Oak Grove News
Weekly Update ~ March 2, 2015
Negotiation Update
As many of you are aware, the Oak Grove School District 68’s contract with the Oak Grove Education Association (OGEA), the union that represents 83 teachers, will expire prior to the start of the 2015-2016 school year. Negotiating teams representing the Board of Education and OGEA have already begun meeting to develop a multiyear contract that will serve the best interests of all District 68 stakeholders, including students, teachers, parents and taxpayers who do not currently have students enrolled at Oak Grove School (OGS). We are pleased to report that the Board and OGEA have already reached common understanding and tentative agreements on several important issues.
During our first negotiation session with OGEA, Board of Education President Jennifer Manski and Vice President Lane Hasler emphasized the respect and appreciation we have for our teachers, who are truly at the heart of our students’ learning success and our OGS reputation. Both the Board and the OGEA have committed to conducting these negotiations with mutual professionalism and collegiality, and have agreed that we will keep discussions related to this matter between adults and out of the classroom.
As your elected School Board representatives, we acknowledge our duty to serve as responsible stewards of both educational excellence and taxpayer resources. This means that we strive to make all decisions in a manner that protects and advances the quality of teaching and student learning, while continuously reviewing and improving efficiency and effectiveness to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability in our District.
Moving forward, consistent with our Strategic Plan and communications action team, we will continue to keep the Oak Grove School District 68 community informed of the status of our ongoing contract negotiations as appropriate at key milestones in the process.
In closing, as always, we thank you for your ongoing support of Oak Grove School and our students.
The Oak Grove School District 68 Board of Education
Jennifer Manski, President
Lane Hasler, Vice President
Leigh Foltz, Secretary
Craig Dowden
Ken LaCrosse
Tony Pirih
Harold Sargent
Oak Grove Board Briefs
INFORMATION
- The SEL SAC team gave a presentation regarding Erin’s Law
- John Mehnert gave a presentation regarding internet safety
- Dr. Lemon reported that the 8th grade play is being held this week
- The Board received a FOIA and several letters from community members regarding All Day Kindergarten and personnel
- Second reading was done of District Policy 8:10
- An update was given regarding All Day Kindergarten from the Facilities and Finance Committees reports
- The 2015/16 school calendar was discussed, the Board will be given options at the March meeting
- Other Board reports are attached to BoardBook
DECISIONS
- The Board approved the suggested PRESS updates to district policies
- The Board approved personnel action
Oak Grove iPad Pilot
Thanks to a lot of hard work by Oak Grove teachers, the outstanding Tech team, and the support of the Board of Education, we are approaching a historic moment for district technology! As most of you know, the District purchased iPads for every Kindergarten through Fifth grade student this school year to use during the day. This was only achieved by the dedication of our staff that worked very hard the past two years honing their technology skills and learning how to incorporate the use of technology into their lessons.
We are now ready to take the next step. Starting this month, the third and fourth grade students will be taking their iPads home. This week, the Tech coaches will be conducting mandatory parent meetings to communicate the goals of the Take Home Pilot, and share information about the devices, including internet filtering.
The District is conducting the Take Home Pilot with the hopes of possibly expanding the program to other grade levels, as early as next year. The Tech and Administrative teams were tasked by the school board to present a detailed plan for implementing the Take Home Pilot. Protocols have been established for the type of assignments that can be completed on the iPads, Internet access, and how loss and/or damages would be handled. After several months of planning and coordinating with the Board, the administration was given their approval this month to move forward with the program. The Board of Education set high expectations for the Tech and Administrative teams, before giving their consensus to move forward with the plan.
We look forward to this opportunity to collect data on the Take Home Pilot and elicit feedback from parents, teachers, and students. We will make every effort to correct any problems we encounter with the devices or the home access.
Staff, students, and the administration alike are excited about the launch of this pilot. We hope it is one more tool in the students’ toolkits to help them learn and grow at Oak Grove. Please visit our 1:1 website for information on the Pilot.
Curriculum Review
With the evolution of the former Curriculum Coordinating Council, all Oak Grove stakeholders are now welcome to participate in the curriculum process. This is the first time we are implementing the updated model.
