ACROSS THE BOARD
February Committee Meetings
Upcoming Meetings
Regular School Board Meeting - March 8, 2021
Learning & Teaching Committee - March 15, 2021
Policy Committee - March 22, 2021
Business Services Committee - March 22, 2021
Learning & Teaching Committee - February 16, 2021
For Discussion
Equity Goal/Deep Equity Presentation
Dr. Denise Herrmann, Chief Academic Officer and Dr. Cindy Ruesch, Director of Staff, Family, and Student Services presented the District 303 Equity Plan. The presentation in its entirety can be found here. Administration is asking the School Board to approve a contract with Deep Equity to assist us in our equity journey. The district administration is also recommending the creation of a Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Director position. Both items will be on the March 8 meeting agenda for approval.
Dr. Herrmann discussed discrepancies in achievement and growth between the different subgroups in our district and reported that our students of color are suspended at a more disproportionate rate than their counterparts. She said that engaging in equity work is important because all students should be welcome and able to achieve in our district.
Dr. Pearson outlined that as a District we realized we had equity work to do absent of what is happening at the state level. We interviewed several outside organizations to help with the equity work understanding that we wanted an external partner that has:
- A strong framework that will help us understand our district context
- A strong professional learning component that will help our staff develop their lens as they work in classrooms so they can better understand instructional strategies and how those impact students. How are things in the schools perceived by students, parents, and the community?
- A structure in place that allows us to commit together on things that have been informed by the research
Members of the Deep Equity team joined the meeting and provided an overview of their work.
Purpose of the work:
- Cultural competence
- Culturally responsive teaching
- Academic achievement and engaged citizens
Key concepts:
- Inclusion - Students and employees feel welcome, cared for, seen, heard and understood
- Equity - School outcomes both positive and negative are distributed equitably
- Excellence - Raising the bar for everyone
Outcomes:
Shift in tone and depth of adult conversations
- Have conversations of respect
- We can take on difficult topics together
- There will be clear stewardship that gives all students the opportunity to succeed and thrive as individuals.
Improvement of the climate of inclusion for students
- Students are empowered to use their voices and have meaningful relationships with the adults in the district.
Broad implementation of culturally responsive practices
- How do we make sure the classrooms are a welcoming place?
- All staff are engaged in that work
- The adults who are closest to students can make all the difference
Reduction in educational disparities.
- Create opportunities to experience a significant reduction in disparities for all students.
- Do the practices reflect our values?
YES! (Youth Equity Stewardship) is the portion of the program for students
- Emphasis on putting youth voices at the table.
- The Deep Equity team members are teachers who use music and the arts to reach students and help their voices be heard.
Built upon
- Stewardship - Helping students grow a culture of stewardship
- Hold Listen Up events
- Students drive events where there are conversations between peers
- When kids inform teacher practice, it can be transformative
- Rooted in the philosophy that relationships are precursors of learning
Deep Equity believes that:
The work is about more students having the opportunity
to be more successful more of the time.
Dr. Pearson pointed out that there are three points to the District's equity journey:
- Capacity building - we have to develop our lenses and find out how what we are doing will impact students.
- Equity audit - understanding our data, our students, our community - what does it look like in our district for our students.
- Equity commitments - these are the things that we know, if we do, they will make a difference for our students and they matter. What does the research tell us about how we should approach the work?
Early Entrance to Kindergarten and 1st Grade Protocols & Accelerated Math Criteria
Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction Development Process
- Competency-Based Education (CBE)
- Understanding by Design (UbD)
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Integrating these frameworks will foster and, ultimately, craft a powerful curriculum to ensure academic success for all learners.
Business Services Committee - February 22, 2021
Superintendent's Report
Mrs. Fairgrieve and Ms. Waibel expressed their appreciation for his work.
For Discussion
3.D. COVID-19 Financial Impacts
3.E. FY 2020-21 Year-End Projections
3.F. Purchase of Buses for Transportation Department
Administration recommends replacing six small buses and two wheelchair-lift buses
- (6) 2021 35 Passenger Micro Bus x $64,949.00 = $389,694.00
- (2) 2021 27+1 Wheelchair Lift Bus x $71,484.00 = $142,968.00
Administration also recommends replacing three full-size buses out of the existing fleet.
- (3) 2021 71 Passenger Buses x $76,900.00 = $230,700.00
This will bring our special education buses to that 10-year replacement mark and our full-size buses to the 16-year replacement mark.
3.G Device Purchases Grade PreK-3
Prior to the pandemic, D303 was working to budget and implement 1:1 devices for students in grades PreK-3 for the 20-21 school year.
When remote learning began in March 2020, it became necessary to assign existing district and building devices to students in grades PreK-3. The iPads and Chromebooks assigned to younger students were originally purchased for other purposes and had been set for retirement at the end of the 19-20 school year.
While these older devices have served students well this school year, they are all over 4 years old and no longer able to run the latest operating systems and security updates. Without the latest updates, several critical student learning applications are problematic to run.
Administration recommends replacing devices for PreK-3 as a priority and including them in the 3-year replacement cycle similar to devices for grades 4-12.
- Grades PreK-1: Quantity 1750 Standard 10.2” iPad with 32Gb storage and case. $350 each for a total of $612,500.
- Grades 2-3: Quantity 1700 Convertible Touchscreen Chromebook with world-facing camera. $325 each for a total of $552,500.
- Additional device and system priorities will be presented in the near future including:
- Administrative staff devices at $297,500
- Existing Chromebook replacement cycle devices for years 20-21 and 21-22 at $2,145,000
- Teacher/Admin laptop replacement cycle completion at $807,500
- Document Camera replacements at $279,465
- Cybersecurity system expansion at $400,000
Mrs. Fairgrieve mentioned that there may be an opportunity to use CARES Act funds for both the buses and the technology purchases. Mr. Manheim pointed out that this culminates the board’s goal of being a 1:1 district for all students.
3.H. The district voicemail server will soon expire and needs replacement.
3.I. Subject: Additional Access Points
Since re-opening the Haines Center, the district is down to a few spare wireless access points.
Administration recommends the purchase of 50 additional access points to facilitate group testing and a refresh of wireless access points in the Administration Center. The Aruba AP-515 includes 5 years of support at a cost of $29,500.
3.J. Five-year Financial Forecast
3.K. Food Management Service Update
- The District has expanded the locations and hours of remote meal pickup.
- Increased participation of remote learners combined with the return to school at the High School-level, dramatically increased the total meals served
- In the month of December, District 303 was serving approximately 20,000 meals per week.
Board members asked the administration to publicize the free and reduced lunch application over the summer to ensure that families who need the help can get it.
3.U. Architectural Services RFQ
Administration is recommending the District move forward with issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) for architectural services. As the District awaits the final report for the Facility Master Plan, it is important to have a qualified and approved architect of record identified and selected to assist in planning and executing the board’s vision.
Administration is recommending the following schedule:
- RFQ Responses Due - March 19, 2021
- Interview Top Firms - April 7, 2021
- Final Recommendation to Business Services - April 26, 2021
- Board of Education - May 10, 2021