May 2011 LEADER.indd
Transcription
May 2011 LEADER.indd
Vol. 6, Issue 9 | May 2011 Students star in new Jill Jayne video Bully prevention update p6 Tutoring program earns national honors p 10 Master the art of excellence: June 6 back page This month’s showcased schools Eastview Elementary | Neubert Elementary p9 2 3 Our goals: serve students, cut spending, save jobs Superintendent Elect Mr. Michael Bregy During the March 22-23 Board meetings, I observed some misinformation among well intended staff and community members about the school district’s current situation. To help put the situation into context and clarify the facts, I recorded a message, which I hope provides some encouragement to all those concerned. Below you will find the text to this April 7, 2011, message. It includes comments from several School Board members. You can also listen to it on the D300 website at www.d300.org/audio/25050. Thank you. “ CUSD300 is on Twitter & Facebook As we all know, right now our district is going through a challenging time, both emotionally and financially. It is especially emotional if you are one of the teachers who was recently notified that your job status is not guaranteed for this fall, or you are one of the students, colleagues, or supporters. I certainly count myself among those supporters. So I wanted to say a few words of encouragement and reassurance, and also to clarify a couple of factual issues. First and foremost, please resist the tendency to frame our current challenges as “us” vs. “them.” This is both destructive and misleading. I can assure you that none of us wants to lay-off teachers. Whether you are a District 300 student, parent, teacher, administrator, For more information about D300 or this newsletter, or Board member, we all care very deeply about our call (847) 551-8344 students. The entire District 300 community is in or write to: this situation together. We must not let the nation’s School District 300 economic recession and the political challenges in Communication Services Illinois make us turn on each other here in our own back 300 Cleveland Avenue yards. Almost every day, there are headlines across our Carpentersville IL 60110. area and throughout the United States about public sector organizations being forced to lay-off staff when the state fails to pay and the organizations can’t find alternative ways to balance their local budgets. Whether you live in Illinois or Texas or anywhere in between, funding is short, and taxpayers are looking to us to be responsible and creative. So let’s not lose sight that our challenges are part of a national trend. Those who spend their energy pointing fingers at the teachers unions or school boards or administration are missing the opportunity to become part of the solution. Let’s talk about that solution. During the recent Board meetings, I was very impressed by the large turn-out. I was especially impressed by the students who were standing up for the importance of education. At the same time, I found myself thinking that if everyone in the room would lobby the state for education funding reform, maybe we could finally create the momentum needed for real change in this state. If we each turn our focus to the real decisionmakers here, meaning our elected state leaders, maybe then we could finally get their attention. There is power in numbers. We must pull together to find creative solutions with our state leaders. School Board Member Anne Miller is the chair of the Board’s Policy & Legislation Committee, and on March 23rd she spoke about the issue. So let’s take another listen to Mrs. Miller’s comments: “In (the Board) Policy and Legislation Committee, we’re starting to develop this more in the legislation part. We sit here and we cry poor to the state. We listen to Dr. Crates and her money, and her presentation. I don’t know where the money is going to come from for us to keep saying, “State, give us money, give us money.” But there may be ways that we can work with our state legislators. Instead of saying, “give us money, give us money,” that we can work on maybe waivers, changes in state statutes, other modifications, ways that we can make and adapt to help our programto do what we need it to do within the financial constraints that we have.” I’m asking that everyone listening please invest 10 minutes to educate yourself on the facts. It’s very important to understand the financial constraints that Mrs. Miller mentioned. A recording of the March 23rd Board meeting is on the Board of Education webpage at d300. org. Starting just after the 3 minute mark through the 14 minute mark, our Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Crates, does a great job of summarizing the facts. Please listen for yourself. The first four minutes of her comments talk about the state-level situation, including a brief explanation of the impact of the state income tax increase on District 300. The next 7 minutes summarize our district-level situation. Later at this meeting, Board Member Dave Alessio added his thoughts: “I am glad to see that people are taking an interest in starting to learn what’s going on. You may have seen the headlines in the newspaper. This situation is much more complicated, much more precarious than you may have imagined. Dr. Crates gave a very abbreviated presentation tonight. If you want, she can spend hours explaining every detail, I know. She will provide all the information you could ask for on the extent of this situation, and how we got here, and possible ways to survive this situation. As Mrs. Kopacz said, this situation won’t disappear. We