HINSDALE TOWNSHIP
High School District 86
Board Briefs Logo
April 22, 2021
Regular Action Meeting
Good News
Principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp from Hinsdale South introduced student liaison Carson Kotecki, who provided the board with the following information and updates from his report.

  • South's math team took second place at regionals and 18th place at state.

  • Juniors were able to take the SAT in person and at the same time on April 13.

  • The District 86 Culture and Equity Leadership Team created a video about the district's equity statement that features students, staff members and parents/guardians reading the statement and sharing insights about who they are, how they want to be seen and what they hope to accomplish.

  • The varsity football team capped off homecoming week by defeating rival Downers Grove South to retain the traveling cannon trophy for the fourth consecutive year. This is the first time in school history that Hinsdale South has beaten Downers Grove South four years in a row.

  • University of Chicago award-winning psychologist Nicholas Epley, who wrote the book “Mindwise," was the featured presenter for the Community Speaker Series webinar on April 20. During the event, Epley took attendees on an exploration of one of the great mysteries of the human mind: How good are we at knowing the minds of others? 

  • Superintendent Tammy Prentiss earned an Award of Merit in the Administrator category as part of the 2021 Distinguished Service Awards Program. The award, which is sponsored by the Illinois Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (INSPRA), recognizes those who make a difference in their school communities by helping to promote public education and enhance its programs and services.

You can access Kotecki's report by visiting https://bit.ly/32Knhgp.

Principal Bill Walsh shared that Hinsdale Central senior Faith Drescher, who is a member of the Illinois State Board of Education's Student Advisory Council (SAC), served on a panel during the state's second annual School Wellness Conference. He also thanked Drescher for representing the district well during her time on SAC.

After recognizing Drescher, Principal Walsh introduced Heather Raslan, who thanked the board for the opportunity to serve as Central's student liaison for the past year. She also provided the board with the following information and updates from her report.

  • There have been a number of events and activities at Central following spring break, including a spirit week held April 12-16 that featured a Pajama Day, bingo and the traditional senior tailgate.

  • Several of Central's sports teams are enjoying strong finishes to their seasons. The football team beat Glenbard West on April 16, with the poms and cheerleading teams performing for the last time. The varsity soccer team concluded its season with an 8-0 victory against Proviso West. The girls volleyball team has been dominant, and is looking to wrap up an undefeated season. The boys gymnastics team had its first win in three years against Glenbard West. 

  • The National Honor Society put together a cheer drive that involved writing letters to frontline workers and nursing home staff to thank them for their hard work during the pandemic.

  • Central's virtual spring musical, which is titled “The Theory of Relativity,” will be available to watch from April 30 to May 2.

  • The Red Devil Gala, which is the prom-like event Central is organizing for the senior class, will be held on Dickinson Field on May 1.

  • The Gender Sexuality Alliance will advocate for and take part in the Day of Silence on April 23. Per the GLSEN Day of Silence website, this event involves taking “a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools.”

Raslan also shared feedback about the return to school plan and contact tracing process. You can access her report by visiting https://bit.ly/3v75wUv.

Return to School Update
The administration provided the board with an update on the district’s return to school plan. Below is the information that was added or revised following the update on April 8 (https://bit.ly/39VYg5C).

  • COVID-19 data for the district and the communities we serve. As of April 16, there were 18 confirmed positive cases in the district, 32 people in isolation and 155 people in quarantine. There have also been a total of 368 positive cases in the district since the start of the 2020-21 school year.

  • The number and percentage of students who are currently in person or learning from home.
  1. In person - 1,852 students at Hinsdale Central (72% of the school's total enrollment) and 907 at Hinsdale South (67% of the school's total enrollment).
  2. Remote/learning from home - 725 students at Hinsdale Central (28% of the school's total enrollment) and 438 at Hinsdale South (33% of the school's total enrollment).

  • Vaccination events for students.
  1. People who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic do not need to quarantine if they are a close contact to someone who tests positive for COVID-19.
  2. The district secured 6,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for students in districts 86 and 99 through its partnership with Osco.
  3. Administering 3,000 doses at Hinsdale Central on May 20 and another 3,000 at Downers Grove South on May 26.
  4. Partnering with other local high school districts to vaccinate students/ensure that all of the doses get used.
  5. Will continue to monitor FDA guidance in hopes of hosting additional vaccination clinics in late summer or fall.

  • Assessments and grading.
  1. Pandemic-related grade options for second semester are the same as first semester: Earned grade (A-F), Incomplete (IC) or No Grade (NG).
  2. Administration of the SAT to juniors on April 13 went well.
  3. ISBE has moved the PSAT (PSAT 9 tentatively scheduled for Oct. 7; PSAT 10/NMSQT tentatively scheduled for Oct. 13), Illinois Science Assessment (tentatively scheduled for Oct. 7) and ACCESS (ongoing starting in August) to the fall.
  4. All in-person AP exams will be administered at Hinsdale South. All AP students have received the College Board app on their Chromebook that provides access to digital exams and practice materials.
  5. U.S. News & World Report rankings will be released the week of April 27. Results will be based on data from 2018-19 school year (always a two-year delay). Factors used to determine the rankings include: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, math and reading proficiency, math and reading performance, underserved student performance and graduation rate.

