Good News
Principal Bill Walsh and teacher Matthew Doll recognized Jui Khankari for being one of the 300 high school seniors who were named scholars by the Society for Science in conjunction with the organization's annual science and math competition.
Principal Walsh also provided the board with the good news report for Hinsdale Central. This report included the following:
- Information about the 293 students who were named young scholars in conjunction with the school's Young Scholars Program.
- The names of the students who qualified to participate in the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) after performing well on the tests that were administered in conjunction with the recent American Mathematics Competitions.
- The list of students who were named candidates for the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
- Results from the state finals for wrestling, which included Marko Ivanisevic taking fifth place and Cody Tavoso taking sixth place in their respective weight classes.
- Results from the state finals for speech, which included the team taking sixth place overall and winning a pair of individual championships (Jack Huber and Nico Kiperman in the Humorous Duet Acting event and Ajay Gupta in the Extemporaneous Speaking event).
- The list of individuals who were named Student of the Quarter by the school's various departments based on their leadership, kindness and skills as role models.
Principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp provided the board with the good news report for Hinsdale South. This report included the following:
- An announcement about the school's speech team winning the state championship and taking home titles in a pair of individual events ( Darrell Mondaine in the Original Comedy event and Cameron Chamberlain and Cate Cianci in the Dramatic Duet Acting event).
- The list of students who were named candidates for the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
- The list of students who were named finalists in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
- The names of the students who achieved a perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT.
- Details about postseason performances by several students or teams from the school, including the danceline team winning the state championship in the Pom Dance category at the varsity and junior varsity levels, Will Gallagher qualifying for sectionals and state in boys swimming, and Kelsey Pettry (qualified for state in the wheelchair division for girls bowling), the chess team (finished 34th in state, which was three spots up from their original ranking), and wrestlers Griffin Carr, Manny Wallace and Alec Miller (qualified for state) having strong showings in their respective tournaments.
- The names of the individuals who were recently recognized as World Language Students of the Month or Breakfast Club Winners.
- Details about the presentation that students Hailey Bishop, Gustavo Botero and Camden Kiefer gave to the Darien City Council about the possibility of creating a local farmers market.
- Information about the school's counseling department receiving a bronze award from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) in recognition of South's excellence in helping students from the class of 2021 with the financial aid process.
- A shoutout to Stanley Radziewicz, who retired following 30 years of service in the buildings and grounds department.
- Details about school's Black History Month celebrations.
Stakeholder Feedback Surveys - Results and Next Steps
The board received a presentation about the Panorama surveys that the district administered to students, teachers, staff and parents/guardians in the fall of 2021. Below is a summary of the information that was included in the presentation.
- The district explored options for collecting stakeholder feedback to advance the work of the strategic plan, most notably Goals 2 (Learning Environment), 3 (Work Environment) and 4 (Family and Community Connections).
- The board approved a one-year contract with Panorama Education, Inc. on May 13, 2021, to help the district administer feedback/satisfaction surveys to students, teachers, staff and parents/guardians
- Response rates for the surveys administered in the fall
- School-Level Student Survey - 93.4%
- Social-Emotional Learning: Student Competency & Well-Being Measures Survey (freshmen only) - 88.4%
- Social-Emotional Learning: Adult Measures Survey for Teachers and Staff - 66.3% (74.3% for teachers and 57.66% for staff)
- Back-to-School Survey for Families - 28.2%
- Details about the survey results
- Panorama produced a report for each survey that was administered that included the list of topics covered, percentage of people who responded favorably to the questions and national benchmarks where available.
- Percent favorable included people who selected the top two answers for questions that featured five choices or top three answers for questions that featured seven choices; middle choice (e.g., answer three in a list of five) was considered neutral and not incorporated into the favorability calculation.
- District established a baseline of 60% favorable across all surveys that is featured on our scorecard (http://scorecard.cecweb.org/hinsdale86). This percentage/metric will continue to be assessed and adjusted as needed going forward.
- Overview of the steps in the survey process.
- Topics featured on the School-Level Student Survey and the percentage of people who responded favorably to them.
- Topics featured on the Student Competency & Well-Being Measures survey that was administered only to freshmen and the percentage of people who responded favorably to them.