will continue to deal with budget problems for the foreseeable future. And as one of the students mentioned, it does definitely feel like a sinking ship. But we all are in it together. So I need to emphasize that we have to work together. And I know there are many people with good intentions who realize we must find some cost savings, we must find it now, and we need to start working together. I also believe that there will be major changes in the district moving forward. There will be restructuring of some of the programs, as we evaluate pretty much every program within the district.” Mr. Alessio mentioned restructuring of programs. When the Board directed Administration to develop a plan for saving another $5 million from the budget for next school year, on top of the numerous cuts we’ve already made, the idea was to provide some flexibility as we move forward. I want to reiterate that if we are successful in collaborating to find cost savings in other areas, we will not reorganize our programs this fall. In the meantime, we will research and present a variety of options to the Board over the next couple of months to potentially reorganize our middle schools and high schools. These presentations will be open to the public. The dates and times will be posted to our Public Meetings Leadership Message (continued next page) 4 5 Calendar webpage when they are set, and you are welcome to attend. I understand that many of you want to know how the reorganization will look. Please understand Sub-Head thatTeaser no decisions have been made. It is impossible to say how many teachers will be called back and in what subject areas. At the middle school level, reorganization options do not necessarily mean elimination of exploratory programs, year-round Spanish, or the AVID program. At the high school level, reorganization options do not necessarily mean elimination of elective programs or the AP program. I have always been proud of our district’s exceptionally robust and comprehensive programming, which far exceeds most districts in the region. Headline However, you may not be aware that it’s been many years since we conducted a study of our secondary structure. So the decision to examine secondary programming was not only driven by the budget. It was also driven by the need to determine whether our secondary structure is the best fit for our students in preparing them for the current expectations of universities and employers. Within our limited financial means, we are committed to keeping our students competitive and properly preparing them for life after high school. Another part of our commitment to students was to ensure that our administrative and support-staff resources were strategically focused to support our core mission of teaching and learning. This school year, secretaries, custodians, and administrators took a wage cut of 4 to 4.5%. To clarify, most administrators work 12 months a year, including winter, spring and summer breaks. This school year, the fact is there are fewer administrators than there were last year. I recently decided to eliminate more administrator positions in 2011-2012, including some deans, assistant principals, Leadership Message (continued) Section Title and Central Office jobs. Like our teachers and other staff members, their contributions are important to our schools. The work of administrators and support staff is relatively thankless and often goes unnoticed until there is no one there to do the job. But in the era of lay-offs, I knew it was important to take a hard look at all jobs. By cutting some administrator positions, that would allow me to shift resources from the discipline aspect of our administration into teaching and learning. I’ve spent over 200 hours in all of our schools this year. To spend so much time in classrooms at all grade levels, and to actually see so little direct support of curriculum and instruction from the Central Office, showed me that we needed to reprioritize our administrative staffing – and we have. As we continue considering all areas of staffing and programs, I want to ask everyone to keep in mind the expectations of our community. At the beginning of this school year, Dr. Arndt and I put out a video that encouraged staff members to remember our many friends and neighbors who are out of work. We asked everyone to stay sensitive to the current economic reality in our community, our state and our nation. At one of the recent Board meetings, Board Vice President Karen Roeckner talked about that reality with students and other members of the audience: “When you look at today’s time, I think you need to look: how many of your parents have lost their job? How many of your parents maybe took a cut? How many of your parents said, “Well, I have to take mandatory days off without pay”? How many of your parents have come to you and said, “Well, you know, I have more projects to do because they let go of a thousand people in my job, and I now have to do more work with less pay, with days off, and it now costs more for insurance”? And I think you have to be realistic as to what the board is asking. … We do have to come together and work as a team to make this work. We are asking the union for concessions. And in my job, I wasn’t asked for concessions. I was just told I would take my 10 days off without Teaser Sub-Head pay, and I would pay more for insurance, and I would do more work with less staff. That’s just the way it was. So did I like that? No, I didn’t like it, but that’s the way it was. So I think everybody does have to realize in this economy, would we want to