Good News
Principal Bill Walsh from Hinsdale Central provided the board with the following information from his report.
- Senior Natalia Berti, who is a writer for the Devils' Advocate, received a “Best of SNO” Excellence in Writing award for her story about the makeup line created by Central students and twin sisters Amelia and Stephanie Zayed. You can access the story by visiting http://bit.ly/3kozpLS.
- Junior Paton Mehrhoff, who is currently enrolled in AP microeconomics, was featured in a story in The Hinsdalean about the summer program she is creating for students in grades two through five to help them learn about the principles and foundational concepts of economics prior to entering middle school and high school. You can access the story by visiting http://bit.ly/3bFBn6z.
- The Hinsdale Central Forensics team took second place in the state tournament.
- Senior Katrina Geiersbach was named to the IHSA's 2020-21 All-State Academic Team.
- The Solstice Art and Literary Magazine was named a finalist for a 2021 Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. All winners will be awarded a Gold or Silver Crown near the end of March. A total of 852 digital, newspapers, magazines and yearbooks published during the 2019-20 school year were eligible for this honor. However, only 85 Crowns will be awarded.
- Seniors Samara Jaquez and Cadence Parker-Briones will join other top student artists from across the state at the 9th Annual Illinois High School Art Exhibition Senior Scholarships Announced event, which will be held virtually on April 11. This event will enable the students to come together to showcase their work, be recognized for their accomplishments and celebrate the power of art in their lives. To date, Samara and Cadence have received more than $368,000 in scholarships for their portfolio.
Principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp from Hinsdale South provided the board with the following information from her report.
- Students and staff from South took part in a variety of activities in honor of Spread the Word: Inclusion Awareness Day. These activities included:
- Members of the special education department sending out daily emails blasts regarding what Spread the Word: Inclusion is all about. The emails also included information about disability awareness, how to be an inclusive friend or teacher, and etiquette around terminology.
- Teachers and students viewing videos and discussing the importance of inclusion.
- Members of the school community taking the online pledge to see, hear and value others by way of inclusion.
- The United States Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau acknowledged South for its efforts to engage, educate and encourage households to complete the 2020 Census.
- South's speech team took third place at state and earned the school’s first trophy in the tournament.
- South's varsity danceline team took second place at the sectional tournament, which earned the group its ninth consecutive trip to state.
- The school's cheer team took third place at the junior varsity level and fifth place at the varsity level, both of which represented the team’s best finish at the event in school history.
- Several students from South turned in outstanding performances at the competition held in conjunction with the Illinois Business Professionals of America (BPA) State Leadership Conference. Their efforts qualified them for PBA's national competition, which will be held virtually in the spring.
- South organized a number of events and activities in honor of Black History Month that included, but were not limited to:
- Morning announcements that spotlighted African American historical figures who made positive contributions to education and innovation in America.
- Passing period music that featured the historical development of hip hop/rap music and Chicago House Music.
- A viewing and discussion of the TED Talk: Heroes and Villains: is hip-hop a cancer or a cure?
- A symposium about the pathways, experiences and opportunities that are available at historically Black colleges and universities.
In addition to receiving the reports from the principals, the board learned that the band from Hinsdale Central has been invited to perform in the Parade of Heroes Commemoration Band during the Monumental Salute to the Veterans being held in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 13. You can access additional information about this opportunity by visiting
https://bit.ly/3erNA1W.
Strategic Plan Update
Members of the team who are working on Goal 1 (Student Growth and Achievement) of the district's strategic plan provided the board with an update on the work they are doing to develop a common grading scale that is accurate, actionable and accountable. This update included:
- An acknowledgement that there are currently 30 different grading schools being used across the eight departments and two high schools in our district.
- The challenges associated with discussing grading - i.e., grading is personal, impactful and misunderstood.
- The four main things that guide grading practices and policies.
- Policies and practices experienced as a student.
- Personal philosophies of teaching and learning.
- District, building, department and grade-level policies on grading and reporting.
- What was learned in undergraduate teaching prep programs.
- Information about the district's Learning Leadership Team (LLT).
- Composed of 40 teachers, department leaders and administrators that equally represent all of the academic departments at Central and South.
- Charged with: locating and studying the most relevant, recent and data-derived research on effective grading practices; facilitating learning sessions about the research with the staff as a whole (Flex Learning Days during the 19-20 school year); adopting a grading mission for the district (presented to the board May 2020); and, determining a common grading scale for use across the district.
- The process the LLT used to guide its work on grading.
- The names of the authors and researchers that were studied by the LLT.
