Tour of Renovated Classrooms
After the meeting was called to order, the board and administration took a brief tour of classrooms at Hinsdale Central that were renovated over the summer in conjunction with Phase I of our Future Ready Facilities plan. You can click on the image to the right or visit
https://bit.ly/3gKC4MF to view photos from the tour.
Good News
Below are the good news items that Hinsdale South, Hinsdale Central and the district shared during the meeting.
Hinsdale South
- Hinsdale South has been recognized as an Illinois Democracy School by the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition (ICMC). South joins Hinsdale Central and a small collection of other high schools from across the state that have earned this distinction after successfully completing a school-wide civic assessment. The schools that are part of this network provide students with "authentic experiences in the rights, responsibilities, and tensions inherent to living in a democracy." They are also "vigilant in creating opportunities and experiences that empower students to nurture and sustain our democracy through engaging in current and controversial issue discussions, participating in democratic simulations, providing service learning opportunities, and elevating student voice."
- A number of students from Hinsdale South received honors for the scores they earned on their AP exams, including:
- Seventy students who earned the distinction of “AP Scholar.” This distinction is granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams.
- Twenty students who earned the distinction of “AP Scholar with Honor.” This distinction is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams that are taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
- Seventy-five students who earned the distinction of “AP Scholar with Distinction.” This distinction is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams that are taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
- Seventeen students who earned the distinction of “National AP” Scholar." This distinction is granted to students in the United States who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP exams that are taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
Hinsdale Central
The following Hinsdale Central students earned the AP Capstone Diploma award.
- Jay Amin
- Abigail Chute
- Gabrielle Conidi
- Anika Holur
- Saurav Joshi
- Yahya Junejo
- Cole Koffron
- Luke Leddy
- Sidh Leekha
- Kaitlin Mrksich
- Jasmine Qadeer
- Anirudh Raghuvir
- Iman Shams
- Sanjana Shanbhag
- Gabrielle Tsamis
The College Board grants this award to students who earn a score of three or higher on the AP Seminar and AP Research exams, as well as on four additional AP exams of the student's choosing.
District
Maggie Buoy has been selected as the 2020 School Social Worker of the Year by the Illinois Association of School Social Workers. This award is presented annually to a social worker whose work in the schools and communities exemplifies social work of the highest quality.
Authorize the District’s Chief Financial Officer to Execute a Letter of Credit
The board authorized Josh Stephenson, the district’s chief financial officer, to execute a letter of credit with Hinsdale Bank and Trust Company, N.A. in the amount of $102,269.44. The Village of Hinsdale requires that a letter of credit be executed to help ensure that the district completes specified work in accordance with DuPage County’s Stormwater Ordinance.
Bond Premium Discussion
The board discussed the timeline for the third and final referendum bond sale. The original schedule had the sale slated for the spring of 2021. However, due to favorable market conditions, the Finance Committee has recommended accelerating the sale to this fall. The plan would be to present the board with a parameter resolution during its meeting on Sept. 24.
In order to move forward with the final bond sale, the board needs to provide direction on whether to utilize the available bond premium. On May 28, the board authorized that $698,284 be used to fund incoming water service work related to requirements from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Hinsdale Fire Department.
Based on current interest rates, the board would have the ability to utilize $15.66 million in bond premium without raising the annual debt service payment beyond the $9.9 million level that was presented to taxpayers in January 2019. The projects the board discussed funding with the bond premium included classroom renovations and the replacement of unit ventilators. You can access the comprehensive list of projects discussed during the board meeting on May 28 by visiting
https://bit.ly/3etXcWr.
While the board expressed its support for capturing as much of the premium as possible, it did not talk during the meeting about what projects might be funded with it.
Committee Reports
Members of the Finance Committee provided the board with a report from their meeting on Aug. 19. During this meeting, the committee:
- Discussed the bus transportation contracts (general and special education) for the 2020-21 school year with Jason Kierna, who is the area general manager for First Student. The committee decided that the district should continue to fund the contracts at 80% of the normal rate for standard routes. This decision will keep all drivers employed and allows the district to quickly transition these services between instructional models. The amendment to the contract is set to expire on Sept. 25, so the committee will discuss the topic again during its meeting next month.
- Received an update on municipal market conditions and scenarios for the third referendum bond sale from Bob Lewis from PMA.
- Continued discussing policy 8:90 and its relation to Booster/Athletic Clubs. The discussion about revisions to the policy will transition to the policy committee and board in September.
- Discussed the COVID-related expenditures that will be included in the fiscal year 2021 Financial Summary Report.
Members of the Facilities Committee provided the board with a report from their meeting on Aug. 19. During this meeting, the committee:
- Reviewed the referendum work that was completed over the summer and discussed next steps.
- Reviewed the Phase 1 construction work and outstanding tasks at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South.
- Received an update from Pepper Construction about the Construction Quality Assurance Process it applied to the Phase 1 construction work.
- Received an update on the Phase 1 costs, as well as contingency funds use and credits.
- Received an update on zoning and energy incentives.
- Discussed that Bid Period 3 for Phase 2 of construction will begin in October.
In addition to receiving the reports, the board voted to release the draft minutes from these meetings as part of the consent agenda.
Consent Agenda
The board approved the consent agenda as presented. The consent agenda includes personnel, stipends, board bills and meeting minutes. Please visit
https://bit.ly/2EomCbT to access the consent agenda items beginning under number five.
