Community Listen & Learn - Superintendent's Parent/Caregiver Advisory Council

Thank you to all of the individuals who invested the time to engage in our Listen & Learn sessions regarding the Structural Deficit Reduction Plan.

Meeting summaries were created to provide increased transparency across the community and to provide insight as to the perspectives and thoughts across various stakeholders.

Robust conversation took place across sessions and content from the meetings were summarized based on high level themes that emerged. In community and parent/caregiver advisory sessions, the responses to questions 1 and 2 were transcribed directly from the chart paper provided from the various groups. Identifying information has been removed and responses to question 3 are provided in summary form (not verbatim quotes).

An asterisk indicates that the idea was supported or named by other individuals within the session. The total number of participants does not include district facilitators.

Meeting details:

• Date and time: November 20, 2024 at 6 p.m.
• Location: Joseph E. Hill Education Center
• Number of active participants: 37

Question 1: As difficult decisions lie ahead to balance the budget, what are the top three priorities that you believe must be protected?

• Financial Audit
• What changes were made before the loss of student enrollment?
• How will the feedback from this activity be taken into account?
• Growth mindset- how to attract parents, not how to reduce.*
• District-level view plan
• Holistic/big-picture views
• Safe facilities*
• Reduce administration bloat*
• Prioritize efficacy, not seniority
• Enrollment losses- getting families back into the district*
• Focus on educational outcomes*
• Oversight of curriculum
• Special education*
• TWI*
• Equity and excellence
• Transparency*
• Special services are offered in an efficient manner
• High-quality schools with confidence and trust in the district (happy teachers, happy students, walkable schools)*
• Protect and reorganize the identities of the school community and what student-centered schools /and the day look like.
• IES and the most vulnerable students need to be prioritized, including McKinney Vento (IDEA)*
• Quality of teachers
  • Teacher's voice
  • Quality experience for all learners
  • Maintaining the arts*
  • Curriculum and Instruction*
• Supporting enrichment*
• Meeting the needs of students who are not currently well-served*
  • Special Education
  • Students who are not being challenged
• Community- belonging, and safety*
• Quality of education (class size)*
• IES- highly trained teachers/ professional development support*
• Professional learning to support quality education*
• Teacher support (care and value)
• Integration - equity in representation
• Nutrition- Maslow- wrap-around services
• FAPEL (Fine Arts, Physical Education, Library)*
• Class size*
• Ensuring adequate staffing for before, during, and after school*
• Better use of current space in buildings
• Access- individualized*
  • Walkability and impact on transportation
• Trim a little of a lot (Long-term solution)

Question 2: What programs or services do you consider most essential to maintain the quality of our students' education?

• Summer programs (ESY, Camp Kuumba, YMCA k-2)
• RISE/STEP, Para support, co-teachers
• Before and aftercare, Right At School., Y.O.U.
• Partnerships with the City of Evanston and park districts
• Band/Orchestra
• Social work, guidance counselors, nurses
• Early childhood
• STEP
• Childcare (before and after school)
• TWI (Magnet)
• Face Liaison
• ACC
• Summer programs
• Data for all the technology we are using. (Learning, not screens)
• Teachers
• AVID- is this program working? What does the data say?
• Accountability for outcomes
• Authentic commitment
• Transparency of goals, outcomes, and ROI for programs
• Why do people leave the district?
• JEH as a highlight (good model)
• Advanced Math
• Use data to guide programs
• Willingness to pivot when improvements are needed
• Consistent and flexible before and aftercare
• The arts, library
• In class tutors
• District provided supplies
• Early childhood services
• Technology
• The 1 fund- PEP
• Criteria to hold: most significant impact for students who are at risk
• Activities that engage students: FAPEL, diversity of classes and clubs*
• This question is harder to answer: what is effective? Cost? Impact?
• Enrichment with a variety of courses and clubs
• TWI and beyond the classroom
• Tutoring
• AVID- ties in with the ETHS program
• ACC and TWI Magnet (all selective enrollment)
• Interventionist, reading specialist, targeted support
• Extracurricular activities
• Bring back self-contained *
• Nutrition support (breakfast)
• Multilingual support - all needs beyond TWI * could we offer an honors option?
• Accelerated programs

Question 3: Please share any additional information that should be considered as we prioritize budget reductions.

• Providing for student needs within the district (continuum)
  • Tuition
  • Transportation
• If you build a new school, do it correctly. Don’t stop in the progress. Do it right for kids.
• Reuse things/items where we can to build trust.
• Does the new school get all the new things, or can other schools get new items?
• Look at or reduce technology apps/platform
  • Life-cycle of devices
• Referendum- capital
• Can we utilize volunteers more or in an extended capacity?
• Draw more on staff and admin and less on outside consultants.
• Don’t change the curriculum so often. Allow teachers to get their footing
• Decrease technology- especially in K-5.
• Close Park School and integrate those students into D65 schools
• Re-examine a self-contained classroom. Inclusion and pullout that make sense for student needs.
• Take feedback seriously
• Stop and plan
• Community partnerships
• Preservation of old buildings
• Meaningful longitudinal multilingual engagement with families
• Plan to grow enrollment*
• Strategic planning with community buy-in
• Creative ways to maintain/hold on to our assets (room for growth)
• Partner with universities and their education departments (NLU, NEU, NU) and leverage those relationships
• Merger of culture vs. closing, keep student-teacher spirit at the forefront
• Protect and support teacher training to continue growth in black and brown test scores and students with IEP test scores*
• Choice and long-term plan for students, families, and teachers who are affected by closures and reductions (wrap around those families and community)
• Transparency around year-after-year cost growth
• Asset evaluation
• The impact of the Trump administration
• Growing class sizes*
• Pay attention to the programs they bring into the classroom*
  • Less technology- and used in the right way
• What is the process for vetting programs?
• Do schools need Assistant Principals?
• What is the threshold for admins?*
  • Transparency of roles/responsibilities
• People who work with our students are our priorities.