Community Consolidated Elementary Dist. 181 Board
Among other business Monday, board members:
• voted 6-0 to approve advanced and accelerated math criteria, ELA/ACE criteria and the math trajectory to guide placement decisions in grades three to eight for fall 2020.
Parents soon will be able to review slides with a voiceover explanation detailing the criteria for each grade and level, said Kathy Robinson, assistant superintendent of learning.
The district is adding more bridge classes to make sure students who are moving into accelerated levels have learned all the required standards for previous grade levels.
Administrators also are working on an appeals process for parents who believe their child has been placed inappropriately.
• approved the 2020-21 school calendar, which has the first student attendance day on Aug. 24. Winter break is set for Dec. 21-Jan. 1 and spring break is March 29 to April 2, with the final day of school tentatively set for June 2. The calendar is included in BoardDocs for the Jan. 13 meeting.
• agreed to spend $7,150 a year for GoGuardian, a one-to-one classroom management tool that will allow teachers to limit students’ activities on their Chromebooks while they are in class
• approved the purchase of CLEAR residency verification software, which will cost about $10,000 a year. The software will be used to verify the residency of new students and for an annual “batch verification” of current students.
• agreed to place 33 policies on public display. One policy is new, three have substantive changes and the rest have minor revisions. The policies will be brought back to the board for a second read and approval at a later date.
• approved a new waste and recycling agreement with Advanced Disposal Services Solid Midwest, the district’s current provider. The new agreement saves the district an average of 32 percent a year for a combined savings of about $68,500 over the three years.
• accepted gifts and contributions, including about $14,000 from the Casten Foundation for the Leap School teacher exchange program, $5,000 to $6,000 worth of workout equipment for Clarendon Hills Middle School from that school’s PTO and $2,000 for entrance rugs and scraper mats for Oak School from the PTO.
• listened to a presentation from Dana Bergthold, executive director of special education, and staff about Program Success and Foundations.
“I’ve had a chance to be in your classroom and you’re doing amazing work there,” Superintendent Hector Garcia said of the Foundations class.
