June 30, 2017
News from the June Board Meeting
Parents Give Full-Day Kindergarten High Marks
  One year ago District 28 embarked on creating a full-day kindergarten program that offered students an enriching experience – one focused on exploration and curiosity to help develop the whole child.

Parent surveys and teacher reflection indicate the effort was a great success. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kathy Horvath reported that 98 percent of parents who responded to an end-of-year survey agreed that the program was a balance of academics and play-based learning. And, 99 percent of respondents felt the program fostered their child’s curiosity.
Kindergarten students use large building blocks to create structures from their imagination at Westmoor School last year during the discovery play portion of their school day.  
  “Full-day kindergarten isn’t about trying to put first-grade academics into kindergarten,” Dr. Horvath said. “It’s about students being able to explore and create things. To have time to ask questions and find the answers.”

The survey – with 129 of 180 families responding – was used to help evaluate the new program. Of those who responded, 73 percent of families rated their student’s kindergarten experience as “exceptional,” and the other 27 percent rated it “enjoyable.”

The play-based learning concept was adapted from the work of Sue Kempton, a nationally renowned author and consultant who assisted the district in designing and equipping the classrooms.

Ninety-nine percent of families chose to participate in the full-day program by the end of the year.  

“Our teachers are so fabulous. They made this program great,” Dr. Horvath said. 

Grade Reporting Transition
is Really a Focus on Learning
The 2016-17 school year was the pilot year of standards-based reporting for elementary grades and junior high electives. It is a work in progress as teachers continue to refine how they present content, provide feedback and measure mastery, Director of Learning Stephanie Smith said.

“We want the (progress reports) to be more valid and fair for students to break down what standards they are working toward,” she said. 
Board Briefs
Board Approves 10 New Hires for 2017-18

The Board approved hiring ten faculty and staff members to replace employees who have resigned, retired or taken leave.


At Westmoor School, Matthew Kritzberg, head custodian, Helene Josephson, administrative assistant, and Patricia Norberg, technology support specialist.

At Greenbriar school, Casey Murman, head custodian and Jessica Hulings, technology support specialist.

At Northbrook Junior High, Laura Wenk, technology support specialist; Dallas Sarmento, custodian; Hilary Masterton, 8th Grade Social Studies; Krissy Pierce, Instructional Coach; and Rachel von Holst, 8th Grade Social Studies

View more information on all of our new 2017-18 staff on the district website, 

Read more about our new team members

School Speed Limit on Waukegan Unwarranted: IDOT
Two traffic signals, one at Walters Avenue and the other at Voltz Road provide adequate safety for students crossing Waukegan Road to get to school, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.


The Board of Education requested the state to consider 20 mph School Speed Zones from Walters Avenue to Maple Avenue for students crossing to access Meadowbrook School and Northbrook Junior High on Waukegan Road, which has a an existing limit of 40 mph.


The state also noted the Village of Northbrook’s request to lower the speed limit to 30 mph cannot be posted, but they state is going to conduct a speed study.

Tech Projects on Hold Awaiting E-Rate Funding
Cabling projects and wireless access point replacements scheduled to begin this summer have been postponed. The District has not yet received funding confirmation of the federally funded e-Rate program. Most of the equipment scheduled for replacement is as much as 20 years old. Total cost of the project is just under $215,000, with 40 percent being funded through e-rate.


Specialists to Assist in Creating New Strategic Plan
 In an effort to bring continuous improvement in student learning, the Board of
Education approved hiring the Consortium for Educational Change to assist in developing a strategic planning process in the 2017-18 school year.

The not-for-profit educational organization specializes in assisting districts in effective strategic planning that builds collaboration with the community and staff and to set long-term and short-term targets for continuous improvement.
Work will begin in the coming months to formulate a process, enlist participation of stakeholder groups, identify pertinent data for decision-making, determine gaps between current reality and desired future performance, and to ensure the plan remains alive with actions plans and tracking/reporting progress.
Happenings Around the District
Math for Complex Problems
Former trader turned math educator Mike Byster visited with sixth-grade students and parents on the last day of school to give them some number patterns to think about over the summer.

Byster calls himself a “human calculator” who has devoted his career to helping kids learn how to train their minds to do math. 
He shared his story with students that he was not a straight-A student. He taught himself many of the tricks he demonstrated to students to tackle complex math problems.

Math teacher Jane Tangney was familiar with Mr. Byster’s work and recruited him to visit Northbrook Junior High.

“I think he helped to bring the students some confidence by showing some patterns and tricks to the math that we do,” Ms. Tangney said. 
Scapillato Chosen Outstanding Educator

Band Director Greg Scapillato was chosen as a winner of the 2017 Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award by the Quinlan & Fabish Music Company.

This special award recognizes excellence in the field of Music Education in the Chicagoland area.  His name was placed in nomination by one or more of his peers, and selected by our selection committee, which includes previous winners. Scapillato was recognized at an award ceremony June 13.

The award has been presented annually since 1989. 

14 NBJH Alumni Receive HOH Scholarships
Fourteen Glenbrook North High School graduates were awarded the Homer O. Harvey Scholarship in 2017, a fund sponsored by the District 28 PTO Council.

The winners will each receive a $1,000 scholarship toward second semester college tuition.

Winners are Luke Amen, Emily Chwa, Katherine Crockford, Kaylyn Du, Tural Erel, Sarah Guggemos, Alexandra Hultman, Kelly Johnson, Erica Mackin, Kendall Martin, Quinn McCarthy, Sahra Merchant, Brittany Strelitz and Ben Zhao.

Scholarships are awarded to outstanding high school students who are graduates of District 28.

The HOH Scholarship winners were recognized at the Northbrook Junior High graduation. Those who were in attendance are: back row, from left, Luke Amen, Emily Chwa, Ben Zhao and Kaylyn Du. Front row, from left, Katie Crockford, Kendall Martin, and Alexandra Hultman.
 

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