The West Chicago Board of Education held its monthly committee of the whole meeting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7. to discuss recent survey results regarding the superintendent search, and upcoming legislation that would impact the school.
The meeting began with a presentation by three representatives from BWP and Associates, a leadership search firm whose services have been employed by the Board to help with the ongoing search for a superintendent. Their presentation first reviewed the results of the Superintendent search survey, recapping district strengths, weaknesses, and overall needs and wants of the community for the next superintendent.
BWP then presented their leadership profile, which laid out the traits and skills the Board should look for in candidates based on the survey and the needs of the district:
- A relationship builder with excellent interpersonal skills
- An experienced educator with strong managerial, organizational, and strategic planning skills
- A committed leader to the district and community who is accessible and visible
- A successful leader who communicates strategically and builds integrity and trust
- A student oriented leader who establishes strong relationships with the school board, staff, parents, and community
- A leader who focuses on improving academics, and social emotional learning
- An administrator with a sense of humor who exhibits exceptional collaborative and team building skills that bring about the best in others
- A leader who clearly understands diversity and values a diverse population
- Value of diversity
- Involvement of a core group of parents
- Strong and dedicated staff
- Renovated facilities
- School Spirit
- Financial condition
- Learning loss due to pandemic
- School board divided at time
- Communication and outreach with stakeholders
- Staff turnover
“I am incredibly confident we will find a high quality superintendent in a timely manner. The board of education is doing a comprehensive and thorough search. Additionally, this is a very attractive district for a potential superintendent to want to work in,” said Principal Dr. Will Dwyer.
Later into the evening, Assistant Principal Mary Howard and Director of Student Activities Marc Wolfe gave a presentation based around HB3296, a bill that would require all high school students to take part in classes that prepare them for post-secondary life.
At West Chicago, the bill would mean the introduction of the college and career pathway system, introducing new classes that students could take throughout their high school career, culminating in an endorsement, and, depending on the chosen pathway, certifications.
One such class discussed at the meeting was “Geometry in Construction”, a class that blends geometry and practical construction skills by providing hands-on, and in-field experience to students.
— Marc Wolfe
“It’s something that we’ve looked into for a long time and I’ve been wanting to add a course where kids get to take what they are learning and actually create something you know, and they’ll walk out of there, um, maybe not something that they’ll can take home, but be able to drive by the school and say ‘Hey, I built that shed’ or ‘I contributed to that product,” Wolfe said.
The district has looked into the addition of such a class for some time, and “Geometry in Construction” is just one example of classes coming to WEGO in fall of 2024, with more revealed soon.
The meeting closed out with a recap of the recently released ISBE school report card by Dwyer. West Chicago was given an overall score of “commendable”, with several notable strengths in post secondary remediation, and the number of ninth grade students on track coming.
The meeting was live-streamed, and a recording of the meeting can be found on the West Chicago Community High School’s YouTube page.