Illinois has recently adopted a new law commonly referred to as Erin's Law & Internet Safety. This requirement is directed for students in grades kindergarten through fifth and focuses on teaching students about protecting themselves against sexual predators.
The Social Emotional Learning (SEL) committee has been dedicating an extensive amount of time to determine what resources would be most appropriate to meet the legal requirements and best service our Oak Grove students. The committee's recommendations were presented at the board meeting on February 24th and is attached to BoardBook.
We are asking for parents, teachers, and community members to come into the district office and review the materials. There will be a short 7 question survey that will gather input from all stakeholders prior to the board's decision at the March board meeting.
The materials will be available for review Wednesday, February 25th through Thursday, March 12th, in the district office within Oak Grove School. If possible, please contact Mrs. Cacciatore or Dr. Lemon to let us know when you plan on visiting to ensure we have enough room for all interested participants. Our office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Lastly, there will be a sign in sheet for record keeping only. Your name will not be connected to the feedback surveys.
Below are a list of links and resources if you'd like more information on Erin's law or the legal statutes.
Erin's Law Information
Erin's Law Statute
www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=010500050K10-23.13
Erin's Law Task Force - Executive Summary
www.isbe.state.il.us/reports/erins-law-final0512.pdf
Internet Safety Statute
www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=010500050K27-13.3
Hello Oak Grove Community,
The Oak Grove School Tech Team will host informational meetings for 3rd and 4th grade families interested in the 1:1 Take Home Pilot next month. There will be three informational sessions held at Oak Grove next week.
Parents are encouraged to attend to learn about the iPad deployment for home use. Attendance is required by at least one parent or guardian in order to participate in the take home pilot. Family members are welcome to attend, including students.
The Tech Team will be sharing the goals of the pilot, information on the devices and apps, and internet filtering procedures. We will also be reviewing informational documents that will require signatures for participation in the Pilot. These documents can be previewed on the new 1:1@OGS Website.
We look forward to seeing you this week!
PARCC Testing at Oak Grove
Oak Grove students will begin the PARCC testing the week of March 16th. Makeup exams will be administered the week of March 23-27. Please make sure to read the materials from the Illinois State Board of Education, relating to the exam, that are also included in today's edition of the Oak Grove News.
Our younger students will be taking the PARCC exams on their iPads. Students in grades 6-8 will be taking the paper and pencil version of the exams.
Good luck to all!
PARCC Testing Information from Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
In 2010, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) adopted new, more rigorous learning standards for English language arts and mathematics. Featuring new types of questions and innovative items, the PARCC assessment is a system designed to assess each student’s mastery of these new English language arts and mathematics learning standards.
The PARCC assessment replaces the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE), and differs from these former assessment systems in a number of ways:
- The PARCC system aligns college and career readiness expectations from kindergarten through grade 12 for the first time in Illinois. (Our previous state tests did not and there was a longstanding disconnect in statewide results, with generally higher scores on the ISAT than the PSAE.)
- The assessments measure whether or not students have the academic knowledge and skills necessary to succeed after high school. The information can be used to address issues early on, reducing the percentage of students who have to take costly and time-consuming remedial classes in college.
- Using technology-enhanced items and various other innovations, students will get a chance to better showcase their skills and results will become available for use more quickly.
- Students must analyze information and explain their answers.
- The PARCC assessment takes advantage of technology to include questions and other tasks that correspond to the type of work that students will encounter in their classrooms on a regular basis and after high school. These assessments help to encourage schools to use technology as a day-to-day tool to enhance learning.
More than 110,000 students in 500 districts and 1,200 schools participated in field testing portions of the PARCC assessment in the spring of 2014 to help pave the way for the debut of PARCC as the state assessment in the 2014-15 school year. Third- through eighth-graders will take the PARCC assessment in both English language arts and math. At the high school level, three PARCC tests will be available: Algebra II or Integrated Math III and English Language Arts III.
Schools and districts must administer these assessments. Students may not opt out of the PARCC assessment. Federal law -- specifically, the Elementary Education and Secondary Education Act (also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) -- requires states (including Illinois) receiving Title I funds to provide for the participation in the state’s academic assessment of all designated students. See Section 1111(b)(3)(c)(ix)(I) of that law. A district that allows students to opt out of the state’s required test would directly violate both federal and state law.
