At her second meeting as the senior student representative to the Board of Education, Senior Jaila Parrish brought forward challenges she has heard from classmates about some families needing assistance in paying for Advanced Placement exams. Dr. Wakeley shared that a system was put into place this year to help families who cannot afford AP exam fees. The information was included in the AP exam letter that was sent to families. Responding to the feedback brought forward, he shared that it is evident that additional communication is needed to assure families and students are aware of the system. Both Jaila and Junior representative Gabe McKinney shared insights about how best to assure students are aware of the assistance program including the importance of direct communication from teachers who students interact with and listen to most.
Superintendent Dr. Scott Wakeley expressed appreciation to the Board for Board Member Appreciation Day. As elected volunteers who serve the school district, board members' efforts often go unrecognized. He expressed appreciation for the Board for its unwavering support of our students, teachers, staff and administration.
Board Member Pam Jackson is the Board's delegate for the Tri-Conference this weekend where she will vote on five resolutions being brought before the Illinois Association of School Boards. The resolutions focus on these areas: Prohibited construction of industrial facilities around schools, school resource officer funding for all schools, bus driver regulations to return licensing and training requirements to pre-pandemic standards, and use the Illinois DCFS system to meet the employment history review requirements of Faith's Law and Funding for regional alternative safe schools.
Principal Dr. Clinton Alexander echoed the sentiments of appreciation to the Board. He also shared school highlights including Dad Squad was bigger and better than last year and thanked all who made it a success. He extended kudos to faculty and staff who are building strong socio-cultural connections. He thanked school psychologists as last week was National Psychologist Week. And he lauded student achievement for the first quarter including Freshmen on Track rate being very high and the passing rate being equally as high as its been in the past 14 years.
School Business Official Dr. Lawrence Cook shared appreciation to the Board including taking a chance on him when they first hired him as a Business Manager and the continued support over the years. Since the pandemic and economic changes in 2020, its been a challenging time for school business offices and he appreciates their support.
Director of Communications and Engagement Carla Erdey echoed appreciation for the Board and shared that we continue to provide updates regarding the strategic planning process through a dedicated eNewsletter, video recaps, a webpage and social media posts. The Chronicle featured an article on the SWOT analysis the committee completed regarding the community surveys and focus groups as well as the Equimetrics staff survey. There also was a column provided by HF Junior Ahmad Powell who is a strategic planning committee member in this week's Chronicle. He closed his article with a profound statement, "The future of education, I believe, is unlimited and is only shackled to the bonds that we place on ourselves."
Director of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Jen Hester thanked the Board for its commitment. She shared that the questions posed by the Planning Committee at its meeting this week help us be better. The Institute Day October 27 continued the district's equity work with how to support our LGBTQ+ community. The New Educator meeting earlier this week was a great study of culturally responsive practices. In two weeks, the Teaching and Learning Council will continue its work on assessment literacy and evidence of learning. It will also take a data dive into the school report card.
