Meeting Minutes Board of Education ♦ Niles Township High Schools ♦ District 219 ♦ Cook County, Illinois December 15, 2014 I. Call to Order and Roll Call Board President Robert Silverman called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. Board Members Present at Roll Call: Sheri Doniger, Carlton Evans, Jeffrey Greenspan, Ruth Klint, David Ko, Robert Silverman, Eileen Valfer. II. Closed Session It was moved by DONIGER and seconded by GREENSPAN to recess into closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of employees and collective bargaining. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Klint, Ko, Silverman, Valfer. The motion carried. The Board recessed into Closed Session at 6:45 p.m. III. Open Session It was moved by DONIGER and seconded by EVANS to return to open session at 7:50 p.m. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Klint, Ko, Silverman, Valfer The motion carried. IV. Recall to Order Mr. Silverman recalled the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m. The Pledge was recited. V. Changes / Additions to the Agenda Case No. 2015-E02 is being revised to reflect what was discussed in Closed Session. The green personnel handout was added to the Consent Agenda. VI. Audience to Visitors Ann Goethals, President of the NTFTSS, said that on behalf of the membership that they were delighted with their new two year contract extension. Ms. Goethals also commented that although we are a progressive district, she believe we can work cooperatively together to move towards a positive and effective system of credit recovery. She said we need to first establish what problem we are attacking. She believes that one of the main reasons for student failure in District 219 is not failure to achieve a target or master a skill, but failure to do school, i.e. maintaining consistent attendance, getting to school on time, finishing homework, having something to write with, bringing the story you have for homework, having the math problems, having access to teacher resources on line, etc. She believes there are many executive functioning and systemic organizational skills that contribute to student failure. This is not what credit recovery does. She stated that much of first semester is about teaching students how to do school. Starting in week 5, teachers are already doing credit recovery. Students fail tests and teachers give re-dos. If students do not know how to do an essay, they are sent to the Lit Center. Anyone in the 56-57% range is getting intensive credit recovery on an ongoing basis by teachers already. In special cases, deadlines are relaxed, i.e., if there are family situations involved, exceptions are made. Ms. Goethals stated that teachers are offering all the brain power they have in making a significant and important credit recovery program in District 219. She said Dr. Roloff’s draft policy is off to a really great start.

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VII. Student Board Member Comments Niles North - Rebecca Rabizadeh stated that Niles North will have finals on Wednesday. Study sessions are being held every day this week after school in various subjects. Student spirits are high. The computer science, teacher, Mr. Rubin, and students made an app to easily access finals schedules. Last week was Winter Spirit Week. This was all facilitated by students so with our new students association we had the voices of many students and they came up with all the ideas and all the events and organized everything. The Annual International Winter party took place on Tuesday. Over 200 students and staff were in attendance and the following day the Islamic students’ Future Forum was held. Niles West – Cassie Bergman stated that the Winter Pep Assembly was very successful and the overall theme for the past few months has been to honor military families and veterans. Over 5,200 care packages were sent to soldiers. A special guest, Jim Cornelison of the Chicago Blackhawks, attended the assembly to sing the National Anthem. The following week was the Fine Arts Holiday Assembly where the jazz band, orchestra played and the choir groups sang. In terms of sports, West beat North boys in all levels. This past week was the Dance Marathon Blood Drive and there were about 93 donors. The prom theme was announced and is the Great Gatsby. VIII. Community Representative Comments No one asked to speak. IX. Approval of Consent Agenda It was moved by DONIGER and seconded by EVANS to approve the Consent Agenda, as amended. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Mr. Evans, Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Ko, Silverman, Valfer. Voting Nay: Klint The motion carried. Included in the consent agenda were: −

Approved Monthly Bills and Payroll in the amount of $9,778,389.07. Personnel

− Approved the employment of the following certified staff for the 2014-2015 school year: NAME POSITION FTE EFFECTIVE DATE Bednarz, Marie Social Studies - BA / Step 1 .6 1/5/15 −

Approved the retirement of the following support staff:

NAME Masanek, Juanita −

POSITION Accounts Payable Assistant

EFFECTIVE DATE December 31, 2019

Approved the employment of the following stipend positions for the 2014-2015 school year:

