRC Partnership
Pragya Shankar - 1st Place MRC Partnership
Samantha Ye - 1st Place MRC Partnership
Nadia Rosadi - 1st Place Nutrition
Tapasvi Veeramachaneni - 1st Place Pharmacology
Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Presenter Christopher Grattoni
Joshua Lin - 1st Place Algebra 2 Written Individual
2nd Place Algebra 2 Written Team
3rd Place Oralist Competition
Eddie Zhou - 1st Place Algebra 2 Written Individual
2nd Place Algebra 2 Written Team
Daniel Xiao - 1st Place Geometry Written Individual
3rd Place 8-Person Team
Isabella Chen - 2nd Place Algebra 2 Written Team
Rishi Kanchi - 2nd Place Algebra 2 Written Team
Andrew Qian - 2nd Place Algebra 2 Written Team
Niv Roy-Chowdhury - 2nd Place Algebra 2 Written Team
Sairam Bitra - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Cora Joba - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Sophia Lin - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Ethan Liu - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Vishakh Neelamana - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Melissa Yin - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Justin Zheng - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Aditya Gupta - 3rd Place 8-Person Team
Illinois Debate Community (IDC) - State Debate Tournament
Presenter Anna Ignatowicz
Emily Fei - Finalist at Pro Con Debate
Vishakh Neelamana - Finalist at Pro Con Debate
IHSA State Girls Basketball: 3rd Place
Presenter Dave Yates
Isabella Del Mar
Brynn Eshoo
Antonella Gonnella
Caitlin Ku
Rachel Lind
Madiosn McMillan
Sophia McMillan
Ellie Thompson
Greta Thompson
Ella Todd
Grace Todd
NaTallia Urlacher
Nicole Wulfram
Isabelle Zavilla
Conant High School
Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Presenter Rich Cortez
Jiho Park - 2nd Place Oralist Competition
Illinois Debate Community (IDC) - State Debate Tournament
Presenter Gary Schumacher
Eesha Desai - Student Congress Finalist
Schaumburg High School
Illinois Debate Community (IDC) - State Debate Tournament
Presenter Carl Schwartz
Alandee Patil - Lincoln-Douglas Debate Quarterfinalist
Adedotun Adekeye - Student Congress Finalist
Highest Possible Composite Score on the SAT Exam
William Fremd High School student Pranaav Senthikumar was recognized by the Board of Education for achieving the highest possible composite score on the SAT exam.
Highest Possible Composite Score on the American College Testing (ACT) Exam
William Fremd High School student Sia Purohit was recognized by the Board of Education for achieving the highest possible composite score on the American College Testing (ACT) exam.
Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductee
William Fremd High School girls basketball coach Dave Yates was recognized by the Board of Education for having been inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. His career record as the Viking’s head coach is 512-191.
National Art Education Association 2024 Marion Quin Dix Leadership Award
Palatine High School Art teacher Nicholas Hostert was recognized by the Board of Education for being selected as the National Art Education Association’s 2024 recipient of the Marion Quin Dix Leadership Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to service and the profession.
Approval of Minutes
The Board approved the minutes from its regular meeting of March 21, 2024.
Acceptance of Donations
Renewal of Membership in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA)
The Board of Education authorized membership in the Illinois High School Association for each District 211 school, and designated each school’s principal as an IHSA delegate.
Superintendent Search - Search Firm Presentations
The Board heard and considered information from two superintendent search firms so as to potentially take action at its May 16, 2024 meeting to select a firm to assist in the search process. The Board also reviewed a timeline for the search.
Summer Curriculum Projects
Each summer, teachers gather from all schools to work as District- or school-based teams to develop curriculum, enhance instructional choices and assessments, and develop new coursework.
The Board of Education approved the summer curriculum projects at a cost not exceeding $140,000 for Title I; $180,000 for Title II; and $18,000 for IDEA.
More information is available here.
Employee Wellness Program Provider
For many years, District 211 has supported an employee wellness program that provides for an annual physical wellness screening. To promote prevention and early detection of health concerns, the Board approved a more comprehensive wellness screening for employees in November 2013. The District has participated in this comprehensive wellness screening program and incentivized employee participation by providing insurance premium credits for those who receive the annual wellness screening.
The Board extended the contract with HealthCheck360 as its wellness program provider on an annual basis for a three-year term. More information is available here.
Multi-Functional Devices and Related Services
Copy and print functionality are essential components to the educational and operational functions of our District. This spring concludes an eight-year ownership with Canon for 26 multi-functional devices and related services.
The Board approved Proven IT as the District’s supplier of multi-functional devices at the purchase price of $458,288 and related services of approximately $7,500 per month; and authorized the Superintendent or designee to enter into a contract for the purchase of new equipment and four years of related services. More information is available here.
Student Photography Vendor Services
Student photography services include underclass portraits, senior portraits, dance photography, yearbook photography, staff photography, special event photography, and student and staff ID cards. The District does not incur costs associated with student photography services, but rather provides the recommended vendor as a service for students and their families.
The Board rejected the recommendation of using Visual Imaging Photography (VIP) for student photography for the 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years.
More information on the proposal is available here.
Building Construction Student Experience Partnership with Nitti Development LLC
In 2019, Nitti Development LLC purchased a 62-acre parcel of property from District 211 now known as Summit Grove of Schaumburg Subdivision. Three residential lots were set aside for use by District 211 for the purpose of constructing student-built housing as a part of the District’s Building Construction courses, which engages students with hands-on experiences in building residential homes and connecting with professionals in the industry.
Nitti Development LLC, in partnership with BuilderEDU and District 211, would like to add the opportunity for building construction students to work side-by-side with construction professionals on the job site at the Summit Grove of Schaumburg Subdivision. Students would learn construction skills in the classroom/lab space in connection with District 211 building construction staff and then move to the adjacent lot to a build site where they will be involved in construction of a house while under the direction of District staff, but expanding to work directly with trades professionals.
The Board approved a partnership with Nitti Development LLC to build one house per year for three years beginning in the 2024-2025 school year while providing students with practical construction learning experiences alongside construction professionals via the curriculum provided by BuilderEDU; and authorized the Superintendent or designee to enter into a contract with Nitti Development LLC and BuilderEDU, pending final attorney review.
Full details are available here.
Next Board Meeting
The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held Thursday, May 16, 2024, with closed session beginning at 6:30 p.m. and open session beginning at 7:30 p.m.