South Cook News

Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board of Education Met Nov. 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Call to order

President Kristin Fitzgerald called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Board members present: Charles Cush, Kristin Fitzgerald, Kristine Gericke, Joe Kozminski, Janet Yang Rohr, Paul Leong and Donna Wandke.

Administrators present were:

Dan Bridges, Superintendent,

Bob Ross, Chief Human Resources Officer,

Michael Frances, Chief Financial Officer/CSBO

Closed Session

Janet Yang Rohr moved, seconded by Charles Cush to go into Closed Session at 6:00 p.m. for consideration of:

1. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the District or legal counsel for the District. 2. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(7) The sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts.

3. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular District has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal.

Meeting Opening

Charles Cush made a motion, seconded by Kristine Gericke to return to Open Session at 7:04pm. A roll call vote was taken. Those voting yes: Leong, Yang Rohr, Fitzgerald, Gericke, Wandke, Cush and Kozminski. No: None. The motion carried.

Welcome and Mission

Kristin Fitzgerald welcomed all and read Naperville Community Unit School District 203’s Mission Statement.

Roll Call

Board members present: Kristin Fitzgerald, Donna Wandke, Paul Leong, Joe Kozminski, Kristine Gericke Janet Yang Rohr, Charles Cush and Kristin Fitzgerald via phone.

Student Ambassadors present: None.

Administrators present: Dan Bridges, Superintendent, Roger Brunelle, Chief Information Officer, Michael Frances, Chief Financial Officer/CSBO, Chuck Freundt, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, Christine Igoe, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services, Rakeda Leaks, Executive Director of Inclusion and Diversity, Sinikka Mondini, Executive Director for Communications, Patrick Nolten, Assistant Superintendent for Assessment and Accountability, Stephanie Posey, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Bob Ross, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Jayne Willard, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.

Pledge of Allegiance

Led by the Board of Education

Good News

Superintendent Bridges recognized the following students who met the criteria for consideration in the National Hispanic Recognition program. From NCHS: Adam Aldaba and Cesar Maldonado, Jr. From NNHS: Rosalia Viton.

Superintendent Bridges recognized the following students who met the criteria for consideration in the National African American Recognition program. From NCHS: Maya Mikos and Skye Sparks. From NNHS: Kira Gambla.

Congratulations from the Board of Education.

Written Communication:

President Fitzgerald referenced the letter attached to Board Docs regarding the code of conduct allegations of Board of Education member Janet Yang Rohr.

Public Comment:

Adam Russo: School Board is hiding behind metrics and block schedule. Mentions a decrease in education during this time of remote learning. Referenced the Harvard School of Public Health report. Mr. Russo asked several questions pertaining to other schools/districts being in person yet District 203 is not. Offered that there are cities seeing increases in significant mental and physical problem with school age children. There have been studies showing that childcare center are not contributing to the spread of COVID. Requested that questions be placed on the agenda for the next Board meeting. District parents are entitled to answers.

John Mullarkey-Parents moved here for the education of District 203. Schools need to remain open so that education is not another victim of this virus. Must be the highest priority to get schools open. In the global education community, schools and childcare centers are exempt from the restrictions that have been placed on retail and families. Children need to be educated in their classrooms and in person. Schools are not a spreader. The world is watching, children in schools now. Stand up or step aside.

Scott Persin: D203 website quotes the mission statement. You have failed. There are no partnerships with parents, teachers and students. Believes that all were elected/appointed because of their good name and reputation, now being tarnished by the lack of transparency to the community and staff. One board member needs to ask tough questions. If you are fine with giving the decision-making over to Superintendent Bridges, then hold him accountable to the decisions he is making.

Rick Eertmoed, D203 parent and taxpayer. I do not envy any of you with the decisions that have been made. Parents will be unhappy no matter what the decision. I am here to talk about transparency, ethics and integrity. Avoid any conflict of interest or even the appearance of impropriety. Special interest groups in the Democratic Party are bankrolling a member of the board who is running for higher public office. These positions should not be used as a stepping-stone. Be a nonpartisan member of the Board of Education. Biggest fear is that you lose and will be beholden to the groups who donated to you.

Jay Deegan-PI+ at KJHS how do you expect 13 year olds to pivot to online learning. Block schedule is a travesty. It is awful. I thought I would be prepared for high school by being able to be partially in person with the hybrid plan, now I am coming up short in my education. The block schedule is a travesty that has hurt my education. My instructional minutes have gone from about 200 to about 180. It is hilarious that you expect to come out with the same education that I would have in classroom. I have been made into an educational guinea pig. At last count, there were 12 students in this district of 16000 who had COVID. If we were in school, students would be forced to wear masks and socially distance. Is there going to be summer school for 16, 000 kids? We need to go back to school under the hybrid plan. We need to put pieces of kids broken lives back together.

