River Forest District 90
October 21, 2013 
Upcoming Meetings

 

Committee of the Whole
November 5, 2013
7:00 p.m. 
Roosevelt Middle School
Library Learning Center
2nd Floor 

Business Meeting
November 18, 2013
7:30 p.m.
Roosevelt Middle School
Auditorium 
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Board of Education
Meeting Highlights

Presented by: 
Mr. Patrick Meyer, District 90 Board President
Dr. Edward Condon, Superintendent

The meeting was called to order by Patrick Meyer at 7:32 p.m. in the Roosevelt Middle School Library Learning Center. All members were present except Ralph Martire. The meeting adjourned at 10:13 p.m.

Below is a summary of meeting highlights. Board Packets containing meeting details are posted on the District 90 website prior to each meeting. Full meeting minutes will be posted on the website once approved.
 
Student Presentation

Tim, a 4th grade student at Lincoln school, presented information about curriculum and activities at each grade level. These included kindergarten Dads and Donuts day and first grade science classes learning about living organisms in aquatic habitats. Second grade social studies classes took a field trip to the Naper Settlement and presented their family histories at a Living History Fair. The third grade took a field trip to the Botanic Gardens for science, and fourth grade reading classes are learning about story structure.

 

 
Outside Organization Meetings
 
Council of Governments: Pat Meyer and Ed Condon attended the October meeting, which featured comments about an economic advisory committee, Park District programming, and security improvements at Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF). Concordia University is searching for a new president and Dominican University has an upcoming panel on superheroes.

 

RF Service Club: David Latham and Ed Condon attended the October meeting. Dr. Condon shared a District 90 update, there was a State of the Village report from the Village President, and a report from OPRF about budget matters.

 
District Meetings

Superintendent's Leadership Council: There were two meetings since the last Board meeting. Discussion included investigation about the implementation of a new teacher evaluation model.

PTO Council:  Liz Fischer attended the October 15 meeting. Common Core and the Roosevelt Exterior Project were the two primary topics of conversation, as well as discussion about the 6th grade iPad deployment.

Green4Good:  Ed Condon attended the September 30 meeting. The group discussed the Roosevelt Exterior Project, Walk to School events, and other sustainability efforts. There was a report abou tthe results of the Recycling Extravaganza lat May, and discussion about the new water bottle filling stations at the schools. A Counter on one of the fountains has already recorded a savings of more than 2,600 plastic bottles at Roosevelt! The group discussed the possibiity of a partnership for a small solar panel system for the schools, which would be funded largely through a grant opportunity.

Teacher's Leadership Council:  Ed Condon reported that the group is currently focused on curriculum and instruction matters related to Common Core implementation.

 
Action Item
 
Permissive Transfer Request: Ed Condon recommended that a permissive transfer request be approved by the Board. Motion carried. 
Informational Items

Window and Ventilation Field Survey: The District evaluated the operation of windows at all schools. Anthony Cozzi presented a report from architectural engineers for later consideration. Among the findings was that more than 50% of the windows at Willard have "serious deficiencies." At Lincoln, 25% of windows are in need of some repair. Options for repair or replacement, including costs, were reviewed.

 

The report indicated that Willard has the most serious ventilation issues. Mr. Cozzi reviewed proposed solutions, at a cost of about $78,000. At Lincoln, the recommendation was to replace existing exhaust fans at a cost of about $56,000. At Roosevelt, replacing fans in the northeast corner would cost approximately $14,000.

 

There was also brief discussion about the issue of air conditioning in the schools.

 

Proposed Roosevelt Exterior Project: Anthony Cozzi presented four concepts for additional angled parking options in the vicinity of Oak Avenue to provide a balance for the loss of parking spots if a student congregation area is created in the North parking lot. The Board was informally polled regarding their preferences for the use of the North parking lot and the consensus was to present the option for a congregation plaza at the Public Forum on October 28.  The four concepts, including the installation of parking in the vicinity of Oak Avenue, were shelved.

 

Summer School Report 2013: Anthony Cozzi presented a report including the revenues and expenditures for the program.  Ed Condon further discussed enrollment and course offerings. Since the program resulted in a financial loss, the program format will be reviewed in detail during the course of the upcoming year.

 

5Essentials School Climate Survey: Ed Condon presented the District's results provided by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) from the survey taken by teachers and students in grades 6-8 in March 2013. The survey was required by the State. While the results indicated a positive overall climate in all three schools, he explained that the State does not plan to publicly release the results in their entirety until it is able to review the survey process.

 

Some of the results will be provided through the electronic version of the State's School Report Card. The areas of strength for the District included teacher-parent trust, peer support for academic work, safety, quality of student discussion, and school commitment. He also presented areas identified for growth. Students indicated that they would like to see more academic personalization and more interaction in math instruction.

 
Public Comments
 

Suzanne Morrison and Nancy Snyder made comments related to the proposed Roosevelt Exterior Project.  Mrs. Morrison presented police reports of traffic accidents in the Roosevelt Middle School vicinity. Becca Kaufman thanked the Board for their discussion related to the Roosevelt project, and made a comment about the Summer School Program and competitive summer programs. Gerri Humbert made a comment about summer school programs offered by Dominican University.