South West Illinois News

Alsip Hazelgreen Oaklawn School District 126 Board of Education met April 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The Board and audience stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

ROLL CALL

Present

Marigrace Sinnott-Snooks, President

Joe LaChica, Vice President

Lori Ann Pierce, Secretary

Muna Conley

Harry Tannehill Jennifer Warrick

Therese Zaker

Also Present:

Craig Gwaltney, Superintendent

Steve Gress, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations

Nicole Leggett, Bilingual Director

Robert Condon, Director of Special Education

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Harry Tannehill moved, seconded by Jennifer Warrick, "To approve the minutes of the March 14, 2024 Regular Board Meeting". Upon roll call, the vote was as follows: Aye: Conley, LaChica, Tannehill, Sinnott-Snooks, Warrick, Pierce, Zaker. Nay: none. The motion carried 7-0.

CONSENT AGENDA

Muna Conley moved, seconded by Harry Tanehill, "To approve the Consent Agenda". Upon roll call, the vote was as follows: Aye: Tannehill, Pierce, Conley, Zaker, LaChica, Warrick, Sinnott-Snooks. Nay: none. The motion carried 7-0.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

We had two FOIA's. One from Painters District Council #14 and another from SmartProcure and we responded in the proper amount of time.

EDUCATIONAL REPORT

Last month, our students in grades 5 and 8 took the required Illinois Science Assessment (ISA). Having adopted the Mystery Science elementary school curriculum this year helped to prepare our 5th grade students more effectively for the assessment.

We have both the Enrichment and Traditional summer schools planned this summer for our students. The structures for both summer schools were successful last year, so the plan is to keep the structures the same again this summer. Both sessions will be held at Lane School. Enrichment summer school will be STEM-focused using the Camp Invention modules from the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Families will be able to sign their students up for when we return from spring break. Enrichment summer school will be held during the week of June

In coordination with our MCMI math coach, we have developed an opportunity for a group of 6-8 teachers across the district to participate in a cohort focused on developing student-to-student discourse through explorations and reflections with colleagues. The teachers who volunteered to participate in this professional learning experience will deepen their understanding of questions and linking student ideas in mathematics and participate in lesson study cycles. The cohort session begin this week and will continue through the rest of the school year.

Steve Gress spoke about the technology report submitted by John Chapman.

The primary focus will be on network infrastructure upgrades and strengthening our cybersecurity efforts. Building on the infrastructure upgrades we implemented last summer, we plan to deploy next-generation core switches and enhance our web filtering capabilities.

Additionally, we will be refreshing our technology devices. Specifically, we will be replacing the Chromebooks for grades 3rd and 6th grades, as well as iPads for grades K-2 and selected 7th and 8th grade for STEM and Math classes as well as teacher laptops that were last purchased in 2020. This refresh will enable us to keep up with the latest updates, technology and security enhancements for both Apple iOS and Google Chrome OS devices. Moving forward, I expect a similar three to four-year refresh cycle for student iPads, contingent upon the computing power requirements of the educational apps we use.

The total for all of these upgrades will not exceed $1,031,000.00.

Harry Tannehill moved, seconded by Joe LaChica, "To approve the Lane 3rd grade Field Trip to Challenger Learning Center in Hammond, IN on May 24, 2024." Upon roll call, the vote was as follows: Aye: Conley, LaChica, Tannehill, Sinnott-Snooks, Warrick, Pierce, Zaker. Nay: none. The motion carried 7-0.

PURCHASING

Joe LaChica moved, seconded by Muna Conley, "To approve the summer 2024 District hardware/software upgrades at an amount no to exceed $1,031,000.00." Upon roll call, the vote was as follows: Aye: Zaker, Pierce, Conley, LaChica, Sinnott-Snooks, Tannehill, Warrick. Nay: none. The motion carried 7-0.

Muna Conley moved, seconded by Harry Tannehill, "To approve the purchase of a 2024 Ford Transit Full Sized Van from Suburban Purchasing Cooperative in an amount not to exceed $46,176.00." Upon roll call, the vote was as follows: Aye: Tannehill, Pierce, Conley, Zaker, LaChica, Warrick, Sinnott-Snooks. Nay: none. The motion carried 7-0.

ADJOURNMENT

Harry Tannehill moved, seconded by Muna Conley, "To adjourn the meeting". Upon roll call, the vote was as follows: Aye: Zaker, Sinnott-Snooks, Tannehill, Pierce, Conley, Warrick, LaChica. Nay: none. The motion carried 7-0 at 7:50p.m.

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