On Monday, Nov. 27, Kaneland Community Unit School District 302 hosted its regularly scheduled board meeting at 7 p.m. in the sixth-grade team room at Kaneland Harter Middle School. All board members were present. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, approval of the agenda and board and superintendent salutes, two public comments were made regarding the Kaneland IgKnight Personalized Learning Academy (KIPLA).
“My son is thriving at IgKnight. He’s noticeably happier, and he looks forward to school,” said Elburn resident Aimee Corbett, whose son attends the academy.
Virgil resident Lara Ekstrom, whose daughter attends KIPLA, also described her belief in the academy.
“It feels like I won the lottery when I chose my house – getting to be in this school district – to have this program available to us,” Ekstrom said.
The first item under new business was the Indicators of Success data presentation. Director of Educational Services EC-5 Dr. Sarah Mumm presented first through fifth grade i-Ready and third through fifth grade Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) data, comparing and reviewing scores. Mumm looked at the increases and decreases in scores in certain grade levels and the plan to see more growth in the future.
Next, Director of Educational Services 6-12 Patrick Raleigh summarized the i-Ready and IAR scores for the middle school and recognized the KHMS honor roll. Raleigh acknowledged some significant decreases in math scores. He also summarized data on SAT scores, college-level coursework, ninth grade on track and the KHS graduation rate and honor roll.
Raleigh said there is a plan to continue to focus on working with individual students through multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and tutoring for middle and high school students.
“It’s safe to say that we’re never satisfied with our data. There’s always room for us to improve,” Raleigh said.
The board then discussed looking at data from other districts in the area, as well as seeing long-term data in these presentations in the future.
District Associate Superintendent Dr. Julie-Ann Fuchs then briefly covered a presentation of the School Report Card data, which looked at test scores and information about enrollment, instructional settings, staffing, finances and school performance data. Kaneland’s data was looked at in comparison with other districts in the area.
The second item under new business was the approval of a $1,000 donation from the Hansen family to the KHS boys track and field program. The board voted to approve the donation from the Hansen family.
Following the approval, select board members and administrators gave feedback on the Joint Annual Conference they attended, which was put on by the Illinois Association of School Boards. Board President Addam Gonzalez discussed several breakout sessions and a board president roundtable he attended.
“It made me feel good about our board and confident that we’re in a good spot,” Gonzalez said.
Topics for future meetings were then discussed. Board member Jennifer Simmons asked to see an example presentation in the future of students who have worked with MTSS at the elementary, middle and high school level.
Board Vice President Bob Mankivsky also sees a need to review the discipline policy.
“There are issues that seem to be recurring where disciplinary issues are getting to the point where it’s interfering with students’ ability to learn and a teacher’s ability to teach,” Mankivsky said.
After a brief discussion between board members regarding the discipline policy, two public comments were made again regarding KIPLA. Corbett again stated her appreciation to the academy as well as KIPLA Principal and Personalized Learning Coordinator Laura Garland. Corbett’s son also commented.
“They have made me so much happier to come to school and so much more successful,” fifth grader Joey Corbett said.
The next board meeting will be held on Monday, Dec. 11.
