Kankakee Times

Kankakee School District 111 Board of Education met February 12. 

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Kankakee School District No. 111, Kankakee County, Illinois, was held at 5:30 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room at Proegler School, 710 North Chicago Avenue, Kankakee, Illinois.

                                                                         Roll Call

          Members present:           Mary Archie

                                                  Jess Gathing, Jr.

                                                  Karen Johnston, Vice President

                                                  Joseph Lightfoot

                                                  Angela Shea, Secretary

                                                  Barbara Wells, President

                                                  Darrell Williams

           Members absent:           None

A quorum was declared present.

Closed Session

At 5:37 p.m., motion was made by Williams, seconded by Johnston, to adjourn to Room 104 for closed session to discuss appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body and negotiations. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Archie, Gathing, Johnston, Lightfoot, Shea, Williams, and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.

The closed session was adjourned at 7:03 p.m.

At 7:06 p.m., the regular session was reconvened with Board member Joseph Lightfoot absent.

Meeting with the Board were:

          Dr. Genevra A. Walters, Superintendent

          Robert Grossi, Assistant Superintendent

          Felice Hybert, Assistant Superintendent

          Dr. Kathleen O’Connor, Assistant Superintendent

          Vicki Scott, Recording Secretary

There were no news media reporters present.

Pledge of Allegiance

Students from Proegler School led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Superintendent’s Report

1. Good News

     School                               Name/Event                                                   Explanation

     District

                                                Donations                              The Peoples Church in Bourbonnais made a

                                                                                                  donation in the amount of $333 for the purpose

                                                                                                  of providing lunches to students or care

                                                                                                  packages of food for students. The church

                                                                                                  board is happy to help meet the needs of our

                                                                                                  community and the District appreciates their

                                                                                                  kindness.

                                                                                               On December 13th, twenty-one students had the

                                                                                                  opportunity to have free eye exams at

                                                                                                  LensCrafters with twenty students receiving

                                                                                                  new glasses, free of charge. LensCrafters

                                                                                                  graciously provided snacks and activities while

                                                                                                  the children waited to be examined by the eye

                                                                                                 doctor. Nurses as well as many staff members

                                                                                                 from Student Support Services assisted with

                                                                                                 transporting and supervising students during

                                                                                                  this event.

                                                                                                Six families received food baskets and

                                                                                                  Christmas gifts donated by the Loyal Order of

                                                                                                   Moose. Twenty-one students received

                                                                                                   Christmas gifts because of this generous

                                                                                                   program. All food baskets and gifts were

                                                                                                   delivered to the student’s homes on December

                                                                                                   17th

                                                  .Online Curriculum                During the Fall 2017 semester, thirty-three ONU

                                                                                                   nursing students had the opportunity to spend

                                                                                                   the day with district nurses as part of their

                                                                                                   pediatric practicum. The ONU nursing students

                                                                                                   enjoyed interacting with the students as well as

                                                                                                  learning more about our school district.

                                                                                                HomeStar Bank and Mike O’Brien offered our

                                                                                                   sixth grade students at King/Kennedy and

                                                                                                   Montessori access to an online curriculum,

                                                                                                   EVERFI, that immerses learners into real-life

                                                                                                    financial scenarios that focus on skill building

                                                                                                    and responsible decision making.

Kennedy                                     Scholarship                           Mrs. Tracy Selock, 5th/6th grade gifted class

                                                                                                     teacher, was awarded the Mary Ann Paradise

                                                                                                    Illinois Association for Gifted Children

                                                                                                    Convention Scholarship. This scholarship

                                                                                                    provides financial support to those who

                                                                                                    enhance their understanding of gifted

                                                                                                    education. Mrs. Selock was one of two

                                                                                                    recipients awarded her registration fee.

                                                                                                    Congratulations, Tracy!

                                                     Visit                                     The Blackhawks GOAL Team, which stands for

                                                                                                   Get Out and Learn, visited Kennedy recently.

                                                                                                 The fan team brought floor hockey equipment for

                                                                                                  an entire class, taught two 6th grade classes the

                                                                                                  basics of hockey, and donated the equipment to

                                                                                                  Kennedy’s PE department. Thank you to Mr.

                                                                                                  Dan Bleyle, Kennedy’s new PE teacher, for

                                                                                                   making this happen!

                                                                                              Kalee Dionne, meteorologist with NBC5 Chicago,

                                                                                                  visited Kennedy and shared an energetic and

                                                                                                  interactive program with the students. The

                                                                                                  students also visited with StormRanger5, the

                                                                                                   stations mobile radar vehicle.

