VOLUME 46, NUMBER 6 JUNE, 2008

New School Task Force to Investigate All OptionsThe New School Task Force recently held an open meeting to review its charge from the Board of Education as well as begin planning its work over the summer. Parent Co-Chair Chris Northwick explained to the group that the task force would be looking at all options as it determines if a new school is needed based on projected enrollment growth.

One of the first assignments for the task force will be to re-affirm enrollment numbers presented to the Facilities Committee last fall because of many changes since that time.

Those changes include the economic troubles in the U.S., the housing crisis and the altered timeline for

the development of the Navy housing in Glenview. Additionally, since the enrollment data was collected for the report, nearly eight months has passed.

“As a task force, it is our job to be absolutely sure that whatever recommendation is made is based on the most solid foundation of knowledge possible,” Northwick says. “We plan to have the district update its projections, will ask the firm that provided an enrollment report last fall to update its projections, and we plan to employ an additional firm to do an enrollment analysis.”

Best Use of FacilitiesAlong with learning more about the enrollment projections, time will be spent learning how the buildings are currently utilized given the number of different programs within the schools, including special programs mandated by state and/or federal legislation. In conjunction with that effort, the group will learn which programs can and can’t be moved from one building to another, as well as how space across the district can be creatively used. The task force also will research how other districts have approached the need for additional space.

All of this research and information will be utilized as the task force formulates its final recom-mendations to the Board of Education.

The New School Task Force plans to investigate all options to determine if a new school is needed based on projected enrollment growth.

Non-Parents Needed for Task Force

The task force is

composed of parents,

non-parents, staff,

administrators and

Board of Education

members. However,

the task force is still

in need of non-par-

ent volunteers and

is accepting self-

nominations from the

community. Please

e-mail Brett Clark at

bclark@glenview34.org

if you are interested

in serving. It is likely

there will be at least

two meetings per

month between Au-

gust and February.

Dr. Ilene Holt-Turner, Jennifer Pahati and a student celebrate receiving a grant from the GEF.

Page 2 SCHOOLOOK

GEF Provides Funds to Impact Student Learning

GEF, as part of its grant pro-gram this year, is funding the purchase of 22 SmartBoards. This technology is an interac-

tive whiteboard that can be used by teach-ers to more effectively teach concepts to help students learn.

Another grant funded was a second year of the Latino Youth Program that is designed to assist Latino students at Springman Middle School succeed both academically as well as socially.

GEF is a non-profit organization that serves as an alternate funding source for the District. Through its efforts, it is able to provide resources to teachers that would not otherwise be available through

District funding. One of the efforts that helped allow the GEF to provide grants this year was its annual benefit. The gold sponsor for the event was Glenview State Bank. Johnson Orthodontics and Praetorian Guard were silver sponsors. The bronze sponsors included: Anne DuBray/Coldwell Banker; ENH Evanston Northwestern Healthcare; Family Video; Jennings Chevrolet, Inc./Jennings Volkswagen, Inc.; Kerasotes Glen 10 Theatre; Loeber Motors, Inc.; McNulty Design Group; Northern Trust; The Glen Town Center; PCM Professional Construction Management; Ruck/Pate

Architecture; and William Blair & Com-pany.

The date for the 2008 benefit is set for November 8, 2008. Ticket information and other details will be provided in the fall.

For more information about the GEF or to donate time or funds, please visit www.gef.org or call 847-486-7861.

Glenview Education Foundation (GEF) recently awarded its second set of grants to teachers across the District, bringing the total donation to the schools this school year to approximately $140,000.

Thank You to RetireesThe District thanks its recent retirees for their dedicated service to the stu-dents of Glenview. Retirees include:Karen Brehart, Receptionist, Pleasant Ridge; Anna Cholewa, Associate, Pleasant Ridge; Dorothy Enzinger, Associate, Pleasant Ridge; Natalie Franke, Associate, Lyon; William

Kaddatz, Custodian, Pleasant Ridge; Joan Loeb, Teacher, Glen Grove; Ina Ramras, Teacher, Lyon; Ann Roberts, Associate, Hoffman; Sandra Schmidt, Teacher, Lyon; and Anthony Tyrell, Custodian, Westbrook.

Register for the District’s Electronic NewsletterParents and community members who would like to keep up with the latest district news can sign up for District 34 eNews. This electronic newsletter is sent approximately two times each month to all subscribers.

To sign up, please visit the District website at www.glenview34.org and select the link to the sign-up form on the left hand side of the front page.

District Earns Bright Red Apple AwardDistrict 34 was awarded the 2008 Bright Red Apple Award. District 34 was among approximately 10% of the districts in Illinois to earn the award.

While all 871 districts in Illinois are considered for this award, just 91

districts including District 34 earned the honor.

The award is based on five main criteria: academic performance, pupil / teacher ratio, expenditure per pupil, educational level of teachers and average

teacher salary. District 34 was sited as “strong in

all five family-favored areas” from SchoolSearch, the firm

that oversees the award.SchoolSearch is an independent organization that provides

comparative school district information.

SCHOOLOOK Page 3

Kim Watson and Deb Faermark accept the Best Practices Award.

ISBE Selects District for Mentoring Grant AwardDistrict 34 is the recipient of a 2008–09 Mentoring Grant from the Illinois State Board of Education. The grant will provide an estimated $95,000 to pay for a five-day orientation for new teachers, on-going professional development for new staff, expanded mentor training, and the addition of a second instructional coach.