NILES WEST Mock Trial, Sponsor Bowling, Sponsor Wolfpack, Sponsor

NAME Kanwischer, Dana (.5) Loughran, Vachee (.5) Parker, Michael (.5)

NILES NORTH Bowling, Sponsor Boys Gymnastics, Assistant *Indicates not a District 219 employee

NAME Sokolowski, Matthew (.5) *Denk, Garry (.5)

−

Approved the employment of the following certified substitute for the 2014-2015 school year:

NAME Avila, Laura Bias, John Hill, Carl Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of December 15, 2014

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−

Approved the employment of the following certified staff for the 2014-2015 school year:

NAME Koulouris, Grisovalanta Trinh, Megan −

POSITION/LOCATION English – West

TYPE OF LEAVE Prolonged Illness - Unpaid

POSITION Paraprofessional, World Languages - P1 / Step 1, 186 days

LEAVE FTE 1/9/15 – 5/21/15

FTE .8 (Second Semester)

EFFECTIVE DATE 1/5/15

Approved the employment of the following stipend positions for the 2014-2015 school year:

NILES NORTH Play 5, Director Play 5, Director Play 5, Director −

EFFECTIVE DATE 1/9/15 1/5/15

Approved the employment of the following support staff for the 2014-2015 school year:

NAME Dove, Limin

−

FTE 1.0 (Second Semester) .2

Approved the following certified staff leave of absence for the 2014-2015 school year:

NAME Wack, Paul −

POSITION English – BA15 / Step 2 Art – MA / Step 6

NAME Turner-Baker, Anita (.25) *Phillips, Tyrone (.25) Reeder, Barbara (.25)

Approved the following employment action:

CASE # Jimmie Hawthorne - 2015-E02

DISCIPLINARY ACTION Suspension without pay one (1) day

−

Approved Minutes of the November 17, 2014 Board of Education meeting – open and closed session.

−

Approved the Parent Donation to Niles North High School.

−

Approved the Additional mag Locks at Niles North and Niles West.

−

Approved Residency Office at the Tech and Transportation Center

−

Approved the request for Niles North for an International Trip to Canada.

−

Approved the Disposal of Obsolete Textbooks.

X. Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Gatta and members of the Board of Education attended the Tri-Conference and had the opportunity to spend time with many of their colleagues. Dr. Gatta thanked the Board for making a commitment every year to attend the Tri-Conference. This is the last week of the first semester and this is the second year that we are on AP Honor Roll. Not only is it unusual to be placed on the AP Honor Roll among 400 schools across the nation, but for a second year in a row is also unheard of. The reason why we are on the honor roll is because we are increasing our participation rates in a AP, particularly as it is representative of our student body in terms of race; but also that we have not decreased the 3 or better score ratings. This speaks to the efforts we have made under the direction of the Board of Education in the last couple of years and why the upcoming AP nights continue to be so important. She thanked the principals for their support and continuing to get the word out. Dr. Gatta attended a meeting with Classrooms First Consolidation and a second meeting with the Joint Board Committee. She is very happy with the amount of work completed in three months. Dr. Gatta attended a District 67 Board of Education meeting last week and District 67 was happy she was present. District 67 spoke openly and transparently about their needs. They are excited about working closely with District 219 and want to continue conversations about coming together as partners. They see us as an alliance, one that really needs each other and they want to spend more time with us so they can become more familiar with Classrooms First and be a part of the kind of work we are trying to do. They endorse it and understand what that that Board initiative seeks to accomplish.

