Wilmette Public Schools District 39 Mikaelian Education Center 615 Locust Road Wilmette, IL 60091 847-256-2450 www.wilmette39.org

District 39 Board Meeting Highlights

August 22, 2011

Below are highlights from the District 39 Board of Education meeting on August 22, 2011.

The materials from this meeting can be found here.

Budget Hearing

Dr. LeRoy presented the fiscal year 2012 budgets for District 39 and for the Wilmette Community Special Education Agreement (WCSEA) in a public hearing held prior to the regular Board meeting. Dr. Lechner noted that the District received a letter from Cook County Clerk confirming the new tax rate as a result of the referendum and the budgets reflect this additional revenue. He expressed the District’s gratitude to the community.

Announcements

• Dr. Lechner welcomed new teachers and staff.
• Mrs. Horowitz reported on new teacher orientation and the opening day agenda. She also provided information on the meet and greet day.
  

Information items

• Dr. Lechner gave an update on construction in D39; all projects are on schedule and the schools are ready for opening day thanks to the hard work of the D39 maintenance staff.
• Dr. Lechner announced the winner of the Biggest Loser Contest that was an outcome of the CRC’s Green Schools study. The contest was to challenge each school to reduce consumption in four areas - electricity, paper, toner and postage. Every school had success in reducing in each category, leading to an annual savings of more than $40,000 in these categories alone. Central School was named the winner, achieving the greatest reduction due to paperless communication and reducing use of toner by adjusting their copy machine practices. Central also had students assume “green” jobs at school. WJHS came in second by reducing postage, switching to real silverware, composting food waste, and eliminating water bottles. Highcrest took third by reducing electricity consumption, reusing paper, and increasing the number of recycling bins. D39 will continue to focus on reducing its impact on the environment. All schools will continue their green efforts.
• Dr. Palzet presented a report on the New Trier High School Freshmen Survey, noting that language arts will continue to be a focus at WJHS. He also stated the need for improvement in providing an adult advocate for each student.
• Dr. Clauson presented the last enrollment update prior to the opening of school. The fall housing report will be presented in October. Since the last update, extra staffing for Kindergarten at Harper has been approved.
• Dr. Lechner addressed the CONNECTED strategic plan and presented the administration’s response to the CRC’s report on social responsibility. When CONNECTED was developed last year with the help of CRC, it changed D39’s view of strategic planning to see the plan as a living document that gets reviewed and updated annually. In June the Board received the review of CONNECTED. This school year, it enters its second year of implementation. Under CONNECTED, D39 aims to develop students for the future, and the commitment to the core academic subjects remains steadfast. Rather, the ways in which instruction is differentiated and technology is integrated evolves to deliver the curriculum through CONNECTED teaching and learning. Last year, CRC focused in depth on one aspect of CONNECTED – nourishing a sense of social responsibility, the N in CONNECTED. With the change in our strategic planning approach, the annual response to CRC becomes part of the annual process. This year we are adding a goal on Social Responsibility.
• Mrs. Horowitz provided an update on the CONNECTED strategic plan focusing on new developments in year two. Changes will include the establishment of professional growth networks and assessment of communication about CONNECTED.
• Dr. Palzet reported on integrating CRC’s recommendations on social responsibility into the curriculum and make them a part of CONNECTED. First steps will be to assess what is already happening in the schools and ensure that this is reflected in the curriculum maps. The District has also created a rubric based on national standards for service learning that will help us measure our activities against eight established principles. As the rubric is implemented, service learning will be even more meaningful for students. Also, each school’s SIP plan will include social responsibility, allowing each building to create the best experience. At elementary level, the schools will utilize the Second Step program that has been piloted in the past year. Highcrest will pilot this program in four classrooms. We will begin developing a plan for WJHS to better fit service learning opportunities into the school day.
  

Board Action

• Approval as First Read Revised Policies 4:46 State and Federal Funds; Revised Policy 4:60 Purchases and Contracts; Deletion of Policies 4:54, 4:72, 4:75 and 4:162.
• Adoption of fiscal year 2012 WCSEA Annual Budget.
• Adoption of fiscal year 2012 District 39 Annual Budget.
• Approval of Resolution Authorizing Intervention in a Pending Property Tax Assessment Appeal.

Board Information

The Board received the July cash flow report and August financials.