McHenry Times

Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 Board of Education met Feb. 11.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

I - CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Gilmore, President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

II - ROLL CALL

Present: Dr. Bidwell, Dr. Farris, Mr. Gilmore, Mr. Headley, Mr. Homuth, Mr. Parisi, Dr. Moan, Superintendent, Mr. Brian McAdow, Associate Superintendent for Human Resources and Operations, Dr. Justin Smith, Assistant Superintendent for Middle and High School Education, Mrs. Keely Krueger, Assistant Superintendent for Early Childhood and Elementary Education, and Mrs. Risa Hanson, Chief Financial Officer.

Absent: Mr. Miceli

Dr. Bidwell pulled Consent Agenda item 2.1, Approval of Minutes, from the Consent Agenda.

III - CONSENT AGENDA

MOTION – Moved by Mr. Parisi and seconded by Mr. Headley to approve the Consent Agenda including routine personnel matters with addendum; policy revisions for a second reading; a resolution to prohibit sexual harassment; and an overnight field trip for the Woodstock North High School Student Council to attend North Central District of Student Councils 2020 Overnight Extravaganza in Gurnee, Illinois, March 6-7, 2020, with roll call vote as follows:

MOTION – Moved by Mr. Parisi and seconded by Mr. Headley to approve Regular Meeting Minutes of January 21, 2020 and Closed Session Minutes of January 21, 2020, with roll call vote as follows:

Mr. Parisi - Yes

Mr. Headley - Yes

Dr. Farris - Yes

Dr. Bidwell - Yes

Mr. Homuth - Yes

Mr. Gilmore - Yes

MOTION – Moved by Mr. Parisi and seconded by Mr. Headley to approve Regular Meeting Minutes of January 21, 2020 and Closed Session Minutes of January 21, 2020, with roll call vote as follows:

Mr. Parisi - Yes

Mr. Headley - Yes

Dr. Farris - Yes

Dr. Bidwell - Abstain

Mr. Homuth - Yes

Mr. Gilmore - Yes

1. Approval of Minutes

1.1 Regular Meeting of January 21, 2020

1.2 Closed Session of January 21, 2020

2. Approval of Routine Personnel Matters Employment

Approve the employment of Fernando Irigoyen Alvarez as Bilingual Associate for the 2019-2020 school year at 6 hours per day, 5 days per week, $13.17 per hour. (Dean)

Approve the employment of Stephanie Kaye as Food Service Personnel for the 2019-2020 school year at 4 hours per day, 5 days per week, $11.28 per hour. (WHS)

Approve the employment of Katherine Riechers as Route Driver for the 2019- 2020 school year at 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, $17.93 per hour. (Transportation)

Approve the employment of Donna Searle as LRC Associate for the 2019- 2020 school year at 5 hours per day, 5 days per week, $13.17 per hour. (CMS)

Approve the employment of Corissa Stolldorf in an additional position as Noon Hour Associate for the 2019-2020 school year at 2 hours per day, 5 days per week, $10.75 per hour. (VDELC)

Approve the employment of Dianne Zavala as Kids Club Associate for the 2019-2020 school year at 4.5 hours per day, 5 days per week, $10.75 per hour. (MEES)

Approve the employment of Vanessa Buchanan in an additional position as Assistant Debate Advisor for the 2020-2021 school year at a stipend of $3,404. (WHS)

Approve the employment of John Kohl in additional position as Testing Coordinator for the 2019-2020 school year at a stipend of $2,500, and as Testing Coordinator for the 2020-2021 school year at a stipend of $7,000. (WNHS)

Approve the employment of Allison McGinnis in an additional position as Freshman Class Advisor for the 2020-2021 school year at a stipend of $1,702. (WHS)

Approve the employment of Travis Mohr in an additional position as Assistant Baseball Coach for the 2019-2020 school year at a stipend of $6,039. (WNHS)

Approve the employment of Tamera Tillman in an additional position as Lead Vision Teacher for the 2020-2021 school year at a stipend of $4,055. (District)

Approve the employment of Nikita Chieco as Special Education Classroom Associate for the 2019-2020 school year at 6 hours per day, 5 days per week, $13.17 per hour. (PWE)

Approve the employment of Karen Hinderlider as Noon Hour Associate for the 2019-2020 school year at 2 hours per day, 5 days per week, $10.75 per hour, plus $1.00 personal hygiene differential. (VDELC)