Anna Graham: Express gratitude to the whole team. We may not always agree but you are working incredibly hard. Thank you for listening and putting all the pieces together. Thank you to teachers. Students crave the daily interaction with you. Custodians, staff at schools, IT thank you. Thank you to the support staff. We are all grieving the loss of normal and look forward to getting school back to the way it was. There has been and is still a lot to do, thank you for hte4 hard work that has been going on in District 203.

Sara Forster Concerned that we are going to stay in this forever. How are we teaching students to be self-directed learners? All remote learning environment fails at producing self-directed learners and collaborative workers. No data or assessment to show how we are meeting the mission. How long will we continue to ignore the mission? How long will we continue in the interest of creating not a minimal risk environment but a zero risk environment? It seems unlikely that the mission will once again become a priority. What is the plan for next year? Will the district return to the mission or will it continue to ignore teacher and community voices as a means to ignore the damage being done to our students?

Lisa Grimes: Voice for her kids who want to be back in the classroom. Wish she could have recorded the meltdown that occurred in her home so it may have flipped the switch. I found my children not at the desk that had been set up for them but in their bedrooms with their heads on their pillows. Here is a recording of that: nothing. It is the sound of deafening silence of three spirited children. At the moment of meltdown, they lost all motivation. Had to adjust units in hospitals to allow for additional teen units. There are schools all around us who are in person, we can go to the movies, run around the mall but we cannot go to school. We can gather in groups of 25 as long as it is not a classroom. That is crazy, Over 70% of us want an in person option. You have no right to take this choice away from them. When you go home and put your head on your pillow, I want you to think about the defeated silence.

Amy Sandison: Parent to two children. Request a plan to get our children back in school now. I appreciate that you are volunteers and I appreciate your contributions. Five months ago, I felt empathy but my mind has changed. While we live in a privileged community, we have an underserved population that can be easy to forget. Everyone is trying to pass the buck. My 7th grader is only receiving about 10% of the services that he is legally to receive. Public education was meant to be an equalizer. Today, we are looking at a lost year of learning. The local not for profit Alive center is open for socially distanced eLearning. I have been surprised at the number of students who needed scholarship support. Sad about the kids that have given up. Think of these kids. I believe in science but I also believe in Math. Please look at the science and do the Math.

Mary Beth Baskin-senior in school. Used to question why anyone would send their kids to private schools. Why are other schools around us in school? What has happened to the hybrid option? That model has been discarded with zero transparency to parents. I realize that online learning families were upset. Now everyone can have what they want. Block scheduling is a waste. We are decreasing the amount of time that our students have with teachers. What are we doing? 85 minutes in one class period means that some kids in Calculus are learning two lesson plans in one class. We are also asking them to get up 10 minutes earlier each day. With 90 percent of students in remote learning, this does not make any sense. We are not doing better than many districts around us. Dan, some leaders lead, some follow but none does nothing. Please open up.

Melissa Deegan- Hard to stand up because our friends have gone to school together. I just want an honest answer as to when we will implement the hybrid model. Why are we using DuPage County data instead of the District 203 data? The dashboard is a mess. A hodgepodge of information. I want clarity and a school by school listing of where the cases are. People want clarity and transparency and you are not giving us clarity. My kids have not been in school since March. We have to step up to the plate and make this work.

President Fitzgerald thanked all who spoke. On behalf of the whole board, we appreciate the public comments and your advocacy for your children. Concerns have been heard by the Board of Education. We read and review each email and try to respond in a timely manner. Thank you for keeping us informed as we consider you a vital part for the process of reflecting the views of our community. As a reminder, our Designee to respond is the Superintendent.

Action by Consent:

1. Adoption of Personnel Report

Maria Aguilera Guerrero 12/18/20 - 6/10/21 Elmwood Dual Language Assistant

2. Aramark Amended Contract

3. Resolution Designating Interest Earnings

4. Resolution to Regulate Expense Reimbursements

Donna Wandke made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented, seconded by Kristine Gericke. Those voting yes: Cush, Leong, Yang Rohr, Fitzgerald, Wandke, Kozminski, and Gericke. No: None.

Superintendent/Staff/School Report

Return to Learn Update

Superintendent Bridges gave an update on the Return to Learn plan.

We are still focused and committed to providing the safe and healthy work environment for both our students and staff. We need to slowly and intentionally transition back to in-person instruction. As we all learn more, it is possible that the recommendations and mitigation strategies will continue to change. We are committed to following the guidance of our state and local health departments. At the time we developed the plan, our health metrics indicate a low moderate level of community spread. The accelerated plan provided the mitigation strategies necessary to support a high moderate level of community spread.

While we continued to move forward with stage 2, “enhanced eLearning” and began in-person instruction for targeted groups of students, we placed a pause on the accelerated portion of in-person instruction for all students.

Enhanced eLearning began for staff on 10/12 and for students on 10/19. A high level view of what stage 2 looks like across the district:

○ At the EC level, students have transitioned into their new sections, are continuing with eLearning and inviting targeted students in for in-person instruction. Our full day preschool students will return for in-person instruction beginning this Thursday, November 5 using an alternating day hybrid model.

