Carbondale Reporter

Carbondale Elementary School District #95 Board of Education met Sept. 28.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

1. Roll Call:

Upon roll call, the following members were present:

Mr. John Major, President

Ms. Erinn Murphy, Secretary

Ms. Michelle Connet

Ms. Catherine Field

Mr. Gary Shepherd

Ms. Natasha Zaretsky

Administrators present:

Dr. Elizabeth Lewin, Interim Superinendent

Mr. Justin M. Miller, Assistant Superintendent

Mrs. Colleen Doyle-Parrott, Director of Curriculum/Instruction & Assessments

Ms. Zeppelyn Brewer, Director of Pupil Services

2. EXECUTIVE SESSION 6:05 PM

Roll Call:

Mr. John Major, President

Ms. Erinn Murphy, Secretary

Ms. Michelle Connet

Ms. Catherine Field

Mr. Gary Shepherd

Ms. Natasha Zaretsky

Connet moved, seconded by Field, to enter Executive Session at 6:05 PM for the purpose of discussing performance, evaluation and compensation of specific personnel matters, matters relating to student discipline, matters relating to collective bargaining, and matters relating to pending litigation.

Roll Call Vote:

Yes votes: Murphy, Connet, Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major

No votes: None

Absent: Smith

Motion carried.

Executive Session adjourned at 7:03 PM.

Roll Call Vote:

Yes votes: Major, Connet, Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Murphy

No: None

Absent: Smith

Motion carried.

3. Public Comments – John Major

Jennifer Hartleb read the following statement on behalf of the Carbondale Education Association:

My name is Jennifer Hartlieb and I’m here as a representative of the Carbondale Education Association. I also happen to be the Faculty Council president. We are pleased that the board and CEA were able to settle the recent informal score grievance without going to arbitration. We were also pleased that Dr. Lewin took an interest in attending our last Faculty Council meeting and is also concerned about the curriculum issues in our district. We look forward to working together to address as many of those issues as possible while she is still here. We also appreciate the members of this board for your willingness to seek input from teachers. We believe that is important in order for you to make informed decisions for our district. It is unclear as to why there are new administrative members on the PERA committee. The board initially voted on that team, so there are questions as to why it has changed. A major concern is the special subjects schedule. The current schedule is not working and needs to be addressed. Special subjects teachers are experts in their field and not licensed to teach other classes. This schedule not only affects the teachers involved, but also many students. TWI classes are doubled up, which is a problem in and of itself, but the classes are not even of the same grade level. Students who have specials at 2:15 are only receiving 15 minutes of instruction due to dismissal beginning at 2:30. We hope you revisit this schedule and work to make appropriate changes. Discipline continues to be a problem. Teachers are spending a great deal of time managing behavior and documenting them into Tyler. Teachers are expected to call parents when problems arise; however, parents are often busy with school or work, and cannot answer calls. Calling home so often sends a message to parents and students that we can’t handle their children. Calling home to parents takes away from instruction, and in order to speak privately, a teacher must step into the hall to talk, which leaves the class unattended. Documenting behavior in Tyler is very time-consuming and takes even more time away from planning for instruction. Teachers already have so much on their plates. There must be an easier way. When students exhibit major misbehaviors, they are often sent home. It would make more sense to keep students at school for in-school suspension so that they can keep up with their schoolwork. Students who are sent home are often left alone, as their parents have to work. It is our responsibility to issue consequences to students while they are in our care. The elementary general education teachers are required to administer, score, and enter data into Tyler for two different assessments. The first assessment, Fountas & Pinnell, takes up a great deal of class time to test each child individually, while the rest of the class is expected to quietly manage themselves. At the beginning of the year, we are trying to build relationships with our students and establish class routines; however, it’s difficult to have a routine when so much time is spent assessing students. Assessments are also not being done consistently from building to building and from teacher to teacher. The second assessment is the Lucy Calkins writing, which requires three 45-minute writing sessions, which must be done as new students arrive. These essays take HOURS to grade, and no time is provided for teachers to score them. The rubric may be grade level appropriate, but we are asked to use rubrics from lower grades in order to find the grade level at which each child is performing. In that case, the rubrics do not match, making it even more difficult and time-consuming and gives us no more information than we already had. Teachers know within two weeks which students are performing, at, above or below grade level. We could be using our time so much more wisely those first six weeks. All assessments are due tomorrow. Teachers are exhausted already. Next week is midterm; however, many have very few grades because these assessments have been the focus. Clearly, we have a number of things to tackle. Hopefully, with teachers and administrators working together, we can start to solve some of these issues.