Moreover, districts face lower public school recognition status and threaten their receipt of state and federal funds if they break the law and do not administer the PARCC assessment. Additionally, teachers and administrators who willingly refuse to comply with federal and state law face local disciplinary action and possible action by the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
The mandate for statewide assessment is just one part of an overall district and school assessment and accountability system. The tests help schools, districts and the state gauge how well students are learning relative to the new standards. We are aware of concerns that additional testing can intrude on instructional time. To address these concerns, we are working with districts and schools to help evaluate local testing programs and, ultimately, reduce the amount of testing for students, where appropriate. PARCC testing time, the aim of which is to provide information to improve the quality of instructional time, represents less than 1 percent of the school year.
Again, the state, local districts and schools are required to administer the PARCC assessment to all students. An “opt-out” option would violate the law. All students who are in attendance on testing and make-up days will be required to participate in the assessment.
5 Essentials Survey
Oak Grove students, parents, and faculty participated in a pilot of the 5Essentials survey two years ago. You will be receiving specifics on how to take the survey in an email coming from the District. Only students in grades 6-8 are being asked to take it.
The 5Essentials Survey must be completed by March 13th. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. lemon at lemon@ogschool.org. Thank you!
PTO News
March 2, 2015
A Message from PTO Co-Presidents Joanie Sauers and Julie Goodman:
Hot Lunches this Week
Tuesday 3/3 – Panera
Wednesday 3/4 – Culver’s (Burgers/Chicken Tenders)
This week in PTO:
TONIGHT… 5th Grade Father/Son Night - 6:30-8:30 in the Jr. High cafeteria; pizza at 6:30 pm, speaker at 7:00 pm. If you have not responded, please email krista.sorenson4@gmail.com asap. We hope everyone can make it!
Wednesday, March 4th…5th Grade Mother/Daughter Tea 6:30-8:30 in Jr. High Learning Center
Wednesday, March 4th …PTO Meeting 9:00 am in the Jr. High Teachers’ Lounge. All are welcome.
Thursday, March 5th …6th / 7th Grade Social at Rink Side
Please RSVP for the 6/7th grade Social by March 4th noon to Shellie Fahy at shelliefahy@att.net or Kathy Arnold at kathybarnold@sbcglobal.net. The Social is Thursday, March 5th from 11 am - 2 pm at Rink Side in Gurnee. Cost is $5. See the flyer in the virtual backpack for additional details.
Friday, March 6th … 2nd/3rd Grade Social at Jump America…PLEASE READ!! The 2nd & 3rd grade social is Friday, March 6th from 2 pm - 4 pm at Jump America. Jump America is located at 880 Lakeside Drive in Gurnee. The cost is $5 per student. This includes a pair of socks that are required by Jump America. Pizza, snacks, and water will be served. The Jump America release form in the Virtual Backpack must be completed for each participant. Please return the completed waiver and $5 per child by Wednesday. Forms can either be dropped off in the elementary office or sent in with your child in an envelope marked 2nd/3rd grade social. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Perrone at lisa@millcreekpkg.com or Christine Merrild at cmerrild@msn.com
Also in March:
The OG PTO is hosting a Meet the BOE Candidate Forum on Wednesday, March 18th 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm in the Main Gym. Questions for the candidates may be submitted via email at pto@ogschool.org or delivered to the designated boxes posted in the Junior High and Elementary offices. Questions may also be accepted the night of the event. All are welcome to attend.
4th/5th Grade Social at Centre Club
Save the date for the 4th/5th grade Social on Saturday, March 21, 7:30 - 9:45 pm at Advocate Condell Centre Club. Activities include swimming, basketball, track, and lots more! Food and drinks will be served. Watch the news for additional details.
Beauty and the Beast, Jr.
Thank you also to Kim Moody, Joanie Sauers, Krista Sorensen and all who helped make the cast & crew party so successful. All 89 students showed up at the Civic Center to dance the night away!
