This week, we had the privilege to celebrate so many of our outstanding students and staff!

D64 Special Olympics

• We celebrated the dedication and perseverance embodied by our very own District 64 Special Olympics team. "These athletes are a constant source of inspiration. They remind us that with hard work, anything is possible," said Special Education Teacher Amanda Gump. 

Young Author Winners

• We honored our Young Author Winners as well! Congratulations to each grade-level winner for their fantastic stories. As Curriculum Specialist Meghan Keefer said, "Write their names down because someday you will see their books published on the shelves in the bookstore or library!"

D64 Music

• Additionally, we had numerous student musicians in attendance to celebrate their recent sweep at the Music in the Parks Festival! Congratulations to the D64 Concert Band, D64 Symphonic Band, D64 Concert Orchestra, D64 Philharmonic Orchestra, Emerson Show Choir, Lincoln Show Choir, and the D64 Honors Chorus, which performed and competed on their way to earning first-place finishes last month. 

Emerson Middle School Spotlight

• Emerson Principal Tessa Shulman and Assistant Principal Maria Soulias collaborated with students and staff to share how the Eagles embody the phrase, "Together We Are Emerson."

Recognition of Tenured Teachers

• At the meeting, we also recognized a group of teachers as the title of probationary teacher was removed, and then the title of tenured teacher was bestowed upon them. "I think it's great that we're also here to recognize some of our teachers," said Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Joel Martin. "I think, for me, hiring is one of the greatest parts of the job that I get to do because I get to see the new teachers who come to District 64 and the commitment and the energy that they bring."

You can find out more about everyone that was honored by clicking here.

The District 64 Board of Education held a regular meeting on Thursday, May 16th, in the Hendee Rooms. 

VIEW BOARD MEETING

Approval of Municipal Advisor

Motion Approved

PMA will act as the District’s municipal advisor. 

This is a different model than the District has operated in the past. The duties of the municipal advisor include both the duty of care and duty of loyalty. In this role, they will: 

• Advise and assist the Issuer in formulating and executing a debt financing plan 
• Determine an optimal financing structure
• Incorporate the Issuer's debt needs with its operating needs and expectations
• Prepare the official statement and rating agency presentation
• Help to secure the lowest borrowing cost given market conditions

Superintendent Update

District Office Administrators joined Dr. Collins in presenting an update on the Strategic Plan's ongoing work. The presentation PDF can be found here, and you can watch this part of the meeting here. 

As the school year is coming to a close, so is Dr. Collins’ first year as Superintendent. He presented how his transition is going. Highlighted by 220 total school visits for Dr. Collins, it’s been a busy and fun first year on the job! You can find his presentation here and watch it online by clicking here. 

“I just want to say thank you for the trust that you've put in me and for letting me learn along the way as I've grown into this role,” said Dr. Collins. “I'm excited to be better in year two than I am in year one.”

Board Committee Reports

Board Member Rachel Georgakis gave an update on the two Policy Committee Meetings that have taken place since the last regular Board meeting. The most recent Policy Committee Meeting included parents, staff, administrators, and school board members as they reviewed the student-parent handbook. 

Student Services Action Plan

Director of Student Services Alicia Schmeisser and Emerson Speech and Language Pathologist Julie Flyke gave an update on the Student Services Action Plan. Work within the committee is ongoing, but the mini-teams have identified and defined four potential specialized programs to support students. ​​The committee will continue this work in the 2024-2025 school year, expanding collaboration with staff members in the identified buildings for each specialized program, providing targeted professional development at the building level to prepare for the transition, and engaging families to support their understanding and involvement.

• You can read that presentation here. 
• To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

Legal Fee Discussion

Dr. Collins and the Board discussed the District’s legal fees over the past several years. At the end of the fiscal year, a report similar to the one presented will be given to the Board with final billing numbers.