Pam Leening read the following on behalf of K-5 Special Subject Teachers:

We are here this evening as the special subjects teachers in grades K-5 in District 95. We are deeply concerned about the ramifications the current special subjects schedule has on children. We have shared our concerns with building principals, the superintendent and some board members. Yet, we are well into the 2017-2018 school year and there has been no indication that there is any interest in addressing our concerns for the current school year. We believe strongly that this issue is serious enough that it should be addressed immediately. We have lost confidence in the ability of our administration to remedy the situation and are taking this step in the hope of resolving the issues that are negatively impacting our students. Earlier today, we sent each of you a letter outlining our concerns. We will not read the letter to you this evening. If you will take the time to read the letter you received, you will find detailed information about our concerns which include;

● Four PE classes that have one teacher teaching two home room classes, resulting in safety concerns

● A lack of equipment for large PE classes

● As many as 20 students at a time who have to sit out of activities due to a lack of equipment

● Classes which contain students from more than one grade level

● Classes containing students with a wide range of maturity and physical size due to mixed grades

● Large TWI sections, with as many as 35 students in classes, which are supposed to be smaller in size according to the law

● A special subjects teachers being assigned to teach classes she is not licensed in and has no training in

● Safety concerns due to classes being taught by an unlicensed teacher

● An inability to have a cohesive/ consistent curriculum due to mixed grade level classes, classes being taught by an unlicensed teacher and a lack of equipment & materials

● Special Subject classes being scheduled from 2:15-2:45 when dismissal starts well before 2:45 resulting in a loss of special subjects instructional time

● Some special subjects teachers in their car traveling as many as 4 hours a week

● Special subjects teachers combined spending 12 hours in their cars driving per week

● Twenty four special subjects instructional periods per week lost due to time spent in cars traveling between buildings

● Available scheduling options that eliminate some of this drive time are not being implemented

● Over the past two years, we have gone from 5 district PE teachers to 4 district PE teachers

● Over the past two years, we have gone from 5 district music teachers to 4 district music teachers

● Despite an increase in enrollment we continue to decrease special subjects staff

● A loss in staff has contributed to the current scheduling difficulties

● With less than 24 hours notice, special subjects teachers were given job assignment changes

● The strings teacher has been assigned to teach general music with no supplies for teaching this subject

● A pattern of TWI classes receiving a less than adequate experience in doubled up classes or classes w/o supplies

● Teachers did not receive their schedules in most, if not all cases until the evening before the first day of student attendance

● In some cases schedules were not received until days into the school year

● Teachers need advance notification of schedules and teaching assignments in order to provide the best instruction possible

● No one in recent years has ever asked for our input when developing the special subjects schedule

It is our hope that we do not have to take this time to impress upon you the importance and value of the classes we teach in the lives of students at District 95. District 95 Special Subjects teachers feel that our role is much more than providing a planning period for classroom teachers. We feel our role is to provide specialized instruction in our field that meets the needs of all District 95 students. This schedule greatly impacts our ability, as educators, to provide our students with quality instruction and educational experiences. It feels as if there is an attempt to retaliate against some of us for speaking up about scheduling concerns, in the past. But, the only people who are really being hurt by this schedule are the students of District 95. It is our hope that you will take the time to read the entire letter you received earlier today. Please, take our input as professionals and rectify these scheduling concerns as soon as possible so that we are able to provide our students with the highest quality educational experiences we are capable of providing.

