Submitted by Jennifer Favalora, BOE.
2020-2021 School Year:
RSD17 continues to operate K-8 schools in a full in-person model, and the high school in a hybrid model. Superintendent Hageman reported to the Board that she meets weekly with Superintendents from the region as well as local health officials to analyze the data as it relates to keeping students in school, quarantining where we must, and following the DPH’s guidelines very strictly. The state did not advocate for proactively closing schools after Thanksgiving, and Dr. Hageman continues to prioritize keeping students in school as much as possible, for as long as possible. The number of families that have chosen to learn remotely remains consistent at 11%.
2020-2021 Continuous Improvement Plans
Each fall, the District’s Principals report their school’s Continuous Improvement Plan to the Board of Education. This year, given this Spring’s COVID- related remote learning, the Curriculum Coordinators began the presentation with an overview of math and literacy student data from this fall. Relative to years past, there are some positive highlights of on-track learning, but in some grades and subjects areas there has been learning loss, as was expected. The Curriculum Coordinators have highlighted action steps to adjust instruction and focus on the major themes of each grade level in order to systematically close those gaps and additional supports have been put into place for students in all grade levels. Other major themes throughout the presentations included 1) ensuring all Region 17 students feel safe, respected and accepted, and 2) promoting connectedness and engagement for our students in this very unusual year. These Continuous Improvement Plans have been posted onto the RSD17.org website on each of the school’s pages.
Personnel and Evaluation Subcommittee
The Personnel Committee reported the District’s plan to increase the part time nurse position at the Middle and Intermediate School Building, to a full time position. This increase would put two full-time nurses in the building, one RN and one LPN. The Committee also reported that they are currently in the middle of contract negotiations with two of the District’s bargaining units.
Strategic Planning Subcommittee
Principals, Teachers, Students, Parents, Community Members and Board of Ed members convened for a “Vision of the Graduate” kickoff meeting. This group is working to gather information from various sectors throughout our communities to identify the core skills and dispositions that are most important to see in an HK graduate. The group will meet again in December to discuss the findings from the Thought Exchange that was sent out to the community and work on next steps to complete this very important work.
Free School Meals Program
The USDA Free School breakfast and lunch program has been extended to the end of the school year. This program is available to students who are present in school, students who are remote learning, and children that live in the community but are not enrolled in our school system. If a school, or the district, is operating in full-remote, there will be meals provided at Burr Elementary. If school is cancelled for a snow day, there will not be meals available that day. Order forms are on our RSD17.org website under District – Food Services.
Website:
The 32nd annual HKTV Holiday Show will be held on December 23, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This year the students have chosen to support the Nathaniel B. Field Foundation, a mental health awareness organization that aims to end the stigma surrounding mental illness. The telethon can be viewed live on Comcast Channel 18 and Frontier Channel 6090, and on our website at holidayshow.rsd17.org.
