Staff Listen & Learn - In Person

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: December 10, 2024 at 4 p.m.
• Location: Joseph E. Hill Education Center
• Number of active participants: 9

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

Employee burnout is high; absorbing other roles and responsibilities has an impact on goals and ability to attract and retain quality staff.

Focus on social emotional learning and the whole child. 

Continue building the capacity of leaders and educators.

Keeping in mind our most valuable people - our students, which is why we’re all here.

Maintaining appropriate classroom sizes given school closures. 

Value concierges and what they do but I don’t think they’re keeping us safe. 

Special education educators and paraprofessionals provide critical support in our schools.

Processes to maintain institutional knowledge and staff come and go

Focus on being proactive instead of reactive.

Intentionality to support English Language Learners  and Special Services families - continue to provide wraparound services

Maintain JEH Early Childhood Center and consider expansion knowing the research and importance of early childhood education***

Maintain field trips as an impactful part of the school experience. 

Address inequities in pay and benefits across employee groups.

More transparency

Question 2: When thinking about your experience in District 65, what programs, services, or shared values make you most proud?

Effort to work towards equity, by no means have we mastered it but we still feel inequities based on employee category. (eg professional development)

Not losing the momentum for equity across the district

Teaching and nurturing the whole child is important across the organization

Focus on arts education in Evanston 

School Age before and after school child care

• Is it necessary to also have Right at School?

Seeing that our efforts towards equity are trickling into the curriculum and impacting teaching and learning in an impactful way.

Equity (eg SIOP model, gender support and alliance, interventions for struggling students, shifts in instruction that provide students with grade level aligned curriculum, dual language program)

ESSCA 

McKinney Vento services which has evolved significantly 

Crisis and wraparound services***

Managing snow removal within the district - tremendous towards savings

Eliminated racial predictability at JEH 

Change in suspension data; still areas to focus on but seeing meaningful results.

Access to digital curriculum which allows for differentiated and scaffolded learning. Feedback and data to pivot on teaching is important.

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

How do we bring in more revenue? Can we do a direct ask or corporation match or donation?

We have increased spending on maintenance needs (eg students doing math work on the classroom wall). Need systems and expectations for classroom use and maintenance.

There is an unquantified loss as there are people ready to do work but people/systems are stopping growth. There are also systemic structures that maintain seniority but there may be new staff who should be able to grow with the district.

How do we push toward a cause? For example, there are hundreds of projectors that require upkeep compared to interactive screens where electricity costs are much lower and more efficient. Old light fixtures use so much power and have expensive bulbs. There should be consideration for much bigger long term savings even if they require short term costs.

Student enrollment exploded when I came into the district, added a lot of jobs (more especially at the admin level). Now there are multiple marketing specialists whereas we only had one. 

If we sell property, can we ever get it back? How do we consolidate but protect for the future?

There is a good opportunity to close a school but the building is still owned by the district. Work could get done with no one in the space while still saving money from the consolidation of programming.

Rental costs could generate revenue. District currently absorbs a lot of expenses related to rental costs.

Re-adjust mindset on needs vs wants and all hold ourselves accountable.

There are small things or gestures that certainly cost money but contribute to overall morale and need to ensure that remains high (eg bagels at the beginning of the school year for staff).

So many amazing people in our community (eg grant writers). We should leverage expertise within our community.