Here’s what’s going on at School District 205
By Chris Fox
For The Elmhurst. Independent
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a meeting on Oct. 10 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. All seven board members attended the meeting.
Sandburg nurse awarded ’Shining Star’
The board presented its Shining Star award to Rosanne Tansor, Sandburg Middle School’s nurse. Sandburg math teacher Nancy Bensfield nominated Tansor for the award. Bensfield praised Tansor for providing top-notch care to students and staff.
Boys volleyball team recognized
The board also recognized York High School’s 2017 boys volleyball team, which was honored as an All-American Academic team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). York’s boys volleyball program has received the honor for seven consecutive years. The AVCA honors teams with a grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. The York boys volleyball team members maintained a grade-point average of 3.695 during the 2016-17 school year. The York team, which is coached by Ken Dowdy, was one of only 21 boys teams in the nation, and one of six in Illinois, to receive the award.
District’s ability to prepare students for career paths discussed
York Principal Erin DeLuga and Dr. Mark Cohen, the district’s assistant superintendent for innovation and growth, discussed the district’s efforts to provide career pathways to York students. DeLuga discussed the importance of engaging students in rigorous experiences and giving them the opportunity to take risks, innovate, and fail in order to succeed. DeLuga also noted the district’s career pathways efforts give students a chance to work with mentors in the community. The district’s plan to create a business incubator lab at York, which would provide space for students to work with mentors, would cost approximately $216,000. That business incubator lab could potentially be ready for use by the summer of 2019.
Presentation on achievement summary report
The meeting also included a presentation from Mariann Lemke, the district’s director of research and program analysis, about the district’s achievement summary report for the 2016-17 school year. The district’s Grade 11 students reportedly had an average total SAT score of 1162 (580 in math and 582 in evidence-based reading and writing) during the 2016-17 school year. About 85 percent of students met the district benchmark for the evidence-based reading and writing portion of the SAT test. About 68 percent of students met the district’s benchmark for the math portion of the test. The previous district benchmark for the ACT was 23. Earlier this year, the Illinois State Board of Education announced it would offer the SAT as the statewide college entrance exam to Grade 11 students attending public high school. The state board administered the ACT to juniors at Illinois public high schools for the previous 15 years.
Lemke noted that about one-third of York students participated in at least one Advanced Placement course during the 2016-17 year. About 90 percent of those students were able to receive college credit for those Advanced Placement courses. Lemke also reported that York’s graduation rates have held steady at about 95 percent over the last three years.
Board approves Moyer’s goals for 2017-18
Board members voted unanimously during the meeting to approve Superintendent David Moyer’s goals for the 2017-18 school year. After discussions in closed session, the superintendent and the board agreed to the following two goals: 1) facilitate Phase II of the Focus 205 process and complete the final draft of the district’s operational plan; 2) provide oversight and supervision to develop and maintain a system that will support implementation of the board-approved student achievement objectives, middle school task force recommendations, and Focus 205 Phase I findings as indicated in the current draft operational plan.
The board will rate the superintendent’s progress toward attainment of the goals as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory as part of his final evaluation by June 1, 2018.
Moyer addresses concerns of Fischer parents
In the superintendent’s communication segment of the meeting, Moyer addressed concerns expressed by district parents at previous meetings. Those concerns included the lack of crossing guards at Fischer Elementary School and the matter of equity at all district schools. Moyer said he had spoken with the Elmhurst city manager about the crossing guard situation at Fischer. He said the two would follow up their discussion. Moyer said that after he hears from the city the district will put some plans in place and bring forward some ideas.
How can Board assure equity among schools
Regarding the issue of equity in district schools, Moyer noted that the recent concerns were mainly related to playgrounds. Some district schools have received donations designated for playground improvements at particular schools. Moyer said that when the district receives donations earmarked for a certain school, the district is sensitive that other schools have the same opportunities available for their students. Moyer did note that while some schools might have better gymnasiums or libraries than other schools in the district, the district goes to great lengths to ensure that all of its students have the same access to educational programming and instructional support.
District’s membership in ONCC confirmed
Board member Kara Caforio noted near the end of the meeting that District 205 has been approved as a member of the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission, which includes representatives from several communities and school districts. The district recently received several complaints from parents about overnight flight noise, which has disrupted their children’s sleep and affected their readiness for the school day.
The board will hold its next meeting on Oct. 24.
