News From the October Board Meeting
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Many Lenses Help Measure Student Growth
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There are six types of standardized assessments given throughout the year in District 28. Most of the assessments provide helpful data to measure success and areas for improvement.
“It is important to us that our curriculum throughout every grade is aligned to state learning standards. This is data we use to determine that,” said Dr. Kris Raitzer, Assistant Superintendent.
On the state’s PARCC assessments in English Language Arts and Math, overall student performance scores by grade are all more than 20 points higher than state averages. In English language arts, fourth grade has the highest percent meeting or exceeding standards at 71%. In math, 80% of third-graders met or exceeded standards.
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New Information on State
School Report Card
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The Illinois State Board of Education has rewritten the accountability system that is reported on the annual State School Report Card with the goal of creating reports that are informative, fair and non-punitive. The change comes as part of the new federal law Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind.
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Task Force to Review Standards-Based Grading
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As part of the process of implementing a standards-based learning model at the junior high, a task force of administrators, teachers, parents and students will look at progress so far and consider ideas to tweak the model by mid-January.
Director of Learning Stephanie Smith outlined the task force plan to consider feedback collected from surveys of conducted earlier this month.
The junior high is transitioning to a new model of reporting students’ academic performance that focuses on a student’s understanding of academic concepts and learning behaviors.
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Property Tax Levy Will Reflect 2.1% Inflation Rate
The amount of property tax revenues the district is requesting for the next budget year is 4.99% higher than the previous year, but the actual amount of property tax revenues the district will receive will be calculated based on the December 2017 Consumer Price Index of 2.1% and new property growth.
State law restricts school districts from requesting property taxes, known as tax levys, to be no higher than the CPI or 5%, whichever is less. The CPI, or inflation rate, is
a measure of price changes in consumer goods and services set by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2018 CPI of 2.1% is the same rate as last year.
Chief School Business Official Jessica Donato said revenues from new development are the only other source to increase the amount of property tax that the district receives. T
he District must over-estimate the levy increase in order to capture all potential new property, which is why the request is made at 4.99% more than the previous year. The township assessor determines the actual amount paid to the district after all property is assessed. Property taxes represent 85 percent of total district revenues.
Last year’s levy request was $34.8 million, and the district actually received $34.6 million.
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Audit Shows District Finances Sound, Transparent
An independent audit shows the district is financially sound and following required accounting rules. The District is required to annually conduct an independent audit of the financial activities in accordance with generally accepted governmental standards. A representative from Lauterbach & Amen LLP presented an overview of the annual audit report, which was completed Aug. 28. However, the report will not be finalized until the state releases a final figure on pension liability funds.
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PTO Needs Gently Worn Shoes; Proceeds Benefit Scholarships
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Drop off your gently worn shoes to your District 28 school collection box, and you'll be helping fund the Homer O Harvey Scholarship Fund as well as helping people less fortunate throughout the world.
Boxes will be at each school through October.
World Wear Project makes your donated, wearable shoes available to people living in developing countries such as Cameroon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Guatemala, Chile, Honduras and others.
Please no flip-flops, canvas shoes, winter boots or shoes with metal cleats. No visibly worn conditions, stains or holes.
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During Digital Day on Oct. 18, 6th grade students rotated through four different sessions, learning how to use Clips, Keynote, Pages as well as workflow tips for their Google drives.
The half-day was put to use giving them the tools to dive deep in their learning and share their thinking in fun and innovative
ways. Students kicked off the week learning about their digital footprint and digital citizenship.
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Junior Achievement Brings Business Education to
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Several classrooms at Greenbriar School were immersed in the world of business on Tuesday morning, Oct. 16 thanks to a host of volunteers from Allstate and Junior Achievement of Chicago.
Students learned about profit, loss, revenue and risk. They talked about different industries and what kind of business they would run if they had the chance. A tabletop game provided different scenarios that can arise from running a hot dog stand: how supplies, prices and customer demand can affect the outcome.
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STAY CONNECTED TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DISTRICT 28!
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#TLC28 #Innovate28
District 28’s official hashtags! You can search the hashtag on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to monitor posts from teachers, administrators and the district accounts. These hashtag help us tell the story of Teaching, Learning and Caring in District 28 and the innovative teaching and learning around Learning First.
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