USD116 BOE Update: Dec. 17, 2024

The calendar committee met to start the 2025-26 school year calendar. The committee was comprised of teachers, UEA members, parents, admin, support staff and a Board of Education member.

Considerations:

• Federal and religious holidays.

• Calendars from neighboring districts

• School code requirements

Illinois School Code Guidelines

• 176 Student Attendance Days (175 + half day inservice)

• 4 Teacher Institute/ Workshop Days

• 5 “Emergency Days”- built in to the end of the school year and can be backdated if not used

Some feedback from the committee:

• Possibility of changing Benchmark testing windows December vs. January

• Beginning of the year family events: Welcome Back to School Night & Open House/Curriculum Night

• Staff Development/Early Dismissal days (Mondays vs. Fridays) for 6-12

• Jewish holidays and Islamic holidays, not scheduling special events on major religious holidays. Note: There were several conversations around the Jewish High Holidays to see how we could observe one of those days. If the District took one of those days off, we would have to add a day to the calendar, and have the last day of school fall on Monday, June 1. There are attendance concerns around having the last day fall on a Monday in June. The committee did make a commitment to honor one of the High Holidays in the 2026-27 calendar.

• Creating a District Calendar for events

• Starting with three institute days at the beginning of the year, so students don't have to start on a Friday
• Conferences before Fall Break

View the full presentation

Q: Do you take attendance for the student-led conferences?

A: The school's keep track of who is attending the conferences, but students who do not attend are not penalized.

The Board approved a modification to the Personal Technology and Social Media: Usage and Conduct policy. This policy refers to staff, not students. There will also be a social media and digital communications administrative procedures guide for personnel. The administrative procedures reflect best practices and are intended to complement existing Board of Education policies.

The policy changes include:

• District branded accounts will be owned by the District and the District will have the ability to manage those accounts if necessary.
• Makes it clear that personal accounts and District branded accounts are to be maintained separately.

The Board approved a modification to the Public Participation at Board Meetings and Petitions to the Board.

Policy changes include:

• Limiting public participation to 60 minutes
• The Board President has authority to extend the total duration of public participation where matters on the agenda result in a large number of people seeking to speak.
• In addition to public comment during Board of Education meetings, each board member is expected to attend at least two school-based meetings (e.g. PTA, Open House, Curriculum Night, Welcome Back to School Night, Community Roundtable, etc.) per fiscal year in order to meet with members of the public and hear concerns.

Dr. Ivory-Tatum's Superintendent Report: December 17, 2024

Highlights:

• Urbana High School Senior, Jalen Johnson was matched with Rice University through the QuestBridge Program, earning a full ride scholarship.
  
• Several UHS students have been selected to participate in the 2025 Illinois Music Education All-State Festival

The District has done a lot of work to establish "the why" in order to begin strategic planning. At the beginning of the year, we took the Board's goals and looked at our school improvement goals (reading, math, attendance, discipline data) to give foundational guidance.

• Program council: 140 people from all over the District and two Board members who are working to identify District priorities and initiatives. This group meets once a quarter. The main areas they are looking at are assessment data, student engagement, chronic absenteeism and student discipline.

• There is an established "Portrait of A Graduate" team that will begin meeting in the second semester. This group will identify all of the skills we want UHS students to graduate with, to show they are college/career/workforce ready.
• Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is another major focus area. There is a site team at UHS and UMS. Dr. Williams will be our first AVID elementary school. The 6th Grade center will also be AVID Schoolwide (an AVID for All model).

Early second semester, we want to solicit feedback through surveys. As part of that, we are brainstorming how we can gather feedback from the people we need it from the most. We also plan to conduct focus groups in the community and have some other engagement opportunities with the Superintendent for both families/community and students.

After spring break, we will put together a strategic planning team to identify our mission, vision and priorities. We will share the priorities with stakeholders so they can decide which priority area they would like to be involved in for year one of the plan.

During the 4th quarter, people can expect to see messages shared across communications highlighting the priorities, but also requesting people be part of the action work in identified priority areas to move the district forward together.