○ At the elementary level, students have successfully transitioned back to the full day eLearning schedule that was used during the first 6 weeks of school.

○ At the junior high and high school, we have transitioned into the block schedule, which includes focused time for providing additional support to students each afternoon.

○ Connections students are participating in daily instruction using a half-day hybrid model 

○ Across all levels, students in specialized programs who elected for in-person instruction are participating in an alternating day hybrid-learning model and targeted students are being invited in for in-person instruction.

While this in not the accelerated stage 2 that we were hoping to begin on 10/20- we have successfully engaged more students in- in-person learning over the last 2 weeks and we are hopeful that we will continue to build on this success.

As a reminder, these are the health metrics and target numbers we are currently monitoring to help us understand how the virus is spreading within the county and within the D203 boundaries. 

○ They make this determination by looking at a number of factors, including the number of new cases per 100,000, the positivity rate, the trends in increasing overall cases and youth cases-

● We also review the number of new cases per 100,000 and the positivity rate within the last 14- days for the zip codes served within our schools.

● In addition to the community, spread of the virus the DCHD encourages districts to use the county data alongside district data, specific trends and distribution of cases within the district, absenteeism among students and staff within a school, and alternate remote learning site options and safety protocols.

Decisions are not made based upon the individual numbers, but rather provide a context to help us understand how the virus is spreading- so that we can use this information alongside other important information about the virus.

The county continues to see a substantial amount of community spread, with all metrics moving into the substantial range with the exception of one.

While all the metrics are concerning, the rising youth cases are specifically concerning- with an increase of 34% increase the week of 10/11 and 62% increase the week of 10/18. These numbers continue to rise and are trending up-, which is consistent with the county and state data. The increased positivity rate to above 8% is extremely concerning.

We have had some questions as to why we are using a 14-day rolling average, as opposed to the 7 day average that is reflected in the DuPage County Metrics. The level of mitigation strategies recommended within moderate range of community spread established by CDC can vary based upon the number of new cases and the positivity rate. The mitigation strategies range from maintaining static groups at all times to allowing some mixing of student groups, which has a direct impact on when and how we can provide in-person instruction at the secondary level.

We have also received questions as what is the difference in how the numbers were calculated on 10/5 to 10/12. On 10/5, Northwestern medicine was taking 2 blocks of 7 days and averaging them together to determine the 14 day average. On 10/8, they moved to use the same formula as the CDC, which adds, in the number of new cases in the last 14 days and dividing by 100,000. We have identified the total number of positive cases that have been reported to the district for both students and staff.

The case count for students has been trending up over the last 3 weeks, but the overall number of cases is low. We are concerned that there has been a 50% increase in reported cases from the week of 10/19 to the week of 10/26. While the number is low- 12- less than 1% of the student population, the speed at which they are increasing it is concerning.

We have seen a significant increase in the number of staff cases in the last the 2 weeks, with cases generally doubling from the first 7 weeks of school. Again, we are carefully monitoring these numbers to see if the trend continues.

As cases are reported, we have been working with the DCHD to contract trace and overall we are finding that the majority of positive cases can be traced back to an exposure that occurred outside of school property, which is encouraging and lends us to believe that the mitigation strategies that we have in place are working.

The next 2 weeks will be a good indicator if the virus is spreading within our schools and if our mitigation strategies are working.

While the health metrics are important, we need to put them in context with the PPE and staffing metrics.

When we look across all the metrics, we can see that the most concerning is the health metrics, which reveals that there is substantial community spread in our community and the numbers continue to trend up mirroring what, is happening within the state and the county. The number of student and staff cases remains low, but the rapid increase over the last 2 weeks is concerning.

We currently have an adequate supply of the PPE, and are able to replace when necessary. We currently do not have any concerns with being able to meet our PPE needs.

We do have some concerns as it relates to staffing- while it is not currently impacting our abilities to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for students and staff, should the positive cases continue to increase at the current rate, it will become difficult for us to meet both the instructional and operational needs.

Given the increasing overall health metrics, the rate at which the health metrics are increasing, and our concerns with staffing, we believe it is best to remain in the current stage of the return to learn plan. We have heard from all of our stakeholders, students, staff and families the importance of maintaining consistency whenever possible.

We have received many questions as to why or how other districts and some private schools in the area are able to provide in-person instruction.

∙ How they are able to implement the mitigation strategies that are recommended by the CDC and IDPH

∙ What is the level of risk they are able to take based upon their liability insurance; 

∙ How they handle and respond to other contagious diseases within the school community. 