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The School Based Health Clinics Committee is meeting on Thursday, December 18. The Board members will see the fruits of our labor thus far this year in terms of the construction plans, work we are doing with the Student Services Department, work flow and how students will get to the clinic, and where our faculty will intervene, etc. and also a communications plan. We will discuss how we get the message out. Dr. Gatta had a meeting with the Village of Skokie and a few meetings with the new Village Manager, John Lockerby and his staff. The discussion encompassed TIFs, development, traffic lights, student resource officers and crossing guards. It has been a very nice partnership. John Lockerby is open to our suggestions and wants to work for the betterment of this community and knows that this starts with the school. This has been a nice beginning to what I believe will be a long relationship. Dr. Gatta stated that she enjoyed the Crosstown Classic. Several of the Board members were in attendance. It was a great night. Dr. McTague and staff did a great job of hosting the event. The students on both sides had a great time. Principals’ Report Niles West - Jason Ness stated that it is hard to believe that first semester is almost over. The Winter Pep Assembly paid tribute to our military families. We had 9 families attend. It was great to see the various families being introduced in front of 3,000 people for their service and they received a standing ovation. It was also great to see the students work with Operation Home from Lacrosse, Wisconsin, which is a grass roots organization that drove 5 hours to box items in the Student Commons. Their response was that this is the biggest contribution they have ever seen from a high school. Mark Rigby’s father, a retired, high ranking lieutenant general, spoke to the students about giving back and caring. The behavior and attention to Mr. Rigby that the students gave was outstanding. The Holiday Assembly was fantastic. After the New Year registration will start for the 2015-16 school year. AP night was held last month. We will have an AP meeting starting June 5 with teachers and students discussing course offerings. Dr. Ness stated that Emma Helgeson, a senior at Niles West, is the single most successful girl swimmer in the history of Niles West. Some of her accomplishments are: the second All-State swimmer in school history, setting the new West school record for the 200 yard freestyle, competing as part of the 200 yard relay team that set the school record, qualifying for the state meet in consecutive seasons and in two events, and a Central Suburban League All-Conference selection. Beyond her accomplishments in the water, Emma is an outstanding student and young lady who represented her school, teammates and family with class and humility. Niles North – Ryan McTague stated that the choral concert is taking place tonight and we wish them the best. We are already working on the Niles North 50th Anniversary Event musical Hair Spray. Auditions have started and 25% of the cast will be former alumni from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s and they will be represented alongside our current students who comprise 75% of the ensemble. It will be one of the biggest productions performed at the school. North Star is incredible. Ivan Silverberg has been the sponsor for two year. We recently achieved the distinction of “First Class Publication” awarded by the Kettle Moraine Press Association; an organization that recognizes and promotes quality scholastic publications. We encourage you to go on line and check it out. It is extremely innovative and creative and pushes the bar for other newspapers and publications. Mr. Silverberg also sponsors our broadcasting team and thus the integration of broadcasting, yearbook and newspaper and it’s really specialty images are amazing, innovative and creative. Congratulations to Mr. Silverberg and his staff. We continue to have success with our Niles North Robotics Team. They participated in a tournament this past week and took 1st 3rd, 4th place. 16 students have qualified for state and two teams for nationals. On January 10 at 8:00 a.m. in the Niles North Field House, we will host 32 robotics teams from throughout the area, including, Niles North, Stevenson, New Trier, Glenbrook South, Bartlett, Nequa Valley, St. Charles, Von Stueben, as well as some independent robotic clubs. This event will be broadcast live on High School Cube. We are hoping to host the State Robotics Tournament at Niles North next year.