Dr. Lewin stated that she asked for input at least a week prior to the board meeting from special subject teacher regarding getting a schedule done. Schedules must be done a year in advance therefore the input gathered will be for the next school year.

4. Approval of Agenda 

Shepherd moved, seconded by Connet, Recommend approving the Agenda:

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Murphy, Connet, Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

5. Consent Agenda Items

Connet moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend approving Consent Agenda Items 5.1 – Minutes, 5.2- Financial Reports, and 5.3-Communications

Yes votes: Murphy, Connet, Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried

Minutes 

5.11 Regular – July 27, 2017 

5.12 Executive – July 27, 2017 

5.13 Regular – August 8, 2017 

5.14 Executive – August 8, 2017 

5.15 Regular – August 23, 2017 Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

5.2 Financial Reports

5.21 Approval of Bills 

5.22 Treasurer’s Report 

5.23 Monthly Budget Report

5.3 Communications

5.31 FOIA Requests 

8/14/17: Edge Point requesting Uncashed checks over 90 days. 

8/15/17: SmartProcure requesting all purchase records from May 1, 2017 to present. 

8/24/17: IRTA requesting email addresses.

5.32 Donations

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Shepherd, Field, Zaretsky, Major, Murphy, Connet No votes: None Abstained: None Absent: Smith Motion carried

COMMUNICATIONS

6. Committee Reports COMMITTEE REPORTS

6.1 President’s Remarks – John Major PRESIDENT’S

6.11 • IASB Event: Shawnee Division Meeting: School Safety/School Law Update: Current Legal Issues and Trends. Dongola USD 66 on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 6 PM.

• NAACP Event: 40th annual Freedom Fund Banquet on Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 4 PM. Individual tickets are $30 or a Table for 8 at $350.

• Dr. Lewin was asked to provide a progress report on scheduling at the middle school for the October board meeting. Dr. Lewin replied that she has met with the principal and Mrs. Ross has formed a committee to take a look at schedules. Dr. Lewin will assist periodically through the process. Dr. Lewin has asked the teachers for assistance to help realign the district to make sure everything that we are teaching is aligned to our state standards. Dr. Lewin will give an update at the October board meeting.

• Jim Helton, IASB Representative: Presented an update on Superintendent search. The online survey is available for the Board, Staff, and Community until October 6th. Mr. Helton would like to schedule a time to meet with teachers on a S.I.P Day for their input. The Superintendent position was posted on August 24th but the criteria will be updated based on survey results. Next (OPEN) meeting with the board with be on October 11th at 5:00pm to discuss survey results. The job posting will end on November 9th at 12:00 noon.

6.2 Committee Reports –

6.21 Public Relations Committee Report – Erinn Murphy

*The district t-shirts have been well received. Each school has selected a day of the week to wear them, and the PR committee will discuss design of next year's shirts at coming meetings so that an order can be placed sooner this year.

Parrish - Friday 

Thomas - Monday 

Lewis - Monday

CMS - Monday

*Splash park nights went okay. Concerns included a new policy about having to pay for siblings, date selection conflicting with other large events in town resulting in low turnout. Mr. Miller suggested that these details be discussed between Ms. Doyle Perrott and the park district well ahead of next year's events. The committee recommended setting splash park dates for similar dates to this year, but not having Parrish go first since the Parrish students and families are so new to the district. It was also recommended that splash park dates are set and communicated to parents before school is out for the summer.

Parrish - 36 

Thomas - 101 

Lewis - 100 

CMS - 72 

299/1400 attended.should we have it again?

*Amy Fox has contacted building principals, and she is working with each building to create a 'highlight reel' video to post to youtube and the school website. Amy does an amazing job on these videos and we are very lucky to have her working on this project with us.

