A District 2:25 Update 

Timely news from Glenbrook High School District 225 

 
Students and Staff Who Excel

During the summer months, the Students and Staff Who Excel program takes a break from its consistent placement on the Board agendas, but that doesn't mean there isn't reason to celebrate.Check out these fine accomplishments from the past months:

 

Glenbrook North

Juniors Andy Margolis, Jack Nelson and Andrew Farwell were named 1st place International Champions for their Wacky Mac & Cheese Advertising Campaign at the International DECA competition.

 

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) recently awarded Allie Gross, Patricia Hare and Resa Magill certificates for superior writing.

 

Junior Nathan Salstone was one of only two Illinois high school

Nathan Salstone in Phantom.
Photo by Allie Handzel  

students selected to perform on a Broadway stage this summer during the Musical Theater Awards.

 

Katie Locascio, Ye Na Lee, Elana Shyman and Abby Adler qualified for nationals after competing in the Illinois Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) State Leadership Conference last month.

 

The Torch competed in the Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association's 2012 Newspaper Contest with the following students winning awards: (Blue Ribbons) Allie Gross, Jess Hoffen, Stella Tu, Mikail Siddiki, Audrey Chou, Britni Berg, Marie Davis and Kyle Grundy; (Honorable Mention) Grace Ruklick, Karolina Bartosik, Sam Aber, and Mitchell Lev.

 

Glenbrook South

Senior Rebecca Tiedmann was recently named the grand prizewinner of the 2012 Yearbook Design contest.

 

The Chicagoland Television Educators Council recognized Connor

Hills (2011) by Connor Smith
Hills (2011) by Connor Smith.

Smith, Jack Stillman, Kevin Mathein, John Paul O'Rourke, Olivia Kane, Chris Polmanski, Caleb Hill, Chloe Valtos and Wyatt Richter for their video projects.

 

The Glenbrook South soccer team defeated New Trier 1-0 to win the Super Sectional Champion.

 

The GBS Envirothon team took 4th place at the State Competition.

 

Senior debaters Brian Henderson, Jacob Hurwitz, Marc Jacome and Donald Thibeau earned the degree of Premier Distinction - the National Forensic League's highest degree of student membership. 

 

GBS Horticulture Team finished 1st in state during the state horticulture contest held in April. This is the 21st time in 27 years that GBS has secured this title. 

 

Calendar   

 

  Regular Board Meeting
  July 16, 7 p.m.@ GBS

Finance Committee
July 19, 7:30 a.m. @ GBS

Regular Board Meeting
  July 30, 7 p.m.@ GBS

Regular Board Meeting
  August 13, 7 p.m.@ GBS

Regular Board Meeting
  August 27, 7 p.m.@ GBS
 
 
Meeting Highlights - May 14

Post-graduate study reveals Glenbrook students perform well in college

A recent post-graduate study revealed that Glenbrook High School District 225 students perform well above national and state averages when it comes to college enrollment and retention rates. The Glenbrook college enrollment rate is 98% (Illinois average: 57%; National average: 63%) and the college retention rate after attending the Glenbrooks is 95% (Illinois average: 72%; National 75%).

 

"This study helps us to better understand our students' transition to college and how they compare to other graduates across the country," said Assistant Superintendent for Education Services Rosanne Williamson.  "The data shows that Glenbrook students do very well in their post-graduate pursuits and are well-prepared for rigorous college experiences."

 

The survey also showed that more than 88% of GBN and GBS graduates rated their academic preparation for college as "good" or "excellent" compared to the national average of 56%. 

 

The District will continue to utilize the available data and engage in meaningful dialogue with our graduates in an effort to better understand the needs of our current students and to inform decisions about the programs and support offered in the future.

 

See Memo

District discusses digital learning pilot program 

This summer, Glenbrook High School District 225 will conduct a digital learning pilot program to explore the educational experience when students utilize electronic devices and textbooks in the classroom.  At the Board meeting on June 11, Instructional Technology Director Ryan Bretag provided an overview of the program.

 

"We recently challenged our staff to read a digital textbook and found that a majority of them felt an active reading experience was good to exceptional," said Bretag.  "As we shift to a bring your own device learning environment it is important that we monitor how this will work for students and teachers in the classroom."

 

The district maintains a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy where students are allowed to use any type of electronic device to enhance their learning.  This ranges from laptops, to tablets, to certain functions on a smart phone. 

 

"Feedback has shown that our students don't want to be told what type of device to bring, said Bretag. "They want to use the device they function best with."

 

Three summer school classes will pilot the concept of diverse devices in the classroom - two U.S. History courses and one English course. Students will be able to bring their own device and receive free access to a digital textbook for the duration of the course.  Students who do not have a device can elect to utilize one from the district at no cost.  There is no device requirement, so students can choose to purchase and utilize a traditional book.

 

"Our district continues to focus on web-based applications to enhance learning, so the specific device becomes less important," said Superintendent Dr. Mike Riggle.

 

Consent agenda: Regular actions such as appointments, resignations, FOIA, vendor bills, minutes, gifts, etc. are approved during the consent agenda. To view supporting documentation (when available) and the official meeting minutes, please visit the school board section of our website.  Please note, official minutes are available after Board approval the following meeting.