Approve the employment of Gustavo Inzunza as Assistant Mechanic for the 2019-2020 school year at 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, $17.61 per hour. (Transportation)

Approve the employment of Leslie Martin as Special Education One-on-One Health Associate for the 2019-2020 school at 6.5 hours per day, 5 days per week, $12.28 per hour. (CSMS)

Approve the employment of Melissa Weir as Noon Hour Associate for the 2019-2020 school year at 2 hours per day, 5 days per week, $10.75 per hour. (VDELC)

Approved the employment of Michael Brasile in an additional position as Spring Weight Room Supervisor for the 2019-2020 school year at a stipend of $2,543. (WHS)

Other

Approve the transfer of Patrick Podgorski to a position of Assistant Principal for the 2020-2021 school year at a salary of $95,500. (WHS)

Approve a change in retirement date for Linda Warriner from a previously approved end of the 2019-2020 school year to the newly requested end of the 2020-2021 school year. (WNHS – Special Education Resource Teacher)

Approve a change in retirement date for Deborah Barnhill from a previously approved end of the 2020-2021 school year to the newly requested end of the 2021-2022 school year. (WWE – Food Service Manager)

Approve a change in hours for Susan Jewasinski for the 2019-2020 school year to 6.2 hours per day, 5 days per week. (Transportation – Route Driver)

Approve the transfer of Linda Puzzo to a position of Special Education One- to-One Health Associate for the 2019-2020 school year at 6.5 hours per day, 5 days per week. (OES)

Approve the termination of employment of Dawn Raisor, effective February 12, 2020. (WHS – Special Education One-to-One Associate)

Approve a change in hours for Hernando Restrepo for the 2019-2020 school year to 3 hours per day, 5 days per week. (Transportation – Route Driver)

Approve the transfer of Rachel Emricson to a position of Assistant Director of Kids Club for the 2019-2020 school year at 5 hours per day, 5 days per week. (District)

Approve the transfer of Tiffany Shields to a position of Route Driver for the 2019-2020 school year at 5 hours per day, 5 days per week, $17.93 per hour. (Transportation)

Resignation

Approve the retirement of Diana Frisbie effective the end of the 2019-2020 school year. (OES – Principal)

Approve the resignation of Brady Stromquist, effective June 30, 2020. (WNHS - Athletic Director)

Approve the resignation of Ashley Stoxen, currently on an extended leave of absence, effective January 30, 2020. (PWE – Media Specialist)

Approve the resignation of Carla Voss, effective the end of the 2019-2020 school year. (DES – Speech Language Pathologist)

Approve the resignation of Marcos Campos, effective January 24, 2020. (PWE – Bilingual Classroom Associate)

Approve the resignation of Donolyn Streich effective January 24, 2020. (VDELC – Noon Hour Associate)

Approve the retirement of Julie Wessel, effective the end of the 2021-2022 school year. (NWMS – Special Education Associate)

Approve the resignation of John Kohl as Guidance Department Chair only, effective the end of the 2019-2020 school year. (WNHS)

Approve the retirement of James Palek, effective the end of the 2020-2021 school year. (PWE – 2nd Shift Custodian)

Leave of Absence

Approve an extension of the approved leave of absence for Leslie Staniszewski, with the current leave of absence to continue through an anticipated return date of March 30, 2020. (OES – Special Education Autism Teacher)

Approve a leave of absence for Deborah Barnhill beginning March 5, 2020 and continuing for 4 to 6 weeks thereafter. (WWE – Food Service Manager)

Approve an extension of the approved leave of absence for Courtney Patrick, with the current leave of absence to continue through April 6, 2020. (Clay – Special Education Associate)

Approve an extension of the approved leave of absence for Alma Meal, with the current leave of absence to continue through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. (GWE – RTI Associate)

Approve an extension of the approved leave of absence for Kelly Smith, with the current leave of absence to continue through an anticipated return date of April 6, 2020. (WNHS – Registered Nurse)

Approve a leave of absence for Anne Stellmach beginning February 10, 2020 and continuing through an anticipated return date of March 9, 2020. (MEES – Registered Nurse)

3. Approval of Policy Revisions for a Second Reading (On File)

4. Approval of a Resolution to Prohibit Sexual Harassment (On File)

5. Approval of an Overnight Field Trip for the Woodstock North High School Student Council – Student Council to Attend North Central District of Student Councils 2020 Overnight Extravaganza in Gurnee, Illinois, March 6-7, 2020 (On File)

IV - RECOGNITION

1. ILMEA District 7 Junior Choir – Keaton Parrish (Creekside Middle School)

Twenty-nine talented musicians from District 200’s choral, band, and orchestra programs were selected to this year’s District 7 music groups based upon auditions sponsored by the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA). District 7 is comprised of schools in most of McHenry County, all of Lake County, and also some parts of Cook and DuPage Counties. It is generally considered to be the most competitive of the nine districts in Illinois.