- The work the LLT did during the 2019-20 school year.
- Conducted extensive research and discussed best practices for grading during meetings held on Flex Learning Days.
- Developed the following district statement regarding grading: Grades communicate achievement on course objectives and support meaningful student learning and growth.
- The first principles of a grading system - accurate, actionable and accountable.
- Accurately communicate a student's academic ability.
- Provide a student, parent/guardian, counselor and/or interventionist with an indication of what the student needs to do to remediate, maintain or enrich their coursework.
- Hold students accountable for demonstrating the knowledge/skill required to complete each course.
- Additional goals of a grading scale/practice.
- Meet the needs of different content areas (different assessment types).
- Allow teacher innovation and creativity when designing instruction/assessment.
- Focus on achievement and not behavior.
- LLT's progress/accomplishments/recommendations.
- Nearly unanimous consent on a common grading scale for the 2021-22 school year.
- Consensus on alpha-indicators for missing work.
- Began discussing the role and responsibilities of the district- and building-level course teams when it comes to implementing the common grading scale.
- Sharing specific information with common language.
- Creating bridges in translation.
- Supporting students.
- Efficient use of intervention time.
- Increasing academic responsibility and accountability.
- Grades A-F.
- EX - stands for Exempt.
- M - stands for Missing.
- ME - stands for Missing and Essential.
- NYP - stands for Not Yet Proficient.
- Definition and examples of essential assignments.
- The rationale for using the scale and responses to common concerns.
- Zeros promote inaccuracies and misconceptions about student understanding.
- The scale communicates and assesses a failing grade for not doing work.
- Encourages a student to persist with coursework after an assignment is missed.
- Reinforces that the penalty for not doing work should always be doing the work.
- Zeros do not communicate a specific way to intervene/remediate.
- Identification of essential assessments increases accountability rather than relying on zero grades to scare students into compliance.
- Grades should communicate a level of achievement, not a level of responsibility.
- Consequence for not doing an assignment is, at best, an F, and, at worst, mandatory completion to receive a passing grade in the course.
- Next steps for teachers and the LLT.
Return to School Update
The administration provided the board with an update on the district’s return to school plan. This update included:
- A reminder about the steps involved in the district's responsive approach to in-person instruction.
- COVID-19 data for the district and the communities we serve. As of March 5, there were seven confirmed positive cases in the district, 50 people in isolation and 43 people in quarantine. There have also been a total of 321 positive cases in the district since the start of the 2020-21 school year.
- An update on the number and percentage of students who are taking part in the district's hybrid and remote instructional models second semester.
- Hybrid or Everyday - 1,535 students at Hinsdale Central (60% of the school's total enrollment) and 777 at Hinsdale South (58% of the school's total enrollment).
- Remote - 1,043 students at Hinsdale Central (40% of the school's total enrollment) and 569 at Hinsdale South (42% of the school's total enrollment).
- Of the students who selected hybrid, 44.3% said they want to be considered for the option of coming to school for in-person instruction four days per week if that opportunity becomes available.
- Social distancing in instructional spaces - 3 to 6 feet when everyone is masked and teachers are fully vaccinated (occurs two weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine); 6 feet for any teachers who are not vaccinated.
- Social distancing for lunch - must remain at 6 feet since students are removing their masks to eat; assigned seating is recommended.
- Must maintain the contact tracing program and mitigation strategies.
- Room occupancy - no longer capped at 50 people; based on the design/capacity of the room; must follow social distancing guidelines.
- Cleaning and HVAC - District 86 is already meeting all requirements.
- Information about close contact.
- Still defined as anyone (with or without a face mask) who was within 6 feet of a confirmed case of COVID-19 (with or without a face mask) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the infectious period. Close contact needs to quarantine for 14 days.
- People who had a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 within the past 90 days or been fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidelines are not required to quarantine if identified as a close contact to a confirmed case.
- We anticipate a potential increase in students who need to quarantine in classrooms where social distancing is less than 6 feet.
- Impact of guidelines on instructional models.
- Previous guidelines - masks at all times; social distancing of 6 feet at all times; maximum of 50 people in a space; one way hallways; assigned seating for lunch with everyone facing in the same direction; remote option; 50% of students in person with an A-B split.
- Updated guidelines - masks at all times; social distancing of 3 to 6 feet in instructional spaces; social distancing of 6 feet at all time in spaces where people are eating lunch; no more one-way hallways; number of individuals in a space is based on the design and capacity of the room instead of being capped at 50 people; remote option.
