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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Yes, the District is required to offer a half-day kindergarten program. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

The anticipated timeline if the proposal is approved is the 2024-2025 school year.

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.