In addition to the impressive high school achievements, District 200 also had 16 Creekside Middle School students who qualified for the ILMEA Junior Choir, Junior Band, and Junior Orchestra. These impressive results illustrate the very high quality of the choral, band, and orchestra programs in our schools.

Congratulations went to the following individual: ILMEA District 7 Junior Choir

Keaton Parrish

2. FIRST LEGO League State Robotics Competitors

District 200 was once again represented in State-level FIRST LEGO League competition, with three middle school teams advancing to the State contest on January 1, 2020 at Elgin Community College.

For their research project, Team P.A.R.K. from Creekside Middle School studied accessibility difficulties for people with physical restrictions at Woodstock’s Emricson Park. After learning about AdventureTURF, a safety and playground surfacing product used at Dyke Park in Huntley, the students developed a solution to the barriers and mulch bed at Emricson Park that included the product and an added cellulose sponge lining to add cushioning and protection.

Team Phish Phriends from Northwood Middle School conducted research pertaining to aquaponic gardening for our schools – looking at ways to use fish tank gardening to produce fresh greens to be served in school lunchrooms, and developing a working prototype. The team earned the Robot Design Award at Regional competition, and were recognized in the top 3 out of 54 teams for Team Spirit at State competition.

Also representing Northwood, the Greenhouse Gang discovered that a mobile upcycled pallet gutter garden and shoebag salad set-up could be used to provide fresh greens for a school; or as a science teaching tool for germination of seeds in the classroom. They also made a full size prototype with an ADA-compliant hand-crank generator that supplied power to a water pump for watering the "gutter garden" system. Greenhouse Gang earned an Innovative Project Solution Award at Regionals and were recognized in the top 8 of 54 teams for their project and presentation at State.

During the Board meeting, the students presented project information and answered Board questions.

Congratulations went to Coaches Kris Hermansson and Gigi Carlson, and these talented students.

Creekside Middle School Team P.A.R.K.

Maggie Adams           Caleb Jackson

Charlie Baker              Hunter Johanson

Zach Canaday            Camille Scolio

Liam Hanson              Grace Topf

Julian Hoak                Jonathan Gomez Vazquez

Northwood Middle School Phish Phriends

Alex Azarela               Teagan Kirk

AJ Bigler                    Claire Miranda

Tyler Chaney              Ryan Nolan

Gracie Duenas           Devyn Russo

Aubree Hansen

Northwood Middle School Greenhouse Gang

Shane Buening          Teya Nieman

Jack Freeman            Emerich Parpart

Bob Gerloff                Malaika Parpart

Omar Lopez               AJ Ringpis

William Madigan

MOTION – Moved by Mr. Parisi and seconded by Mr. Homuth to introduce the following resolution: WHEREAS, the Board of Education of Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 wishes to recognize the contributions of these individuals, and WHEREAS, District 200 has benefited as a result of these accomplishments; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 hereby bestows special recognition and a certificate of achievement on behalf of the citizens of the District, with roll call vote as follows:

Mr. Parisi - Yes

Mr. Homuth - Yes

Mr. Headley - Yes

Dr. Farris - Yes

Dr. Bidwell - Yes

Mr. Gilmore - Yes

V - COMMUNICATIONS

1. Mr. Gilmore shared with the Board a Thank You card he received from Mrs. Bigler’s fifth grade class at Prairiewood Elementary School.

2. Mr. Gilmore informed the Board that Dr. Moan is following up with a parent who sent an email to Board members regarding a bus issue.

VI - SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

1. Dr. Moan thanked the Board for their support of the Education Foundation and their donation to the fundraising event.

2. Dr. Moan shared the upcoming parent/teacher conference schedule with the Board.

VII - MONITORING REPORT

1. Teacher Residency Program (On File)

Assistant Superintendent Keely Krueger updated the Board on the new Teacher Residency program beginning in June 2020.

Mrs. Krueger explained that District 200 received a $50,000 planning grant from ISBE in June 2019 to begin planning for the implementation of a new Teacher Residency program. She pointed out that the intent of the Teacher Residency Planning grant is to support local school districts and higher education partnerships necessary to implement and operate an effective innovative teacher residency program within the local school district.

