Dear District 30 Community,

We can hardly wait to welcome our students back on Wednesday! In this month's Board Brief you can explore all the building improvements and inclusion initiatives that you will notice when students return to our hallways. Additionally, I invite you to explore the Summer Curriculum Work report that highlights academic and inclusive efforts, as well as my report on the action plans and key performance indicators that will support our 2024-25 Strategic Plan goals. We will use these KPIs to hold District 30 accountable for meeting the aims set by our community.

Within all of this information, you will notice direct connections to our Strategic Plan and a key emphasis on inclusion and belonging. That's because our community told us academics remain important, AND they want well-balanced students whose social-emotional needs are being well served.

That's where our RULER initiative really allows us to live our Strategic Plan and our values. RULER is an acronym for the skills of emotional intelligence: Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing and Regulating emotions. Our students are already very familiar with RULER principles, as they practiced them in class and beyond last year.

Now, it's your turn! As we continue on our RULER journey, we'd like to do that in partnership with you. Each month in your child(ren)'s school e-newsletter, on social media and here, we will share RULER themes and tips for applying these ideas at home. The goals is to help families better understand, navigate and communicate their emotions. Please watch each edition of this newsletter to learn more each month and review the chart below to see the schedule of topics you and your child(ren) will learn about and can practice this year. We look forward to learning and growing with you!

Sincerely,

Dr. Emily K. Tammaru

Superintendent of Schools

P.S. I want all District 30 families to be aware of important information for the first day of school, Aug. 21. District 30 has contracted with a professional film crew to capture all that is special about District 30 on video. Please be aware that if you see film crews at your school or are approached by them, they are vetted and approved by District 30. Please watch your inbox on Monday for more details on how you can (easily) be part of this exciting project!

Willowbrook Principal Mrs. Katie Compagno and Assistant Principal Mr. Erik Brekke joined with District 30 Facilities Director Mr. Jason Borst and Mr. Dale Falk, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, to lead the Board on a tour of updates at all schools for the 2024-25 school year.

Staff completed the replacement of a significant amount of carpeting on Willowbrook's second floor, and remaining carpeting will become tiled areas in future years. They also installed a new fence around the outdoor music garden, completed seal coating of the parking lot and play area, and installed additional playground equipment, the latter funded by the Willowbrook PTO.

Additionally, Mrs. Compagno and Mr. Brekke unveiled the school's new "Kindness Garden" display that will celebrate the school's 2024-25 theme "Growing with Kindness" and support the District 30 Strategic Plan value of inclusivity. The display will slowly "grow" as students and staff alike are encouraged to share notes of appreciation for kindnesses showed to them by classmates and colleagues. Those notes will be hung on the garden display, literally showing how kindness can spread.

Wescott Principal Dr. Chris Brown and Ms. Alison Keller shared details on the new bathrooms constructed in the building's library wing. These bathrooms feature sinks that are visible from the hallway for increased student safety and visibility.

Workers also installed new, more efficient radiators in the main office and completed parking lot and play area striping.

Additionally, Dr. Brown provided an overview of a new display that also supports the District 30 value of inclusivity and belonging, filling Wescott's entryway wall with the school logo and motto – "One big family" – that will be written in every language spoken in the school. Students and families have been asked to contribute a translation; those who contribute will have their photos taken by their home language and showcased in the Wescott Word. The aim is to have a complete display by the end of the school year.

Maple Principal Dr. Sam Kurtz and Assistant Principal Mrs. Angela Jaeger provided an overview of new visual displays within the school that also support the Strategic Plan value of inclusivity.

Last spring, Maple unveiled its "You Belong" display at the bottom of the learning stairs, with the phrase written in every language spoken by families in the school. This fall, they will add a museum-like feature, with a scannable QR code that will soon be on display. The code takes users to a document that helps them discern what language they are looking at, how the phrase is said phonetically, and a transliteration.

Maple has also installed new branding on several staircases that not only promotes Mustang Pride, but offers encouraging and affirming phrases that students will see daily.

Near the eastern entryway, Dr. Kurtz and Mrs. Jaeger discussed the "One Herd" mosaic created from designs drawn by students during Maple's inaugural Illuminate Day last spring.

