Moving 15 Forward
- Moving 15 Forward
- Funding Plan
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Meetings
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School Meetings
- > Carl Sandburg Jr High
- > Central Road
- > Conyers Learning Academy
- > Frank C. Whiteley
- > Gray M. Sanborn
- > Hunting Ridge
- > Jane Addams
- > Kimball Hill
- > Lake Louise
- > Lincoln
- > Marion Jordan
- > Pleasant Hill
- > Plum Grove Jr High
- > Stuart R. Paddock
- > Thomas Jefferson
- > Virginia Lake
- > Walter R. Sundling Jr High
- > Willow Bend Elementary
- > Winston Campus
- History of Facility Planning
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School Meetings
- Boundary/Attendance Information
- Videos
- FAQs
- Moving 15 Forward
- FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
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Please view the FAQs outlined below. If you do not see an answer to a question you have, please submit your question to this form to be addressed.
Moving 15 Forward FAQ: https://qrco.de/M15Ffaq or email Moving15Forward@ccsd15.net.
We will do our best to provide answers to your questions.
Plan - Overview
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No questions have been submitted
Planning
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Are the bus schedules and proposed facility improvements related?
No, the move to the 3-tiered bus schedule and the Moving 15 Forward proposal are not connected. The 3-tiered system was put in place due to the national bus driver shortage. The Moving 15 Forward proposal is a community-driven plan focused on addressing District 15’s highest priority educational and school facility needs.
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Is this an all-or-nothing plan? Can parts of the plan be implemented even without a referendum?
If the plan is not approved, the District will be going back to the drawing board to determine what our $93M will be able to cover. The primary focus will be critical facility repairs.
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How has the Illinois pension system impacted District 15?
The pension system is not controlled at the local level. Therefore, the District is obligated to contribute at specified levels. There are currently no options for decreasing costs or converting to another type of plan like a 401K.
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How will you ensure safety and minimize disruptions to students, staff, and neighbors during construction?
The work will be completed in phases, and every effort will be made to ensure that demolition and heavy construction take place during the summer months when students are out of the buildings. District 15 is committed to ensuring the safety of students, staff, visitors, and neighbors during construction. Noise and air quality will be monitored throughout the project. All workers on site will be required to submit to a criminal background check and will remain within the construction area during school hours. Additional details will be provided as construction plans are developed.
Facilities
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If the schools are updated, how long would it be before they needed to be updated again?
The District’s goal with these changes is that our buildings will be up to code and have enough modernization that will last our District for years to come. Once the improvements are made, the administration will create a 5 and 10-year capital improvement plan to ensure the District is not in a place moving forward where we will need to again address a large group of repairs and improvements all at once.
Finances
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No questions have been submitted
Education in D15 - Full Day Kindergarten
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What are the benefits of Full-Day Kindergarten?
Simply put, more time in school benefits young learners. Students in full-day kindergarten programs gain language and literacy skills faster than students in half-day programs. Social-emotional and behavioral skills are enhanced because there are additional opportunities for free play and experiential (hands-on learning) when essential academics are not compressed into a few short hours. This can narrow the achievement gap and translate into a decreased need for remedial and intervention services. The State curriculum is designed for a full-day program.
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Does the community support Full-Day Kindergarten?
In a word, yes. The results of the phone poll conducted in June 2021 are clear. Almost two-thirds (61%) of District residents support Full-Day Kindergarten.
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Would a Half-Day Kindergarten program still be available?
Yes, the District is required to offer a half-day kindergarten program.
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If Full Day Kindergarten were to be implemented, would it be paid for with tuition charged to households with income above a certain level? If not, how do you plan to pay for the facilities, busing, teachers' salaries and pensions?
If the District implements full-day kindergarten, it is still required to offer half-day kindergarten as kindergarten is not a required attendance grade for the State of Illinois. The Board meeting on May 12 will outline the fiscal implications and options for these plans.
Education in D15 - Middle Schools
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What is a middle school model?