We are closely watching the other districts in DuPage county that are providing more in-person instruction- if their transmission numbers remain low and they do not have any outbreaks by applying all the other mitigation strategies- we will utilize this data as part of our decision making process. We will continue to update the COVID-19 dashboard weekly, but delays in data release may result in posting no later than Tuesday mornings at 8 a.m. As always, our Return to Learn web page includes the most up to date information. We will continue to send Talk 203 messages as needed. We are happy to answer any questions

Board Questions/Comments:

Thank you for this presentation. President Fitzgerald read a statement of support for Superintendent Bridges and the Administrative staff. Every one of us wants nothing more than to get students back into the classroom. We are volunteers, we are your neighbors, and our children are in classrooms with your children. We know not all will support any decision. We are making our decisions in two week intervals. We make decisions using the best scientific data. We consider all aspects. We need your continued honest feedback and the passion with which you advocate for your children. We can only be successful during this challenging time with the collective efforts of each member of our community.

I do not see any discussion about returning to the original remote plan of 5 days a week with every class represented every day. I haven’t heard a lot about that or have we abandoned that idea or any circumstance that might be considered?

Mr. Bridges responded that the feedback from educators was that the block schedule had some benefits.

Mrs. Willard addressed the benefits of block schedule. We do need to get some additional feedback from staff, students, and administrators but as of today, we will continue. The feedback we have received was that kids had fatigue with 8 periods every day. The block schedule allows for more collaboration and more access to teacher during the longer period. Block scheduling allows for more engagement and allows for students to be off the screens in the evening. We will continue to get feedback and make adjustments if need be.

Mrs. Posey added will allow us to limit the interactions once we get back into in person learning. Will allow us to use our mitigation strategies, especially out sanitation mitigations better. I appreciate the operational needs while the students are in the buildings. Now what is important are the educational needs of students. Would like to have students meeting with every class every day and more instructional minutes with this block plan. I am not sure I heard the answer I was looking for, I heard that this is what we are doing that for the near future. Is there an evaluation point or a number of voices you need to hear to reevaluate that plan? Mr. Bridges noted that we would continue to evaluate as we move forward to see how it works for us once we get back to in person. We do believe that this is the schedule that will provide the most benefit once we get students back in buildings.

Elementary schedule, we had a quick shift back with the elementary schedule. Are we thinking about changes to the Elementary hybrid schedule when we do move to the hybrid model? Mr. Freundt remarked that this question is specifically about the AM/PM model. As we look at EC-12, many things go together. We are looking at what allows students to have the most time with teachers. This AM/PM schedule allows for more minutes with the teachers. We will use the AM/PM schedule when we get back to in person. We are ramping up the asynchronous time and ramping up supports for students.

Can you give examples of the structure for the asynchronous time?

Mr. Freundt noted that younger students are working with Instructional assistants during the asynchronous time.

It seemed the change in structure took away the ability for teachers to be available during asynchronous times. Can the Board provide resources to have that structure? Mr. Freundt asked, are you suggesting additional certified staff to help with asynchronous time? I am just saying that if you need more resources, this Board would be supportive and you should ask the board.

Mr. Bridges added that we are confident that we have the staff to do this work but we will ask and if we find we need additional resources to make this better, we will come to the board. Thank you. I would also echo what was said. This AM/PM schedule was rocky with families who had childcare needs. Is there a way to have keep the routine if we have to move back and forth from in person to online? All transitions are hard and affects families. The asynchronous time is hard, as it is not structured.

Mr. Freundt noted that it takes time for all to get used to the change in schedule. The current schedule is ideal for our early learners online. The AM/PM schedule will be best for in person. We will work to make the transitions smooth. We are not planning to move between each time. We think that with the AM/PM schedule and with some time in it, we may be able to maintain that schedule with some adjustments if we have to go back to a fully remote schedule.

If we are pausing until November 16, does that mean that only EC through grade 3 will return before Thanksgiving and everything else would take place afterwards?

Mr. Freundt noted that if we follow the original pace that is true. We will be looking at the pacing with the metrics.

What percentage of the student population makes up the targeted students? Dr. Igoe stated that we have between 10-20% of students should be in the buildings at one time. How has that gone so far?

Dr. Igoe responded, so far so good. We have mitigation strategies in place and students are responding to those. We are not seeing a rise in cases. We will be watching this over the next two weeks and will be able to increase the numbers of students.

What is happening is going to be a factor in our decision overall when we recommend increasing that portion of the population?

Dr. Igoe added that our goal is to be continually learning. We are watching other districts around us that are open and seeing how it is, are they seeing the same things we are.

In regards to block scheduling, you noted that it is new for us not new in education. How long does it take to transition to this from other districts. I get the sense that because it is new to us that is causing some of the concern.

Mrs. Willard responded that everything is new for us this year. Going fully online is new to us. High quality curriculum and high quality teaching can occur in all venues. We are leveraging our teachers who have done this before to help other teachers. We are hearing from teachers that they were apprehensive but are beginning to find that they have more time with students. We have been learning and collaborating with other districts.

