Gower 62 Community Newsletter

Click this link to take our Community Perception Survey! We ask for feedback often in Gower and we are hoping you will take a few minutes to complete this survey before it closes at 6:00 a.m. CST on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. The information collected is an instrumental part of the strategic planning process that is getting underway. Remember, we can't grow without feedback and we want yours! Please forward the survey link to friends and neighbors in the Gower Community that may not have children enrolled in our schools. It is important that we hear from them too!!!

Save a few minutes and use this link to take our Community Perceptions Survey and come back to read more when you're done!

We are only one month into the school year, ​but it does feel like we​ have hit full stride.​ ​Even with a good number of new staff at both of our campuses, it sure seems like we are off to a great start! And having three out of our four school administrators being new to their role this year, one might expect some nervous tension and apprehension in the air, but our staff haven't flinched or skipped a beat.This says a lot about who we are as a staff and what we expect from each other when serving in a school community as amazing as Gower. Great job, everyone!

I do subscribe to the philosophy, 'It's not how you start, it's how you finish',​ but I also ​value and appreciate the importance of 'starting off on the right foot', and have found myself knocking on wood once or twice these last few weeks when talking about beginning of this school year in particular:)​ ​Ensuring safe, welcoming, reflective, supportive, flexible​, challenging, and productive ​classrooms ​for children to learn​ alongside others, in a community as diverse as ours, is not something that we can simply hope or wish for at the start of each school year. Instead, these outcomes are precisely what our dedicated and thoughtful staff, with the ongoing support of our Board of Education and administrative team, have deliberately set out to build and worked hard to put into place in order to best serve the Gower Community. Five weeks into the 2024-2025 school year and I am excited for what the rest of the school year is to bring!

​I also want to point out, on behalf of all Gower staff, just how much we appreciate the extraordinary level of parent and community engagement and support that we receive. I do think this is a big part of what makes Gower so special, and in many ways, sets us apart. A great start to a school year begins at home and we thank you for everything that you do! Our Gower West and Gower Middle Curriculum Nights were well attended and the parent feedback was positive​ at both events! ​Grandparent Bingo at Gower West was packed last week - such a fun event - and I know the Foundation Gala is sure to be a hit this coming Saturday. The ​level of support we receive across the Gower Community ​i​s amazing and it is not something we take for granted. If you're looking for more ways to engage, I encourage you to visit the Gower PTO and Gower Foundation websites. Both of these groups provide tremendous support to our school district and they are always looking for more parents to join their efforts.

With parent and community engagement in mind, I am asking for your support again. Our Strategic Planning effort is underway and we need your feedback on our Community Perception Survey. Please use this link to launch the survey in a new window and tell us what you think. I know that organizations do not grow without feedback and yours is highly valuable to the work that we do in Gower. Our recent expansion of the Gower West campus would not have occurred without your input and we're asking for you to weigh in on how we're doing once again. This survey will be open for the next 10 days and the information is being collected by the Educational Leadership Group that was selected by the Board of Education to guide the development of our strategic planning process. Your input will play a huge role in helping us build our strategic plan and set our goals for the coming years. Parents, community members, and all teachers and staff are encouraged to click this link and share your input.

Grateful and thankful,

Click this link to take our Community Perception Survey! We ask for feedback often in Gower and we are hoping you will take a few minutes to complete this survey before it closes at 6:00 a.m. CST on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. The information collected is an instrumental part of the strategic planning process that is getting underway. Remember, we can't grow without feedback and we want yours! Please forward the survey link to friends and neighbors in the Gower Community that may not have children enrolled in our schools. It is important that we hear form them too!!!

Recording Secretary to the Board of Education, Kate Schillinger, 630.286.4929

Click here for the monthly Superintendent Reports and here for our meeting agendas.

Public Hearing Summary: Board President Ryan Asmus convened the Adoption of the 2024-25 Budget Public Hearing at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Simon gave an overview of the budget and there were no questions or comments from the public. The public hearing was adjourned at 7:08 p.m.

Regular Board Meeting Summary: The meeting was called to order and there was no public comment offered from those in attendance. The Board saluted the members of the Gower Middle Golf Team who qualified for the SDEAA Varsity Conference Tournament held on September 10th, as well as those who participated in the SDEAA Junior Varsity Conference Tournament held on September 18th. Congratulations to our golfers and a special thank you to Coach Linda Cusick and Athletic Director Scott Dunning for their support! For more information, you can read the Board Salute report here. The Board also saluted our teachers who made tenure last school year and this year. A full list can be found here. We thank them for their dedication to the Gower Community and congratulate them on this career milestone!

The meeting continued with the monthly Superintendent's Report which included a separate review of the annual Student Enrollment and Class Size Report. The Strategic Planning community survey was also reviewed and finalized for September 26th's launch, as well as a number of monthly and annual reports. Finally, the Board approved the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget, which can be found online here.

The Board did not enter Executive (closed) session. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting is scheduled for October 16, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in the Gower School District Board Room, Gower West, south end of campus Door #B22. As always, you are invited to attend and share your thoughts and feedback with the Board.

The Board saluted our Gower Middle golfers who participated in the SDEAA Varsity Conference Tournament held on September 10th. Many also competed in the SDEAA Junior Varsity Conference Tournament on the 18th. Congratulations to all the golfers! And a special thanks to Coach, Ms. Linda Cusick and Athletic Director, Mr. Scott Dunning! You can read more about our golfers' accomplishments in the Board Salute.

Pictured left to right: Coach Cusick, Lyla Ward, Cameron Dynkin, Armaan Setia and Nadia Malik.

The Board also saluted our wonderful teachers who made tenure last school year and this school year! Congratulations to them and we thank them for all their hard work and dedication to the Gower Community!

Pictured left to right: Mrs. Amy Toth (4th Grade), Mrs. Katie Zack (6th Grade ELA), Ms. Lisa Williams (2nd Grade), Mr. Scott Dunning (4th Grade) and Ms. Kristy Sweigard (Kindergarten).

Core Stakeholder Team (CST) - Last Call. Thank you to the 20+ parents and community members that expressed an interest in joining the CST. Kate Schillinger, the district's Board Recording Secretary, will contact you early next week to confirm your participation. The CST will meet 3-4 times this fall to work with consultants from Educational Leadership Solutions, along with Gower administrators and staff members, to help shape our district’s Mission and Vision along with our Core Beliefs, Values, and Goals. We expect to have a draft available for Public Review and Feedback in December or January ahead of Board approval later this school year. If you have any questions about the Strategic Planning Process, please contact Ms. Schillinger at kschillinger@gower62.com or 630-286-4929. If you would like to be considered as a member of the Core Stakeholder Team, please complete this interest form.

October 11th - Early Dismissal for all students and Gower West Bring Your Parent to School Day

October 14th - No School - Columbus Day & Indigenous Peoples Day