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Niles North Annual AP Night will be held on Thursday, January 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. in the North cafeteria. We invite all of our feeder schools so that students and their parents can find out if AP is the right choice for them. There will be an explanation of what AP entails and will allow the parents and students to ask questions. We will also have student panelists and 90% of the AP teachers usually participate in this fare. Students are getting ready for finals and Dr. McTague wishes everyone a happy holiday. XI. Board Members’ Comments Carlton Evans thanked the staff and student athletes at Niles North for attending John King’s memorial. John King was a 2012 North graduate and a former student of Niles North who died over the Thanksgiving holiday. He graduated in 2012. He participated in basketball in his freshman year, swimming his sophomore and junior year and participated in the super sectional games. Staff and community came together to support his family. Carlton attended the Thanksgiving lunch at Niles West with Dr. Ness, Mr. Rigby and Dr. Walsh and her staff. He attended the North and West game, which was outstanding and very well attended. He also visited Cory Dolen a District 219 ex- athlete. This past Wednesday Jewell Lloyd was in town to play against DePaul University. Many people from the community attended. She was the ACC player of the week. Ruth Klint attended the IMC meeting conference with Dr. Gatta. She discussed some of the challenges that schools will face. She stated that more students are staying in school and it may be taking them longer, but they are staying in school. She stated that the best thing we can do as Board members is to share a story of what you know that is in your life of what’s going on in education. Mr. Greenspan commended the Board of Education and teacher representatives for coming to a contract agreement. It was very good in terms of how we focused on the core issues and now that we have an understanding we can move forward. XII. Board Committee Reports Eileen Valfer stated that there was an EPAC meeting on December 4. Mrs. Valfer elaborated on the 5 topics that were discussed: (1) subject and process for presenting agenda items, (2) weighted and unweighted grades, (3) credit recovery, (4) student centered discipline and (5) digital literacy. The most interesting topic for Mrs. Valfer was credit recovery. She stated that there were two students at the meeting and both were against credit recovery. The students felt that the teachers at North and West are very compassionate, approachable and easy to work with and if there are circumstances and the students approach the teachers, the teachers will do everything in their power to help the students pass the classes. The students felt that a credit recovery policy was an easy way out and felt there should be criteria for credit recovery in terms of: did the student do homework, their attendance and earning the right to get credit recovery. They also felt that it should be initiated by the students and parents by filling out a form and then they would have to go through a multi level of having the teacher, director, and counselor sign in order to get credit recovery. Mrs. Valfer stated that student centered discipline, restorative justice and understanding the terminology were also discussed and it was decided that this is really a huge topic. Dr. McTague and Dr. Ness will set up a committee at each school to come together to study the idea of student centered discipline and restorative justice and have focus groups discuss this topic. One of the IRC librarians spoke on digital literacy and also took the test and passed. However, there were some questions she didn’t know. The consensus was that students should be serving at the end of the program and that if at all possible it would be good to contact university students and ask them, “What do you wish you had known in terms of technology before you left Niles Township?” The next Policy meeting will be on Thursday. Mrs. Klint, Dr. Gatta and Mrs. Valfer attended a meeting in December with the Classrooms First Steering Committee which was a very good meeting. Mrs. Klint stated that there seemed to be a misconception that Classrooms First is strictly about students that need to be brought up in their studies, but it is across the spectrum, and we are providing for students at the higher end as well. We discussed District 69’s implementation of Classrooms First. Teachers from each grade level will be meeting. District 69 will have its own separate website so that parents, teachers and the community can be kept abreast. This frees Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of December 15, 2014

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teachers from writing curriculum to delivering curriculum. District 69 is also starting clubs that will feed into our clubs as well as moving into literacy. Mr. Greenspan said there will be a Facilities meeting on January 6 to discuss construction projects. XIII. Business NTFTSS Contract Extension The Board of Education is pleased that we were able to have a two year contract extension with the teachers that were formally part of the NTFT contract and a one year contract extension for NTSS who are now under one union, the NTFTSS. There was a great collaboration between the Administration and the teacher representatives. This allows us to collectively focus on other important matters. It was moved by GREENSPAN and seconded by DONIGER to approve the NTFTSS Contract Extension. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Klint, Ko, Silverman, Valfer. The motion carried. 2014 Property Tax Levy Request Since this is the second time we have discussed the 2014 Property Tax Levy, Mr. Silverman stated that it is time to take action. There was no change from the tentative levy to the permanent levy. This is the third year of the freeze and we are looking at an overall freeze to taxpayers. The non-cap funds (operating funds) are being increased to take advantage of any existing CPI, so that we do not diminish our ability to increase taxes in the future, if we need to. We are offsetting that increase on the non-cap funds on a dollar for dollar decrease in how we are funding the bonds and interest and the debt service. We are taking that money and taking it out of reserves to offset it. The taxpayers should not see any increase in their tax bill. We have enough money in the levy to get money from new property and TIFs, etc. There are some minor reassessments that are transpiring that could cause a shift between commercial and residential, of which we have no control; but by doing an overall freeze and taking money out of our reserves to fund the debt service, it dramatically decreases the chances of existing property owners seeing a tax increase. It was moved by KO and seconded by VALFER to approve the 2014 Property Tax Levy Request. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Klint, Ko, Silverman, Valfer. The motion carried. Seal of Biliteracy Dr. Roloff introduced Todd Bowen, who is the new Director of World Languages and is also on the Board of the American Council of Teachers for Foreign Languages. The Seal of Biliterarcy is a new program in Illinois. It is a nationwide movement that started in the past few years. Illinois is the third state in the nation to move forward. He stated that it is important to realize that this is a seal of biliteracy, not bilingualism, even though the movement came out of the bilingual community in California. The program is about recognizing skills that students possess in their first language and a second language they are studying and learning at a very high skill level. What’s being recognized in Illinois according to the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages scale is intermediate high which corresponds to about a 4 or so on the AP exam and which is a pretty rigorous standard and is a 200 level college course. This is about a skill the students must demonstrate in all modes of communication. It will be demanding for our students studying a second language and it will be a tough standard for our students who carry another language from home and are learning English as well. We will be able to test the standard languages that we teach. The challenge for District 219 will be to help those students who have a second language at home via a portfolio that they possess those same skills in all the modes of communication. The request is that we pilot the program this year and move forward next fall so that students in their senior year, when they reach their highest level of study, can include this on their transcript for the early decision process. It is a great opportunity for our students who speak another language at home plus an opportunity for students that are learning another language in school to obtain this Seal of Biliteracy. It was moved by DONIGER and seconded by VALFER to approve the Seal of Biliterarcy for District 219. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Klint, Ko, Silverman, Valfer. The motion carried. Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of December 15, 2014