     Proegler                            Gift Card                                  Kankakee School District’s Preschool Program

                                                                                                    earned a $25 Amazon gift card for sending

                                                                                                    student-made holiday cards to members of

                                                                                                   congress.

2. Draft 2018-2019 Calendar Discussion

Dr. Walters said that a discussion is needed about next years school calendar because of the high school renovation project. The district is trying to give the construction company more time during the summer months to get a lot of the work finished. There are two options, option one is that all students begin school on August 22nd. Option two is that school begins on August 22nd with the high school attending a week later. The district is submitting a proposal to ISBE to have five e-learning days. The students would have 1:1 technology through their Chromebooks and would be required to log in for five days in a row. Teachers would report to work and provide instruction on-line. There will be satellite sites in the community as well as an area in the high school if students need to come in to receive support. The district would like to partner with the Kankakee Public Library, the King building, and other places within the community for those students who do not have Wi-Fi access. Adults who are not attached to classrooms will make home visits to check on students who have not logged in and if they cannot get ahold of the students, that student would be counted as absent.

A discussion followed and Dr. Walters said hopefully, within the next two weeks she can let the Board know if this is an option.

3. Trip to Fermilab

Dr. Walters reported that through one of our educational consultants, Karen Brown, a trip was arranged for 100 6th-8th grade students to visit the Fermilab. Fermilab is a governmental lab that does research for the Federal Government. The student were able to experience hands-on exhibits, interact with a number of employees, and enjoy lunch.

Director's Report – Jennifer Hering, Director of Proegler School

Mrs. Hering distributed the Head Start annual report to the public, to the Board of Education members, and to Superintendent Walters.

Mrs. Hering began her report with the introduction of those present from the Head Start Policy Council and her administrative team. Sherry Spencer introduced the staff from Foster Grandparents, Head Start, and Pre-school.

Mrs. Hering showed a video of the children in action to bring to light how learning takes place at Proegler. She concluded with a review of the school improvement goals and stated that Head Start will have a Federal Review this year and the Preschool For All Grant has been submitted for recompetition.

Public Comments

The following public comments were made:

                 Name                                                                 Topic

     Travis Miller                               Applauded Dr. Walters for holding a healing meeting with the

                                                          district athletes and the athletes of Crete Monee High School.

                                                       Discussed the importance of social media in today’s society

                                                          and the impact that it may have on a person or situation. He

                                                          said the Superintendent took a stand to encourage all adults to

                                                          respect one another and to teach our students the important

                                                          use of social media and not to degrade one another. He gave

                                                          examples of a Board member not setting a good example and

                                                          questioned whether this is the behavior we want our students

                                                          to model.

Consent Agenda

The following items were presented:

1. The following Board minutes were presented for approval:

           January 8, 2018-Regular Meeting (Regular & Executive Session Minutes)

           January 30, 2018-Special Meeting (Regular Session Minutes)

2. The Regular Bills were presented for approval. (See Insert A.)

3. The Payroll and Related Bills were presented for approval. (See Insert B.)

4. The Board of Education Policy Changes (2nd Reading) were presented for approval.

5. The KHS Overnight Trip Request to Mt. Olympus, Wisconsin Dells, was presented for approval.

6. The Revised 2017-2018 School Calendar was presented for approval.

     A snow day was used on February 9th and the calendar was revised to add a day at the end of

     the school year. The last day of school will be May 29, 2018.

7. The Head Start Policy Council Documents were presented for approval.

          November 9, 2017 Policy Council Minutes

          Bradley School District 61 Memorandum of Understanding

          Herscher School District 2 Memorandum of Understanding

         Kankakee School District 111 Memorandum of Understanding

5. The following personnel items were presented for approval:

                  Name                                        Position                                               Effective Date

Resignations-Licensed Educational Professionals

     Andrea Anderson                       4th Grade Teacher at King                             February 9, 2018

     Candice Birr                                Instructional Teacher at Edison                     End of 2017/18 School Year

     Tricia Peterson                           2nd Grade Teacher at Mark Twain                  January 29, 2018

Appointments-Support Personnel

     Reshane Brickhouse                 Cafeteria Helper at KHS                                  February 13, 2018

     Brooke Bridges                          Cafeteria Helper at Proegler                           January 9, 2018

     Lessly Hernandez                      Dual Language Paraprofessional at Steuben   February 20, 2018