At what point will we be able to make a decision as to whether or not this is working? Mrs. Willard responded that within this phase, we would be getting feedback from teachers and students. We have some teachers who have informally sought feedback from students. I continue to be concerned about the underutilization of and the cost of the Champions and YMCA programs. Are there ways we can help these families to make it more viable? Mr. Bridges noted that this falls under the category of additional resources we might need during these unprecedented times.

Mr. Freundt added that we could make that recommendation. Cost is an obstacle and barrier. These scholarships do not help all families and all families are effected at this time.

Are our teachers getting additional professional development other than Mondays? Mrs. Willard commented that dedicated professional development time is Monday but teachers are collaborating and are being coached by our learning support coaches. Our teachers are constantly researching and learning. We will still be using our institute days and are hopeful we can bring in some professional learning.

At the last meeting, we presented metrics as to what we are looking at to get back into the buildings. Have we adjusted our numbers to match the change that was made from the seven day average to the 14 day?

Dr. Igoe responded, yes and no. They were posting two 7 day averages. Felt more transparent to say how it was a different calculation.

As we are looking at metrics, if we saw that there were 154 cases per 100, 000, why were we still prepping to return to the hybrid model? The community wants more transparency as to why the change was so abrupt. What was the process?

Mr. Bridges responded that Dr. Igoe uses DuPage county and zip code data. The driving factor for us was when DCHD published on Monday afternoon the recommendation of fully remote. We had not started in person and did not feel that it was the time to move into in person learning. There is not just one number that we use when making these decisions.

Therefore, if we had started then we would have had to pull back after two weeks. Mr. Bridges noted that we are relying on local health professionals to help make decisions. Would be helpful if all departments were on the same page. We have to make decisions based on our local community. Nobody wants kids back in the classroom more than I do.

Thank you for this dialogue, this helps the community to understand better and see the transparency in your thought patterns. As we hopefully move into a hybrid model, how quickly will we be able to communicate to our families?

Mr. Bridges noted that with the goal to return to in person learning we may have to make some transitions. We will do all we can to communicate quickly to the community.

It is important that the community hear how we are making decisions. What are the metrics that will get us back into school?

Mr. Bridges responded that this is more complicated that just marking boxes. We need the community to help us with mitigation. Our being fluid allows us to get students back in ASAP. In reference to the DuPage County press release that allows for the in person instruction of priority students, what are we thinking about bringing in the youngest learners? Mr. Bridges noted that internally we have had conversations about bringing these students back into buildings. As long as we can trend in the right directions, not only as a county but in our zip codes as well, we can get these students back.

I know that we are bringing in Junior High and High School students with IEP’s, are we getting elementary students with IEP’s back into the buildings?

Dr. Igoe responded, yes. Our IEP teams had conversations and reviewed all the data for where kids are and how much progress they were making toward their goals. From this data, they created a virtual versus in person recommendation.

What kinds of things are we thinking about with structured learning, what are our thoughts to get those students back in as scheduled?

Dr. Igoe responded that it is not looking good to getting all of our students back. Even though the numbers are small, the classrooms are also smaller so we have to be cautious. We will continue to watch the numbers as we make decisions.

What can we do as a community to get these trends going the right direction? Dr. Igoe reiterated what Mr. Bridges said earlier, we have to socially distance, wear a mask and wash our hands. If someone does not live with you, you should be wearing a mask around them and maintain distance.

I also want to go to the feedback with block schedule. We will be looking at this over time. I would like to encourage that the more feedback that we can gain about how it is working. I would encourage you to look at all the feedback from teachers, students and parents. What are the differences between the Junior High and High School and what is working at each level and could that be done at the other level?

We are continuing to push back MAP testing and other assessments. Is there any way to get a handle on the academic progress that students are making? What are the gap closing measures, are they closing or widening?

Dr. Nolten noted that we are at the end of the trimesters; we are looking at how our students are progressing as normal. Are the grades proportional as compared to prior years? This will be a proxy for achievement in lieu of not being able to administer formal assessments. At the elementary level, we will be looking at the essential standards.

At the high school level, you have been able to bring back about 10% of students. Is there capacity to do this at the elementary level?

Mr. Freundt replied, yes, principals and teachers have been looking at students who are not engaging. It is tracking that we have more students other than just IEP students who are being brought in. Do you have a feel for where attendance levels are at the different levels? Has there been a drop in attendance due to COVID fatigue?

Mr. Freundt and Mrs. Posey indicated there are no attendance concerns at any level. As a follow up on Student achievement, when will you be able to share some of that data with us?

Dr. Nolten stated that after November 24, the end of the first trimester so perhaps in December and then a couple of weeks following the end of Semester 1.

In your conversations with Edward Hospital is there data that suggests that Edward is concerned about that by us going back, we contribute to the problem. Is there any information or data that suggests this?

Mr. Bridges noted that his reference was about an email sent by the CEO of Edward Elmhurst Hospital to the community.

The Dashboard clearly says the reason why we do not report by building. Can you speak to that and if that may or may not change?