Mrs. Krueger added that District 200 will partner with Aurora University to prepare ten highly trained resident teachers to meet the requirements to teach in our schools by 2021-2022.

During Board discussion, Mr. Headley asked if the program would target a specific grade level and Mrs. Krueger responded that graduating teachers would be endorsed to teach first through fifth grade. She added that graduates of the program would not be guaranteed a position with District 200, but if hired they would be required to make a commitment of at least four years with the district.

Mr. Gilmore asked whether the teacher residents would be compensated other than through grant funds and Mrs. Krueger responded that in addition to reduced tuition costs, the teachers would only receive a grant funded stipend.

Dr. Bidwell asked how teacher mentors would be chosen for the program and Mrs. Kruger explained that due to the commitment level by the teacher mentors, an interview committee process would be used to choose teacher mentors for the program.

VIII - UNFINISHED BUSINESS

There was no unfinished business.

IX - NEW BUSINESS

1. Approval of High School Math Program Resources Adoption

This item was included on the agenda so the Board could approve the adoption of the new high school math resources.

Assistant Superintendent Justin Smith pointed out that the current high school math textbooks were purchased in 2007 and since that time the state has adopted more rigorous standards for math and updated the instructional practices for teaching math to meet the demands of today’s workforce. He added that our teachers have worked hard to meet these new demands by supplementing our old textbooks with a variety of materials, but the time has come to provide our students and teachers with resources that are researched-based, more systematic and better aligned to meet the achievement expectations we have for our students.

Dr. Smith explained that last winter, a high school curriculum adoption committee was formed and they created a list of criteria they wanted to see in a new math curriculum series. They also reviewed materials published for 7- 12 math programs, interviewed three vendors, and chose College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM) as the district’s pilot program.

All staff members who teach algebra at the middle and high schools were offered the opportunity to pilot the CPM resources. Three middle school teachers and five high school teachers participated in the pilot using CPM Algebra I resources and these instructors gathered feedback regarding their thoughts and experiences in using the CPM resources. The overwhelming choice by the math teachers and administrators was to recommend the CPM math program for adoption.

In addition to our staff using the resources, they also conducted a site visit at St. Charles East High School to see how the CPM curriculum was implemented in co-taught classes. District administration contacted multiple schools that currently use the CPM program and received reports of significant increases in math scores based on the curriculum change and their high-level implementation and the benefits for students in co-taught classes.

Dr. Smith concluded by outlining costs, the proposed program adoption timeline, professional development and coaching support that would be included in the program implementation this coming fall.

MOTION – Moved by Mr. Headley and seconded by Mr. Parisi to approve the administrations’ recommendation for the adoption of the CPM Mathematics program and to place the materials on public display in the Teaching and Learning Department of the District Administrative Services Center until final adoption at the March 10, 2020 Board meeting, with roll call vote as follows:

Mr. Headley - Yes

Mr. Parisi - Yes

Mr. Homuth - Yes

Dr. Farris - Yes

Dr. Bidwell - Yes

Mr. Gilmore - Yes

X - COMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Mr. Parisi reported that the Education Foundation Groundhog Day fundraiser went very well and he thanked the Cherry Tree Inn Bed & Breakfast for partnering with the Board in their donation to the fundraising event.

2. Mr. Gilmore reported that the Calendar Committee met last week and have developed a tentative 2021-2022 School Calendar.

3. Mr. Homuth reported that PRIDE Award nomination materials are now available.

XI - CLOSED SESSION

MOTION – Moved by Mr. Homuth and seconded by Dr. Farris to go into closed session at 7:47 p.m. for the purpose of discussing the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the District or legal counsel for the District, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or against legal counsel for the District to determine its validity, with roll call vote as follows:

Mr. Homuth - Yes

Dr. Farris - Yes

Dr. Bidwell - Yes

Mr. Parisi - Yes

Mr. Headley - Yes

Mr. Gilmore - Yes

The Board returned to open session at 8:03 p.m.

XII - ADJOURNMENT

MOTION – Moved by Dr. Farris and seconded by Mr. Parisi to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m., with roll call vote as follows:

Dr. Farris - Yes

Mr. Parisi - Yes

Mr. Homuth - Yes

Mr. Headley - Yes

Dr. Bidwell - Yes

Mr. Gilmore - Yes

https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?mk=50364867&fn=minutes.pdf