*The parent volunteer process is moving forward. Each school has sent home directions to parents and there has been at least one round of background checks completed so far (9/5/17) Volunteer info will flow through Trisha at central office, and more information needs to be shared/discussed related to how faculty are instructed to check on volunteer availability. 49 Volunteers have gone through the process and Trisha has shared the volunteer information with building principals. Principals are to share info with teachers as needed/requested.

*3/4 National Merit Semifinalists from CCHS graduated from CES 95 - Sarah Pitafi, Ben Tolley and Jaden Lucas* This is an honor that less than 1% of high school seniors are awarded. Exciting!

*Four Parrish teachers, Cecile McCaron, Anne Kaszbuski, Whitney Wyatt and Kelli Roundtree are presenting with Erinn Murphy on 'Mindfulness in the Classroom' at the ROE in service on October 6th.

*The district website was discussed, and the committee realized that we do not have anyone in the district in charge of updating the website, checking for accuracy on the website, conducting trainings related to the website, etc. It is the opinion of the committee that the district seek help in this area so that our website is maintained and kept up to date. Dr. Lewin and Mr. Miller agreed to monitor this issue.

6.3 District Reports 

Director of Pupil Services, Zeppelyn Brewer No Report

Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessments, Colleen Doyle-Parrott No report

Assistant Superintendent, Justin Miller 

Mr. Miller gave an update on the building renovation for the I Can Read Program. Things are on track. The program can move some of their belongings in as of October 1st and will be fully operational in January at the new location. Mr. Miller has a draft lease agreement prepared to discuss with Ms. Nesbitt.

Mr. Miller gave an update on the audit. The Auditors will be present at the next board meeting to give results of the report.

Mr. Miller wanted to correct a statement made last October regarding the previous auditing firm as to why they were not present to give a report to the board. A prior board member asked if that was part of the contract. Mr. Miller stated that it was, but the former auditors want to make sure Mr. Miller corrected the statement and make the board aware that that was not part of the contract. It was simply an expectation that we had for our auditors. Mr. Miller wanted to make that correction within the minutes.

Durham Bus Company representative gave an update on Bus Routes. Currently there are only 3 routes that do not have permanent drivers. They do have 4 permanent but temporary drivers that come from other location to drive those routes when needed. There are 4 licensed staff members to cover routes when needed. There are 7 drivers in training and should meet all of the qualification within the next week. There was a problem with the Parrish mid-day route arriving late, the bus manager has reassigned the route to another driver and now it is arriving on time. The over crowding issue has been corrected by reassigning students to different buses. The Tri-County route has also been redone to shorten the length of time and arrive on time. 

Discussion: 

Mr. Major brought up the fact that the bus company staff may have mistreated some of our students. Was that issue addressed? The Bus Co. representative informed the board of the progressive disciplinary policy for his staff. Mrs. Murphy asked if all buses have route sheets and the bus represented stated yes. Mr. Shepherd asked have bus complaints went down and the bus represented stated yes the complaints are fewer.

Mr. Miller gave a presentation of the Budget report to be adopted for the current fiscal year.

Superintendent, Dr. Elizabeth Lewin Dr. Lewin gave an update on the Illinois Association of School Administrators meeting she attended where representatives talked about a reference guide for board members that provides information on the best practice or laws that board members need to be aware of. Dr. Lewin issued each board member a copy of the reference guide.

7. Old Business 

7.1 Action to Adopt Budget for Fiscal Year 2017

Shepherd moved, second by Connet, Recommend adopting the budget as presented with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2017 and ending June 30, 2018, that contains an estimate of the amounts available in both revenue and expenditures for each fund.

Roll Call and Signature Vote (3 copies) Yes votes: Shepherd, Field, Zaretsky, Major, Murphy, Connet No votes: None Abstained: None Absent: Smith Motion carried

7.2 Action on Memorandum of Understanding between Carbondale Elementary School District No. 95 and the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University on behalf of the SIU Assistantship Program (Foreign Language Interns).