- Information about what metrics from the student surveys have been included under Goal 2 on the district's scorecard.
- Actions that will be taken based on the survey results.
- Overview of the steps in the survey process.
- Topics featured on the Social-Emotional Learning: Adult Measures Survey for Teachers and Staff and the percentage of people who responded favorably to them.
- Actions that have or will be taken based on the survey results.
- Information about what metrics from the teacher and staff surveys have been included under Goal 3 on the district's scorecard.
- Next steps.
- Topics featured on the Back-to-School Survey for Families and the percentage of people who responded favorably to them.
- Activities that were completed when the survey closed.
- Themes that were identified following the review and discussion of the survey data.
- Actions that have or will be taken based on the survey results.
- Information about what metrics from the back-to-school survey have been included under Goal 4 on the district's scorecard.
- Share the presentation and survey results with the community.
- Administer the Student Competency & Well-Being Measures Survey to all students in the spring and fall.
- Administer the Social-Emotional Learning: Adult Measures Survey for Teachers and Staff to all employees in the spring and fall.
- Administer the School-Level Student Survey and Back-to-School Survey for Families in the fall. Based on feedback we received, this will occur later in the school year (likely mid-to-late October).
You can access the presentation and the reports for each of the surveys that were administered by visiting
https://bit.ly/3MahC8T.
Grading Practices in District 86 - Semester 1 Update
Per its request from earlier in the school year, the board received an update about the changes to the district's grading practices that were implemented in the fall of 2021. This update included the following information:
- Guiding principles for grading
- Accurate: A grading system must accurately communicate a student’s academic ability.
- Actionable: A grading system must provide a student, parent/guardian, counselor or interventionist with an indication of what the student needs to do to remediate, maintain or enrich their coursework.
- Accountable: A grading system must hold students accountable for demonstrating the knowledge/skill required to complete each course.
- Overview of the changes to the district's grading practices implemented during the 2021-22 school year
- Established a common, equal-interval grade scale for all courses - includes a 50% floor for assignments so that scores of zero do not impact a grade six times more than any other grade.
- Established a framework for grade category weights - 70% to 100% of a grade is based on summative assessments; 30% to 0% of a grade is based on formative assessments.
- Increased the accuracy of communication - includes an M for missing assignments, which makes work that needs to be completed easily identifiable to all stakeholders; includes an ME when a student has missed an essential assignment, which makes it clear what a student must do in order to pass the class.
The update also addressed the following questions:
- A grades trending higher.
- B,C and D grades have remained steady.
- In most cases, F grades are being replaced by IC grades (for now).
- Potential reasons for these trends include: shift in the focus from grading behaviors to grading what kids know and can do; shift toward grade accuracy; increased accountability in our grading practices; students are being held accountable for the completion of essential work.
- Academic benefits of M grades for students with IEPs - students know what the essential focus is in regards to the class curriculum; helps students prioritize what to do first and what's most important to finish; gives students a better opportunity to earn a passing grade; students who have attendance issues have a better chance of passing as long as they complete the ME assignments.
- Social and emotional benefits of M grades for students with IEPs - students report not feeling "underwater" when they have so many missing assignments due to absences/hospitalizations or other outside factors; prevents students from getting discouraged.
- IC grades accounted for 2% of the total at Hinsdale South and 1% of the total at Hinsdale Central.
- Data provided for the following groups of students - qualifies for free and reduced lunch, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic and White.
- M grades do not artificially raise grades or prevent low ones.
- Students with higher grades (primarily As and Bs) tend to have a smaller number of M grades in the gradebook (typically less than one per class).
- Students with lower grades (primarily Cs and below) tend to have a larger number of M grades in the gradebook.
- The presence of large numbers of M grades is not preventing students from earning low grades.
- The presence of M grades provides an opportunity for students to earn credit for their work rather than be hampered by the impact of receiving a zero.
- Clearer definitions for formative and summative assessments.
- Connections between formative and summative assessments.
- Relearning and reassessment practices.
- Student motivation.
- Reflect on and assess data for 2021-22 grades.
- Make course team decisions for the 2022-23 school year (focus of flex days in March and April).
- Continue work on grading alignment during curriculum alignment and assessment conversations.
