Start of School Year Report 2019-20

2019-20 Start of School Year Report Enrollment Our enrollment team welcomed over 900 new students and their families in preparation for this school year! In addition to verifying residency, validating student and family information, and connecting families to a school(s) for tours and scheduling, the onboarding process includes fee assignment and payments, assigning bus routes, and communicating key dates and information Simply an amazing effort for a critical key process By the Numbers (3rd Friday Estimate - Not yet validated): ● Total Enrollment: 7,293 Students ● Resident Enrollment: 7,144 ● Resident Enrollment Under Budget Projection: 46 ● # of New Students: 940 (13%) (482 @ KG, 458 Grades 1-12) ● High School Enrollments BE - 1,315 and BC - 1,244 Human Resources The School District of Elmbrook welcomed 40 new teachers and 71 total hires to our ten schools The new teachers have an average of 11.9 years of experience These new staff are just part of the hundreds of changes to staff assignments that were processed by the Human Resources team leading up to this school year Teaching and Learning We are fortunate to have a highly dedicated and engaged staff as is evidenced by the hundreds of Elmbrook Educators involved in professional learning, curriculum development, and special project work over the past few months The project work that is completed each summer is vital to our efforts to formally review each area of our curriculum at least once every five years and to actively engage teachers in our renewal and design processes, and to address a variety of systemic needs that demand concerted time and attention outside of the school year calendar This year, over 220 teachers and administrators participated in at least one of the following summer projects: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● K-12 Math Curriculum Renewal Elementary Literacy - Science-Based Curriculum, Resources, and Professional Development 6-12 Literacy - Instructional Design Elementary Science - Resources and Professional Development New Teacher Professional Development Design Inclusive Practices Professional Development Science and Social Studies Curriculum Development (Essential Elements) Middle School Elective Course Instructional Design Assessment - Design and Professional Development AVID ACP Instructional Design Advanced Placement Process Revisions Instructional Assistive Technology High School Personal Finance Instructional Design SRSD and Sonday Professional Development AP Curricular Redesign We appreciate this work and the willingness of so many of our staff to continue to engage and work over the summer months Staff Learning Professional learning and development demonstrates the passion and commitment of our educators! Every summer we are encouraged by the number of Elmbrook teachers and administrators who take part in professional learning and development This year, we were able to provide a wide variety of opportunities that seemed to really meet the needs of our staff A few highlights worth mentioning… Learning FIRST Conference In June, for the second consecutive year, we hosted a FIRST conference at Brookfield East The event involved two dynamic and internationally recognized keynote speakers, ​Rick Wormeli​ and ​James Nottingha​m The event drew attendees from several districts, in addition to our own staff We are thankful for the powerful and relevant learning opportunities and the ability to network with educators from a variety of districts Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) In June, Elmbrook hosted 150 educators in the region from several district for ​Lives in the Balance ​ day training on Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) CPS is the non-punitive, non-adversarial, trauma-informed model of care Dr Greene originated and describes in his various books, including ​The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found,​ and​ Raising Human Beings CAPS Minnesota Summer Huddle As we continue to build and grow our LAUNCH program, we value our ongoing connections to other districts across the country that are engaged in similar innovative work at the high school level A team of Elmbrook educators again traveled to to participate in the annual “Summer Huddle” event, this time at a new location in Shakopee, MN The team learned about ways to further engage students in our current strands and received helpful information that will help inform tour ongoing collaboration with other districts Our program is quickly earning a national reputation for excellence! AVID Summer Institute With our official launch of middle school AVID and our focus on deepening implementation at our high schools, teams of Elmbrook educators participated in summer institutes and found the event an important aspect of our AVID implementation efforts iSUMMIT In August, we hosted the fourth annual iSummit event focused on inclusive practices This regional event, which has been moved to the BEHS field house due to the size of the event, drew participants from several districts and involved over 600 attendees This high-energy, inspirational event involved internationally recognized speakers and many opportunities to learn strategies that will help every student succeed In addition to these formal events, Elmbrook educators also participated in several learning opportunities related to current and/or ongoing curriculum and instruction priorities to include the following: ● K-12 Mathematics curriculum development ● K-5 Science resource adoption ● Human Growth and Development lesson development ● K-12 Music curriculum refinement and professional development ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Co-planning and Co-servicing professional development Middle school elective curriculum refinement SRSD Writing PD Sonday training CPI training AP and PLTW training Assessment for Learning PD & classroom learning progressions, feedback rubrics, and assessment development Collaborative Proactive Solutions (CPS) training Visualizing and Verbalizing training ELA training on whole class novel instruction, implementing units of study in writing, and responsive comprehension and writing instruction World Language training on MOPI (Modified Oral Proficiency Interview) Our teachers, staff, and