Dr. Igoe noted that our general rule is that anytime we have less than 10 we do not report data due to privacy. If we see an uptick in cases, 10 or more, we could report by building.

Could we talk a little bit about our experience in terms of spread in school? Dr. Igoe responded that we could not trace back to spread in school.

Are we using that data to guide decisions?

Dr. Igoe responded that we absolutely are using that data. We want to watch it for a couple more weeks.

What about quarantines in terms of, have we seen more quarantines than cases and how is that impacting our ability to continue to have a continuous delivery of academic content? Dr. Igoe repeated what was in the presentation that we are monitoring it. Students who are quarantined can still participate since we are online. Staff can still provide instruction if they are well while quarantine.

Thank you for continuing to monitor those.

Can we talk about finals and graduation so they can start planning?

Mr. Bridges remarked that we are still having conversation about finals. The graduation date has been set. June 6.

In regards to the cost of childcare, how many fee waivers and how many have received help from NEF? Do we know how many families did not sign up due to the cost? Mr. Freundt noted that we would not know how many are not using childcare due to cost. About 25% of families who are in childcare have received some assistance.

I want us to continue to look at it and see what resources are available.

Any further evaluation on COVID 19 testing? What is the medical advisory board advising us? Mr. Bridges responded that DCHD is not recommending that that be a part of our overall protocol. The county is looking at it again.

Dr. Igoe added that we have a medical advisory board. Important to know that these doctors are not public health officials. We need to receive our guidance from public health officials. So I am hearing that you are not consulting with local doctors?

Mr. Bridges responded that we are getting our guidance from public health officials.

What are the biggest concerns of the DCHD with schools going back?

Mr. Bridges remarked that allow local entities to make decisions based on space and local metrics. Biggest concerns are hospitalizations and bringing together people from different households. The rate of spread is very concerning to the DCHD.

I am a math person so all data is important.

How is the staff doing?

Mr. Bridges noted that there are ranges of emotions. Everyone is exhausted and struggling. We have asked them to do an awesome job in a new way. Many are exhausted and frustrated. They are committed to the work and care of the kids.

I feel like all questions have been answered by the staff. Answers are not what the community wants to hear. We do feel for the families who are struggling. Commend Dan and Administrative team for making hard decisions that go against everything we want to do, which, is get kids back in the classroom. All decision have been made based on what is best for kids. Thank you for sitting through this long presentation and question and answer period. Challenges of this time are great. We are confident that we will overcome this together.

Naperville CUSD 203 Report Card Update-ESSA:

Mr. Bridges noted that at a previous meeting, Dr. Nolten reported a preview of the report card. As he reported, there is not much achievement data to report on, however, the financial reporting is still in place.

Michael Frances, CFO/CSBO reviewed the Every Student Succeeds Act data. This is the second year that the costs per pupils are spread over each school within a district. We have chosen to report Out of District student costs spread over all schools instead of breaking them onto their own location. Mr. Frances discusses some of the methodologies we use as well as variables that contribute to the differences in spending by site

Board questions/Comments:

Thank you for doing such a great job of explaining the variables.

Title IX Update:

Mr. Bridges remarked that a couple of years ago due to the concern of a community member, we did a Title IX audit some significant work at educating staff regarding Title IX. Dr. Rakeda Leaks and Nancy Voise, Principal at Madison Junior High will share a Title IX update.

∙ This presentation has been created to share a review of the changes in the Title IX law, which went into effect August 14, 2020.

∙ Title IX, a federal law, states that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. This means Title IX applies to students including boys and girls, and it applies to school employees.

∙ Among some of the final rules’ key provisions are a narrowed definition of sexual harassment. Previously we knew sexual harassment to be any unwelcomed conduct that was sufficiently serious that it interfered with or limited a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the school’s program. The new definition is more stringent. It is defined as any unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex, determined by a reasonable person, to be so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the educational program or activity.

∙ In the past, schools were required to respond to alleged sexual harassment, which they knew about or should have known about. New guidelines clarify that there must be evidence that the school had actual knowledge in order to be held accountable for an investigation.

∙ Schools may now apply either a preponderance of the evidence standard or a clear and convincing evidence standard in determining responsibility for alleged sexual harassment. ∙ Finally, the grievance procedures must include a presumption that the respondent is not responsible, or guilty, of the alleged conduct until a determination regarding responsibility is made at the conclusion of the grievance process. It also requires supportive measures to be offered before or after the filing of a formal complaint, and those measures must be non disciplinary and non-punitive, emphasizing that a school may not punish an accused person prior to a determination regarding responsibility or guilt.

∙ An academic review took place in the spring of the 2018-2019 school year to determine gender equity in class courses at our junior highs and high schools. Junior high students have little choice in course offerings, and as a result, we found no discrepancies in one gender over another in any elective offerings.

