School District 57
From the Desk of the Superintendent
Friday, December 2, 2022
Dear District 57 Families,
Please take a moment to read this important letter about inclement weather. District 57 has approval from the Illinois State Board of Education to offer E-Learning Day/s in place of a Snow Day. All D57 Parents/Guardians will be able to provide feedback on how they would prefer emergency non-attendance days be handled this year. A survey will be sent via email to all families on Monday. The deadline to submit feedback is Monday, December 12.
As we head into the holiday season, I want to wish each and every one of our students, family, and staff a safe and fulfilling holiday. Each of our schools have organized toy drives, giving trees, and fundraisers in an effort to embody the kindness and selflessness we want to see in ourselves and the people around us. At the District office, our incredible Roberta Flack volunteered our staff to participate in Northwest Compass’s “Kitchens for Good” drive, collecting items for people moving into temporary housing. I hope this time of year fills your hearts and your spirit as it does mine.
Last night our Board of Education met in an open session in Fairview’s multi-purpose room. Below are some relevant highlights from the Board meeting. You can view the meeting in its entirety here.
The Illinois School Code requires each school district to conduct a financial audit annually. This year’s audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022 was conducted by Miller, Cooper & Co., Ltd. At last night’s Board meeting, auditors presented their final Audit 2022 report to the Board. The auditors awarded District 57 with a “CLEAN” status, the highest level of assurance they can provide. Once finalized, access to the full audit report can be found on our website.
Each year, the Board approves a tax levy - the amount of property tax dollars a school district requests in order to operate the district for the upcoming school year. The tax levy is important to the district since 84% of the District’s operating budget comes from the monies allocated from the tax levy. Last night, the tentative levy was approved. The District will hold a Truth in Taxation Hearing on December 22, prior to the Board approving the final Tax Levy.
School Perceptions is the independent agency District 57 contracted to produce the recent District 57 School Survey. They presented their data and analysis at last night’s meeting. Here are some top takeaways from the presentation:
We received a 14.2% response rate, which was reported by School Perceptions to be a very good response rate for this type of survey (average response rate is ~8%)
District 57 received the highest positive responses from staff, parents, and non-parents/non-staff in the areas of:
Employing high-quality teachers/staff
Campus safety
Having the support of the community
There is a consensus among the three survey subgroups to place future planning efforts in recruiting and retaining high-quality staff.
Parents and staff survey results indicate a desire for future efforts in the area of social/emotional/mental health for students, while non-parent/non-staff desire academic efforts in reading/literacy achievement and math achievement
The survey gauged interest in a few options related to offering full-day kindergarten in the District. One option offered full-day kindergarten while maintaining the current grade-level configuration at all the schools but called for an addition to Westbrook, while the other option reconfigured grade levels at each of the schools to accommodate a full-day kindergarten, without requiring expansion to Westbrook. Both options required either a significant renovation to Lincoln Middle School or a new Lincoln Middle School building. Data from this question suggests the District has permission to investigate further. The responses showed:
Staff and parents strongly supported option 1, desiring to keep current grade levels at each of the schools.
Non-parents/non-staff favored option 2, reconfiguring grade levels to accommodate a full-day kindergarten, and thereby alleviating the need to expand Westbrook.
I realize this is a lot of information to digest. Thank you for taking the time to stay informed. We do our best to communicate important information to our stakeholders and to remain transparent. If you ever have suggestions on how we can do this better, never hesitate to reach out,
Enjoy your weekend!
In the spirit of education,
Dr. Mary Gorr
Superintendent of Schools
Mount Prospect District 57
Dr. Mary Gorr
Email: mgorr@d57.org
Website: https://www.d57.org/
Location: 701 West Gregory Street, Mount Prospect, IL, USA
Phone: 847-394-7300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dist57/
Twitter: @dist57