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Glen Ellyn School District 41 Mission: It is the mission of District 41 to advocate for students enabling each one to optimize his/her potential within a culture of continuous improvement.
Board Members:
Steven Vondrak President |
Robert Solak Vice President |
Erica Nelson Secretary |
Terra Costa Howard |
Drew Ellis |
Jack Kahler |
Dan Smith Jr.
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Following is a summary of the Board of Education meeting held on January 19, 2010. An MP3 recording of the meeting is available on www.d41.org Minutes are posted once approved.
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*The meeting was hosted by Forest Glen Elementary School
REGIONAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, Superintendent of the DuPage Regional Office of Education (ROE), provided an overview to the Board of Education (BOE) of ROE services and some of its new initiatives. The DuPage County ROE is one of 45 ROEs in Illinois, and provides services related to professional development, teacher certification, school improvement, student support, assessment, health, and compliance in matters of life safety and other regulated areas of education.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
The Feb. 1 BOE meeting will be held at the Central Services Office, 793 N. Main St. immediately following a 7:15 p.m. public hearing on the proposed special education addition at Hadley (previously discussed by the BOE on Aug. 10 , Aug. 24 and Oct. 5). The next regular meeting will be Feb. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin School. |
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TARGETED LEARNING TIME: extra help, extra challenge
What do we expect students to learn? How will we know if they have learned it? What do we do if they don't learn? What do we do if they do? Forest Glen Principal Mary Hornacek and several Forest Glen teachers explained how Targeted Learning Time (TLT) provides the structure and support to help teachers address those questions for every child. An instructional approach that has been introduced at all the elementary schools this year, TLT takes proven methods and bundles them in a way that focuses on individual learning and encourages the building staff to work together systematically to help all children learn and succeed. Among the highlights of the presentation (click here for the powerpoint):
-TLT uses a schedule that provides daily time for intensive, small-group instruction, as well as time for teachers at each grade level to plan together for TLT instruction.
-Teachers establish the essential learning goals for their grade level and track how students are doing on those skills. To identify student learning needs, teachers use common grade-level measures plus a variety of standardized assessments.
-Students at each grade level are grouped according to their learning needs (not according to class section) for daily TLT time. These groups are subject to change after a few weeks as students master the targeted material and are ready to move on to other skills. Group size may range from individual instruction to small groups of five or six to larger groups for students who have mastered material and are receiving enrichment.
-During a given grade level's TLT, resources from throughout the building flood the grade as the classroom teachers are joined by specialists, special education teachers, English Language teachers, and other professionals so that student groups can be small and focused.
-The elementary schools maintain student data walls that depict each student's progress and other information about the student, such as special needs. Teachers can see progress of a grade at a glance, and pull individual student data cards for more information.
Ms. Hornacek said that the school had done a lot of ground work in the first half of the year to get the TLT structure in place and the groups underway; next year, the school will be ready to start TLT instruction in September. Response from students to TLT has been positive, said Ms. Hornacek, who noted they like the activities and the interaction with other teachers and students beyond those in their classroom.
MASTER FACILITY PLAN UPDATE
Superintendent Dr. Ann Riebock summarized the Jan. 11 BOE workshop discussion about possible consolidation with Community Consolidated School District 89, and the BOE's perspective on developing an approach to land acquisition, both to enlarge existing school sites and to find a good site for a new school.
The BOE looked at benefits and barriers to possible consolidation of D41 and D89. Consolidation is a form of school district reorganization that means joining two or more districts into one new district. It requires the majority consent of the registered voters of the affected districts, and one of several preliminary steps is assessing interest on the part of those districts. D89 is a Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade district with four elementary schools and one junior high serving the portion of Glen Ellyn south of Roosevelt Rd., as well as parts of unincorporated Wheaton and Lombard. D89's schools are below capacity enrollment. D41 is also a Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade district with four elementary schools and one junior high; it serves the portion of Glen Ellyn north of Roosevelt Rd., as well as parts of unincorporated Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Lombard and Wheaton. D41 schools are at or over capacity, with 32 portable classrooms in use.
The BOE discussed potential outcomes of consolidation. Benefits might be reduced administrative costs, economies of scale, and solving overcrowding without having to build a new school. Barriers might be the need for boundary changes for schools in both districts, increased need for bus transportation, and differences in labor contracts and curricular programs. Dr. Riebock and D41 Board President Steve Vondrak informally discussed the matter with D89 Superintendent Dr. John Perdue and D89 Board President Lori Gaspar. Dr. Riebock noted that D89 said it wants to partner and share resources where possible with D41, but it is not interested in pursuing consolidation at this time; in light of this, the BOE decided to table further consolidation discussion.
The land acquisition discussion focused on the possibility of expanding existing sites over the long term should adjacent properties become available. It also discussed the idea of acquiring a site for a new school. The only buildable site D41 owns is that of the former Spalding school east of Main St. and north of St. Charles Rd., an undersized parcel for a school of the size needed. Given the current economic conditions, the BOE said that idea of developing an approach to land acquisition is a challenging one. As an initial next step, the administration will invite members of the Master Facility Plan Steering Committee to provide their perspectives.
CLASS SIZE TARGETS
The BOE reviewed the administrative recommendation to maintain the current class size targets. These are not hard and fast rules, but are used as staffing and planning guidelines. The targets are: K-grade 2: 20-22 students; grade 3: 23-25 students; grades 4-5: 25-27 students; and grades 6-8: 26-28 students. (Some classes, such as Special Education and Bilingual, must comply with state or federal class size regulations.) The BOE expects to take action on the targets at its Feb. 1 meeting.
STUDENT FEES
The BOE reviewed the administrative recommendation to maintain student fees at current levels for the 2010-2011 school year. Basic fees are $56 for Early Childhood and Kindergarten, $75 for grades 1-5 and $115 for junior high. Activity fees are $30 for the first activity, $15 for the second activity, $7.50 for the third activity and $3.75 for the fourth activity. Other fees, such as those for gym uniforms and yearbooks, will be reviewed annually and costs should be available sometime this spring. Fees may be waived for eligible students. The BOE expects to take action on the fees at its Feb. 1 meeting.
BOARD SELF EVALUATION
BOE policy directs the BOE to conduct a self-evaluation every other year; beyond that, the process is unspecified. The BOE discussed asking a representative of the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) to assist it in its self-evaluation, a service provided as part of the District's membership in that organization. Dr. Riebock will contact IASB for more information.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
A resident urged the BOE to carefully consider efforts to save taxpayers money, including possible consolidation with D89. The resident also suggested breaking apart bid packages for capital projects for greater savings.
About the Glen Ellyn School District Board of Education
Board members are unpaid volunteers, each representing the whole district. The board is accountable to the public and makes decisions as a unit based on what is best for the whole district. The board hires the superintendent, sets instructional policy, approves the budget and ongoing expenditures, and is ultimately responsible for the performance of the district. Board meetings are working sessions held in public during which the board conducts its business, and ample time is always set aside for public participation.
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Please direct your questions or comments to our Communications Director, Julie Worthen at jworthen@d41.org. |
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