∙ We also reviewed honors placements at this level, and we did find some discrepancies in this area. Boys outnumbered girls in honors math at about a 60/40 ratio; however, the PI placement in language arts was more equally divided at 51% girls and 49% boys. Interestingly, however, our standardized tests do no show boys to be outperforming girls in math in any given year. The high school has far more courses and students have choice in selecting their courses each year. We found a number of courses that tended to be male dominated or female dominated dependent on the course. Honors and AP courses overall did not show a gender discrepancy when this review was completed.

∙ All of the results were shared with high school administration and student services staff to encourage a closer look to ensure implicit bias was not playing a role in leading students to a particular elective course based on their gender.

∙ We have partnered with the Naperville Park District and created a new field for the Naperville Central HS girls, as well as made many improvements in our overall conditions and scheduling of our facilities.

∙ Schedules are reviewed for equity by our athletic directors at both campuses. ∙ Concerns regarding our strength and conditioning programs for our female athletes were also brought forward. Improvements were also made in this area to provide a specific time for girls, including North offering Girls Powerlifting and Barbell Bellas, both very popular, to give girls their own specific conditioning and strengthening time.

∙ We offer an equal number of sports for male and female athletes, but girls have one more cut sport than boys do. However, the rationale for a sport being selective in their rosters is a function of the sport rather than a function of gender. If a sport allows us to keep unlimited numbers of participants, we do.

∙ All gender-like sports use the same facility. For example, girls and boys soccer use the same facility. This is true for all with the exception of baseball and softball. Based on NFHS playing rules, baseball and softball must use different facilities. While they use different fields, both the baseball and softball facilities at North share the same amenities such as bullpen areas, dugouts, practice batting cages, state-of-the-art scoreboards, irrigations systems, press boxes, sound systems and fan seating. All varsity programs are given access to premiere spaces like the stadium and contest gym. Lower level sports are given spaces like natural turf practice fields and field house. All of these decisions are made based on level not gender. We do have fewer girls’ lockers in our current locker room at Central, which will require re-working the current locker room configuration to remedy.

∙ In reviewing the last four years’ worth of financial allocations for high school athletics, spending is proportionate with participation.

∙ Our district offers a wide array of clubs and activities to our students in hopes of getting all students involved and connected to their home schools. Our clubs and activities are open to all students; however, some activities do tend to be dominated more by one gender over another due to student choice. Cheerleading, dance team, color guard, show choir and Orchesis tend to be female dominated, but are open to male students, too. This is true for males, also, as clubs such as robotics and E-sports tends to be more male dominated, but are also open to females. ∙ Our athletic and activity directors monitor student participation and funding levels, and ensure compliance with all laws and other governing bodies. Our staff have been educated on Title IX requirements and gender differences in academic courses and clubs.

∙ ATIXA provides professional learning to support K-12 school districts’ Title IX coordinators, investigators, and administrators in exploring best practices, establishing industry standards, sharing resources, and advancing gender equity in education. As we previously mentioned, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued new Title IX regulations that went into effect on August 14, 2020. Our staff has participated in trainings and we have adjusted our structures to adhere to the new regulations.

∙ At present, all assistant principals, Deans, HS athletic directors and activities directors, select student services coordinators and some other administrators are participating in 16 hours of training to develop the foundational knowledge and skills for K-12 civil rights investigators who perform and/or oversee investigations.

∙ The updated 2020 Title IX Regulations also require school districts to publicly share materials used to train school and district Title IX team members. To fulfill this requirement, we have posted our ATIXA training documents on the District’s website under our Notice of Nondiscrimination.

∙ There are some action steps that we still need to take to ensure that we are fully in compliance and can adequately support students and staff if a Title IX violation or concern arises. ∙ Establish a team to oversee Title IX compliance

∙ We will also review and (if needed) revise policies, procedures and forms. ATIXA has provided some exemplar policies and forms that meet requirements of the new regulations. ∙ Additionally, we will post notices in student and employee handbooks

∙ and identify a Decision Maker, an Appellate Coordinator, and Informal Resolution Facilitator and have them complete necessary trainings to build their capacity in these roles to effectively fulfill their duties

Board Questions/Comments:

Thank you for this report and for all the work that has gone into this update. Thank you. Concerned about the gender distribution in Honors Math. Are we sure that the testing is not gender biased?

Dr. Nolten stated that we are using published off the shelf measures that are empirically validated. We do have a couple of questions we would like to look at in the future related to the process of identification and the appeals piece. The measures are reasonable but some of the processes can be revised.

Are you seeing that the lack of placement of females in honors math is leading to some disparity in the high school level?

Dr. Nolten noted that it does not bear itself out in Math at the high school level. This is 18-19 school year data. Have we looked at the history of honors math over time? Mrs. Voise stated that this data is from the ROE audit that happens every five years. Dr. Nolten and I are looking at the data over time to see if there are any trends.

Thank you for this detailed report. You answered most of my questions in the presentation. Are we required to do an audit every five years?

Mrs. Voise responded that this is a small piece of the large ROE audit.

