RECOGNITION, AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS, PUBLIC HEARINGS
View the presentations.
GHS Dance Team: The GHS Varsity Dance Team placed 1st at the IHSA State Dance Finals held at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington January 31- February 1, 2025. This is their 6th State Championship in program history. The varsity dance team is coached by Amy VanWagenen, Cassie Sneed, and Bri Dowell.
Brennan Anson, Larkin Cohrs, Avery Cook, Mila Costello, Reese Doll, Tatem Doll, Elise Frick, Sara Fuerst, Melanie Goodfellow, Brookelyn Graham, Stella Henley, Emily Johnson, Ava Kerl, Yaslin Lopez, Miranda Meyer, Maisy Mocchi, Tatum Mocchi, Regan Pairitz, Avery Pruis, Rachael Wade
ILMEA Conference Participants: Five GHS All-State musicians attended the Illinois Music Education Conference (IMEC). The conference took place in Peoria, IL from January 30th - Saturday, February 1st, 2025. These students are led by the following music directors: Neal Shipton, Riley Carter, Krista Halvorson, and Jessica Heinrich.
James Lusk – All-State Honors Band
Quinn Beier – All-State Choir
Griffin Egan – All-State Orchestra, Compositions (Instrumental Small Ensemble – 1st place, Keyboard Solo – 3rd place)
Vitaly Starkov – All-State Honors Orchestra
Annaleise Rothaar – Composition Honorable Mention Senior Vocal Ensemble
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Superintendent Dr. Andy Barrett discussed proposed changes to the meeting schedules for the Board of Education, Policy Committee and Finance Committee. He followed up with the Board on the Facility Capacity Analysis, saying that they are continuing to collect data, and a report will be coming soon.
He talked about the district’s Mission, Vision and Values, and the skills that we try to teach kids that will help them outside of school. He added that the district wants students to be engaged in valuable work, and there are a variety of activities for students to build those skills outside the classroom. Examples of this are the Dance Team, theater, Jazz Concerts, middle school competitions, VEI, Special Olympics events, and more.
BOARD DIALOGUE TOPICS & PENDING ACTION CONSIDERATIONS
The Board took action to approve the 2025-26 Board Meeting Calendar.
WORK-STUDY TOPICS & FUTURE ACTION CONSIDERATIONS
The Board reviewed 2025-26 Preliminary Resource Adoption as presented by Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching Shonette Sims.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Several members congratulated the dance team on their success. One member discussed the upcoming Technology Task Force meeting and the health plan review with GEA members that they attended. Another member congratulated the theater club for a successful production of Little Women and congratulated the musicians who made it to the state competition. One member reminded all that the next theater production is the spring musical Suessical. They said they attended a middle school music ensemble competition and commented that participating in programs like this is a great experience for students.
One member talked about the Geneva Unified Vikings Basketball game, saying it was wonderful to see the community support the team, and that they were proud to be part of that event. Another member said they also attended the health plan meeting and commented that the committee makes an impressive effort to ensure that the health plan is reasonable and offered at a competitive premium to employees. They added that the IASB will be giving the BOE a Governance award at its regional meeting this month.