Murphy moved, second by Shepherd, Recommend approving the Memorandum of Understanding between Carbondale Elementary School District No. 95 and the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University on behalf of the SIU Assistantship Program (Foreign Language Interns). The Department will provide 7 graduate students to assist in the Two-Way Immersion program at a cost of $22,806 for the time period of January 1, 2018 through May 15, 2018 school year.

Roll Call Vote Yes votes: Shepherd, Field, Zaretsky, Major, Murphy, Connet No votes: None Abstained: None Absent: Smith Motion carried

8 New Business

8.1 Action on Classified Personnel 

8.11 Action on Classified Substitutes

Field moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend the following be placed on the Classified Substitute List to work on an as needed basis for the 2017-2018 school year:

New Hires: 

LaJoya Johnson, Substitute Secretary and Aide 

Maxine Lewis, Substitute Secretary 

Maeanna Lowry, Substitute Secretary and Aide 

Stephanie Murray, Substitute Cook 

Roll Call Vote Yes votes: Shepherd, Field, Zaretsky, Major, Murphy, Connet

No votes: None Abstained: None Absent: Smith Motion carried

8.12 Action on Resignations

Murphy moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend accepting the resignations of Andrea Halteman, Building Secretary effective August 25, 2017, and Tasha Bell, Cook’s Assistant effective September 6, 2017 and Susan Livingston, PreK Aide effective October 11, 2017.

Voice Vote Yes votes: Major, Connet, Field, Murphy, Zaretsky, Shepherd No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.13 Employment of Student Supervisor Aides

Murphy moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend the employment of Janeice Bailey, Degobe Felton, Morgan Jones and Morgan Nickels as Student Supervisor Aides for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Connet, Field, Zaretsky, Major, Murphy, Shepherd No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.14 Employment of Special Education Aides

Field moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend the employment of Andrea Martin as Special Education Aides for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Connet, Field, Zaretsky, Major, Shepherd, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.15 Employment of Reading Aides

Field moved, seconded by Connet, Recommend the employment of Tamara McCutchen as Reading Aide for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Murphy

No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.16 Employment of Cook’s Helper

Field moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend the employment of Tiffany Nelson as Cook’s Helper for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Field, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.17 Employment of Building Secretary

Field moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend the employment of Maxine Lewis as Building Secretary for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote Yes votes: Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Field, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.18 Employment of PreK Aide

Field moved, seconded by Connet, Recommend the employment of Charlotte Saucier as PreK Aide for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote Yes votes: Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Field, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.19 Employment of Student Workers

Murphy moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend the employment of Grace Adams and Rachel Valentine as Student Workers for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote Yes votes: Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Field, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.2 Action on Certified Personnel

8.21 Action on Retirement

Shepherd moved, seconded by Field, Recommend accepting the letters of retirement of Robert Patrick for the 2021 – 2022 school year and Laura Jinks for the 2022 – 2023 school year.

Voice Vote: Yes votes: Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.22 Employment of 5th Grade Teacher

Field moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend the employment of Megan Tate as a 5th Grade Teacher for the 2017 – 2018 school year, pending a clear CBI.

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Field, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.23 Employment of Special Assignments

Murphy moved, seconded by Connet, Recommend the employment of the following Special Assignments for the 2017 – 2018 school year:

Lewis School

5th Grade Student Council – Ashton Clutts Art Club – Juana Duran

Carbondale Middle School

Middle School Chorus – Jessica Murphy

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Field, Shepherd, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.3 Action on Memorandum of Understanding between Carbondale

Elementary School District No. 95 and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Southern Illinois.

Connet moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend approving the Memorandum of Understanding between Carbondale Elementary School District No. 95 the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Southern Illinois in offering volunteers to all attendance centers at no charge or cost to the district.

Discussion: Colleen Doyle-Parrot introduced Mr. Smith from the RSVP program to give some background on the program. Mr. Smith stated the program is grant funded to allow senior to volunteer doing community service. The goal is to expand the program within schools over the 13 counties. Colleen stated background checks will be done on both ends and the program will start at Parrish School and volunteer will be with a teacher to provide assistance.