- Based on the updated guidelines and the fact that 60% of our students are currently enrolled in the hybrid model, we will be offering five days of instruction that follows the regular bell schedule after spring break. However, we are working with R3 and student leaders to get feedback on this pivot to make sure we are thinking through any potential issues or challenges to help ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible.
- Information about completed or scheduled next steps.
- Recovery-Revitalization-Restore (R3) committee held an emergency meeting on March 10 to review and discuss the updated guidance from IDPH and ISBE.
- District sharing an update with the community during the board meeting on March 11 and via Board Briefs on March 12.
- Focus group/meeting with student leaders from both high schools on March 15.
- R3 meeting on March 18.
- District 86 staff reach fully vaccinated status on March 20.
- Update to the community and finalize setup in the classrooms during the week of March 22.
- Remove temporary walls in the cafeteria at Central during spring break.
- The instructional calendar for the month of March.
- Updates regarding the status of assessments.
- Final exams (same as first semester) - no finals for seniors; no alternate final exam schedule; exams may be given, but will not be weighted like a traditional final exam; additional week may be used for instruction; no schools in the West Suburban Conference are giving traditional final exams.
- Assessment equity - Per all staff professional development (Jan. 4 and 5) and department conversations about assessment development and administration, there should no testing advantage to being remote: assessments should not be part of the rationale for remaining remote.
- Overview of professional development - All assessments should be designed to be taken remotely or in person. In addition, all students should have access to the same resources when taking assessments (e.g., texts, notes, Google, etc). If they do not, families are asked to please confirm with their children that they are aware of the resources that can be used in class, and to contact teachers about what students are able to use on tests.
- State assessments - SAT (no essay) will be administered to all juniors on April 12 (in person only); ISBE has moved the PSAT 9 and 10 to the fall (date TBD).
- AP exams - sent a communication on March 8 to AP students and their families that included information about the three testing windows being offered by the College Board, and the district's recommendation about which window students should strongly consider.
- We are currently waiting for ISBE to provide direction on the Illinois Science Assessment (if state says it must be administered, it will be given in person to juniors on April 14), ACCESS (fall/ELL), graduation requirements regarding SAT and FAFSA, school accountability measurement related to the completion of the SAT.
- Update on senior activities.
- Based on the updated guidance, Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South anticipate being able to host in-person graduation ceremonies in their stadiums on Monday, May 17 (rain date on May 18). The social distancing requirements and capacity restrictions featured in the revised guidance will be followed. The format for the event will be determined via collaboration with student groups.
- Tentative dates for a prom-like experience are May 1 for Hinsdale Central (on-site) and May 21 for Hinsdale South (Lincoln Park Zoo or on-site).
- Information about the steps community members can take if they have comments, questions or concerns about the work being conducted by the district. This is aimed at helping to reduce the amount of misinformation being posted on social media, and to promote common language, common understanding of complex systems and common expectations for all students.
- Information about common goals and norms.
- A rigorous and challenging curriculum that meets the post secondary needs of all students.
- Flexibility to personalize the high school experience to engage academic passions and post-secondary interests.
- Support systems for all students based on their individual needs.
- Assume positive intent and decision-making focused on data and the best interests of students.
- Definitions of tracking and detracking.
- Tracking is separating students by academic ability into groups for all subjects or certain classes and curriculum within a school.
- Detracking occurs when students are deliberately positioned into classes of mixed ability.
- Information that addresses the inaccurate rumor that District 86 is detracking all of our classes.
- Nothing about the curriculum alignment process changes the fact that the district will continue to offer classes that meet the individual and specialized needs of students through coherent, logically-sequenced pathways.
- The term ‘detracking’ is being misinterpreted. An academic ‘track’ is more accurately called an academic level. A ‘track’ restricts students to a single pathway through a subject. District 86 will continue to have three levels that are fluid depending on the student’s post secondary plans: Essential (often called Applied or Self-Contained), College/Career Prep, Honors/Dual Credit /AP.
- A table that features information about the continuum of course level options.
- Information about G-level classes in the district.
- G-level classes are designed to cover major content topics at a modified pace. The curriculum and assessments for these courses are aligned to reduced standards when compared to their college prep counterparts.
- G-level courses are a track. Students who start in a G-level course and are not held to on-grade level standards remain in this track. The opportunity to move to on-grade level college-prep course work is minimal at best.
- Our district does not offer G-level courses in elective areas.
- Our district has not offered G-level courses in the humanities since 1998, or in science and math at Hinsdale South since 2018.
