Gower 62 Community Newsletter

For each of the last several years, Gower School District has been among the top 10% of all school districts in the state when it comes to Parent Participation rates on the annual 5Essentials Survey. This says a lot about the Gower Community and the strong support we receive from our parents! We do not take this level of support for granted and we know that setting 10-15 minutes aside to complete this survey is one of those things that can easily get put into the category of, 'I'll do that later. Or tomorrow... Or... Oops! Life happens! I really meant to do it, but now the window is closed! lol.'

The survey opened a bit later than usual this year, but that doesn't mean our goals have changed! We have a standing goal of at least 35% parent participation and I'm hopeful that 2025 could be the year that we set a new Gower West record! Fun fact: Our current records in Gower are Gower West, 59.0% (2014-2015) and Gower Middle, 44.5% (2023-2024). Let's see if this is a record setting year before the survey window closes on March 28 and just in time for Spring Break! "Manifesting spring weather now:)"

And remember, you are encouraged to submit a separate survey for EACH child you have enrolled in Gower School District! This is so important to keep in mind since every child's experience is different!!!

You can expect to receive a number of reminders from each of our schools over the next few weeks, but feel free to click here to take the survey now. I'll keep my comments short this month to give you back the few extra minutes to take the annual 5Essentials Survey today! You can always come back to read the rest of the Community Update later ;)

If you happen to be at a youth event this weekend, share the QR code below with as many other Gower parents as you can!!!

As always, if you would like to discuss this or any other Gower Community topic further, please reach out to me directly at vsimon@gower62.com.

With appreciation,

Dr. Simon

Superintendent of Schools

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.

Regular Board Meeting Summary: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. and there was no public comment from the community. The Board saluted the Gower Middle 2025 Varsity Boys Basketball team and their coach, Mr. Kyle Mengarelli on their SDEAA Conference Championship. This is Gower's first SDEAA Conference Title for boys basketball! The team also went on to win their IESA Regional and they finished the season with an impressive 18-1 record. You can read more about the team their great season here. The entire team was present to receive their certificates and were congratulated by the Board.

Dr. Gary Zabilka, the Lead Consultant from EdLS who led the Strategic Plan process, presented an overview to the Board of Education along with a recommendation of a final product to be presented to the Gower School Community for a round of public review and feedback ahead of the March 19th Board meeting. Pending that review, the Board is planning to take formal action to approve and adopt the new Gower Mission, Vision, Belief Statements, and Strategic Goals in March. Dr. Zabilka was extremely complimentary to the group and to the Gower School District and Community! The Board members were very impressed and grateful for the work that the Community Stakeholder Team - a group of 50 Gower parents, staff, and community members - began in October for the benefit of Gower Community at large! Dr. Simon also had a chance to give a summary about the process in a detailed report which you can read by using this link.

If you are interested in providing any feedback on the Gower School District Strategic Plan ahead of the March 19th Board meeting for the Board of Education to consider before approving and adopting, please reach out to me (kschillinger@gower62.com), or you can share your feedback with Dr. Zabilka (gzabilka@edls.info) directly.

The meeting continued with the monthly Superintendent's Report. The Superintendent's Report included separate reports on the Mid-Year Student Performance Data (Appendix A), the Core Stakeholder Team Recommendation (Appendix B), the Proposed Student Fees for 2025-2026 (Appendix C), and the 2024-2025 8th Annual High School Transition Student Survey (Appendix D).

The Board reviewed a series of monthly reports and two Board policy revisions were approved as part of a 4-year revision cycle. The 2025-2026 Student Registration and Bus Fees were also approved. Additionally, the Board reviewed the Application for Appointment to the Board of Education as a vacancy is expected after the April 1st Consolidated Election. If you are interested in being considered for a two-year term on the School Board, please complete the Application for Appointment by March 6th.

The Board did not enter into Closed Session. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting is scheduled for March 19, 2025 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.

Congratulations to the 2025 Varsity Boys Basketball team and their coach, Mr. Kyle Mengarelli! They went undefeated throughout the conference season and won the SDEAA Conference Championship. The team finished the season with an impressive 18-1 record and this is Gower's first SDEAA Conference Title and first IESA Regional Title! You can read more about the team's season here.

Team Members: Mohamad Banian, Nick Bonamino, Matthew Jankowski, Matthew Pekal, Antonio Petrusevski, John Pitsoulakis, Troy Puthamana, Hank Scheri, Armaan Setia, Jaiden Shah, Nakahti Thompson. Manager: Sean Dunleavy.

Following the upcoming election on April 1, 2025, the Gower Board of Education will have a vacancy. We are seeking engaged Gower community members who would like to apply for this vacancy. It is a two-year term. If interested, please complete the application linked here no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 6, 2025. The information provided will be kept in confidence by the members of the Gower School District 62 Board of Education. Appointment to the Board of Education will be done in accordance with Board Policy 2:70 and as part of the April 30th board meeting. If you have any questions, please contact the Board Recording Secretary, Kate Schillinger, at kschillinger@gower62.com or 630-286-4929.