Resolution #1337 Authorizing the Sale of Real Property

Motion Approved

Consent Agenda

The Board approved the following items on the Consent Agenda:

• Bills, Payroll, & Benefits
• Financial Update for the Period Ending March 31, 2023
• Recommended Personnel Report
• Administration and Non-Exempt Non-Union raises
• 2024-2025 Student/Parent Handbook (policies & specific sections) 
• Resolution #1338 Directing the Transfer of funds from the Education Fund to the Operations and Maintenance Fund and then to the Capital Projects Fund
• Resolution #1339 Authorizing and Directing the Permanent Transfer of Money from the Operations and Maintenance Fund to the Debt Service Fund for Debt Certificates
• Resolution #1340 Permanent Transfer of Capital Leases
• Resolution #1341 Working Cash Abatement
• Intergovernmental Agreement for Crossing Guard Services
• Consolidated District Plan for Grant Funding
• 2024-2025 Board of Education Meeting Dates
• Meeting Minutes of the April 18, 2024, Regular Meeting, April 18, 2024, Closed Meeting, and Amended March 21, 2024, Regular Meeting

Upcoming Board Meetings

The following are the next Board meetings:

• June 27, 2024 - 7 p.m. - Hendee Rooms at Jefferson

Looking to catch up on past meeting highlights? A summary of each meeting is available on our Current Board News webpage.

Please confirm meeting dates and times on the Board meetings webpage.

D64 named a new assistant principal for Lincoln Middle School. 

On Thursday, the District 64 Board of Education voted to approve the hire of Mina Caputo as a new Assistant Principal at Lincoln, starting July 22, 2024. She will work alongside Principal David Szwed and Assistant Principal Timothy Gleason at Lincoln. You can read more about Ms. Caputo on our website.

Additionally, Alison Dauernheim was hired as the District's Student Learning Coordinator. We will share more information about this appointment next week.

'Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes' is a phrase used to help people understand the experiences and challenges of others. This week, 7th graders at Lincoln Middle School took that to heart and walked over three miles as part of a bigger lesson. 

Students transported containers from Lincoln to the Wildwood Nature Center, filled them at the pond, and brought them back to Lincoln. This activity provided insight into the daily life of children their age in a different community, simulating the journey many Sudanese people make to obtain water. This topic has been part of the 7th graders' studies. 

Science classes studied the water cycle, water conservation, and waterborne diseases; math classes tracked personal water usage (as well as ways to conserve water at home and at school); social studies classes learned about the history and geography of Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the Second Sudanese Civil War. 

In Aketch, South Sudan, you’ll find “Lincoln Middle School” etched into a well. Thanks to the hard work of Lincoln’s students and staff and the community's generosity, LMS has sponsored three wells in Sudan. In 2022, Lincoln raised more than $15,000 to help install the wells. Recently, we received pictures of the completed wells. Great job, everyone!

Learn more about the walk and lesson.

After conducting a year-long study on water, the "Wookie" 7th grade team at Emerson Middle School successfully raised over $10,000 through a fundraising campaign in partnership with H20 for Life. The funds will be used to construct a well, hand washing facilities and latrines for schools in Ghana and Uganda.

The 7th graders participated in a Walk for Water on Wednesday to simulate the 200 million hours that women and girls spend daily collecting water. The Emerson fundraiser statement emphasized the school's belief that children should not have to walk long distances for clean water and that every child deserves access to clean, healthy water.

Emerson Middle School has been organizing fundraisers like this since 2011, and this year's fundraising amount of over $10,000 is the highest ever collected by a class. In total, Emerson has raised more than $48,000 for similar projects benefiting schools in Africa.

Way to make us proud! 

The goal of the District 64 1:1 Digital Learning Program is to provide tools and resources to our 21st-century learners. To this end, we provide every K-8 student access to a computing device and digital curricular resources throughout the school year. 

To support summer learning opportunities, we are excited to announce that 2nd-7th grade students will take their Chromebooks home this upcoming summer. 

Please read this entire letter, which addresses software applications, collection, support & security, and family resources for device management.

Device Collection Overview:

• 8th Grade and Non-Registered Students: The Technology Department will be collecting devices only from students who are in the 8th grade or those students not fully registered for the 24-25 school year.
• 2nd-7th Grade Students: All students from 2nd through 7th grade will take their Chromebooks home over the summer.

Comments and questions may always be directed to the Superintendent or Board members through these links:

Email Dr. Ben Collins, Superintendent or contact members of the Board of Education via email links.

Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 | 847-318-4300 | news@d64.org

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