Compensation Committee Joint Statement

This week the Compensation Committee met to begin developing a recommendation for the KEA and BOE.  The Committee is working in two sub-groups to develop a framework for compensation that is sustainable, fair, and recognizes the values our district holds.  The subgroups will spend the winter meeting and drafting, with the hope to present a recommendation to the BOE and KEA in the spring of 2018.

6-12 AAC-OC Joint Statement

On Monday, AAC-OC met for their monthly meeting.  We spent some time reviewing the plans for November 21st and are hopeful that this will be a great day for our staff!

The majority of our time was spent discussing the role of AAC-OC moving forward and how to ensure that it can become a place where teachers can truly have a voice in the direction of the district.  We discussed changing our name and revising our mission.  While neither of those are completely done, we do know that we want to try to shift our focus to some of the great things going on in our buildings and help extend the understanding of what our peers are doing and how we are impacting students. 

So, please think of us when you want to seek feedback on something new you are trying or an idea you would like to implement.  We'd love to be that sounding board for you!  In the meantime, we will be reaching out to various groups to ask if they would be interested in coming to share what they are doing with us.

Joint Statement

Today the RTI Math Team met to discuss the current assessment and instructional practices in math.  The team is looking at creating a math continuum that allows more flexibility for students and staff in teaching the common core standards, while empowering students to show mastery in content. The intent of the work is to provide a structure that would allow students to pace themselves at their level while facilitating learning through their customized path.  Over the course of the next few months, the team will continue to develop an assessment and instructional process for staff to review and consider for the future.  The team will meet again in December to further discuss and plan.  We look forward to coming and visiting with each grade level team in April to share ideas for the future.

Information for November 21st

Hello all!

With all the buzz surrounding IGKNIGHT, it is easy to overlook the importance of our scheduled cohort time on Tuesday, November 21st!  Fresh off of the previous day's learning, though, we are hopeful that the time you all spend together on Tuesday will be just as meaningful and rewarding.

Cohort time is scheduled from 8-11 Tuesday morning.  Locations for some of the meetings have been predetermined (see the chart below) whereas meetings that are not outlined below can be located wherever is best for the group.

This year, we wanted to focus on creating spaces for conversations to happen around those key transitional years for our students.  Building administration and leaders are helping to organize staff into groups that will come together to discuss their role in supporting students through these transitions.  Our major goals for the day are to begin building some relationships within these groups and then leveraging those relationships into conversations about expectations for our students at the various levels.

Group	Room
Social Studies K-12	KMS Rooms 52 & 54
Art K-12	KMS Room 47
5-6th (Soft Skills)	KMS Room 51
5-6th ELA	KMS Room 48
5-6th STEM	KMS Room 50
Music K-12	KMS Room 49
K-12 Technology	KMS Room 46
6-12 Building Trades	KMS LRC
K-5 Critical Thinking	KMS LRC
K-12 PE	KMS Room 44
8-9 English	KMS LRC
8-9 Math	KMS LRC
8-9 Science	KMS LRC
6-12 Spanish/French	KHS A105
RTI	KMS LRC
K-12 SEL	KMS LRC
K-12 Career & College Knowledge	KMS Room 45
Nursing Staff	DO Conference Room
ELL staff	KMS LRC

Some of you have volunteered to be facilitators of these transitional meetings.  If you would like to facilitate, please reach out to Mike or Sarah to share your interest.  We will host a brief meeting after IGKNIGHT on 11/20 in the Meredith Middle School LRC at 3:15 to discuss the role of facilitators.  Facilitators will be compensated for their time at this meeting.

While some of you will be attending these transitional meetings, others will be able to form their own groups to pursue interests and passions that there may not always be time to pursue in our daily work.  The concept behind these groupings is meant to be space for those "meetings that never happen but we wish they would!"  If you are creating forming your own meeting, please keep the guidelines below in mind:

Option A:  Group includes members from different buildings, grade-spans, and content areas

Option B:  Group includes members from the same building, but different content areas (especially useful for HS staff)

Option C:  Group includes members from different buildings within the same grade span (especially useful for elementary staff)

Option D:  Group includes members from the same building, but different grade levels (especially useful for middle school staff)

All staff will need to complete the cohort reporting form found at this link.  We will also share this link via email the morning of the 21st so it can be easily found by all who need it.  Please submit your google form before the end of the day on the 21st.

Thank you all for everything you do for our students and for your commitment to helping each other grow and learn professionally!

IGKNIGHT...it's almost here!

Sarah and I wanted to share a few last minute details about our IGKNIGHT mini-conference on Monday.  Hopefully everyone is as excited as we are for an incredible day of learning together!

Please plan to arrive at Kaneland High School and check in in the cafeteria.  Upon checking in, you will be given a nametag and your ticket for the day.  Check in will begin at 7:15, and we will begin our keynote in the KHS Auditorium promptly at 8:00, so please make sure you are checked in, seated, and ready to go by then!

After our keynote, you will begin visiting your breakout sessions.  Sessions are spread across Kaneland High School and Kaneland Meredith Middle School.  In order to accommodate travel time, we have adjusted the schedule for the day slightly.  We will share this schedule (along with any room changes or other pertinent info) that morning, as well, but the revised schedule is now as follows:

7:15-8:00 Check-in
8:00-9:30 Keynote Speaker
9:45-10:35 Breakout Session 1
10:50-11:40 Breakout Session 2
11:40-1:05 Lunch (on your own)
1:05-1:55 Breakout Session 3
2:10-3:00 Breakout Session 4

Your IGKNIGHT program includes links to all relevant evaluation and CPDU forms; these links will go live near the end of the day.  We will also include these links in an email after the event so they are easily accessible to all.

Please bring a fully charged laptop so you can engage in activities your presenters have created for you.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email Mike or Sarah.  We are looking forward to seeing you all Monday!