go taxpayers and ask them to pass a referendum? We would be laughed out of our communities to ask them to help and assist and pay for anything at this point that we really can’t afford. So when you look at your own budget, and students when you look at your own budget, and you go shopping and you have $50 in your wallet and you can only spend $50, that’s what we have. And so this Board, who’s been looking at this budget for over the past year, we know we have this deficit. … Do I want to cut staff? Absolutely not. … So we want everybody to come together. We want everybody to think about what we need to make this work. We do need concessions from our union. We do need to work together. And I don’t think the Board has ever, ever said that we are not willing to work with our unions. … And please do get out there and contact our legislators. Register to vote, those of you who are 18 and older. And help us get to our state to get the money they owe us. Thank you.“ In closing, please be assured that the School Board and Administration will continue to dialogue with union leadership. Headline We are trusting that together we will develop an agreement in the near future that serves students, cuts spending, and saves jobs. Even in a “worst case scenario,” we anticipate being able to call back at least 50-60% of the teachers who have been released, and possibly many more if we achieve our budgetary goals in other areas. In the meantime, please follow up with state leaders as often as possible. Their contact information is on the district website. Specifically, encourage our Governor and state legislators to find a way to pay District 300 what we are owed in a timely manner. Also, advocate that they consider the issue of unfunded mandates—which are services that the state requires school districts to provide but which the state does not pay for. Just like many other districts in the state, we in District 300 are facing the short-term issue of our budget for 2011-2012 while also facing the long-term issue of equitable and reliable state funding for education. The bigger picture must be addressed. Our long-term issues are not going away anytime soon. I want to thank each of you for your support, your patience, and your willingness to work together. I will leave you with a few final comments from Board President Joe Stevens at our most recent board meeting: “It’s been said before, and I’d like to say it again: This crisis is not of this district’s doing. The tax referendum that was passed in 2006 by a very generous community bore great fruit. I believe we honored all the promises of that, to the best of our ability. The cash ran out, and that was predicted to have happened in 2011, as I remember. So we were accurate not only in what we did, but also in our predictions. Regardless of how the tone or the temperament felt here tonight, I will tell you that I thought last night Mrs. Miller was particularly eloquent, although she always is eloquent. I felt the tone and temperament in the room visibly change. I had many teachers, many of which are on their bargaining unit, come up to me and say, “We’re ready to talk.” And I want to say that we are also ready to talk. I agree with Mrs. Miller, set aside all of the things that have been said. I know that we are hopeful that in the very, very near future we will be able to have a conversation. And I am actually very optimistic that we will have a fruitful conversation and it won’t take all that long. However, we are bound by state law which constrains us. We have no choice but to make decisions now, based upon state law, that we hopefully will reverse in a matter of week or two. If we don’t do that, we have no options.” Section Title 6 7 Bullying Prevention Update: Headline Teaser Sub-Head Break the Silence! District 300 leaders believe that the mission of our schools is to help students reach their full potential as selfdirected learners and responsible citizens. A safe and orderly school environment is crucial to this process. Bullying disrupts this ideal school environment. Bullying creates a climate of fear and hostility, disrupts the educational setting, inhibits the ability to learn, adversely affects student participation in educational programs and activities, creates a negative effect on the school’s social experience, and leads to anti-social behavior. With that in mind, D300 has taken a strong stance against bullying in our schools. Any and all forms of bullying by students are prohibited. There is no tolerance for retaliation against those who stand up against bullying or make a report about it. D300 leaders have directed and trained school staff to investigate, identify and stop bullying behavior with appropriate discipline and interventions. D300 Safety Director Gary Chester is asking parents to work closely with the district in taking a community stand against all forms of bullying—at home, school and throughout our students’ lives. Everyone must work together to break the silence. “Parents can appreciate that the district takes this behavior seriously and that, as a school district, we are proactive in working to prevent bullying as much as reasonably possible,” Chester said. Bully Prevention Committee Almost a year ago, at the direction of Superintendent Ken Arndt and the School Board Discipline Committee, the district embarked on an initiative to study our response to bully behavior that occurs in our schools. A Bully Prevention Committee was established to review how we as a district respond to this problem, and whether our response needed changes or improvements to ensure a