- Hinsdale Central currently offers five G-level courses: Biology, Earth Science, Algebra, Geometry and Algebra 2. These are the only G-level courses still offered in the district. They will be phased out over the next four years and replaced with on-grade level courses with robust support systems.
- Information about student options that are based on research and focus on levels instead of tracks.
- There is little research that currently supports offering courses that are below-grade level in general education.
- Current research does support offering a challenging and engaging curriculum paired with robust support systems and highly communicative assessment and feedback loops.
- There is a great deal of research that supports offering honors and accelerated classes (e.g. honors, AP, dual credit). Our district has no plans to eliminate these options for students.
- All of the discussions we have had regarding curriculum alignment, most notably in science and math, have included and confirmed our plan to continue offering AP, honors and dual credit courses.
- Tables featuring possible course sequences in math for students who are currently in seventh grade. The move to the integrated math pathway is scheduled to occur in the fall of 2022.
Future Ready Facilities
The board received information about the history of the project budget for the referendum, as well as an update on where that budget currently stands. This was in response to a request the board made during its meeting on Feb. 23. All of the work being undertaken in conjunction with our Future Ready Facilities plan is currently on time and under budget by $1,560,733.
Committee Reports
Members of the HR Committee provided the board with a report about the working session they held on March 11 during which they reviewed preliminary staffing documents and the preliminary staffing recommendation for the 2021-22 school year.
Members of the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee provided the board with a report about the working session they held on March 11 during which they reviewed and discussed preliminary recommendations on the alignment of grading practices.
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.
Consent Agenda
The board approved the consent agenda as presented. The consent agenda includes personnel, stipends, board bills and meeting minutes. Please visit
http://bit.ly/38tuMez to access the consent agenda items beginning under number nine.
Authorize an Administrator to Undertake an Agreement to be an Independent Contractor
The board voted to give Principal Pokorny Lyp the authority to enter into an independent contract to serve as a mentor for a new principal at Community High School District 99. This authority is being granted in accordance with Principal Pokorny Lyp's employment contract with District 86.
Approve Update to the HAVEN Intergovernmental Agreement
The board voted to approve an update to the template that District 86 uses to enter into intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with other districts regarding enrollment in one of the Hinsdale Area Vision for Emotional Needs (HAVEN) classrooms. More specifically, the template will be changed so that the agreements remain in place until they are revoked instead of requiring that they be executed on an annual basis. The board discussed this topic during its meeting on Feb. 23.
Board President’s Report
Board President Kevin Camden reiterated how proud he is of the district's efforts to get students back in school full time. He also expressed his appreciation for the work that has been done all year to provide access to in-person instruction, while also adhering to the health and safety guidelines established by the county and state.
Organizational Meeting
Per policy 2:210 (Organizational Board of Education Meeting), the board must, during a March meeting in an odd-numbered year, establish a date for its organizational meeting to be held sometime after the election authority canvasses the vote, but within 28 days after the consolidated election. The agenda for this meeting will include:
- The administration of the Oath of Office to candidates elected to the board.
- The seating of new board members.
- Election of officers.
- Affirming or Affixing the date and time of regular meetings.
The board identified and approved May 3 at 5:30 p.m. as the date and time for this year's meeting.
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Tammy Prentiss mentioned that she and the building principals performed walkthroughs in several science classes at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South.
Superintendent Prentiss shared that the district hosted another four days of vaccinations March 3-6. She thanked the district's security staff, the assistant principals for operations, Quest and GSF-USA for their help with these events.
Superintendent Prentiss also thanked the members of R3 for coming together quickly on March 10 to review and discuss the updated guidance from IDPH and ISBE, and for all of the work they have done on the district's return to school plan during the past year.
Preliminary Staffing Recommendation
The administration presented the board with its preliminary staffing recommendation for the 2021-22 school year. The presentation included:
- An overview of the staffing process.
- The framework used to determine how many sections of a course will run, as well as the courses that will not run during a given school year.
- A Recommendation to keep staffing flat for the 2021-22 school year.
- Recommended changes to staffing at the building and district levels.
- Current enrollment and projected enrollment for the 2021-22 school year.
- Staffing levels (current and proposed) and estimated average class sizes by department.
- Classes at Central and South that will be running next year with one section and an enrollment of less than 15 students.
- Classes at Central and South that will be stacked (i.e., single course that contains two different, but similar or complementary curricula) next year with an enrollment of less than 20 students.
- Classes that will only be running at Central or South next year, but will be available to students from both schools.
- Classes that will not run at Central or South next year because not enough students were interested in taking the course.
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
http://bit.ly/3qEn2wz.