Voice Vote: Yes votes: Zaretsky, Major, Connet, Field, Shepherd, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.4 Action on Field Trip Approval

Zaretsky moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend approving the Thomas School Academically Talented class for the 2017 – 2018, 2018- 2019 and the 2019-2020 school years at a cost of $3,000 per school year for Coach Bus Transportation and hotel lodging for a total of $9,000.

Discussion: Shepherd asked why is the recommendation different from the original proposal received earlier in board packets. Dr. Lewin replied that the figures may not be accurate due to the district normally picks up the cost for transportation on field trips and the cost for our bus company is currently unknown so it is best not to put a price on the transportation without further investigation. The recommendation is that the district picks up the bus charge and the rest of the expense will be generated/raised by the sponsor. Mr. Miller added that the transportation is via a school bus that is taken for all field trips.

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Shepherd, Zaretsky, Murphy No votes: Major, Connet, Field Abstained: None Absent: Smith Motion failed.

Amendment to the Recommendation Shepherd motion, second by Murphy, Recommend approving the Thomas School Academically Talented class field trip for the 2017 – 2018 school year at the cost of $1000 towards transportation.

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Shepherd, Zaretsky, Murphy, Major, Connet, Field No votes: None Abstained: None

Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.5 Action on Administrator and Teacher Salary and Benefits Report

Shepherd moved, seconded by Murphy, Recommend approving the Teacher Salary and Benefits Report

Roll Call Vote: Yes votes: Connet, Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

8.6 Action on Administrative Compensation Report

Murphy moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend approving current Administrative Compensation Report.

Voice Vote: Yes votes: Connet, Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Major, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

9. Next Scheduled Meetings

9.1 Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Public Relations Committee Meeting 

CES95 Administrative Center 

4:00 PM

Wednesday, October 11, 2017 

Special Board Meeting (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) 

CES95 Administrative Center 

5:00 PM

9.2 Thursday, October 26, 2017

Regular Board Meeting (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) 

CES95 Administrative Center 

6:00 PM 

6:05 PM Motion and Roll Call Vote to go into Executive Session (CLOSED) for the purpose of discussing matters relating to the performance, evaluation and compensation of specific personnel, matters relating to student discipline, matters relating to collective bargaining, and matters relating to pending litigation. 7:00 PM Reconvene Regular Board Meeting Public Session (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)

Mr. Major announced the I Can Read fundraiser on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at the Carbondale Elks Club starting at 6:00pm

10 Public Comments (Name & Address of Person Speaking)

A group of parents spoke regarding their concerns for PE and Music classes at Thomas School. They have a Facebook page with over 70 parents that feel the same way. They do not agree with the class size of combined 2nd and 3rd grade TWI students to 1 special subjects teacher. A parent also voiced concern that her child’s music class is the only one at Parrish taught by the art teacher and her child is in the TWI program. A representative from the parent group emailed each Board member regarding questions and concerns.

Dr. Lewin gave some clarification regarding licensure and qualifications in the State of Illinois that elementary teacher K-5 are licensed to teach every single subject. Therefore all of our teachers are licensed to teach what they are assigned. Dr. Lewin did ask the Principals to follow-up with their teachers to see what is needed to assist them in their day. Hearing about the need for supplies was new to Principals; Dr. Lewin is working with the Principals to address concerns. Dr. Lewin stated the schedules cannot be changed but staff can be placed to assist where needed.

Zaretsky asked for clarification on how many classes are dealing with overcrowding. The response was (1) PE class at Thomas School that meets twice a week.

11. Adjournment

Murphy moved, seconded by Shepherd, Recommend Adjournment at 10:00 PM.

Voice Vote: Yes votes: Major, Connet, Field, Shepherd, Zaretsky, Murphy No votes: None Absent: Smith Motion carried.

https://www.ces95.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=77&dataid=1792&FileName=BOE%20Minutes_%20September%2028%202017.pdf