The middle school model moves the junior high schools from a two-year experience (7th-8th grade) to a three-year experience (6th-8th grade). This model gives adolescents more time to learn together and prepare for high school while receiving individual support. Moving to a middle school model allows schools to implement “teams” to provide smaller communities within each school for students to build relationships and collaborate with each other and their teachers.
Education in D15 - Special Education
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No questions have been submitted
Education in D15 - Gifted
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No questions have been submitted
Education in D15 - Multilingual
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What is the bilingual overlay?
What started over 30 years ago as a well-intentioned plan to promote integration at less diverse schools in the district has resulted in a large number of bilingual students attending different schools from their neighborhood peers. Our bilingual population has grown substantially over the years, making the overlay challenging to maintain.
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Why do we want to eliminate the bilingual overlay?
Eliminating the overlay will allow all District 15 students to attend a near neighborhood school which in turn empowers families to more actively participate in their child’s education.
Education in D15 - Site Specific
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No questions have been submitted
Boundary Adjustments
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Why are boundary adjustments necessary?
Boundary adjustments, in conjunction with adding and/or remodeling classrooms at the elementary schools, will allow the District to implement All-Day Kindergarten at neighborhood schools and balance enrollment across the District. These changes will allow most students to attend near-neighborhood schools and will help ensure that all D15 students have access to similar educational programs and opportunities.
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What does "near-neighborhood" schools mean?
When we refer to a “near-neighborhood” school, we are talking about allowing students to attend a school either within or near the neighborhood they live in. With our current boundaries, we have students who may pass another school to get to the school they attend. We want students to be able to attend a school close to their home.
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What does balanced enrollment mean?
Some of our schools are underutilized and others are overcrowded making enrollment across our 20 schools vary. Overcrowded schools typically have more students within each classroom—surpassing grade level Board targets.
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What is a feeder system?
When we refer to a “feeder system”, we are talking about a consistent and organized pathway from kindergarten to high school. District 15 currently has education pathways that may split students going into junior high and possibly again going into high school. Feeder patterns help to keep school communities together as they advance through their educational path. To put it more simply: each elementary school completely attends one middle school and each middle school completely attends one high school.
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Which high school will I go to?
District 15 does not have any control over the high school boundaries. We utilized the high school boundaries that our schools feed into to draw our proposed boundary lines to provide students with a cohesive educational path from kindergarten through 12th grade.
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Does this impact high school boundaries?
District 15 does not have any jurisdiction over the high school boundaries. We used the current high school boundaries as a key driver to create a cohesive system for our schools through adjusting District 15 boundary lines.
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When were the boundary lines re-drawn for the purposes of the new feeder lines? Who re-drew them (Internal committee members or the outside consultants)?
One of the nine priorities outlined by the community was to create a feeder system. District 15 worked with STR Architects and RSP & Associates to study the District’s enrollment, school capacity, and demographic development. These two companies worked with District 15 administrators to create a capacity analysis to assist in determining options for reducing overcrowding in some of our schools through adjusting boundary lines.
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What is the bilingual overlay?
What started over 30 years ago as a well-intentioned plan to promote integration at less diverse schools in the district has resulted in a large number of bilingual students attending different schools from their neighborhood peers. Our bilingual population has grown substantially over the years, making the overlay challenging to maintain.
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Why do we want to eliminate the bilingual overlay?
Eliminating the overlay will allow all District 15 students to attend a near neighborhood school which in turn empowers families to more actively participate in their child’s education.
Timing and Next Steps
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When will the final decision be made to proceed with the plan as presented?
The District presented the plan to families and community members between April and May. They will also present the plan to local community organizations over the summer months. The Board of Education will vote on whether or not to go to a referendum early this fall. If the Board decides to move forward, our communities would see the proposal on the November ballot.
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What year would this be implemented?
The anticipated timeline if the proposal is approved is the 2024-2025 school year.
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Will current families be "grandfathered" into their existing schools, or will they be moved to new schools within the school year planned for implementation?
The District currently has an IntraDistrict Transfer process that families can access to request to attend a school that is not their home school. This process will remain an option for families moving forward.
The District has not made any decisions as to whether or not grandfathering will be allowed as it is much too early in the process to do so.