Oak Grove Choirs Sing at Wolves Game
Oak Grove Wrestling
The wrestling team competed in the IESA Regional this past Saturday at Lake Forest Deer Path. 13 wrestlers entered competition and nine earned a berth in IESA Sectional this Saturday, hosted at Oak Grove. As a team, the Eagles placed 3rd out of the eight competing schools. The wrestlers advancing to the Sectional tournament this week include; Diego Norena, Gavin Brown, Ian Riley, Sam Pinsel, Alec Goodman, Charlie Foltz, and Luke Roberts. Two wrestlers, Brandon Murphy and Garrison Bennett, were crowned Regional champions and will also be competing in the Sectional tournament this Saturday. The top three wrestlers at each weight class will advance to the State Finals in DeKalb next week. Good luck, wrestlers!
Please come out and support our wrestlers this Saturday. Wrestling starts at 9:00 am with the finals tentatively scheduled for 2:30 pm. Wrestling will be in the Patt Gym.
Math Contest News
On Saturday, February 28th, the seventh and eighth grade math teams participated in the annual Carmel Catholic High School Mathematics Contest. The seventh grade team comprised of Nathan John, Kevin Stone, Jason Sekili, Kaitlyn Brown and Constance Zanze placed second in their division. Nathan John placed third as an individual.
The eighth grade team was made up of Somya Prabhaker, Alex Ji, Matthew Huang, Ian Smith and Jordan Levin.
Congratulations to all competitors! You represented Oak Grove well and should be proud of your efforts.
8th Grade Dance
The 8th grade dance will be held on Friday, May 29 and this year's fun theme is Mardi Gras! We are in the planning stages now, so if you would like to volunteer your time and talents we could use your help with decorations, food, entertainment, favors, set-up or clean-up for this memorable event.
If interested, please contact
Kim Moody at kimberlymoody@me.com or Krista Sorensen at krista.sorensen4@gmail.com
before our next meeting on March 19. We need your help to make this a special event for our 8th grade graduates!
Power Reading Course
Oak Grove School is proud to once again offer the Power Reading course for children and adults, ages 10 and up. Mr. Allen Goldin will teach four 2 hour sessions. The registration deadline for this popular course is March 13th. Please check the Virtual Backpack for more information.
Meet the Board Candidates
For more information on how to choose a school board member, please click here.
Marty Jacobs -
Marty is a 30 year resident of Green Oaks. His three children are K-8 graduates of Oak Grove School, each having received an excellent education at the Grove. He has BA, MSEd, and JD Degrees and holds an Illinois Certificate in teaching and one in educational administration as well as an Illinois Attorney's License. In 2008 he retired after 33 years in public education. He wants to be a member of the school board because he feels it is his time to give back to the community that has given him so much. Marty believes he could bring to the board a career's worth of experience in the field of education. He wants to be a positive enhancement to an already outstanding school district. Marty would like to find ways to reward our fine staff of teachers, administrators, and support staff; and hopefully, make a good system even better.
Amy Frantz and her husband, Jeff, have lived in the District for the last eight years. They have a daughter in 2nd grade, and sons in 6th and 7th grade. Amy has served as a classroom and PTO volunteer, chaired PTO Committees, and was the PTO Secretary in 2012-2013. As an active member of the community, she wants to help Oak Grove continue to offer an excellent education in a nurturing environment.
Amy graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications. She has twelve years of experience working as a Project Manager in the Communications industry. She hopes to utilize her communications background to help define a clear process for communication inside and outside of the District.
Amy will leverage her project management experience to work with all stakeholders to maintain and improve our long-term strategic plan to meet the ever-changing requirements that will drive our vision for the future of Oak Grove School. She is confident that this vision will help the District prioritize its investments, reduce waste and improve our operational processes so that we can best meet the needs of our students, within the District’s available budget.
Lane Hasler is the current Board Vice-President seeking a second term. Lane and his wife Katie have two children, Julia who is in sixth grade and Owen who started at Oak Grove School in first grade and is now a junior at Libertyville High School. Lane is an attorney with his own practice specializing in corporate restructurings and construction.
