Barry Rodgers, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, District Principals, and facilitators, led a Work Session on Evidence of Progress on Reaching All Learners goals in the District's Strategic Plan. The Work Session focused on the District's approach to meeting the needs of high readiness learners through differentiation and appropriate levels of challenge. The Board and administration discussed how the strategic goals and action steps of the past five years have helped educators meet the needs of all students. The administrative team provided background on how the District implements effective programming for high readiness learners through articulation, assessment, placement and grouping, and examples of classroom practices. 

Regular Meeti ng 

Dawn Livingston, President, welcomed all in attendance and provided a recap of the earlier Work Session. She thanked District teachers for facilitating parent/teacher conferences this month. She noted that the Board would later approve a plan for Redistricting 2020 and will continue to collaborate with the Village and police to:
  • Plan for optimal capacity and utilization at Crow Island, Greeley and Hubbard Woods
  • Efficiently manage District resources while upholding our commitment to equitable education
  • Return Kindergarten to Crow Island in 2020.
She thanked all who have worked in partnership with the District and Board to determine a viable Redistricting solution. 

Trisha Kocanda, Superintendent,  shared highlights from fall in the District. Recent special visitors have included Newbery Award winning author Erin Entrada Kelly at Hubbard Woods; Special Olympian swimmer and UNICEF ambassador, Lucy Meyer, at Greeley; and Representative Robyn Gabel at Washburne as part of the "Principal for a Day" Program, for state legislators to have a glimpse into our schools. Kocanda also noted that October is Bullying Prevention month, and reiterated the District's focus on SEL this year in order to (among many other benefits) help support all students to feel safe and accepted in our schools. In light of Principal Appreciation Week, she thanked the District's Principals, who work tirelessly to support our students, staff, and families. Additionally, she recognized Washburne's Principal Fenton, who recently earned his doctoral degree.

Regarding Redistricting 2020, Dr. Kocanda acknowledged the administration and community for their patience, feedback, and dedication to problem-solving, also extending gratitude to the Crow Island-area Kindergarten families who were impacted due to the short-term solution that was imposed.


Presentations


Barry Rodgers, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning provided an overview of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR, formerly PARCC), MAP, and ISA (Illinois Science Assessments). Dr. Andrew Fenton, Principal at Carleton Washburne School, shared results from the New Trier Township Eighth Grade Preparedness Survey. This data is used in conjunction with other measures to assess student progress and inform decision-making. The spring 2019 IAR participation rate increased to 95.5%. District students are demonstrating strong performance with more students increasing their IAR performance level in Math by 5% and in English Language Arts by 10%. On the MAP assessments, students are performing at an overall average above the 90th percentile nationwide (with grade 8 at the 96th percentile in Reading and 99th percentile in Math nationwide). Mr. Rodgers also provided a preview of the Illinois State Report card (to be released on October 30) with summative designations provided for each school.  The District Improvement Plan focuses on the key academic areas of math and reading, developed through professional collaboration and informed by a comprehensive data review process.  

Informational Memos


This monthly update highlights progress toward the goals in the District's five-year Strategic Plan (2015-2020).  Highlights include: hosting the first Social Emotional Learning Committee meeting with CASEL, Washburne students participating in a Global Read Aloud, and initiating the development of criteria for writing interventions in grades 5-8.  

The School Improvement Plans expand upon the academic goals of reading and math featured in the District Improvement Plan by incorporating other important aspects of child development as well as a focus on school climate and culture.  In alignment with our District strategic emphasis on social-emotional learning, all schools have crafted school improvement goals focusing on the critical area of social-emotional learning.  Moreover, utilizing the theory of action from CASEL (the Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning), initial goals will focus primarily on adult learning and building capacities in the five social-emotional competencies in our staff.  

It was recommended to engage Pepper Construction for summer work that will take place throughout the District in the summer of 2020.  This work will take place primarily at Crow Island Elementary and The Skokie School. Pepper Construction will provide pre-construction work in conjunction with Perkins + Will, the District Architect.  Later in the meeting, the Board approved the contract with Pepper Construction.


After three years of evaluating redistricting scenarios, The Winnetka Public Schools Board approved new attendance boundaries to form a long-term solution to address the enrollment imbalance in the District. Feedback from the Winnetka community as well as input from the Village and Winnetka Police Department was reviewed throughout the Redistricting 2020 process and helped inform the Board's decision.  The revised boundaries shift 314 households from the Crow Island School zone to the Greeley School zone with Linden Ave. as the new border. These new boundaries are effective immediately for students newly registering.  

The School Board also approved a plan to "phase-in" students. Phasing-in allows a subset of students to remain at their current school after new boundary lines go into effect.

The Consent Agenda and the following Action Items were approved:

1. Pepper Construction-Summer 2020 Work
2. Resolution to Adopt Boundary Changes between Crow Island and Greeley Elementary Schools
3. Settlement agreement regarding student 2019-10A 

The Complete Board Packets for the October 22, 2019, School Board Meetings are here.
Upcoming Regular Meeting Dates
November 19, 2019
December 17, 2019
January 28, 2020
February 25, 2020
March 17, 2020
April 21, 2020
May 19, 2020
June 11, 2020

Regular meetings are open to the public and will be held at Greeley School through June 2020. Regular meetings begin at 7:15 p.m. Work sessions are also open to the public and may be scheduled at the discretion of the Board. Discussion topics and times for work sessions will be posted on the District website 24 hours in advance.
The Winnetka Public Schools community empowers every student to flourish in an innovative, experiential environment. We support and challenge all learners to actively engage in continual growth and achievement to make a meaningful difference in the world.  
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