Board Briefs – October 2018

The District 58 Board of Education held its regular business meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. View the agenda and presentation links. Meeting audio will be posted here.

Highlights from the meeting include:

Spotlight on our Schools: Student Assessment Data Review

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Justin Sisul reviewed recent student assessment results with the Board.

Sisul noted that the District’s preliminary 2018 PARCC assessment scores improved from 39.4 percent to 48.8 percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards in English-language arts, and from 37.9 percent to 46.7 percent meeting or exceeding standards in math.

“We changed our focus and messaging around the PARCC last year. We encouraged students, staff and families to give the PARCC the same value as any other assessment that they take,” Sisul said. “We also took measures to prepare students to be more familiar with the electronic format of the PARCC assessment. We believe that this year’s scores more closely reflect our students’ true capabilities.”

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) provided District 58 with preliminary PARCC results earlier this year and expects to publish the final results later this month. Sisul noted that he does not expect major differences between the preliminary and final results, although some data might change slightly based on the ISBE’s final calculations. When the State publishes its final PARCC results, it will also report a four-tiered summative designation, or rating, for each school. Sisul expects to receive the results later this month and plans to address them in greater depth during the Oct. 22 Board Curriculum Workshop.

View the student assessment data presentation.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli reported on several topics, including the recent school improvement day, parent-teacher conferences, strategic planning working group recruitment efforts and the upcoming Board Curriculum Workshop.

Business Report

Assistant Superintendent for Business/Chief School Business Official Todd Drafall presented the Business Report, noting that the District has received 40 percent of its revenues, mainly due to the fall property tax revenues, and has spent 17.5 percent of its expenditures for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Drafall also noted that his Business Report packet included information on the 2018 property tax levy, with an analysis of District 58 property growth from 2007-2017. During that time, new property growth contributed $680 million in market value, with $592 million of that number in residential property.

Enrollment Discussion

Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli reviewed District 58’s 2018-19 enrollment, as compared with the 2018-19 enrollment forecasted in the 2016 demography study. As a whole, District 58’s actual 2018-19 enrollment of 5,059 students exceeds the forecasted enrollment by 19 students, or 0.4 percent, which is within the margin of error. However, there exist some forecasted discrepancies at specific schools and grade levels, which the demographer and District are reviewing closely in conjunction with the District’s facility planning. These data will be carefully considered as the district pursues its current Strategic Plan and the goal of creating a long-term facility improvement plan that considers, among other factors, a grade 6-8 middle school model and class sizes.

“After careful review, we believe that we can rely on these data as we look forward to making facility decisions,” Dr. Cremascoli said. “More critically, during future facility planning, as we consider resource allocation and facility improvements, we will need to engage our demographer to analyze boundaries and enrollment areas to better understand what potential facility planning shifts will mean for both our elementary and middle school enrollments.”

The Board and administration also discussed Highland School enrollment, noting that the District is entering the second year of the planned two-year enrollment cap. The District will seek to improve its approach to Highland kindergarten registration this spring. The District will also review its intra-district transfer policy in advance of enrollment procedures for the upcoming school year.

View the enrollment presentation.
View the 2016 demographer report.
View a document comparing actual vs forecasted enrollment for 2018-19.

Prospective Board Candidate Forum Discussion

The Board discussed and ultimately advocated for hosting a Prospective Board Candidate Forum. Similar to one hosted in 2016, this forum will invite individuals considering a run for the School Board and provide them with helpful information on District 58 School Board service.

“I attended the last one and found it very helpful. It’s a great low-stakes way for community members to learn more about serving the Board,” said Member Kirat Doshi. “Goal 2 of our Strategic Plan is ‘Connecting the Community,’ and offering this forum will certainly help us better connect and inform interested stakeholders.”

The Board will consider hosting the Prospective Board Candidate Forum on Monday, Nov. 26 at Kingsley School, immediately before the Board’s Financial Workshop.

Committee Reports

Board Member Greg Harris reported on the Sept. 18 Policy Committee meeting. The committee continued its work aligning District 58’s Board Policy Manual with IASB’s model policy guide and recommended the revision of six policies and the creation of two policies. They approved the first reading of the policies and will place them on the November agenda for final approval.

Board Member Kirat Doshi reported on the Sept. 26 Legislative Committee meeting. The committee reviewed and considered proposal recommendations set forth by IASB in the 2018 Resolutions Committee Report. The IASB membership will vote on these recommendations during the Joint Annual Conference in November. Doshi is the District 58 delegate.

The Financial Advisory Committee and the District Leadership Team have not met since the last Board meeting.

Lester Spotlight

The Lester Student Council, Principal Carin Novak and PTA President Mark Harris each presented some of Lester School’s recent achievements. The Student Council leads several fundraisers to support causes. For example, on Oct. 10, their Hat Day raised more than $500 to support the AmeriCare Foundation for direct hurricane relief. Harris highlighted some of the many ways the Lester PTA raises funds and gives back to the school community. For example, the PTA recently formed a playground committee and donated $30,000 to start their playground fund.

Novak highlighted the new three-classroom Lester School addition with a short video.

During the Meeting, the Board Also:

  • Unanimously approved a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the Downers Grove Custodial Maintenance Association. View the contract.
  • Approved Wight & Company’s proposal for facility master planning services, as connected to the District 58 Strategic Plan. The architect will lead District 58’s facility vision process and complete a comprehensive facility assessment report for a cost of $23,000. Learn more.
  • Approved minutes from the Sept. 17 Regular Meeting.
  • Approved all items in the Consent Agenda as presented in the agenda materials.
  • Approved the El Sierra Work Plan for School Improvement. Based on its spring 2017 PARCC scores, El Sierra School is entitled to a $15,000 state grant to support school improvements. This work plan was created by the El Sierra school improvement team and includes a needs assessment and action steps. El Sierra intends to use the grant funding to support the salary of an instructional assistant to provide additional intervention and instructional support to students who are academically at-risk, with a focus on students in identified subgroups. Learn more.

Upcoming Events

  • Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 7 a.m.: Policy Committee Meeting at the ASC
  • Monday, Oct. 22 at 6:15 p.m.: Staff Meet & Greet with the Board at Herrick Middle School
  • Monday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.: Curriculum Workshop at Herrick Middle School
  • Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 a.m.: Financial Advisory Committee at the ASC
  • Monday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.: Regular Board Meeting at Downers Grove Village Hall

District 58 Board of Education members are: Doug Purcell, president; Elizabeth Sigale, vice president; Kirat Doshi, Greg Harris, Darren Hughes, John Miller and Jill Samonte, with Dr. Kari Cremascoli, superintendent; and Melissa Jerves, board secretary.