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The District 64 Board of Education held a regular meeting on Thursday, December 21st, in the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center. One of the important items is that the District committed to fully staffing School Psychologists in each building to support mental health, safety and special education.
You can view the meeting video here.
Spotlight on Field Elementary School
Field Principal Dr. Courtney Goodman and Assistant Principal Christa Donnelly presented to the Board how their school is Learning to Grow Together! That mantra was highlighted academically, social-emotionally and how they’re building a community. Dr. Goodman and Mrs. Donnelly broke down how they’re looking at different math and reading data points to improve student growth.
One of the many exciting things going on in the building has been the implementation of Phoenix Nests, which provides the opportunity to connect as a whole school. Once a month, the Nests gather and are filled with students from each grade paired up into a group. These students stay together with a staff member and their group for the duration of their time at Field.
“They’re connecting with a staff member who they may not have ever connected with, or it’s someone that they haven’t met yet because they’re a younger student. Our hope is that students will begin to see one another in different spaces and places and know who they are,” said Dr. Goodman. “The most important part is having those strong relationships with others.”
Spotlight on Field Elementary School Presentation
Adoption of Final 2023 Tax Levy Resolution #1326, Resolution #1327 Instructing the County Clerk How to Apportion 2023 Tax Levy Extension Reductions, Resolution #1328 Authorizing Tax for Illinois Municipal Retirement Purposes
Motions Approved
Superintendent Update
Dr. Ben Collins and the rest of the District Administration team updated the Board on the progress that has been made on the Strategic Plan. “I want to commend everybody here for the hard work that they’ve done,” said Dr. Collins. “When you look at the totality of all the work happening in the school district, it’s really tremendous. Everyone is doing a really great job.”
Dr. Collins also gave the Board an update on his goals for this school year and what he’s been specifically working on.
Discussion & Approval of Student Fees & Kindergarten Tuition for 2024-2025
Motion Approved
Discussion and Approval of School Year 2024-25 Additional Staffing Requests
Motion Approved
District and building administrators have been working together and looking at staffing needs and plans for the future. The Board approved the addition of 4.5 staff positions that will add immediate value to District 64. This includes adding 2.5 school psychologists for next year, an additional member to the District Technology Department, and an additional administrator in the Student Learning Department.
View the additional staffing information and comparable data to other districts.
Summer Interim Session 2024 Report, Presentation & Approval of Summer Interim
Session 2024
Motion Approved
Worlds of Wonder will offer two 12-day sessions, this summer taking place at Washington (K-3rd grade) and Lincoln (4th-7th grade).
- Session 1: Wednesday, June 12 - Friday, June 28, 2024 (No School on Monday, June 19)
- Session 2: Monday, July 1 - Friday, July 19 (No School Wednesday, July 3 - Thursday, July 4 - Friday, July 5)
- Registration will open at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, February 20th, 2024.
Approval of the K-1 Social Science Curriculum
Motion Approved
The Board approved the adoption of InquirED Inquiry Journeys for Grades K-1. This resource is aligned with the Illinois Learning Standards and includes units of instruction at each grade level in history, civics, economics/financial literacy, and geography.
The total cost for this resource adoption for Grades K-1 is $70,566.93. This includes a five-year online teacher resource subscription, classroom sets of text read-alouds, professional development, online teacher subscriptions for the life of the implementation, and annual shipping for all materials.
K-1 Social Studies Curriculum Presentation
The K-5 Social Studies Review Committee was launched in Fall 2019 and paused due to the pandemic and scheduled curricular work in the area of K-5 math. Committee work continued in the Spring of 2022 and Grades 2-5 proposed an adoption of TCI Social Studies Alive!, which was approved in May 2023. The curriculum review continued through this past school year for Grades K-1. Dina Pappas, D64’s K-8 Social Studies Curriculum Specialist, co-facilitated this initiative, and committee members include:
Christina Carfagnini, Julie Chalberg, Haley Crawford, Theresa Heffelfinger, Emilee Hoffman, Victoria Kator, Meghan Keefer, Katie Kriesel, Kitty McGrath, Caroline Meredith, Dina Pappas, Laura Rousakis, Robyn Schmit, Erika Tanaka.
Approval of 2024-25 School Year Calendar
Motion Approved
You can find the calendar for the 2024-2025 school year on our website.
School begins for students on Wednesday, August 14th, 2024. The start date was moved up one week to align with Maine Township High School District 207’s start date. Winter and Spring Breaks also align with D207, as has been done in the past.
Approval of Recommended Personnel Report
Motion Approved
Consent Agenda
Motion Approved
Approval of Minutes
Motion Approved
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