Springfield District 186 Board Meeting: From Show Choirs to School Designations

School Board Meeting Topics: Student Representative Report | Superintendent Report on Various Topics | Public Comment from Aaron Graves with the Springfield Education Association | Overview of District Performance through the Latest Report Card | Resolution for School District Tax Levy | Revised Policy on Professional Attire 24mins

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Original Meeting

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Springfield District 186 Board of Education on YouTube
Monday, November 4th, 2024
6254.0
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Brian Wojcicki
Springfield, Illinois
Government Relations & Legal Services Professional
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In This Video
  • Report by the student representative, who discusses various school activities, including the formation of a new show choir. 
  • Superintendent Gill begins the Superintendent's report, congratulating Mr. Jordan for receiving an award from the Springfield Art Association for outstanding community arts advocacy. 
  • Superintendent Gill discusses the Shadow Hanson event, where students from three high schools participated in engineering activities, including designing subway systems and engaging in hands-on engineering tasks. 
  • Superintendent Gill announces Natalie Harris as a new Illinois State Board of Education student advisory member, highlighting her leadership and involvement in student advocacy. 
  • Superintendent Gill shares the district's win of the INSPRA 2024 Communications Award for the 'grad walk the halls' initiative, acknowledging Rachel's contributions to the project. 
  • Superintendent Gill promotes upcoming events, including the Empower All Abilities Conference and a district career fair, encouraging community participation. 
  • Superintendent Gill provides updates on construction progress at Spartan Field, including track and field preparations and building developments. 
  • Public Comment from Aaron Graves with the Springfield Education Association addressing the board about challenges faced by educators, including workload, compensation, and student behavior. 
  • Superintendent Gill introduces the district report card overview, thanking Dr. Moody and the staff for their work. The report card is described as an interactive tool with multiple indicators of success, highlighting both positives and concerns. 
  • Dr. Moody presents the district report card, explaining the various indicators of success for elementary, middle, and high schools. The focus is on growth, proficiency, and chronic absenteeism, with a detailed breakdown of how these factors are assessed. 
  • Dr. Moody continues with the report card presentation, discussing school designations and the importance of achieving commendable or exemplary ratings. The presentation includes a breakdown of the number of schools at each designation level. 
  • The focus shifts to chronic absenteeism, a significant factor affecting school designations. Dr. Moody emphasizes the importance of student attendance and the efforts made to improve it, acknowledging the impact of COVID-19 on attendance rates. 
  • Discussion on high school indicators, particularly the 9th grade on track metric. Dr. Moody explains the challenges and efforts to improve this metric, including additional data not reflected in state reports. 
  • Superintendent Gill and Dr. Moody discuss the importance of tracking student progress beyond 9th grade, with a request for data on 10th and 11th graders. They highlight efforts to help students catch up and graduate, celebrating recent improvements. 
  • The presentation moves to academic data, focusing on reading, math, and science proficiency. Dr. Moody explains the difference between growth and proficiency, emphasizing the district's commitment to continuous improvement. 
  • Dr. Moody presents specific data on student growth and proficiency in ELA and math, comparing district performance to state averages. The discussion includes strategies for improving proficiency levels. 
  • Dr. Moody shifts focus to high school proficiency. 
  • Dr. Moody summarizes district achievements, including improvements in attendance, graduation rates, and proficiency in reading and math. 
  • Dr. Moody discusses SAT proficiency improvements at specific high schools and the district's focus on aligning teaching and learning with exam expectations. She also highlights science proficiency increases across grade levels. 
  • Dr. Moody talks about career and technical education enrollment increases and the district's efforts to provide career pathways for students. She emphasizes the importance of college and career readiness. 
  • Dr. Moody presents the district improvement plan, focusing on college and career readiness, and the importance of inclusive, equitable, and rigorous learning environments. She discusses the role of AVID and multi-tiered systems of support. 
  • Dr. Moody explains the process of empowering school principals with data to share with teachers and how this is integrated into school improvement plans. The discussion includes monthly meetings and teaching and learning symposiums. 
  • Roll call action items are addressed, including the approval of a resolution for public notice regarding truth and taxation law. Director Miller provides clarification on the levy process. 
  • Superintendent Gill reads the approval of a revised policy on Professional Image Guidelines, highlighting changes such as the allowance of denim jeans and the conditions under which they are appropriate.