River Forest District 90
November 7, 2017     
Upcoming Meetings
Roosevelt Middle School
7560 Oak Avenue

Board Meeting
November 20, 2017 
Library Learning Center
7:00 p.m.  

Committee of the Whole Meeting
December 5, 2017
Auditorium
7:00 p.m.


Quick Links
Sign up to receive the District 90 Primer eNewsletter

Student Assessment Town Hall Forum/Committee of the Whole
Meeting Highlights

Presented by:
Mr. Ralph Martire, District 90 Board President
Dr. Edward Condon, Superintendent

The meeting was called to order by Board of Education President Ralph Martire at
7:06 p.m. in the Roosevelt Middle School Auditorium.  Cal Davis, Judith Deogracias, Barb Hickey, Ralph Martire, Rich Moore, Nicole Thompson, and Stacey Williams were present.

Immediately following the roll call, Ralph Martire introduced Kristen Coe, president of the River Forest Civic Association (RFCA), formerly known as the River Forest Service Club. She stated that the RFCA was honored to partner with the District in hosting the Town Hall Forum. Advancing civic engagement represents an important role of the RFCA. Following Kristen Coe, Board members led the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m.

Below is a summary of meeting highlights. Board Packets containing meeting details are posted on the District 90 website  prior to each meeting. Full meeting minutes will be posted on the website once approved.
Recognize Visitors and Invite Comments from the Public 
 
Kelly Bankert, Oak Park resident, called on Board members to support transgender and gender expansive students. She said that students who identify as transgender or gender expansive are not adequately supported by the District's schools. Ms. Bankert asked Board members to adopt and implement a policy supporting transgender and gender expansive students.

Erica Bachner, parent, stated that her experiences in District 90, affirmed the District's efforts to be inclusive and to promote educational equity. She said that a gender inclusive policy would extend the current philosophy of inclusiveness to all students.
 
Stephanie VanDerSchie, parent, read a letter from a D90 graduate who couldn't attend the Town Hall Forum. The student identifies as non-binary, and the letter described the student's experiences at Roosevelt, which included receiving support for instances of bullying, but also challenges related to gender identity. The student's letter and Ms. VanDerSchie requested that Board members remove the obstacles that discourage transgender and gender expansive students from fully participating in all elements of the school experience. 

Kelly O'Keefe, parent, explained that her family moved to River Forest because of the inclusive preschool and District 90's philosophy of inclusiveness. She read a letter from Rep. Chris Welch that requested the Board of Education support policies that support transgender and gender inclusive students. 
 
Rev. Colleen Fahey, parent, thanked Board members for their service and for their support of proactive policies that support transgender and gender expansive students. She requested that Board members adopt a transgender and gender expansive policy this year with implementation to begin in fall 2018. 

Valerie Toppen, Oak Park resident, shared several statistics and facts regarding the mental health of transgender and gender expansive students. For instance, she explained that there are more students who consider themselves to be transgender or gender expansive than there are students who are on the autism spectrum. Ms. Toppen requested that Board members adopt a policy supporting transgender and gender expansive students.

Anne Gottlieb, parent, stated that she is in favor of the Board of Education adopting policies that support transgender and gender expansive students. Ms. Gottlieb provided an anecdote of a troubled high school student (that she worked with in her professional role) who became engaged with the school community once the school supported the student's gender identity. 

Robert Zeh, parent, explained the reason his student would not be participating the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS). According to Mr. Zeh, the IYS does not have a valid confidentiality certificate. Therefore, the results will not be truly anonymous.
Approval of Agenda
 
Board members approved the agenda.
Education Committee, Nicole Thompson, Chair
 
Town Hall Forum: 
District 90 Student Assessment Overview - Dr. Alison Hawley, Director of Curriculum & Instruction and Dr. Ed Condon, Superintendent
Ralph Martire explained the format for the Town Hall Forum. Dr. Condon explained the purpose of the Town Hall Forum, which was to provide an overview of the role of student assessment in District 90 and how District 90 students performed on recent standardized assessments. Dr. Condon introduced Dr. Alison Hawley, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, who presented an overview of student achievement results on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. 

Dr. Hawley explained the different types of standardized assessment, such as formative and summative assessments. She presented information about student growth, in comparison to student achievement. For the PARCC assessment, Dr. Hawley reviewed the results from each grade level in math and English/Language Arts. She discussed the relevance of changes in the PARCC results from 2016 to 2017. Dr. Hawley also reported on the stratification of results among subgroups of students. Along with reviewing PARCC results, Dr. Hawley  reviewed the results from the recent MAP assessment and explained how the assessment is designed to track student growth. Phil Ervolino, District 90 data analyst consultant, also helped to explain several of the technical aspects involved in analyzing the assessment results. Additional information and the entire student assessment presentation can be viewed in the Board Packet.
Community Engagement 

Approximately 10-12 of the audience members participated in the community feedback portion of the meeting. Many of the questions and comments focused on understanding some of the technical aspects of the PARCC and MAP assessments, the District's assessment schedule, the newly adopted math curriculum, and the continuity of curriculum between District 90 and local high schools. Additional questions and comments centered on student engagement, classroom instruction, and professional development for teachers.