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Huntley 158 families:
We are now a few weeks into the new school year, and I'm happy to report that we are off to a great start. Things are humming in all areas of the District, students are learning in new, innovative, and effective ways, and many of our major initiatives are well underway.
Here's a quick rundown of some of our early successes:
Operations
- The solar energy project we announced in the summer is progressing quickly through approval processes with our village partners.
- At Chesak/Martin/ECC, the new parking lot has improved the safety and efficiency of traffic flow and student pickup and dropoff.
- The Huntley Hootenanny 5K Glow Fun Run/Walk, scheduled for September 8 and sponsored by our Education Foundation, was forced to close registration early due to overwhelming interest from the community. It is our hope that this event becomes a signature annual fundraiser going to support teacher grants and student scholarships.
- Outside of the typical beginning-of-the-year bumps, our Transportation Department has done a great job getting our students to and from school safely and efficiently.
- The Food Services Department has successfully transitioned to a new supplier, allowing us to maintain a la carte prices at 2016-17 levels, and continuing to meet and exceed the nutritional needs and expectations of our students.
Academics
- Dual Language classes are now underway in each of our kindergarten schools.
- 120 students are enrolled in our Vanguard Vision Competency-Based Education Program at HHS.
- We have launched our new Fine Arts Academy and Global Academy at HHS.
- Our Department of Learning and Innovation has restructured to assign director-level leadership and focus on the issues of Social-Emotional Learning and Educational Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
- The Board of Education approved a slate of annual indicators and measures to guide our work toward achieving the overarching goals of our strategic plan.
- We're continuing the gradual transition to standards-based learning practices on our path to truly personalized learning for all students.
From my observations and visits to all of our schools early in the year, it is clear that we enjoy a high level of trust from our families to protect and educate their children each and every day.
However, I am aware that trust must be earned, and as a new superintendent, I intend to earn the trust of each of you. I believe doing so will be vital to our continued success throughout this school year and beyond. One step I'd like to take in this regard is to announce the creation of a Superintendent's Parent Advisory Council.
While I'm proud to report out on all the early successes I outlined above, I'm also aware that these observations represent only my perspective. To best lead the District, it is important that I hear from other perspectives as well. While there are many existing channels through which we receive feedback from our families, I want to open this new channel to hear directly from families throughout the District.
The advisory council will meet three times throughout the school year and will consist of a diverse group of parents/guardians, a Board of Education member, and District administrators. It will be split between a PreK-5th grade group and a 6-12th grade group. Advisory members will sit on the committee for one year, and a new advisory will be formed annually.
Advisory Council Structure
Elementary
One parent per grade level, per building will be invited to sit on the advisory.
A PreK-5th grade advisory meeting will consist of 18 people.
Secondary
A 6-12th grade advisory will be organized by representation from athletics, activities, and students at large.
Groups represented: Athletics (1 rep per building, totaling 3); Activities (1 rep per building, totaling 3); 2 reps per grade level, per building, totaling 26 people.
How to Participate
If you are interested in participating as a representative for the council, please fill out this Google form.
If we receive more applications than we have spots, we will select from the applicant pool to ensure a diverse and representative council well-suited to spur honest, open, and productive feedback and discussion.
I hope this is just one of many steps we will take together to ensure that we operate with a culture that supports all students always.
As always, I welcome individual feedback at any time at superintendent@district158.org.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Scott Rowe, Ed.D
Superintendent of Schools
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