Additionally, staff completed parking lot striping.

Dr. Tammaru discussed the action plans and key performance indicators (KPIs) that are aligned to the five goals of the 2024-29 District 30 Strategic Plan. She stated these action plans and KPIs have been developed by administrators and staff to ensure the district is reaching its goals and being held accountable. Click here or the button below to see the full report.

Additionally, Dr. Tammaru noted that a public dashboard is being developed, which will be published on the District 30 website to show progress toward each of the goals.

The Board approved a tentative budget for public display at the District Office and set a public hearing for its September 19 meeting. The tentative budget includes $38.9M in projected revenues with $37.7M of estimated expenditures. Superintendent Dr. Emily Tammaru and members of the Board praised the financial health of the district and the commitment to align spending to the District 30 strategic plan and Board goal.

Dr. Melissa Hirsch, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, provided an overview of the second portion of the summer curriculum work completed by staff teams to further develop and evolve learning experiences and programs in 14 areas for the upcoming school year. (She presented the first nine initiatives during last month's Board of Education meeting that were detailed in the July Board Brief.)

Dr. Hirsch discussed following initiatives: Student Services content planning; 6th-grade co-teaching for math and English language arts (ELA); a performance assessment of Maple School ELA; and a 5-year plan for staff development.

"Summer work provides teachers with the time to collaborate and dig deeply into areas of need," Dr. Hirsch said. "Teachers in District 30 value the opportunity to participate in planning district initiatives as evidenced by a number of certified staff engaged in the work."

Dr. Melissa Hirsch, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, explained that the professional growth fund is part of the contract with the Northbrook/Glenview School District 30 Teachers Association that provides for professional development resources to be utilized by instruction staff. These funds help continually develop the skills of our staff and by reimbursing them for approved professional development including conferences, journals and course work.

Dr. Hirsch reported that District 30 has seen an increase in the amount of teachers accessing this fund. Dr. Tammaru also noted that this fund demonstrates the Board of Education's commitment toward the growth of those who serve our students while supporting District 30's Strategic Plan goal of an invested workforce.

Maple School Principal and Lew Blond 5K Run/Walk Foundation President Dr. Sam Kurtz addressed the Board to present a $8,000 donation to District 30. Donation funds are among the proceeds from the race that happened in May 2024 at Maple school.

Mr. Kurtz shared that the Foundation makes this donation annually to support District 30 special projects and thanked the Board for their partnership and commitment to the annual event, which raises funds for the Les Turner ALS Foundation in memory of former Maple teacher Lew Blond.

Board members completed their second read of PRESS (Policy Reference Education Subscription Service) 115 updates and voted to approve the changes. Dr. Tammaru noted that none of the policies included substantive changes, with only minor updates to areas such as footnotes.

The Board approved four leaves of absence and the hire of Molly Hoisington, Occupational Therapist for Maple and Wescott; JoAnna May Porthan, Willowbrook Instructional Assistant; and Anna Maratos, Wescott Instructional Assistant. Please welcome them to District 30!

The Board of Education consists of seven members elected from the general public to serve the entire Northbrook/Glenview School District 30 Community. The Board provides governance for the district by hiring and evaluating the superintendent and approving a budget, policies, and goals that align with the district's strategic plan. Board members are:

• President -Jeff Zuercher
  
• Vice President - Ammar Rizki
• Zivit Blonder
  
• Keith Karchmar
• Pamela Manicioto
  
• Patrick Wang
• Dr. Stephanie Yohannan

Northbrook/Glenview District 30 exists to create an inclusive community that inspires learning, fosters resiliency, and cares deeply for every child. We honor childhood and foster intellectual, physical and social-emotional growth. District 30 serves more than 1,200 students in pre-K through 8th grade across Willowbrook, Wescott and Maple Schools.

We prohibit harassment and discrimination of all forms within our district and follows all policies and procedures to ensure a safe environment for all.

Email: communications@district30.org
Website: district30.org
Location: 2374 Shermer Road, Northbrook, IL, USA
Phone: 847-498-4190