- Ongoing professional development conversations around formative/summative assessments.
- Ongoing professional development conversations around relearning and reassessment opportunities.
Committee Reports
Members of the Finance Committee provided the board with a report from their
meeting on Feb. 16. During this meeting, the committee:
- Reviewed the financial forecast for the current fiscal year. Based on the current projections, the district anticipates having a surplus of more than $2 million. This is the result of additional replacement tax collections, FTE savings due to vacancies, and anticipated unused budgets for travel and supplies.
- Reviewed the potential allocation of the current year operational project budget and surplus funds to address the following items: window replacement at Hinsdale Central, floor replacement in the field house at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South, and the alternate restroom renovation at Hinsdale South.
- Reviewed the long-term replacement strategy for building renovations.
Members of the joint Facilities and special committee for community engagement with construction provided the board with a report from
their meeting on Feb. 18. During this meeting, the committee:
- Received information about the current year fiscal forecast, the capital projects that are proposed for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, and the capital replacement schedule.
- Discussed recommendations made by the administration and the Finance Committee to allocate budget favorability of $2.2 million to address capital needs (i.e., window replacement at Hinsdale Central; floor replacement in the field house and fitness center at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South; and restroom renovation at Hinsdale South for ADA compliance). The joint committee supported these recommendations.
In addition to receiving the reports mentioned above, the board voted to release the draft minutes from these meetings as part of the consent agenda.
Future Ready Facilities
The board took the following action in conjunction with the district's ongoing Future Ready Facilities work:
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Awarded Bid 22-024 (Phase 2 Window Replacement at Hinsdale Central), including the base bid, alternate one and alternate two, to Northern Glass, Inc., for $1,012,460, and approved a total budget of $1,063,083 for the project.
Consent Agenda
The board approved the consent agenda as amended. The consent agenda includes personnel, stipends, board bills and meeting minutes. Please visit
https://bit.ly/3t24fyJ to access the consent agenda items beginning under number 10.
Approve Principal for Hinsdale South
The board approved the appointment of Dr. Patrick Hardy as the new principal of Hinsdale South. Dr. Hardy received a two-year contract that will begin on July 1, 2022.
Board President's Report
Board President Terri Walker mentioned the updates about grading and the Panorama surveys that were presented during the meeting, and shared that additional reports regarding the two topics will be provided in the coming months.
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Tammy Prentiss thanked all of the students and staff for their help in making a smooth transition from universal masking to masks being strongly recommended. She shared that, during her visits to the schools this week, everyone was being supportive and respectful of the choices their classmates and colleagues were making about masking. She said that the district will continue to update its COVID-19 dashboard so that all stakeholders have access to data (e.g., local transmission rates, number of positive cases in our school communities, etc.) that they can use to make informed decisions about their specific health needs. She also mentioned that the current data for the area is showing a continued decline in positive cases and an overall positivity rate that has dropped to approximately 4%.
Superintendent Prentiss talked about her most recent Wednesday visits to Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South. She said she stopped by several science classes at Central with Principal Walsh, and checked out math and social studies classes at South with Principal Pokorny Lyp.
Superintendent Prentiss thanked the members of the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee for the robust dialogue they engaged in and feedback they shared about the school calendar for the next few years and grading practices from first semester.
Superintendent Prentiss also said that she is looking forward to starting the work of the two task forces she formed. The first will help develop a Portrait of a District 86 Graduate, while the second will explore and assess different secondary instructional schedules. She thanked board members Hirsman, Held and Levinthal for agreeing to serve on the committees, and shared that the first meetings will be held next week in Central's renovated multi-purpose room.
Treasury and Financial Reports
Per its regular cadence of reporting, the administration provided the board with the treasury and financial reports for January 2022. You can access the treasury report by visiting
https://bit.ly/3LXtdI4 and the financial reports by visiting
https://bit.ly/3Hvvsz7.
FOIA Requests
The board received information about the FOIA requests that have been processed since its last regular action 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.
Future Agenda Items
During the portion of the meeting dedicated to the discussion of future agenda items, member Levinthal requested that the board set aside time to engage in a conversation about the possible formation of an academic committee that would, among other things, help lead the district's work on diversity, equity and inclusion.
