Board Highlights
The Winnetka Public Schools, October 2024
Regular Board Meeting
Dan Waters, President, welcomed all in attendance.
Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent, recognized the District’s Principals for their work on behalf of our school community. October is National Principals Month and the Illinois Principals Association observed Principal Appreciation Week at the end of the month. To highlight the the contributions of Winnetka’s building Administrators, the first five episodes of Season Three of the District’s podcast Winnetka Voices, feature the leaders of Crow Island, Greeley, Hubbard Woods, Skokie, and Washburne Schools.
Listen here:
Reports on the following Committees were shared by participating Board Members:
Winnetka Public Schools Foundation - October 2, 2024
Special & Finance Subcommitte Meetings - October 8, 2024
TrueNorth Cooperative Leadership Meeting - October 9, 2024
Crow Island Stewardship Meeting - October 28, 2024
2024 Delegate Assembly Resolutions Report - November 23, 2024
Presentation
Annual Goals & School Improvement Plan/District Improvement Plan
Central Office administration, along with building principals, provided an overview of the District Improvement Plan and individual School Improvement Plans. The Plans align with the District’s Strategic Planning efforts, which will officially commence in January 2025. This streamlined format is intended to ensure clarity surrounding District priority work and goals, which are data-driven and focused on best addressing current student needs.
Informational Items
Bulley & Andrews shared an Executive Summary on construction.
Referendum-funded construction continues to progress on schedule. There have been some items that have appeared that are outside the referendum scope that are needed, including drainage modifications of the Hubbard Woods Playground installation and piping and equipment to provide heating to prevent pipe freezing at Greeley. The total cost is $155,754 and will be funded with Capital Project reserves, which are not part of the referendum funds.
Financial reports for September 2024 are linked here: September Financial Performance.
Operational expenses are tracking three percentage points below budget through the first quarter, and revenues are on pace to meet budgeted amounts.
Kindergarten Pre-Registration 2025/2026
The District is preparing to open pre-registration for incoming kindergarten students and students new to the District in the 2025/2026 school year. For the 2024/2025 school year a $40 discount was provided to incoming kindergarten families who completed the registration process by mid-January. A recommendation is made to offer the discount again for incoming kindergarten families that complete registration between November 18, 2024 and January 17, 2025.
Recommended Updates to School Board Policy – 2nd Read
Policies brought forward for a 1st read at the September 24, 2024, meeting were provided for Board members for a 2nd read. If no objections are brought forth, the policies will be adopted as part of the consent agenda as recommended by the Policy Subcommittee.
Adventures in Learning, Summer 2025 Update
In Summer 2025, all Adventures in Learning programs will resume on Winnetka campuses with significant improvements in the structure of program offerings. Three programs will now fall under the umbrella of Adventures in Learning (AIL). Discovery (formerly Adventures in Learning) offers enrichment programs in various subjects for students in grades K-8, continuing the district's summer offerings. The Extended School Year (ESY) is a state-mandated program for students with IEPs, aimed at preventing regression in skills by providing extra support over the summer. Educational teams determine ESY eligibility. The Intervention program offers targeted academic help in math and literacy for students based on academic data. This year, two principals will oversee the summer programs, one for grades K-4 and the other for grades 5-8. Greeley and Hubbard Woods Schools will host the programs.
The District’s K-8 math curriculum review process began in November of the 23/24 school year and is being guided by the Math Leadership Team, consisting of approximately 36 Winnetka staff members (teachers, interventionists, coaches, Department of ITL staff, and administrators). As part of the ongoing review process, the District 36 Math Leadership Team welcomed vendors from the top-six ranked resources to in early October and later reconvened to review the feedback and rankings with the intent of finalizing the pilot plan for grades 5-8 and to begin the discussion around the pilot approach for K-4.
The pilot timing was adjusted in March of the 23/24 school year to better position elementary classroom teachers as the District’s new core literacy resources are implemented this year. Currently, grades 5-8 will pilot materials January-May of 2025, with grades K-4 piloting in the Fall of 2025. During these periods, teachers will implement the selected materials in real-world instructional settings. Student performance, teacher feedback, and observational data will be collected to assess the effectiveness of each of the resources. Findings from the pilot will guide the Team’s final recommendation for Board adoption in the spring.
The Consent Agenda and Following Action Items Were Approved:
Kindergarten 2025/2026 Pre-Registration Discount
Kinetic Wellness Curriculum Update 2024
Adventures in Learning Summer 2025 Program
To view the entire Board Packet from the October 29, 2024 Meeting, click here.