North High student Emma Wilson, with her parents, was recognized by the Board on December 5, 2016
The District 99 Board of Education held a workshop meeting on December 5, 2016.
Highlights include:
Student Recognition – The Board welcomed and congratulated North High student Emma Wilson for earning recognition from the College Board as a National Hispanic Scholar. She also was named a National YoungArts Foundation Merit Winner, and read one of her poems to the Board.
Community Engagement – Superintendent Dr. Hank Thiele explained that six outside providers submitted proposals to help the district lead a comprehensive, public engagement strategy for the facility plan, and invited Paul Hanley from George K. Baum & Company and Marcia Sutter from Minding Your Business to present their recommendations to the Board. Hanley and Sutter explained that their focus is on listening and involving more members of the community to review and comment on the plan. See the presentation here. Administration will request that the Board approve a contract with Hanley and Sutter at a future meeting.
Proposed New Courses in 2017-18 – After a thorough survey and study of student needs and interests, Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Gina Ziccardi recommended six new courses be adopted for 2017-18. Chairs from the three departments recommending the courses provided details:
- Physical Education Department Chairs Courtney White (North High) and Scott Lange (South High) recommended adopting two new elective courses. Personal Safety and Wellness will train students in self-defense and how to avoid unsafe situations. A Personal Trainer Certification course will teach students how to work with clients, and prepare them to take the certification exam.
- Career and Technical Education Department Chairs Mark Mirandola (North High) and Valerie Moses (South High) recommended adopting an Engineering Design and Development course, which is another course in Project Lead the Way--a leading STEM engineering curriculum. They also advocated for making the Principles of Engineering course a weighted class.
- English Department Chairs Chris Bronke (North High) and Tracy Sebastian (South High) recommended adding an Advanced Journalistic Writing Honors course, as well as a Freshman/Sophomore Seminar course focused on study, organizational and communication skills for select students.