Watch a Video of the Meeting Recognition, Awards, Presentations, and Public Hearings
GHS Principal Tom Rogers presented the Tradition of Excellence Award to the following GHS students:
IHSA Boys Swimming: Three swimmers competed at the IHSA Swim Meet on Saturday, February 24th at FMC Natatorium, Westmont, IL. The team is coached by Troy Murray.
o Sam Ortiz -Placed 6th in 200 YD Medley Relay and 5th in 400 YD Free Relay
o Wyatt Gross
o Brady Jordan
Illinois DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America): The following students competed in the DECA State Competition on February 29-March 2 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, IL, and qualified for the International Competition in Anaheim, CA. The group is led by Jamie Dunlap.
o 1st Place: Minzie Choi – Human Resources Management
o 1st Place: Cheng Shang – Business Growth Plan
o 3rd place: Evan Swierczewski – Apparel & Accessories Marketing
o 3rd Place: Marcella Anderson and Caroline Madden – Travel & Tourism Team
o 3rd Place: Zack Pohlman and Ryan Fioresi – Marketing Management Team
(Right to left: Zack Pohlman, Evan Swierczewski, Minzie Choi, Caroline Madden. Not pictured: Cheng Shang, Marcella Anderson and Ryan Fioresi)
Representatives from Sodexo Food Service including District Manager Chris Gargiulo, General Manager Andrew Liddell and Executive Chef Apdiel Torres gave a presentation about the organization and how it services Geneva 304 students.
View the presentation
Legislative Update
Board Member Jackie Forbes shared updates on bills currently in the Illinois legislature. Two bills are related to student teaching, one is related to the teacher shortage and another is related to teacher certification testing.
Superintendent's Report
Dr. Barrett reported an update on the Strategic Plan process and said that the Community Engagement Report has been shared on the website, and the district is now in Phase III: Focus on the Future. Two meetings have been held and the work is underway. A Mission and Vision have been drafted, critical goal areas are being developed as the team works to establish goals and objectives. He expressed that the District is making good progress. He then shared some feedback and insights from the PTO Leadership group.
He informed the Board that State Assessment testing for students has begun, and shared that there is a lot of work that happens behind the scenes during testing in the spring.
He talked about Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how the District is discussing and collaborating with key staff stakeholders to develop guidance for staff on responsible use, considerations, and safety. He added that there will be many more conversations in the future about this topic that he will bring back to share with the Board.
Board Dialogue Topics
The Board took action to approve Wipfli LLP audit services of Aurora for the school year ending June 30, 2024. The cost of services for the 2023-2024 audit is $41,750 and includes all Federal audit requirements.
Board Member Comments
One Board member said they traveled to New Orleans with the GHS band and said the students had an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience. They also attended the GMSS production of Aladdin, Jr. and said they did a great job and were impressed by the amount of support from parents. The Board member also mentioned attending the Class Size Committee where they discussed ideal numbers for classes and the challenges involved. Another member said they attended the DuPage division of the ISSP where they heard a presentation about SEL (social-emotional learning) by the keynote speaker.
Another member said they participated in a reading Leap Day event at Western Avenue School where they read a book aloud to third graders. They also said they visited the Kishwaukee District education office with Dr. Barrett and attended a session about AI and heard some legislative updates. Another member attended a health insurance meeting with the GEA and will be attending the Heartland PTO meeting later this week. They congratulated the Tradition of Excellence award winners. Another member talked about the DECA event and said it was awesome to see how well our students performed in the business competition. They also attended the GEA event, adding that they were glad to collaborate with the teachers’ union. They attended the Freshman Achievement Breakfast at GHS and enjoyed seeing the excitement in the first-year students.
One member asked Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Adam Law to give a brief report about the ISU Job Fair that the District attended. Dr. Law said that it was a great event and that ISU offers a great candidate pool for teachers. Another board member said they also attended the insurance meeting. They said they heard a discussion about the book “Why Dinosaurs Matter” and said it was very interesting and encouraged anyone with young children to read the book.