South West Illinois News

Addison School District 4 Board of Education met Oct. 25.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Meeting of October 25, 2023, the Board of Education conducted the following business: There was a moment of silence in remembrance of the Army Trail student who recently passed away.

Dr. Sutton recognized that October is Principals Appreciation Month, and he thanked our Principals, Assistant Principals, and Deans for all their hard work and leadership.

The Board approved the Minutes of the Regular Session Meeting of September 27, 2023. 

The Board approved the Accounts Payable for the Month of October 2023.

The Board approved the Payroll for the Month of September 2023.

Communications/Public Participation on Agenda Items: None

Presentation:

Development of Curriculum Pacing Guides– Curriculum Coordinators Kristen Eunson & Ashlyn Schrepfer

• The district added Curriculum Coordinators in order to help with alignment across the district in regard to curriculum, assessment, reporting, and college & career readiness.

• These positions align with supporting the ASD4 Strategic Plan and mission.

• Kristen and Ashlyn shared information on their backgrounds and how their work has impacted literacy and math.

Committee Reports:

Buildings & Grounds Committee Meeting Report – Mr. Ruffolo reported on the following:

• The remaining Summer 2023 construction projects at Stone will be completed during Thanksgiving break.

• The committee reviewed the Summer 2024 construction projects and discussed which ones were necessary projects and postponing others until a later date.

Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) Meeting Report – Dr. Sutton reported on the following:

• On Tuesday, October 10th the first CAC meeting of the year was held. 30 individuals from the community attended and 8 District Administrators. The majority of the evening was spent in small groups as informal feedback sessions.

• Each community member was asked what they felt was going well in the district, what they felt needed improvement, what should be an area of focus for this committee, and what ideas they had to grow family participation in committees like this.

• The dialogue was vast, but there are themes beginning to emerge already for common areas various members feel need the most attention. The next meeting is in December.

Technology Audit Committee Meeting Report – Mr. Frangidakis reported on the following:

• The committee continued to review invoices in more detail, ask questions, and suggest some cost saving approaches.

• They will continue to dive deeper into these areas and will meet again on October 31.

Administrative Reports:

Superintendent Report – Dr. Sutton reported on the following:

• I am extremely proud of the administrative team we have built and the professional development expertise we have. On Monday, October 30 we have partnered with the Illinois Association of School Superintendents to host a training on school campus safety. In addition, in the upcoming months Dr. Lohse is presenting at a DuPage ROE school safety conference summit, Dr. Purse and Dr. Polson are presenting on the school improvement process at the Triple I conference, Mrs. Karpman is presenting on our family liaison program at the ESSA conference, and Mrs. Morgese is presenting at the AC&E ASBO Intl -School Business Officials conference on the topic of “More than Just Accountants.”

• Last year, I began the practice of having occasional, informal opportunities for community members to be invited to stop in and have the opportunity to interact with me about anything on their mind relative to the school district. I think this is a positive and purposeful practice, and one I would like to continue. Our first opportunity for a Community Coffee Chat this year will be on Friday, October 27 at 9:30am.

• The second round of our annual Indian Trail Great Shake event is approaching on Friday, October 27 at 2pm.

• We have implemented a lot of interventions over the last year aimed at improving student performance. On October 30, the new state designations relative to performance on the annual IAR test will be released. We will discuss this in further detail at the November board meeting, but I am pleased that we will have some definitive areas to celebrate as we work towards increasing student achievement.

• There were three Freedom of Information Act Requests (FOIAs) and Dr. Lohse has responded.

Assistant Superintendent for Business – Mrs. Morgese reported on the following:

• The Summer 2024 Capital Improvements bid will be published October 31st and the pre-bid meeting will be November 7th. Mr. Ruffolo already provided an update from the Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting.

• Our annual staff wellness screenings took place last month and based on initial appointment figures we feel that we will again meet the participation goal set forth by the EBC. We are pleased that our staff and spousal insurance plan enrollees are taking a proactive approach to their health.

Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Report – Dr. Purse reported on the following:

• Teachers are preparing to close the first trimester and report out to families on their student’s progress toward mastery of grade level academic standards and proficiency with learning habits. Students who are considered English Learners will receive an EL Progress report with information about their progress toward English proficiency.

• The window to sign up for Family-Teacher Conferences went live on Monday, October 23rd. Parents/Guardians have until Friday, November 3rd to sign up in Skyward Family Access for a conference with their child’s teacher(s). Families who have questions or need additional support with Family Access should contact the main office of their school.

• We are preparing for our Fall Institute Day on November 20th. Building Leadership Teams have weighed in on what topics they want to learn more about that day. In the morning, we are excited to host three keynote speakers whose message aligns with our district strategic plan. In the afternoon, staff will be able to choose professional development sessions that support their own learning goals. All administrators, as well as volunteer staff members, will serve as presenters.

• IPI is a teacher-led process for collecting data about student cognitive engagement during class time. As of today, we were able to train more than 215 ASD4 teachers and administrators to conduct walkthroughs.

• The state is set to release school report card data to the public on October 30th. We have been reviewing our preliminary data, celebrating accomplishments and growth, as well as preparing our next steps to address deficiencies for subgroups. After school summative designations are shared at the building level, we will engage grade level staff in discussion during PLC time to look more closely at the data as it relates to mastery of grade level learning standards. Dr. Polson will share our district and school data next month at our November board meeting.

Action Items:

• The Board approved the Personnel Report, as presented.

• The Board approved the Resolution Authorizing Notice to Remedy, as presented.

• The Board approved the Resolution Authorizing Payment of Board Member Expenses for the 2023 Joint Annual Conference, as presented.

• The Board approved the Resolution for Estimated Amounts for the 2023 Tax Levy, as presented.

• The Board approved the list of Authorized District Depositories, as presented.

Discussion Items:

• The next Regular Board of Education Meeting is on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, at Indian Trail Junior High School in the Board Room (Door #19) at 6:00 p.m.

• The Joint Annual Board Meeting is on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at Antonio’s in Itasca at 5:30 p.m.

• The Mayor’s Community Charity Ball is on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at Medinah Shriner’s Banquets at 6:00 p.m.

• The Joint Annual Conference (IASB/IASA/IASBO) is on Friday, November 17 through Sunday, November 19, 2023, at the Swissotel Hotel in Chicago.

• Per Board Policy 2:140 all communications to and from the Board submitted through the active electronic link along with the status of the district’s response are included in the Board meeting packet. There were no communications received this month.

Communications/Public Participation on Non-Agenda Items: None

Miscellaneous/Unfinished Business: None

The Board of Education meeting officially adjourned at 6:34 p.m.

https://4.files.edl.io/0ecc/10/27/23/181855-0ecde299-9740-45b7-8504-f503356de5c4.pdf