  • Graduation and quarantining.
  1. Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South will be hosting in-person graduation ceremonies in their stadiums on Monday, May 17 (rain date on May 18). South's ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. and Central's will take place at 7:30 p.m.
  2. Students will be seated 6 feet apart.
  3. Seniors will be finished with their year following graduation. They do not need to come to school on the days following the ceremony.
  4. An accommodation plan will be created to allow any student who is quarantined to attend their graduation ceremony in person.
  5. Students who are in isolation (i.e., they have received a positive or probable COVID-19 diagnosis) will not be allowed to attend their ceremony in person, but will be able to view it via livestream and have their name read out loud.

  • Next steps
  1. Continue to monitor guidance from DCHD, IDPH and ISBE.
  2. Continue to advocate for a review of the IDPH guidance based on school data.
  3. Disseminate information and manage logistics for the student vaccination events on May 20 and 26.
  4. Continue to provide updates on learning recovery plans.
  5. Calendar for the 2021-22 school year (board approval scheduled to take place in May).
  6. R3 Committee meetings.

You can access the update by visiting https://bit.ly/2PhyhyD.

Community Engagement
Board member Erik Held briefly discussed the community engagement plan that is being created with help from members of the administration. The goals of this plan include:

  • Educating and informing people about the board's role and responsibilities in the day-to-day operation of the district.

  • Identifying opportunities for the board to engage in two-way communication with members of the community.

  • Providing increased access to the board, which would support its ongoing efforts to promote transparency about its work.

  • Strengthening the board's relationships with stakeholders.

The board is scheduled to review and discuss the draft plan during its meeting on June 23.

Future Ready Facilities
The board did the following in conjunction with the work being done to advance the district's Future Ready Facilities plan.


  • Discussed the renovation of the existing pool space at Hinsdale Central. The proposed plan, which the Finance Committee talked about during its meeting on April 14, includes filling in the pool vessel, creating two accessible entrances, replacing the HVAC, and adding flooring that would result in the creation of a flexible space that could be used for lunch, testing or physical education next school year. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $870,146, with a targeted completion date of October 2021. The board decided to table further discussions about this project until after the new members are seated in May.

  • Awarded Bid 21-038 (Abatement Referendum Work Summer 2021) to Tecnica Environmental Services, Inc. in the amount of $244,000 and to Luse Environmental Services in the amount of $85,500. Tecnica will perform the asbestos abatement work at Hinsdale Central and Luse will perform it at Hinsdale South.


Committee Reports
Members of the HR Committee provided the board with a report from their meeting on April 6. During this meeting, the committee:

  • Received a report about post spring break staffing from Mary Dudek, who is the interim director of human resources.

  • Met in closed session to review contract and salary recommendations. 

Members of the Finance Committee provided the board with a report from their meeting on April 14. During this meeting, the committee:


  • Discussed funding options for two new renovation projects. The first project involves filling in the old pool at Hinsdale Central and converting it into a flexible space for the fall. This project is referenced above in the section about Future Ready Facilities. The second project involves replacing the boilers at Central and converting them from steam to hot water. The discussion about this project will continue during the Facilities Committee meeting in May. 


Members of the Closed Session Minutes Review Committee provided the board with a report from their meeting on April 22. During this meeting, the committee conducted its semi-annual review of closed session minutes from board and committee meetings through April 21, 2021, that have not been released for public inspection. The committee determined that the minutes from these meetings should remain confidential.

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 https://bit.ly/3ei0vl2 to access the consent agenda items beginning under number seven.

Board President’s Report
Board President Kevin Camden thanked the district's students, staff, administrators and parents/guardians for their support during his time on the board. He complimented the district again on its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said that the district has a bright future because of all the people in the community who are committed to making a difference.

Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Tammy Prentiss shared that she recently conducted walkthroughs in music and physical education classes at Hinsdale Central.

Superintendent Prentiss referenced the student vaccination events on May 20 and 26 that she talked about during the update regarding the district's return to school plan.

Superintendent Prentiss shared that she is looking forward to the Culture and Equity Leadership meeting on April 28 and Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee meeting on April 29.

Superintendent Prentiss also talked about the Autism Awareness buttons created by Button Up, which is a microbusiness run by students from the Transition Center.

Treasury and Financial Reports
Per its regular cadence of reporting, the administration provided the board with the financial and treasury reports for March 2021. You can access the financial reports by visiting https://bit.ly/3xswLei and the treasury report by visiting https://bit.ly/3vd3F0t.

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.

You can access additional information about this agenda item by visiting https://bit.ly/3xi50VC.

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/3vdLXtS.

The meeting adjourned at 7;45 p.m. You can access the video of the meeting by visiting https://d86.hinsdale86.org/Page/556.
Future Board Meetings
Monday, May 3, 2021 at 5:30 p.m.
Board Reorganization Meeting
Hinsdale South Library

Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 6 p.m.
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Hinsdale South Library

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 6 p.m. 
Regular Action Meeting
Hinsdale South Library