North Egypt News

Community High School District 99 Board of Education met May 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee, Community High School District 99, met at 6:03 p.m. on Monday, May 13, 2024 at North High School in the Community Room.

The following were present: Board Members Christopher Espinoza and Ken Dawson; Scott Wuggazer, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services; Gina Ziccardi, Associate Superintendent for Student Learning; Kelly Zuerner and Karen Taylor, Associate Principals; Nicole Walus and Patrick Fleming, PATH Coordinators; Keith Bullock and Antonia Stamatoukos, Student Assistance Coordinators; and Juli Gniadek, Secretary.

There were 19 visitors. A copy of the Visitor Roster is attached.

1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

Scott Wuggazer welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming. He invited attendees to ask questions at any time. Mr. Wuggazer acknowledged Board members Ken Dawson and Christopher Espinoza. Those in attendance introduced themselves.

Mr. Wuggazer shared he would be sending out a Google Form after the meeting for guests to provide feedback. He stated the input from this annual meeting is valued and there have been direct results from the input provided, such as changes to the cell phone policy.

The Agenda was reviewed and the connection to the Strategic Plan was explained by Mr. Wuggazer.

2. STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SAP) PROGRAM

Mr. Bullock explained SAP is focused on prevention, education and intervention related to substance use. Ms. Stamatoukos provided information on Tier I Interventions, which impact all students, and include the Illinois Youth Survey, 99 Reasons campaign, and building wide education, such as Red Ribbon Week and programming during Access. She stated Tier II interventions are for some students and include Snowball, group counseling and presentations in Health classes; and Tier III interventions provide direct support to individual students.

Mr. Bullock stated, according to data from the Illinois Youth Survey, regular tobacco and alcohol use is trending down in District 99 and that perceived usage rates are higher than actual usage.

3. PAUSE ASK THINK HEAL (PATH) PROGRAM

Mr. Fleming stated the PATH Program, for B Code discipline violations, is an alternative to out- of-school suspensions and last year there were no out-of-school suspensions. Ms. Walus explained students are engaged in the Program for three days in the school setting, where they receive academic help, social emotional guidance, and learn about supportive measures that are available to them.

Mr. Wuggazer stated out-of-school suspensions do not have a positive impact on students; keeping the students in school and in a supportive environment is key.

4. CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

Dr. Taylor explained, for State reporting, any absence counts towards a student being chronically absent, which entails missing 10% of possible attendance days, whether the absence is excused or not. Dr. Zuerner stated everyone is working very hard to support and promote attendance and having students in the school and engaged.

5. CELL PHONES

Dr. Zuerner shared, with the help of the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee, the cell phone policy was changed to the baseline being that no cell phones are allowed in class unless the teacher provides explicit instructions that cell phones can be used. Member Dawson inquired of the teacher's present if the new policy helped and they reported it has.

6. CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT PLAN

Gina Ziccardi stated the Consolidated District Plan is required by ISBE to be submitted annually by districts that receive grant funding. She explained districts must review data pieces, such as Chronic Absenteeism, 9th Grade on Track, and Graduation Rates and provide information on the interventions that are being used to assist struggling students. Ms. Ziccardi described some of the interventions District 99 is implementing, noting there is again an increase in supports for English Learners. District 99, according to Ms. Ziccardi, meets the State required percentage in most areas overall, however some subgroups are not meeting the State standards.

7. CLOSING REMARKS

Mr. Wuggazer thanked everyone for their time and requested attendees provide any additional comments or suggestions on the Google Form he will be sending out.

8. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting concluded at 7:32 p.m.

https://www.csd99.org/boe/past-meeting-minutes