administrators spent countless hours learning and working to improve what we everyday in our classrooms with our students and for that, we are very grateful! School Safety In July, the commitment to staff School Resource Officers at the two HIgh Schools was finalized In August, security camera installation funded by the safety grant commenced at Dixon and Brookfield Elementary schools In August, the District hosted training in Adolescent Mental Health and approximately 10% of District staff participated This 1.5 day training course was designed to help school personnel to better identify and respond to students who are suspected of having a mental health need In August, new digital two way portable radios were obtained using the safety grant and distributed to the two high schools, two middle schools and one elementary school The new radios will enhance radio capabilities and provide an improved source of communication if needed in an emergency Over the course of the summer, the school safety plans were reviewed and updated In August the plans were shared with the local police and fire departments for a collaborative review, after which, the draft should be ready to implement In September we rolled out the latest enhancement to the Raptor visitor management system by adding the Raptor Emergency Management module One feature of this module has been activated and is being used to improve efficiency in tracking and documenting safety drills Technology The Technology team worked hard this summer to collect, repair and clean student devices, in preparation of deploying 6,200 devices to students across the District In addition, the technology team: ● ● ● ● Updated the digital citizenship curriculum with new lessons and resources Launched a new Family Technology Advisory Group in August to provide feedback on technology integration and ways to keep our students safe online Replaced over 500 staff desktop and laptop devices Began to replace several classroom projectors with digital displays Buildings and Grounds Each summer the District focuses on the professional upkeep of our facilities This window of time is critical to providing safe, secure, and innovative spaces for staff and students Primary projects for the summer included the renovation of the WHMS library and the WHMS FACE room, roofing projects at BEHS and PPMS, repaving of BCHS NE parking lot and completion of landscaping at the BEHS and BCHS softball fields and tennis courts In addition, new LAUNCH healthcare spaces were constructed at BEHS and the main LAUNCH space was relocated to Bishops Woods, while the facilities team planned for new construction of the District Office and the addition of a gym space at Tonawanda With a focus on energy management, all District parking lot lighting was converted to LED and energy efficient zoo fans were installed in the BEHS fieldhouse Throughout the summer, our hardworking custodial, grounds, and maintenance staff took ownership of preparing all of our facilities spaces, ensuring every school was ready to greet Elmbrook staff, students and the community for the new school year Food Service Our Food and Nutrition staff started in August preparing the kitchens for the first day of school Food service staff welcomed students into our cafeterias on the first day and, along with strategically placed signs, helped guide them on how best to maneuver through the lines in an efficient manner On the first day of school, the Food and Nutrition staff had the pleasure to serve 49 breakfasts and 2,772 lunches for a total of 2,821 meals We look forward to having more customers each day and continue to provide healthy options, offering a great experience for all of our Elmbrook students Finance The 2019-20 school year started out with some significant, required changes in our student activity accounts (primarily clubs and athletics) As a result, we have changed our accounting, processes and reporting of these activities including closing separate bank accounts and streamlining the payments into the business office through one common bank account 2019-20 will bring opportunities for refining existing processes in true time, journal entries, PO receiving, cash reconciliations and coop tuition calculations Budget training, collaboration and accountability will be a focus for continuous improvement Due to the increased risk in bank fraud, we have consolidated bank accounts as needed, updated signatures and access We have reviewed all accounts and will have check positive pay and ACH security on each accounts as applicable Communications A new approach to staff communication has been established based on feedback that includes a reduced amount of information being shared and a greater use of video The Communications team also supported the transition to a new PTO directory platform following the acquisition of MySchoolAnywhere by a competitor Staff recognition will be the primary focus of the Celebration of Excellence segments at the monthly School Board meetings, and the Communications team has developed a robust approach to celebrate those recognized on the web and in social media Transportation District staff worked closely with a large team from GoRiteway to insure a smooth start to the school year Start of year highlights include: ● Average Morning On-Time Arrival (5 Minutes before bell) - 87%-99% ● 350 routes for thirteen schools, including our community private and parochial schools ● Over 6,000 bus stops routed for 8,500 students ● 600 change requests resolved representing alternative dropoff/pickup instructions, safety concerns, and home stop requests ● More than 300 charter requests scheduled, supporting middle and high school fall athletic needs ... to insure a smooth start to the school year Start of year highlights include: ● Average Morning On-Time Arrival (5 Minutes before bell) - 87%-99% ● 350 routes for thirteen schools, including... each day and continue to provide healthy options, offering a great experience for all of our Elmbrook students Finance The 2019-20 school year started out with some significant, required changes... maintenance staff took ownership of preparing all of our facilities spaces, ensuring every school was ready to greet Elmbrook staff, students and the community for the new school year Food Service Our Food