During this school year, there were 57 new teachers hired. It is expected there will be approximately that many new teachers again this fall. This is due to a large number of retirements, increasing enrollment and class size reductions.

This grant will help provide these new teachers with the tools and resources they need to deliver the quality instruc-tion expected by the Glenview community.

Financial Recognition for DistrictThe District was informed recently it earned the highest cat-egory of financial achievement from the Illinois State Board of Education for the 2007–08 school year.

This award was based upon the District’s 2007 financial statements and the 2008 School District Financial Profile.

Proof of Residency Process has ChangedDistrict 34 will still require all families to sign a legal form proving residency. Families that will be required to provide additional informa-tion as part of the residency process include:

• Families new to the district

• Families with students entering early childhood, kindergarten, third grade and/or sixth grade

• Families with a change in address during the previous year

Residency information will be sent in June to families that need to prove residency outlining the specific informa-tion needed.

Springman Earns NSSED Best Practices AwardSpringman Middle School earned one of four North Suburban Special Education District (NSSED) 2007–08 Best Practices Awards.

District to Save Energy

The Board of Education recently approved the hir-ing of Energy Education Incorporated, which is an

organization that specializes in sav-ing school districts money through energy conservation programs.

As part of the program, the Dis-trict will hire a part-time Energy Educator who will coordinate Dis-trict 34’s energy savings. The firm has been successful working with districts across the country to save thousands of dollars through energy conservation.

Energy Education Inc. guarantees success of the program or it will pay the costs involved in running the program.

K im Watson, science teacher, and the Genesis Team at Springman, were recipients of the award. Springman

earned the award for its disability aware-ness program organized and led by Watson.

The program was developed to provide students exposure with a wide variety of disabilities in hopes of instilling in them compassion, patience, and respect for others. There were activities students participated in to gain a personal under-standing of what it might be like to have a disability. Additionally, outside speakers presented a wide variety of disability top-ics to the students.

NSSED is a special education coopera-

tive in the northern suburbs. As one of the participating districts, District 34 special education students receive services from NSSED staff as needed.

Page 4 SCHOOLOOK

BOARD OF EDUCATIONSue Ellen Bohac Galligan

Michael CherryJohn HinkampScott Martin

John J. (Jack) MurphyBeth Primer

Julie Shechtman

Periodical

POSTAL PATRON

Schoolook (USPS 090370) is published five times per year for citizens residing in the School District by Com-munity Consolidated School District 34.

Periodical postage paid at Glenview, IL Postmaster.

Volume 46 • Number 6June, 2008

SCHOOLOOK

Dr. Gerald D. Hill, SuperintendentBrett Clark, Editor

Terry Sinnott, Photos & Design

Our Mission

Recognizing the needs of each child and believing all children can learn,

the mission of Glenview School District 34 is to empower children to be responsible learners

and decision makers in a changing society.

Board of Education

Scott Martin, Board President 847-724-7051Sue Ellen Bohac Galligan, Board Vice President 847-998-8443Michael Cherry 847-657-8863John Hinkamp 847-486-8540John J. (Jack) Murphy 847-724-0632Beth Primer 847-724-1137Julie Shechtman 847-657-7066

Administrative Team

Dr. Gerald Hill, Superintendent of Schools 847-998-5005Phil Collins, Assistant Superintendent 847-998-5006Dr. Jill Engel, Exec. Director of Human Resources 847-998-5017Kathleen Hart, Exec. Director of Student Services 847-998-5018John O’Connor, Exec. Director of Facilities 847-998-5011Bob Vincenti, Exec. Director of Business Services 847-998-5008Brett Clark, Dir. of Community Relations and Grants 847-486-7861Brian Engle, Director of Educational Technology 847-486-7855Debbie Lubeck, Director of Support Programs 847-998-5071Kim Radzinski, Director of Food Services 847-486-7711Eric Klaes, Director of Transportation 847-998-5064

Contact Us

Phone: 847-998-5000

Internet: www.glenview34.org

Mail: 1401 Greenwood Road, Glenview, IL 60026

From the Superintendent

Looking Back on a Year of Success

One of my favorite reports to the Board of Educa-tion each year is the State of the District, where we take the time to look back on the success of our

students, staff and parents.There were a multitude of accomplishments that were

highlighted in the report, including:

t Professional Learning Community Initiative – The Dis-trict embarked on this system-wide training that has proven to impact student learning in districts across the country. Most of our professional development time was spent on this effort this year and that will continue for years to come as we embed the philosophy behind PLCs into our culture.

t Student Achievement – Our ISAT scores in reading and math in grades 3, 5 and 8 either stayed equal to the prior year or improved. Additionally, the NWEA Fall read-ing scores were higher than High Achieving Norms at all grade levels 3–8 and the NWEA fall math scores were significantly higher than High Achieving Norms at all grade levels 3–8.

There were many other success stories this year including the strong financial position of the District as evidenced by earning a Aaa rating from Moody’s Investment Services; positive feedback gathered through the semi-annual com-munity survey; the work to select and induct 57 teachers; and the infusion of technology in the classroom.

If you are interested in the full report, please visit our web-site at www.glenview34.org.

Gerald Hill, Superintendent