response that was both consistent and comprehensive. The D300 Bully Prevention Committee represents a broad spectrum of people and expertise. Under Mr. Chester’s direction as a former police and fire chief, D300 parents and administrators from all grade levels joined with our special education personnel, curriculum experts, psychologists, social workers, counselors, technicians, and safety and transportation officials. Their mix of passion, perspective and experience brought a true sense of value and legitimacy to this important discussion. Feature Section article: Title Bully Prevention Update The committee determined that the district must establish a consistent response to bully behavior, and that the response must be uniformly followed in all D300 schools. The process was designed not simply to “punish” bully behavior, but more importantly to highlight and promote positive behavior in order to change the foundation of the school’s social climate. Dual Approach: Prevention & Intervention The committee also decided that the district should take a “dual approach” to the issue, which would involve all of our schools in both the prevention of bullying and how to address it when/if it occurs. This dual combination of prevention and intervention is the basis for a district-wide campaign to raise everyone’s awareness of the issue. The campaign is especially focused on educating staff and students to get in front of the issue before it becomes a major problem. The campaign encourages all students, staff members, and parents to pledge their personal support of bully prevention efforts in D300 schools. They are also asked to pledge that they will report and intervene against bully behavior wherever and whenever it is occurring – not only at school! Each school will also continue to rely on its current character-building programs, especially the D300 Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS) approach to fostering a positive school climate that is based on mutual respect. To assist school administrators with this goal, a “Bully Prevention Response: Flow Chart” was developed. This provides our school leaders with a road map to guide them in a consistent response to bullying and bully prevention. The intervention phase focuses on what to do when staff members become aware of bullying behavior, including how they should address both the aggressor (bully) and the target (victim). The district has developed a “Bully Prevention Template” for elementary, middle and high school interventions. This template acts as an age-appropriate guide, and it establishes a “contract” between the bully and the school administrators to set clear boundaries for future behavior. Each step in the template contains age-appropriate specific interventions that become more intense if the behavior continues. It is expected that most bully behavior will stop after the first step. Additional steps are invoked with increased seriousness. The interventions reflect punishment for the behavior, as well as efforts to modify the aggressor’s behavior. Interventions in the step process range from a written disciplinary record, parent involvement, suspension (both in-school and out-of-school), mediation, police involvement, referral to the D300 Peer Jury, and mandated sessions with emotional professionals of the school system. If needed, the bully’s case would eventually be brought to the district’s long-standing “Discipline Review Committee” (DRC), and the committee would consider whether to recommend that the bully be expelled. Report & Research Bullying @ d300.org The district has established a bully prevention webpage which contains resources for students, parents and staff to explore: www.d300.org/Parents/ Bullying%20Prevention. It also includes the related documents used by the district, including the “bullying contract” and defined consequences and steps. It is still the best practice to report bullying directly and immediately to a school staff member. But to help break down the reluctance of victims and witnesses to report bullying behavior, the D300 website now allows for reporting anytime by any student, parent, or witness. To access our online “bully report” form, please visit www.d300.org/form/20756. This form can be submitted anonymously online, or the person filing the report can identify him/herself. When the form is submitted, it goes directly to Mr. Chester, who will discuss the report with the related personnel. Feature article: Bully Prevention Update 8 9 Briefs & Bits D300 health quest continues STUDENTS STAR IN NEW VIDEO, MORE SCHOOLS JOIN CHALLENGE SPECIAL EDUCATION TRACK & FIELD MEET (K-8) D300 elementary and middle school students who have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and their families are invited to participate in the 1st Annual D300 Special Education Track & Field Meet. It will be held on Saturday, May 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Jacobs High School in Algonquin. The event will be held on the outdoor track or, in case of bad weather, the school field house. Track and field events will include: 50 yard dash, 100m dash, 400m dash, 400m relay, standing long jump, softball throw, and high jump. Participants will be grouped by age/ ability. The grade-level activities will be: • Grades K-2: 1 p.m. • Grades 3-5: 2 p.m. • Grades 6-8: 3 p.m. For further information please contact Julie. Belin@d300.org or Thomas.Parisi@d300.org. CAMBRIDGE LAKES CAMP The Cambridge Lakes Learning Center will host School’s Out© Summer Fun this summer for all students entering grades 1-9. This program provides a fun