     Jessica Joiner                             Library Aide at KJHS                                      February 13, 2018

     Renee Sanders                          Cafeteria Helper at Edison                               January 9, 2018

     Betty Spears                               Cafeteria Helper at LCC                                  February 13, 2018

Appointments-Extra-Curricular Personnel

     Leon Allen Jazz                           Band Director, District Wide                            February 12, 2018

     Laura James                               Girls on the Run at Kennedy                           February 12, 2018

      Jori Koster                                  Girls on the Run at Kennedy                          February 12, 2018

Leave of Absences-Support Personnel

     Michelle Dandurand                     Physical Therapist at Avis Huff                        Jan. 16, 2018-Apr 2, 2018

     Brittany Lane                                Paraprofessional at Mark Twain                      Mar. 20, 2018-May 31, 2018

Motion was made by Gathing, seconded by Archie, to approve the above listed consent agenda items as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Archie, Gathing, Johnston, Shea, Williams, and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.

Resolution for Honorable Dismissal of Grant Funded Programs and Initiatives

The following personnel were presented for honorable dismissal:

      Part-time Paraprofessionals

          Gayle Alvey                                       Christine Hallberg

          Dawn Beedy                                       Erin Haut

          Pam Bruso                                         Ryan Morris

          Christine Case                                   Lynne Papineau

          Jalesa Franks                                     Jocelyn Robinson

          Stacy Gall                                           Ma Susanna Shelton

           Dawn Gaudet                                    Jamie Spiese

           Dana Gray                                         Lisa Zarate

      Preschool For All Paraprofessionals

          Patricia Adams                                   Michelle Randle

          Maureen Cahill                                   Illiana Salazar

      Preschool For All Coordinators

           Mary Martinez

           Dora Mendez

      Prevention Initiative

           Erica Baptist                                       Sarah Gowler

           Rosaura Calderon                              Mary Randle

      Community/Parent Liaison

           Dan Harris

           Estefanie Martinez

           Theodis Pace

      Part-time Academic Interventionists

          Maureen Antognoli                             Maria Glasglow

          Constance Beatty                               Mary Mercer

          Stella Chingas                                   Susan Neeb

          Karen Deam                                      Margaret Smith

          Melissa Denoyer                               Cynthia Somerville

          Joseph Fuhrmann

      Part-Time Avid Tutor

          Reggie Stevenson

      Part-time Speech Language Pathologist

          Constance Angelo

      Part-time Data Assessment

          Randy Rose

      Part-time Physical Education Consultant

           Betty Peters-Lambert

Motion was made by Gathing, seconded by Williams, to approve the Resolution for Honorable Dismissal of Grant Funded Programs and Initiatives as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Gathing, Johnston, Shea, Williams, Archie, and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.

Resolution for Honorable Dismissal of District Funded Programs and Initiatives

The following personnel were presented for honorable dismissal:

      Part-time Paraprofessionals

          Sue Bennett                                   Amanda Pepin

          Kelly Costanza                               Amelia Toronjo

          Kevina Gant                                   Bridgett Underwood

          Rhonda Love                                 Carol Williamson

      Student Support Interventionist

          Alan Ford

      Permanent Substitutes

          Curtis Crossley                              Devin Glover-Johnson

          Lee Grant                                      Toni Jordan

      Part-time Speech Language Pathologists

          Charles Parsons

          Christy Strole

      Part-time Psychologist

           Carol Szynal

      Part-time Assessment Coordinator

          Cynthia Palmer

      Part-time Social Worker

          Connie Lambert

Motion was made by Gathing, seconded by Shea, to approve the Resolution for Honorable Dismissal of District Funded Programs and Initiatives as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Johnston, Shea, Williams, Archie, Gathing, and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.

Recommended Substitute Changes

Motion was made by Shea, seconded by Gathing, to approve the recommended substitute changes as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Shea, Williams, Archie, Gathing, Johnston, and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.

Old Business

There was no old business.

Information and Proposals

The following items were provided for information:

1. 2016-2017 District and School Report Cards

2. Freedom of Information Requests

3. State and Federal Revenue Update

4. Previous Bill Run

5. Board Committee Meeting Minutes

6. Budget Update

7. Staff Absence Report

8. January Suspension Data

At 7:48 p.m., motion was made by Williams, seconded by Archie, to adjourn the meeting. All ayes; motion carried.

https://www.ksd111.org/cms/lib/IL01904746/Centricity/Domain/68/BoardMinutesFeb1218.pdf