The Homewood School District 153 school board awarded tenure to 10 staff members at its remote meeting on Monday, April 20.
The board recognized the outstanding work of these staff members at Willow, Churchill and James Hart Schools over the past four years.
- Anne Blue-Siegler, art teacher, Churchill.
- Matthew Johnson, band director, James Hart/Churchill.
- John London, physical education teacher, Churchill.
- Lora Marks, 8th-grade teacher, James Hart.
- Elizabeth O’Connell, 3rd-grade teacher, Churchill.
- Sharon Perry, school psychologist, James Hart.
- Joseph Rusk, kindergarten teacher, Willow.
- Lauren Selhost, math intervention, James Hart.
- Wynde Thirus, 1st-grade teacher, Willow.
- Brianna Turek, instructional technology coach/media center director, James Hart.
In other business, board members praised the efforts of faculty and staff to get e-learning going on short notice. Many teachers have learned how to use new technologies to be able to communicate with students and present lessons via computer.
When Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced March 13 that schools would be closed beginning March 17, the Illinois State Board of Education provided 10 “act of God” days that didn’t require active learning. In the middle of those days, District 153 schools had spring break. Initially they thought that would be all that was required, but then the governor extended school closures to April 30, and now through the end of the year.
Kathy Schaeflein, curriculum director, said in a matter of days teachers designed a curriculum that would give students essentials for each grade level, and enrichment for students who wanted to go beyond the set curriculum. Teachers are updating the curriculum each week to ensure students are getting new instruction.
She said now that teachers have become hands-on users of distance learning computer programs, they will be using them in District 153 classrooms when they return. She called it the “silver lining” to e-learning.
The district had to provide devices to about 275 students. The technology team reconfigured the computers to make certain they could be used at home, and not allow students to access questionable websites. The technology team also set up a helpline for parents.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our staff and community all pulling together,” said Superintendent Dale Mitchell.
“Now that we’ve got this up and running, now we’re starting to look at what this transition is going to look like when we get back,” Schaeflein said. “We know we learn best in person. Online learning can’t replace all the learning. So when we come back in the fall, we’re going to need to know where the students are,” she said.
The district would be doing its own end-of-the-year testing now, but will use those tests in the fall to test all students to learn where they are and what they missed.
“We’re going to be in it together and we’ll get them to where they need to be,” she assured the board.
Board President Shelly Marks stressed that parents should know “we are all in this together and we are all going to be okay.”