Here’s what’s going on at District 205
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a regular meeting on September 10 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. Board member Christopher Kocinski was absent from the meeting.
The public participation segment included comments from representatives of Elmhurst Cool Cities Coalition, who urged the board to discontinue the district’s use of synthetic pesticides on district property.
• ‘Shining Star’ recognized
The board presented its Shining Star Award to Samantha Cunanan, a kindergarten through fifth-grade music teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School. Cunanan was recognized for her contributions, which have included organizing the school’s talent show for the last three years. She also organizes a holiday performance at the school, and a performance at the Wilder Park tree lighting event.
• Report on start of school year
The meeting also included a presentation by Nikki Tammaru, the district’s assistant superintendent for learning and leadership development, who provided a report about the start of the 2019-20 school year. The presentation included a video that highlighted the district’s use of instructional coaches for its teachers. The video featured comments from teachers who provided positive feedback about working with instructional coaches.
• Presentation on all-day kindergarten
The meeting also included a presentation from district staff about preparation for the district’s offering of all-day kindergarten. The district currently offers half-day kindergarten, but will begin providing all-day kindergarten as soon as the 2020-21 school year. The district will continue to provide half-day kindergarten.
According to the presentation, the district plans to provide core instruction during the morning, when students enrolled in half-day kindergarten are in the classroom. The afternoon portion of the school day will include art, music and physical education, as well as science and social studies. The proposed school day for all-day kindergarten will begin around 8:15 a.m. and continue until about 3 p.m.
• Foundation presentation
District 205 Foundation Executive Director Kristi Amendola gave a presentation detailing the role of the foundation. Amendola became the foundation’s executive director this summer. She described the foundation as the philanthropic arm of the district. She said the foundation has raised about $1.7 million for the district. In 2019, the district provided nearly $100,000 in teacher grants.
“We love to help teachers and administrators create their dream environment,” said Amendola. She noted that the foundation, which consists of over 20 Elmhrust residents and District 205 parents, reviews various grant requests before making donations.
• Construction updates
The meeting also included a presentation about upcoming construction projects at district schools, including Edison Elementary School and Bryan Middle School. Craig Siepka of Wight and Company and Terry Fielden of International Contractors, Inc. gave the presentation to the board. Siepka discussed upcoming plans to update and improve the secure main entrances at several schools, including the Elementary Schools Fischer, Jackson, Jefferson, as well as Churchville and Sandburg Middle Schools. The projects are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2020. In some cases, the projects will last until the fall of the 2020.
Upcoming work at Bryan includes the addition of new classroom space and the relocation of the main office. That project is scheduled to start in June of 2020 and continue until November.
The upcoming work at Edison Elementary includes removing portions of the building and attaching an addition. That project could begin as soon as April of 2020. The renovation at Edison will take place over three summers (2020, 2021 and 2022).
The addition of classroom space at Bryan and Edison is expected to help accommodate future growth, as well as students who are being relocated from Lincoln Elementary School while that school is rebuilt.
The board will hold its next regular meeting on Sept. 24.