and active way to experience art, science, language arts, social studies, fitness and technology. The theme of this year’s camp is “It’s a Wide, Wide World” to emphasize exploration of various cultures, nations, and regions. All Summer Fun classes are taught by certified Cambridge Lakes teachers. The camp runs 5 days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is scheduled in 2-week sessions, with a base price of $295 per session. The first session begins Monday, June 20, 2011. Discounts are available for early registration. Contact: BarnabasPiper@Schools-OutFun.com, or phone 847.464.4500. Briefs & Bits SUMMER SERVICE High school students and 2011 graduates: Looking for adventure this summer? How about mixing travel with community service and leadership? At a recent D300 Board meeting, Jacobs High School graduate Caitlin Plaza joined with Jeremy Zaucha (pictured) to spread the word about a program called “Students Today, Leaders Forever” (STLF). Their presentation is online at www.d300.org/document/25144. The STLF mission is to reveal leadership through service, relationships, and action. So far, more than 11,400 young adults have participated in 290 STLF service trips and performed over 147,000 hours of community service. Here are some upcoming opportunities: • Community service road trip through 5 Midwestern cities, including two college visits, June 2226, 2011. Cost: $275. • High School Leadership Camp at Univ. of Wisconsin-Parkside (Kenosha, Wis.) from June 26 to July 1, 2011. Cost: $350. • “Gap Camp” for 2011 graduates at UW-Parkside from June 26 to July 1, 2011. Cost: $150. For more information, visit www. stlf.net or email Caitlin Plaza at caitlin@stlf.net. This month, the Illinois State Board of Education will present D300 with the 2011 Robin A. Orr Community Partnership Award on behalf of the Interagency Nutrition Council (INC). The INC is made up of state agencies and community organizations who work collaboratively to promote wellness. D300 epitomizes this mission through its ongoing commitment to increase nutrition education, structured exercise, and nutritional lunch menus. The district also wants to raise awareness among parents about their crucial role in fostering life-long healthy habits in their kids. In related good news, the rest of D300’s elementary schools have now joined Golfview Elementary in the Healthier US School Challenge (“the Challenge”)! This is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture endorsed by First Lady Obama’s LET’S MOVE! campaign to fight childhood obesity. Staff and students were motivated by this winter’s popular YouTube music video “Going Gold” from rockstar nutritionist Jill Jayne about Golfview’s national Gold with Distinction award in the Challenge, along with Jill’s February 2011 concert tour of all D300 elementary schools. The D300 community looks forward to learning the results of all of our schools’ Challenge applications. D300 students will remember registered dietitian Jill Jayne from her exciting concert performances of “Beat of the Body” and “The Bone Rap,” along with her “Going Gold” music video’s catchy lyric “Have you heard the news?” sang into a fruity phone. To celebrate and assist D300 elementary schools in their wellness efforts, the district has again partnered with Jill on a new YouTube video, called, “The Jill Jayne Chronicles: Uncovering the Case of the Healthier US School Challenge.” It can be found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=hvqnYhR9-iI. This fun-filled video tells the story of our schools’ pursuit of success in the Challenge. It stars many D300 students, faculty, and ARAMARK staff. “Uncovering the Case” is the second in a series of three videos from Jill created exclusively for D300 to highlight our schools’ commitment to improving the wellness of students. The videos will feature students and staff from Gary D. Wright, Gilberts, Parkview, and Liberty elementary schools, among others. “I went undercover as an investigative dietitian,” she said about her latest video for D300. Far more than humorous entertainment, “Uncovering the Case” is also a teaching tool. All D300 elementary educators are encouraged to show this new video to their students. TEACHERS & PARENTS: Watch the new video and get a discussion going with your students TODAY about the connection between health and learning! 10 11 Student Spotlight: Maksym Levchenko BY DUNDEE-CROWN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL BRIAN CONANT There are very few students who care as much about learning as Dundee-Crown High School senior Maksym Levchenko, and now he has a national award to prove it. Levchenko was recently recognized by the National Tutoring Association (NTA) as the 2011 Blair Richard High School Tutor of the Year. The District 300 School Board honored him at a recent Board meeting. Levchenko said that the NTA award, which included a $1,000 college scholarship, is recognition of something he loves to do. “Tutoring is a part of my life. I know it may sound weird, but I don’t do it for the credit. I come in for fun. It feels good.” He joined the tutoring program during his junior year because he wanted to “give back,” and he was eager to work with students he might not otherwise meet. In addition to honoring Levchenko, the NTA also named Dundee-Crown the national High School Program of the Year and gave the President’s Award to District 300 as a whole. The DCHS tutoring program director, Stephanie Reed, said the award recognizes the hard work of all tutors in her program, but she acknowledges that Levchenko’s impact on the program