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Scoreboards at Niles West Basketball (Discussion and Action) Kendall Griffin discussed a proposal that went through preliminary approvals for the basketball school scoreboards at Niles West. The first proposal is from last year where he budgeted for scoreboards in the main gymnasium at Niles West. This scoreboard is fairly old and in need of replacement. The proposal was forwarded to Eric Trimberger and the Facilities Committee. Renderings were also given, so tonight Mr. Griffin is requesting final approval for updating the scoreboard in the main gym. It was moved by GREENSPAN and seconded by KO to approve the purchase electronic scoreboards at Niles West Basketball up to a cost of $27,272.00 and that a determination will be made between the Administration and the Booster Club of what the appropriate contribution should be for that purpose. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Klint, Ko, Silverman, Valfer. The motion carried. Scoreboards at North and West Football (Discussion Only) Kendall Griffin stated that this is a proposal that has been discussed for several years. Several companies were contacted before settling with one company, Daktronics. Daktronics is currently the leader in the industry for scoreboards and currently supplies 95% of all sporting venues. Mr. Griffin discussed the following: • The rationale for the new scoreboards in that the scoreboards are old and outdated; • The cost of new scoreboards at Niles North and Niles West with a message center display with sound and a display with just sound. He discussed the total cost for both schools and the infrastructure needs for both schools; • The life expectancy of new scoreboards and how long the scoreboard last; • The service/maintenance/warranty expectations, warranty on scoreboards and message center display (parts only), on-site visits and service agreement; and • He discussed the events that are held in a yearly basis at North and West that would be displayed on the scoreboards. Mr. Silverman would like the same size scoreboard at North and West. Mr. Griffin will find out if we can see replays on the field. Mr. Silverman would also like to see what the plan will be for programming the scoreboard. Ms. Klint would like information on the infrastructure of the scoreboards and would like to see a document that states what universities and high school have and what the benefits are. Mr. Griffin will obtain this information for the next Board meeting. Policy and Procedures First Reading The Policy Committee met early in November. This is the first reading regarding eliminating class rank and TB test requirements. There was a discussion on substitute teacher pay. Mr. Silverman researched the pay for substitute teachers and found that we are paying on the low end and that our teachers work more periods and sometimes do not get lunch and are making less pay in a day. Mr. Silverman suggested that the Board look into the full structure of substitute teacher pay and move closer to what other schools are paying. This will come back to the Board at the next meeting and will be voted on at that time. XIV. Old Business There was no old business. XV. New Business There was no new business. XVI. Audience to Visitors (on items related to District business) No one asked to speak. XVII. Information Items − Financial Report for October 2014 − Freedom of Information Requests (FOIA)

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XVIII. Adjournment It was moved by DONIGER and seconded by KO to adjourn the meeting. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Doniger, Evans, Greenspan, Klint, Ko, Silverman, Valfer. The motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.

_______________________________________ President

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of December 15, 2014

___________________________________ Secretary

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