During Lane's time on the Board, the Oak Grove School has undergone dramatic changes in Board operations, the School's Administration and in the building itself and the technology used in the classrooms. Lane assisted in the creation of the Board's Finance and Facilities Committees and served as the first chair for each.
- The Finance Committee developed review and reporting procedures in response to financial issues. Lane oversaw the replacement of the internal business manager position with an arrangement with District 70 (Libertyville) so both districts share the same business manager.
- The Facilities Committee introduced management and planning procedures, which formed the basis for a comprehensive building and grounds renovation and also provides the framework for future maintenance and improvement. Starting with a comprehensive study of the existing building, Lane led a five year program which will be completed this summer and included new Junior High science classrooms, cafeteria, and locker and restrooms, a professional development center, refurbishing the insides of classrooms, air-conditioning the entire building and new playgrounds.
- The Facilities Committee is now the Facilities and Tech Committee in recognition of the importance of technology in our classrooms. Starting with a comprehensive study of the existing technology and a separate study of how technology is used in education, Lane led the District's change in how it managed technology both in terms of personnel and how devices and applications are selected and implemented in the classrooms. Lane continues to chair this committee. During his tenure, Lane assisted in the selection of Superintendent Dr. Lemon and hiring of Curriculum Director Mrs. Cacciatore who have each brought positive change to Oak Grove School.
The Board is currently negotiating a renewal of the District's contract with the teaching staff. Lane serves as the Board's co-representative in working with the Union on reaching a new contract.
He appreciates the support he has received and would like to continue the current work and provide continuity for the Board and Oak Grove School.
Dr. Giamis and his wife Liz have lived in Libertyville with their two children, Zachary (Grade 7) and Christopher (Grade 5) since 2011. He works as a scientist/business manager for Integrated Science and Technology (iSAT) at Abbvie, where his primary role is to produce imaging agents for drug discovery. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Rochester Institute of Technology, a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Syracuse University. He worked at Emory University Hospital in the Nuclear Medicine Department. While at Emory, he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Fellow. This appointment allowed him to focus on “Best Practices” for curriculum development in the science and mathematics programs for undergraduates. In his spare time, he is active in Scouting. Currently he is the Scoutmaster for Troop 71 in Libertyville. He served as the Committee Chair for Oak Grove Pack 194 from 2011 to last month and has participated in several Scout Pack and District leadership roles over the last three years. It is his goal to work with the OGS administration, teachers, and parents to uphold and advance Oak Grove’s excellence in education. If elected, he would bring patience and teamwork to improve communications between the Board of Education and the community, use his experience with curriculum development to strengthen our programs, and provide analytics to address accountability.
Elaine Vong-Salton -
Elaine understands the importance of relational trust between stakeholders at Oak Grove School, which includes parents, teachers, administration and the School Board. Elaine views her responsibility as a board member to ensure this relational trust. She seeks to balance fiscal responsibility with OGS strategic needs to maintain Oak Grove School as an outstanding district. She will strive to work with the administration to define and clarify a change management process at OGS: curriculum selection, programs, facilities, etc. Lastly, by drawing upon her experience in business, she would work with fellow board members, administration and teachers to work to improve OGS using innovation in a cost effective manner.
Elaine has volunteered her time and expertise at Oak Grove in many ways: as a member of the 2013 Strategic Planning team; as a founding member of the school foundation, serving as Vice President 2006-2009; as a member of the Foreign Language Task Force 2011; as project manager for the Junior High playground renovation project 2009; as a member of the 21st Century Learning Team 2010; and art awareness volunteer for 13 years. She has also been a Girl Scout troop leader for 12 years.
Elaine and her husband Greg Salton have lived in Oak Grove School district since 2000. They have three children: Natalie (OGS class of 2009) who is a sophomore at the University of Michigan, William a 7th grader, and Eleanor 5th grade.
Elaine graduated from the University of Michigan with B. S. in Chemical Engineering and worked at Abbott Laboratories Diagnostic Division as a manager, process engineer, and project manager.
Oak Grove School Board of Education
Click HERE to view Board Agenda and Minutes
Email: boe@ogschool.org
Website: www.ogschool.org
Location: 1700 S. O'Plaine Rd. Green Oaks, IL 60048
Phone: 847.367.4120