has been profound. She said that he is a great tutor because he meets student where they are. “He is never condescending, and he is able to explain things in many ways,” Reed said. “He is also a great mentor for new students.” Levchenko said that his first priority as a tutor is not the content, but developing relationships. “The first thing I do is spend some time trying to get to know the person,” he said. “I really value the personal connections I make with other students. It’s very rewarding to see somebody you have worked with improve their grades. I feel a part of their success. I want them to succeed. I have a high standard for them, and they live up to that standard. “ When he is not tutoring at DCHS, Levchenko also tutors at the Kumon Learning Center in West Dundee. Additionally, he is a proud and active member of the successful DCHS debate team. He plans to attend the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) in the fall where he intends to study three majors: computer science (a family tradition), economics (because he was deeply inspired by his economics teacher Ronald O’Connor), and pre-med (because he feels “medicine will offer him the greatest opportunity to solve the world’s biggest problems”). And, of course, he also plans to tutor in college. “The National Tutoring Association has a similar award for college tutoring,” he said, “and I’ll be going for that one too.” Leading the Way Each month, the D300 School Board honors students, staff and community members at Board meetings for major achievements or contributions. Let’s all congratulate them! DUNDEE-CROWN HIGH SCHOOL: 2011 NATIONAL TUTORING ASSOCIATION PROGRAM OF THE YEAR The following DCHS students accepted the Board recognition on behalf of the program: Kayla Keehn, Brittany Schultz, Shelby Spjuth, Genesis Garcia, Jeremy Christian, Miriam Fierro, Darlene Lopez, Shelby Oppegaard, and Kirstin Kaufhold Other program members are: McCullagh, Christopher Michalski, Sarah Miles, Yuridia Abarca, Awani Acharya, Andrea Moreyra, Nikolai Morse, Lauren Mosher, Brittany Acquaviva, Mary Ahern, Taylor Munso, Leslie Claudia Alvarez Bautista, Ariel Murga, Kevin Murphy, Annis, Adrian Ayala, Britney Baker, Carolina Bieri, Allison Bijan, David Nellessen, Kevin Nellessen, Andrew Nemec, Janice Faith Binghay, Janine Hallie Nerge, Alexander Faye Binghay, Andrew Blonski, Noreen, Megan Norvalls, Hannah Bollman, Kayla Bradley, Rhiannon Owano, Chester Daniel Brodersen, Savannah Cezar Pajarillo, Susana Bukowski, Praksha Butala, Andy Parra, Greta Pichardo, Calkiewicz, Cristian Candia, Bailey Rakow, Shane Melissa Capule, Michael Carrete, Rakow, Crystal Ramirez, Lauren Clark, Leticia Cortes, Abigail Coughlan, Jenna Cristino, Jonathan Ramirez, Maria Ramirez, Evelyn Rivera, Nicholas Demetriou, Preen Taylor Rodriguez, Hannah Dhillon, Clayton Eberly, Stephen Romano, Hilda Romero, Eyster, Lisa Fasone, Brittney Jacob Schuldt, Makiah Gantz, Emma Gentile, Christina Scott, Angela Settipani, Gilligan, Stephanie GomezAlexa Shemanske, Amber Casas, Alejandro Gonzalez, Simpson, Natalie Smith, Alex Gonzalez, Katherine Gross, Corey Stallings, Timothy Madeline Heinrich, Nicole Stan, Cody Stevens, Heredia, Natalie Himmel, Molly Christian Stilwell, Miguel Hirsch, Jacquelyn Hoday, Caitlin Holmes, Kaitlyn Jeronimus, Magali Tinajero, Maria Toledo, Kelly Tracey, Dustin Trenkler, Jimenez, Jonathan Keable, Alina William Ugalde, Valery Khan, Kelsey Knight, Andriana Vallecillo-Lagos, Isabel Koltko, Desi Kraus, James Vargas, Rachael Vetter, Kelly Kuczynski, Paola Lares, Maksym Levchenko, Nicholas Lodi, Karina Wang, Jamal Washington, Jillian Wiechmann, Rebecca Lopez, Amanda Maki, Anthony Wika, Emily Wirkus, Mallory Malatia, Scott Mallers, Nicolina Mandile-Egan, Marissa Marcheski, Wollenberg, Kathryn Wrightsman, and Jeffrey Marija Maretic, Jeffrey Marschke, Zumbek Claudia Martinez, Dillon In March, Dundee-Crown presented on “Tutoring ESL and ELL Students” at a regional tutoring conference. Pictured: Superintendent Elect Michael Bregy with students Miriam Fierro, Hilda Romero, Georgia Martinez, and Claudia Alvarez, plus DCHS staff Stephanie Reed and Evonne Drakousis DCHS MOURNS JR. CLASS PRESIDENT Dundee-Crown tutor, theater and music student, and junior class president Christian Stilwell suddenly passed on April 15, 2011. His mother works for D300 and his brother is a student at AMS. He will be missed by many. Leading the Way (continued next page) 12 13 Leading the Way Two staff members nominated for regional award (continued) D300 SPECIAL OLYMPICS BASKETBALL TEAM: STATE QUALIFIERS Alex Bohman, Anthoney Bohman, Spencer Deacon, David Gould, Scott Kelley, Melissa Kunschke, Eric Lane, Kaylyn Leopold, Nathan Lewandowski, Daniel Marquis, Favian Romerio, Jessica Serio, Andreas Yanez, and Angela Zoellner IHSA STATE QUALIFIERS FOR WINTER SPORTS Dundee-Crown Varsity Dance Team Brittany Acquaviva, Michelle Banach, Sarah Bowen, Aubrey Cornwell, Lacey Daebel, Christie Drotos, Catie Holmes, Hannah Johnson, Kristine Mack, Samantha Manfrin, Taylor Munson, Marissa Nemec, Natalie Novak, Olivia Ortiz, Lauren O’Neill, Stephanie Podbregar, Bailey Rakow, Desiree Sulzmann, and Gab Winkle Girls Basketball 3-Point Shootout (Hampshire HIgh) Boys Wrestling (Jacobs High) Austin Ryan Jessie Van Dorin Girls Bowling (Jacobs High) Boys Swimming Rebecca Payne and Gianna Scarpelli John Jost (Dundee-Crown High); Josh DeDina (Hampshire High); Alex Elston, Ryne Quinlan, and Alex Reinbrecht (Jacobs High) Jacobs Varsity Dance Team Taylor Bruno, Mackenzie Butler, Kelly Dever, Carley Dubinski, Brianna Fireng, Olivia Flowers, Nancy Hyman, Chrissy