Approve Director of Security Contract
The board approved a 10-month contract for the district’s director of security. You can access additional information about this agenda item by visiting
https://bit.ly/2D4Taa2.
Approve Agreement with the Community House for Social Work and Therapy Services
The board approved an agreement with the Community House to provide social work and therapy services to students that will augment the range of services currently offered by the district. The services that will be provided put a priority on supporting students who have experienced trauma or cannot find time for counseling during the school day.
Board President’s Report
Board President Kevin Camden asked community members to continue supporting students in whatever ways they can right now. He also encouraged people to try to frame the circumstances and situation we are facing in a positive way.
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Tammy Prentiss shared that one of the things she has missed the most during remote learning has been her Wednesday Walkthroughs in the buildings. However, she complimented the agility students and staff have shown during the past few weeks.
Superintendent Prentiss also mentioned that the district's Culture and Equity Leadership Team (CELT) will be holding its next meeting on Sept. 2. During this meeting, the group will develop a guiding mission statement that will serve as the umbrella for the work that is currently being done in the buildings to create a culture that embraces anti-racist and culturally responsive teaching practices.
Return to School Update
Superintendent Tammy Prentiss provided the board with an update on the district’s return to school plan. This update included:
- A reminder about the district's path for returning to school.
- A reminder about the updated guidance that the Illinois Department of Public Health issued on Aug. 12 that resulted in the district shifting to the Remote 2.0 Learning model to start the school year. This guidance included the following items that present challenges for conducting in-person instruction in a high school setting:
- Close contact is now being defined as “anyone (with or without a face covering) who was within 6 feet of a confirmed case of COVID-19 (with or without a face covering), for at least 15 minutes throughout the course of a day.”
- The period of close contact begins two calendar days before the onset of symptoms.
- All students and staff who have COVID-like symptoms (e.g., sore throat, headache, cough, etc.) should be sent home, need to be diagnostically tested and must remain at home until test results are received.
- An outbreak is defined as “two confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections occurring within 14 calendar days of each other in individuals in the same classroom.”
- Information about the guidance that the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) is scheduled to release on Aug. 28. This guidance will feature information about the levels of transmission (i.e., minimal, moderate and significant) of COVID-19 and the corresponding measures schools should consider taking in response to these levels.
- A reminder that our placement on the continuum of potential instructional models will depend upon the current health conditions in West Suburban Region 8 and/or districtwide confidence in the continuity of rigorous instruction.
- An announcement that the Recovery-Revitalization-Restore (R3) Committee reconvened on Aug. 24 and identified several subcommittees that will help lead its work going forward, including:
- Instruction/Technology
- Facilities and Safety Protocols
- Human Resources
- Special Education
- Communications
- Administering a survey to staff that will be used to collect updated information about health/childcare and gauge potential interest in learning pods and/or daycare for their children.
- Pursuing a partnership on a robust saliva testing system.
- Holding meetings of the R3 group and its subcommittees.
- Reviewing the guidance issued by DCHD on Aug. 28.
- Collecting feedback on the Remote 2.0 Learning model from the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee and District 86 families.
- Providing another update during the board meeting on Sept. 10.
- An update on the status of several District 86 cohorts.
- Behind The Wheel (BTW) instruction has begun.
- Nearly all of our co-curricular clubs and activity programs will be providing remote and/or in-person experiences for students.
- Fall athletics have begun; 20-day contact camps for other sports will begin on Sept.8.
- R3 determining a process for the return of self-contained instructional programs.
2020-21 School Calendar
The administration presented the following proposed changes to the 2020-21 school calendar.
- Adding the administration of the state-sponsored Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to all current District 86 seniors on Sept. 23 and 24. This would be a reschedule of the testing opportunity that was canceled in the spring due to COVID-19.
- Eliminating the Wednesday remote schedule during the two weeks this semester when students and staff will have a day off in observance of a state or federal holiday - i.e., Labor Day on Sept. 7 and Election Day on Nov. 3. By doing this, we can maximize the total amount of instructional time that is available to students.
Student Standardized Assessments
The administration shared the plan for administering the SAT to current District 86 seniors who were unable to take the test during their junior year due to COVID-19. Seniors will take the SAT in-person (there is currently no remote testing option available for the SAT or PSAT) on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Those students who have approved accommodations will conclude testing on Sept. 24.
Administrative Procedures for Policies 6:210 and 6:40
The administration presented updated administrative procedures for policies 6:210 (Instructional Materials) and 6:40 (Curriculum Development). The procedures for 6:210 focus on the process for adding new content to a course that carries an R-rating or explicit content from a non-rated digital media source. The procedures for 6:40 provide a roadmap for the curriculum adoption process and curriculum development process.
The updates to both sets of procedures are intended to ensure greater transparency and stakeholder involvement in the discussion, drafting, revision and adoption process.
Financial and Treasury Reports
Per its regular cadence of reporting, the administration provided the board with the financial and treasury reports for July 2020. You can access the financial reports by visiting
https://bit.ly/3b4SD4w and the treasury report by visiting
https://bit.ly/3jmnPza.
FOIA Requests
The board received information about the FOIA requests that have been processed since its last meeting. This information included the names or titles of the individuals and departments who helped respond to the requests, a summary of the records that were requested and who asked for them, and trend data about the number of requests that have been processed and the legal fees the district has incurred in responding to them.
Operational Calendar and Future Agenda Items
The board reviewed and discussed its operational calendar for the year and possible agenda items for future meetings. You can access additional information about this agenda item by visiting
https://bit.ly/34JqjDM.
