Deputy Superintendent Dr. Claire Kowalczyk shared the 2020 Fall Housing Report at the October 14 meeting. Following trends from previous years, District 15’s overall enrollment is 11,552, down from 11,946 in 2019. The District has experienced a decrease in enrollment annually since 2014.

About 65 percent of students are enrolled in an in-person setting with 35 percent learning virtually. To read the full report, please visit our website.

Dr. Heinz provided an update about the status of COVID-19 in our schools during the October 14 Board of Education meeting. Infection numbers are increasing in Illinois and also within the District 15 zip codes. These community metrics are translating to a higher case rate within our schools.

Since September 28, there have been 22 confirmed cases across District 15 schools and administrative offices. Four classrooms have been closed due to exposure and/or staffing trouble due to quarantine. To date, the District has not had any confirmed case-to-case transmission of the virus within our schools since the rolling reentry began on September 21.

The District is carefully monitoring metrics both in the community and inside of the schools to determine when an “adaptive pause” for in-person learning may be necessary. Pausing in-person learning could occur at the classroom, building or District level, depending on each unique situation and guidance from the Cook County Health Department. If a closure is necessary, impacted staff, parents and students will be notified directly with next steps.

The Illinois Association of School Boards offers a number of awards and programs to recognize the dedicated work of school board members that strive for excellence in local school board governance.

Wenda Hunt has received the LeaderShop Academy recognitions award. The LeaderShop Academy promotes and recognizes board members who continuously learn by taking workshops within the program.

The Board recognized two students at its Oct. 14 Board meeting. Courtney M., a senior at Fremd High School and D15 graduate, started a campaign called "Painting Peace" with her mom. Together they set and exceeded the goal of organizing groups to paint and plant 100 peace poles around the Palatine area to recognize and celebrate the International Day of Peace, which took place on Sept. 21. Courtney's motivation was to promote peace building and community building and to give people a meaningful creative outlet. (Photo courtesy: Daily Herald)

The Board of Education’s Equity Committee provided an update to its work in the 2020-21 school year, which is intended to be a data-gathering year for the committee. As District 15 shifts its approach on equity to make it the foundation of the District, the committee intends to gain a deep understanding of where things are going well and where there are opportunities for growth.

Next steps include:

• Outlining scope and sequence for equity assessment across the 10 dimensions of equity;

• Creating a draft equity statement for Board discussion and eventual adoption and;

• Alignment with current strategic refresh and equity committee work to dovetail into 2022 strategic plan development.