Jordanov, Alyssa Martorano, Tailor McAvoy, Alyssa Menolascino, Brooke Mertins, Michelle Mikos, Mackenzie Moy, Ashley Mueller, Alison Novak, Arly Panvino, Lauren Rebodos, Jaimie Rohde, Julie Rohde, Kelsey Schneider, Meghan Slawek, Anna Vierneisel, and Katie Wroten Perry Elementary School students led the Pledge of Allegiance at a recent D300 School Board meeting. They are part of the Dundee Township Boys & Girls Club program at Perry. They were chosen to lead the Pledge for successfully demonstrating the leadership qualities that staff from Perry and the Boys & Girls Club have strived to foster in all students. Leading the Way (continued) At the Kane County Educator of the Year awards banquet on May 6, 2011, an unsung hero from one of the newest schools in D300 will join the district’s long-running leader, together sharing the spotlight among the region’s “best of the best.” Two D300 staff members have been nominated for the high honor: Ms. Mary Dudek, the principal’s secretary at Gilberts Elementary School, and Dr. Kenneth Arndt, D300 superintendent. Just being nominated is itself a major accomplishment, as it requires a time-intensive effort by many supporters. Each May, the Kane County Regional Office of Education (ROE) hosts the county’s Educator of the Year awards. D300 has a long and proud history associated with this exciting event. It annually honors the “best of the best” in six categories: Elementary teacher, middle school teacher, high school teacher, administrator, special educator (such as nurses and social workers), and support staff (such as paraprofessionals, secretaries and custodians). There is also a Regional Superintendent’s Award, and an “Educator of the Year” top overall winner. A recording of a radio interview with Ms. Dudek and Dr. Arndt, reflecting on their years in education, will be posted this month to the D300 Radio Shows webpage: www.d300.org/about-us/media-gallery/ radio-shows. MARY DUDEK (nee Donahue) was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to parents Jerry and Debbie Donahue. She attended school in the Barrington area and graduated high school in 1992. She joined D300 in 2004 as a paraprofessional at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School. Since the opening of Gilberts Elementary School in 2007, she has been the principal’s secretary to Principal Jeff King at Gilberts Elementary. Mary has played an integral role in the development of the learning environment at GES and has actively supported many community events. DR. KENNETH M. ARNDT grew up on dairy farm near Toledo, Ohio. He began his career in education in 1976 as a 7th grade social studies teacher. He and his wife, Nancy, are the proud parents of three boys who have all graduated from D300 schools. Since joining the D300 community as superintendent in April 2001, he has been actively involved in the Dundee Township Rotary Club, the Large Unit District Association (LUDA) Executive Board – including serving as president from 2002-2006, and the Argosy and Judson University Presidents Advisory Board. His D300 career highlights include: • Founded the District 300 Foundation for Educational Excellence • Realigned kindergarten to 12th grade curriculum, and increased standards • Established an annual comprehensive review of the effectiveness and cost for all district programs and operations, known as EPRT • Increased public access and transparency through initiatives such as the Online Freedom of Information Act Program, Strategic Plan Performance Dashboard, and Infinite Campus Parent Portal • Hired the district’s first Safety Director, and led the charge to bring together the numerous police and fire agencies of D300 • Coordinated efforts to achieve a 5-level improvement to the district’s credit rating • Collaborated with the community to build 8 new schools plus extensive additions and improvements to all facilities; purchase tens of thousands of new textbooks; and significantly increase D300’s technological resources 2011 Kane County Educator of the Year Nominees 14 15 Neubert Elementary Headline BY PRINCIPAL DARLENE WARNER Teaser Sub-Head Bridging budget gaps with creative learning opportunities The economic situation in Illinois is forcing layoffs, program cuts, and more. Despite these challenges, parents and community members are providing rich and rewarding experiences in significant ways for Neubert Elementary School students. The Diggin’ Daisies is a gardening club for Neubert students, facilitated by Jane Bishoff from the Algonquin Garden Club and Missy Norwood, a Neubert parent. Students stay after school to meet and learn about gardening, work to beautify the school grounds, and more. The 3rd graders have a book club, facilitated by our media teacher, Gayle Allmandinger, her assistant, and five parents. They meet with students in small groups once a week during lunch to discuss a book they are all reading. It is a great way to be involved in their children’s education while giving a helping hand to teachers. “It’s very rewarding to see children get so excited about reading and sharing their thoughts about a book we all read,” said parent Amy Schmidt. “A book club provides common ground for discussion between parents and children. It was a meaningful experience for myself, and I hope for the children as well.” Neubert parent Jessica Clute works with students once per month after school with a recycling club. The original focus was on ways to improve recycling at the school. In an effort to reduce waste, Neubert no longer puts an average of 150 Styrofoam lunch trays into a land fill each day