Board Briefs April 2024

A national organization that provides leadership and support to school districts across the country will conduct a review to help District 28 improve the effectiveness and equity of student support services.

Superintendent Dr. Jason Pearson said the district is proud of the services it provides to meet the needs of all students and the hard work of our staff, who help all children achieve at high levels. However, the staff faces ever-increasing challenges in meeting the demands of meetings and paperwork while trying to spend as much time as possible directly supporting students.

DMGroup will work closely with a Guiding Coalition composed of District 28 educators and administrators. The review will provide a picture of what is working well in the district and prioritize high-impact next steps to improve our delivery of services to students while effectively utilizing district resources.

“We want to continue to be creative, innovative and thoughtful with a mindset for improvement,” said Board President Jennifer Gallinson.

The review will begin in May and continue into the next school year.

Health Teacher Wendy Concklin leads her class in a 'balance break' as they discuss a balanced diet and exercise lifestyle.

The Board of Education recognized Northbrook Junior High Teacher Wendy Concklin for being named Health Educator of the Year by the Illinois School Health Association. “She has been instrumental in crafting the curriculum here at NBJH. She works with all of our students at the junior high and (health education) is such a pivotal part of their development. We really appreciate her work and commitment to students,” Dr. Pearson said.

District 28 offers a professional development program during the summer, often taught by colleagues eager to share and collaborate. This year, 37 sessions are offered in topics ranging from multilingual learning to technology, to science and math.

The professional learning program allows teachers to pursue new interests while other educators have an opportunity to lead and collaborate with colleagues. The topics for the program are recommended through a staff survey.

Due to the winter weather storm that closed school for two days in January, the last day of school is moved to Tuesday, June 4. The Board of Education formally approved the calendar change. Northbrook Junior High dismisses at 11:30 a.m. and the elementary schools dismiss at noon. The last day for Young Explorers is Friday, May 31.

A proposed amended budget for the current school year will be approved at the May 28th regular board meeting following the 30-day public inspection period.

Chief School Business Official Jessica Donato said the amended budget is required due to increased health insurance costs and the finalized negotiated agreement with the NFT28. The budget is created before all costs are known and was approved before the negotiated agreement was settled. The amended budget also removed the contingency funds since the fiscal year is nearly over, resulting in a surplus of $116,000.

HOH5K is SATURDAY!

The Annual District 28 Homer O. Harvey 5K Walk/Run is Saturday, May 4th at 8am. Walk-up registration opens at 7 a.m. Packet pickup is at Sunset Foods From 3-5:30 p.m. today. Online registration closes tonight at 10 p.m.

The HOH5K event raises funds for scholarships for School District 28 alumni graduating from high school. Families from all four D28 schools and GBN are invited to participate in the 5K walk/run event. Since 1989, the Homer O. Harvey Scholarship Fund has raised over $400K and awarded scholarships to NEARLY 400 high school students.

Go to www.HOH5K.org to learn more, donate/sponsor, volunteer and to register.

Northbrook families are invited to dedicate a new outdoor classroom created in honor of beloved kindergarten teacher Mary Porcaro at 4 p.m. May 21 at Greenbriar School.

Given "Mrs. P's" love of nature and children, the Greenbriar community is excited to dedicate a new outdoor classroom space built at the school with contributions from the community in partnership with Green City Gardens.

Please RSVP

Livestream/Archive Video

The Board of Education meetings are live-streamed on the District 28's YouTube Channel. The live streams are also archived for later viewing.

Next Meeting is May 28 at 7 p.m.

The Board of Education meets in the HOH Community Room at District office, 1475 Maple Ave., Northbrook. The meetings are also live-streamed on the District 28 YouTube channel.

Visit Northbrook28.net for more information