Amboy School District 272 Superintendent Quintin Shepherd reported that as this fiscal year winds down, the financial picture for Amboy schools is holding steady. Addressing the May 28 board of education meeting, Shepherd said the only uncertainty now rests with payments from the state. “As we wrap up, the finances are on track – there are no surprises at this point,” Shepherd said.

But with the state habitually late making payments to schools, Shepherd noted that there is always some concern until the money is actually received. “We start crossing our fingers at this point and we hope those payments come in, transportation especially,” he said, adding that because the state is using ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) money, he is certain that General State Aide payments will come in.

On a positive note, Shepherd reported that Amboy will receive about $55,000 in “new money” next year through Title I stimulus funds. He said he has been working with teachers and administrators for nearly six months to plan for the extra income. “We’ve been taking in a ton of information and putting every idea on the table,” Shepherd said. “As we sifted through them, I felt really good about the direction for next year.”

Shepherd said a tentative plan has been developed but they will continue to fine-tune the ideas over the summer before presenting a recommendation to the board. “I want to provide you with a full and comprehensive report when that time comes,” he said.

Shepherd added later that District 272’s single greatest asset is its staff, which he described as “very talented, highly motivated, high achieving, and dedicated to students.” “We're going to use these funds in large part for staff development, specifically geared towards our needs,” he said. “Beyond that, we'll be looking at teacher resources and professional resources.”

PRINCIPALS’ REPORTS

Amboy Junior High School principal Joyce Shamberger reported that the junior high had been selected to receive a 2009 Division B Sportsmanship Award. She said the award is based on promoting, teaching and enforcing high standards of sportsmanship by the school’s coaches, players and fans. “We will receive a banner to hang in our gym,” Schamberger said. “I’m very excited about that.”

Schamberger said that the AJHS track team had a very successful year with a number of students qualifying for the IESA state track finals. They included 4 X 100 Relay – Kelsie Thurman, Gena Chirchirillo, Micaela McCoy, Danielle Corcoran and Ebony Velez (alternate); 100 & 200 Meter Dash – Danielle Corcoran; 800 Meter Run & 1600 Meter Run – Micaela McCoy; 100 Meter Low Hurdles – Kaitlyn Appleman; Discus & Shotput – Autumn Smith; and Discus – Matt Contreras. She also congratulated the 8th grade girls track team for placing third at sectionals and the 7th grade girls track team for placing fourth at sectionals.

Schamberger closed by thanking Mrs. Carlson and Mrs. Becker for their work on landscaping at the junior high. “It looks beautiful,” she said.

Central School principal Jessica McCormick discussed a district-wide school improvement day, in which teachers and administrators for all three schools met. McCormick said the meeting began with a discussion of district goals and individual school goals and then the six characteristics of a professional community were presented. The characteristics include Shared Mission, Vision, Values and Goals; Collective Inquiry; Collaborative Culture; Action Orientation and Experimentation; Continuous Improvement; and Focus on Results.

They also reviewed the four essential questions of a professional learning community.

1.) What do we want students to know and be able to do?

2.) How do we know when students have mastered the content?

3.) What do we do when students don’t master the content?

4.) What do we do for students who have mastered the content?

“That has been the focus of a lot of our discussions this year and it will continue to be a focus as we move into next year,” McCormick said.

Next, they discussed a book titled, “On Common Ground,” which is about professional learning communities. McCormick said the book details eight points that every successful professional learning community incorporates. “We gave every group one of these items and made sure there was an elementary school teacher, a middle school teacher and a high school teacher in each group,” she explained. “They discussed what their school is doing now to work toward these goals. In future discussions we hope to focus on the things that we can change and that we do have control over.”

Shepherd added his belief that “On Common Ground” is an “incredibly powerful book” and that those who have read it have learned a great deal. He told the board that he has written Title II grants for next year so a copy of the book can be ordered for every teacher in the district as well as for board members. Shepherd said he plans to coordinate efforts so everyone is reading the same thing and to develop a professional book club district-wide. “I think this is going to be cool,” he said. “I am very, very excited.”

McCormick thanked the high school PE classes for timing events and handing out medals at the school’s Book-It Olympics on May 8. She also thanked the ag classes for popping popcorn.

McCormick said that Central School held their awards assembly on May 28 and that 22 out of the 64 students in 4th grade earned the Presidential Academic Award. To qualify for the award, students must score 85 or higher in national percentile and have a “C plus” average or better during 4th grade.

Amboy High School principal Jeff Thake reported that necessary adjustments are being made for next year with a modified eight-period traditional schedule.

He also said that after three years of looking at ways to ease the transition to high school, AHS will next year offer a course called Freshmen Seminar. “The course will reinforce reading strategies, organizational skills and ease the transition for incoming freshmen,” Thake said.

He noted that the high school will continue to work on RTI (Response to Intervention) and this will be a major focus moving into next year as well.

Thake congratulated Leah and Jordan Saunders as recipients of the Illinois Principals’ Association Student Recognition on May 8. He also thanked Mrs. Mekeel and Mrs. Hickey and the music department for “another outstanding concert.”

BUSINESS

Shepherd said that Johnson Controls will replace eight unit vents, three air handlers and do some other updates. He also noted that the bleachers in the high school gym would be torn out on June 1, first thing in the morning.

Approval was given to one student who requested enrollment in a credit recovery course and to two students requesting early graduation.

PERSONNEL

The board accepted several resignations:

Eric Riva as assistant principal/athletic director at Amboy High School for the 2009-10 school year;

Karen Berthold as English teacher at Amboy High School for the 2009-10 school year;

Kathy Thomas-Stagg as English teacher at Amboy High School for the 2009-10 school year;

Brenda Frederick as bus driver and assistant head cook at Amboy Junior High for the 2009-10 school year;

Alice Austin (retirement resignation) as lunchroom supervisor at Central School.

Amy Wiseman was granted maternity leave.

The board voted to hire:

Dan Rodriquez as special education teacher at Amboy High School for the 2009-10 school year;

Jennifer Smith as English III teacher at Amboy High School for the 2009-10 school year;

Andrea Henry as English III teacher at Amboy High School for the 2009-10 school year;

Bev Halsey as assistant head cook at Amboy Junior High for the 2009-10 school year.

The next regular school board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 18 at Amboy High School.