as we used to. (That’s over 26,000 per school year for just Showcase School: Neubert Section Title one school!). Now we use washable, reusable baskets. Additionally, this year the students are recycling items to complete a monthly project. Finally, Neubert parents, Mr. & Mrs. Matthias, donated a substantial sum of money for our students with autism so that we could purchase iPads, and they also donated five iPads. We at Neubert are deeply appreciative of the Matthias family’s generosity! With the help and support of countless Neubert parents and community members, we have and will continue to enhance and extend learning opportunities for our students. Every minute counts, and we are so grateful to be able to count on our community to assist us with learning experiences for our students. Eastview Elementary Headline BY PRINCIPALJIM ZURSIN Teaser Sub-Head Eastview Elementary students clapped and cheered as members of the AlgonquinLake in the Hills Fire Protection District surprised them at an all-school assembly April 5 to officially kick-off registration for the first-ever Kids Run for the BEAR. As the dance music faded, Eastview Principal Jim Zursin rallied his students to support the event. “This is about kids running for kids!” Kids Run for the BEAR was a timed, 1-mile race, which took place on April 30 in the Eastview area of Algonquin for all children ages 5-12. The results of this timed run were not available when this newsletter went to print. The run was sponsored by the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation in honor of Bear Krupa, a former Eastview student who was just 8 years old when he died Jan. 9, 1993, after a courageous 5 ½-year battle with Wilms Tumor, a pediatric cancer. While Bear spent a lot of time in the hospital fighting cancer, his mom saw he was more concerned with the other kids and families around him than he was about himself. Together they committed to create Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Both the Kids Run last month and the traditional all-ages Run for the Bear coming up on Sunday, October 2, 2011 (a 5K run/ walk and 10K run, also based at Eastview) To register for the all-ages 5k/10k run/walk RUN FOR THE BEAR on Oct. 2 , 2011, visit: www.active. com/donate/runforthebear2011. To inquire or make a contribution, please email Principal Jim Zursin at james.zursin@d300.org or call 847.532.7402. are intended to help ensure that someday no other child has to endure what Bear and his family experienced. Throughout the month of April, Eastview students pledged their support to Bear Necessities. In return for a $1 donation, each student decorated a link that joined others to create the Eastview Chain of Champions. During the kick-off rally on April 5, Eastview student Grace Hastings (pictured) helped Mr. Zursin show her peers how the paper chains would look, noting that the chains would be displayed around the school to celebrate the students’ support of this worthwhile cause. The pair also announced that four of the donors would be randomly chosen to get a ride home from school on a firetruck - inciting gasps, smiles and applause from the children! Also, the Eastview Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) offered a training camp to help kids get ready for the spring run, and local firefighters (pictured) ran alongside students at the event. Section Title Showcase School: Eastview SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS Please visit the D300 Public Meetings Calendar for information about upcoming meetings. Board meetings are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 9 and May 23. Agendas are posted at least 48 hours in advance of each meeting. Visit www.d300.org and click on “District Calendars.” U.S. Postage PAID Permit 300 Dundee IL 60118 Calendar Graduation 2011: Saturday, May 21, at the Sears Centre Arena Jacobs High School: 10:30 a.m. Dundee-Crown High School: 2:30 p.m. Hampshire High School: 6:30 p.m. Last day of school POSTAL PATRON If no additional emergency days are used this school year, the last day of class will be Friday, May 27, 2011. The first day of class for the 20112012 school year is Monday, August 15. • Registration for Golf Outing: 10 a.m., followed by lunch • Shotgun start for Golf Outing: 12 noon • Gala Reception (silent auction, student entertainment): 5 p.m. • Dinner (presentation of grants and distinguished educator): 6 p.m. Register yourself or your foursome for the Golf & Gala, or purchase tickets for only the Gala reception/dinner, at http://d300foundation.org/id127.html. During the dinner portion, the D300 Foundation will award 16 “innovation grants” to D300 teachers for individual classroom projects for next school year (2011-2012). A video presentation will showcase innovation grants making a difference for students this school year (2010-2011). The Foundation’s Distinguished Educator of the Year will also be announced, and D300 Superintendent Dr. Ken Arndt, founding member of the Foundation, will be honored for his many years of service on the Foundation Board of Trustees. The Foundation is funded through private, charitable donations. COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 300 300 CLEVELAND AVENUE CARPENTERSVILLE IL 60110 Please join the District 300 Foundation for Educational Excellence as we celebrate excellence in education at this year’s annual Golf & Gala event, “Master the Art of Excellence.” This all-day celebration is on Monday, June 6, at the Boulder Ridge Country Club in Lake in the Hills. Here is the schedule:
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