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Board President's Report
Board President Reese Marcusson quoted a special education teacher's powerful message he heard on YouTube. The teacher's definition of education was the forming of impressions on children's souls. He noted that this is quite a responsibility and serves as a good reminder to us all.
Reese stated
improving the social and emotional health of our students is an essential element in achieving our vision of preparing our students to make a difference in their world. The data presented in Illinois Youth Survey Report, and our actions, are critical. Reese also commented on the daily challenges our students face. He underscored the role and importance of teachers and others who provide support. View video for complete report.
Superintendent's Report
Mike
Simeck overviewed the 2016-17 Superintendent Goals that were approved by the Board in December. These goals are aligned to each district milestone (Achievement, Curriculum/Instruction, Assessment, Talent, Partnership, and Technology/Environment).
View video for complete report.
Dr. Chala Holland announced a variety of upcoming events including the presentation:
Executive Functions and the Teenage Brain, February 2,
7-9:00 pm in the LFHS West Campus Board Room. Dr. Bozeday from the Rush Neurobehavioral Center- Education Department will explore the unique and sometimes confounding nature of the teenage brain.
View video for complete report.
Illinois Youth Survey
John Maher, Dean/Dept. Chair of Student Services, Deborahanne Reimer, SAP Coordinator, and Andy Duran, LEAD Exec. Director presented an overview of the Illinois Youth Survey data from April 2016. The data tracks cohorts and identifies responses for 10th and 12th grade students regarding substance abuse (alcohol, binge drinking, marijuana, and inhalants). Since 2008, all of the data for the different areas of use have varied within a 9% range. There was an overall decline in 2014 but numbers increased in 2016. The team discussed current and future programing. Opportunities also include building awareness and challenging the community's normalization of the use of alcohol, as well as leveraging sports and extracurricular activities to encourage a consistent message of well-being.
View written report.
View video.
ED-RED (Education/Research/Development)
Sally Davis reported on some recent Illinois legislative and budget issues.
If a budget deal is made, it appears increasingly likely that a property tax cap will be included. That has two important implications for our District. The first is that the District's revenue from existing property will be flat, even if the consumer price index increases, and the effect of that reduction will be compounded after the freeze expires.
The second implication is that the likely deal does not give any details about the bigger picture of education funding reform. Many of the members of the Governor's bi-partisan task force have said that the State must commit more money to those schools that cannot pay the baseline, evidence-based costs needed to educate their students. No details about how education will be funded have been disclosed.
The District's Finance and Operations Committee, along with the Administration, will continue to watch this issue carefully for contingency planning purposes.
Sally will continue to advise on the progress of these legislative efforts.
View video for complete report.
For more detailed information:
The Board Meeting Highlights are not the official minutes of the Board of Education. Minutes, once approved, all board agendas, packets, and videos can be found here.
Next Meeting
Monday, February 13, 2017, 6:30pm, West Campus.
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