What would be interesting would be looking at math data across the state and country. My guess is that this proportion would be better than some areas. Thank you for the detailed report. Thank you for the data you presented. Making sure, we are encouraging all genders based on talents and interests. I am concerned about the weakening of the sexual harassment standard. Our policy is very strong. How will we relay to our students that our policy stands and that we prohibit bullying and harassment of any kind? We have more categories that you have expressed in terms of Title IX. We need to ensure that our students understand the standard they are going to be held to as well as the level of protection we have for them. Mr. Bridges agrees and states that the Federal Law just puts in place the minimum benchmarks. Our local policy that is much vigorous remains in place.

Just want to be sure that our communications that need to go out express our policy. Mrs. Voise stated that the district has the option of either following the preponderance of the evidence standard or the clear and convincing evidence. I am confident that we will stay with the preponderance of evidence standard.

President’s Report

President Fitzgerald reminded the Board of the IASB Division Dinner to be held on November 4, 2020. Virtual Summit will be held on November 20, 2020 instead of the Triple I conference. There are some great speakers so let Susan know if you would like to attend.

Board of Education reports:

None

Discussion without Action

Capital Improvement Plan:

Mr. Bridges noted that annually the Administration updates the Board on its Capital Improvement Plan.

Pat Dolan, Director of Buildings and Grounds updated the Board on the projects that have been completed this year as well as projects that will be completed in the future to be in alignment with the goals of the board for educational requirements.

Most have to do with efficiencies and opportunities that come our way.

Going forward, we would like to propose another comprehensive facilities audit. This current one will end in 2026.

Learning Center upgrades at Naper, Beebe, and Prairie. These projects were made to enhance the activities of the building. At Prairie, we created a completely new classroom.

Replaced the ceilings and lights in Mill Street. Received a grant to update the security entrance at NCHS.

Under budget because of the delay of the NCHS fieldhouse flooring and ARECC playground refurbishment.

Board questions/Comments:

Thank you. I understand that things may switch from year to year. This sometimes causes an increase in price. When things shift in years, it is not always cost but is also because of a change in parameter.

Mr. Dolan commented that this is because we came up with a more complete scope of work that did add some costs and time to solve the problems. Costs elevated with a more careful review of the scope of the work.

I have been impressed with what was accomplished during COVID. You mentioned that the Fieldhouse at Central and the playground at Ann Reid were both on the schedule but were not completed.

Mr. Dolan responded that the NCHS Fieldhouse and ARECC playground resurface was because of COVID as the factories had stopped manufacturing early on. At ARECC, we really ran out of time. We are ready to bid those for the summer.

Concerning the door locks, I know it was spread out over time to help with cost. Were we able to get that done over the summer?

Mr. Dolan responded that is still our intention is to do the work currently. We are still involved in COVID related upgrades. We know now exactly what we are going to do and it will be less costly and cause less disruption for the schools.

Mr. Frances noted that we would be looking for approval for some items in fy21-22. It will be on the Board of Education agenda for November 16, 2020.

Discussion with Action

IASB Resolutions

The Board again had lengthy conversations regarding Resolution #2 and Resolution #7. Joe was able to bring back some additional information on these resolutions from his most recent delegate meeting.

Charles Cush made a motion to go against the committee’s recommendation for resolution #2 and vote to approve it as written. Janet Yang Rohr seconded. Those voting yes: Leong, Kozminski, Wandke, Cush, Gericke, Yang Rohr and Fitzgerald. Those voting no: None. Motion passes.

Donna Wandke made a motion to go against the committee’s recommendation for Resolution #7. Joe Kozminski seconded. Those voting yes: Fitzgerald, Wandke, Yang Rohr, Gericke, and Kozminski. Those voting no: Leong and Cush. Motion passes.

Joe Kozminski made a motion to accept all motions except #2 and #7 as stated. Kristine Gericke seconded. Those voting yes: Gericke, Kozminski, Leong, Wandke, Yang Rohr, Fitzgerald and Cush. Those voting no: None. Motion passes.

Board member Yang Rohr noted that in the past, we have written a statement for any that we do not support. The Board agreed. IASB Resolutions Delegate Kozminski stated that this would be different from in past years so there is not a place to make a statement. He can share these thoughts and questions at the next delegate meeting on Thursday.

Old Business

None

New Business

None

Upcoming Events

Superintendent Bridges noted that Tuesday, November 3, 2020 is a state declared holiday for Election Day.

Superintendent Bridges noted the next Board of Education meeting would be held on Monday November 16, 2020 at 7:00pm.

Adjournment

Charles Cush moved seconded by Joe Kozminski to adjourn the meeting at 10:53 p.m. A roll call vote was taken. Those voting yes: Yang Rohr, Cush, Fitzgerald, Leong, Kozminski, Wandke and Gericke. Those voting no: None. The motion carried.

https://www.naperville203.org/cms/lib/IL01904881/Centricity/Domain/732/BOE%20OPEN%20SESSION%20MINUTES%20November%202%202020.pdf