SE Illinois News

Community Unit School District 200 Committee of the Whole met April 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The Committee of the Whole meeting for the month of April of the Board of Education of Community Unit School District 200, DuPage County, Illinois, was called to order at the School Service Center, 130 W Park Ave, Wheaton, IL by Board President Rob Hanlon, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 7:00 PM.

ROLL CALL

Upon the roll being called, the following were present:

Board Members: Mr. Rob Hanlon

Ms. Julie Kulovits

Mr. Dave Long

Ms. Angela Blatner

Mr. Erik Hjerpe

Mr. Brad Paulsen

Mr. John Rutledge

Also in Attendance: Dr. Jeff Schuler, Superintendent

Ms. Alyssa Barry

Mr. Matt Biscan

Ms. Melissa Murphy

Dr. Brian O’Keeffe

Dr. Chris Silagi

Mr. Jason Spencer

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Board Member Brad Paulsen led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance.

SUSPEND THE RULES AND ADJOURN TO A WORKSHOP SETTING

MOTION

Member Paulsen moved, Member Long seconded to suspend the rules and adjourn to a workshop setting. Upon a roll call vote being taken the vote was: AYE 7, NAY 0. The motion carried 7-0.

Safety and Security

Comprehensive School Safety

District 200 prioritizes the safety of all students through a comprehensive and strategic approach. Our safety and crisis response plan is comprised of preventative safety and security measures and interventions combined with response protocols to ensure the well-being of our students. We are committed to continually improving safety in our schools through both team structures and frequent assessment of our safety plan. Through these processes we will continue to strengthen and improve safety in our schools.

The Board of Education was presented with a report on our comprehensive approach to safety that includes employment screening procedures, school security policies, vulnerability assessments, social-emotional interventions, mental health procedures, disciplinary policies, crisis plans and response processes. Members of the Senior Leadership Team reviewed a report on Comprehensive School Safety, which included information on the following:

● Three Guiding Questions

o What is the District’s framework for safety and how is it implemented?

o How are physical safety and emotional safety connected?

o What are the next steps the District is taking in comprehensive safety?

● The PREPaRE Model

o P - Prevent and prepare for crises

o R - Reaffirm physical health & welfare, and perceptions of safety & security

o E - Evaluate psychological trauma risk

o P - Provide crisis interventions

o a - and

o R - Respond to mental health needs

o E - Examine the effectiveness of crisis preparedness

● Framework for School Safety, Prevention and Recovery

o Comprehensive safe school & crisis response plan

● Progression of Presentation

o 1 - Employment Screening Procedures

o 2 - School Safety Policies

o 3 - Multi-Hazard Vulnerability Assessments

o 4 - Multi-Tiered Academic and Social-Emotional Screening & Interventions

o 5 - School Mental Health Procedures

o 6 - School Disciplinary Policies

o 7 - School Crisis Plan

o 8 - Response, Communications and Reunification Protocols

o 9 - Psychological Triage and Assessment

o 10 - Multi-Tiered Crisis Interventions

● Employment Screening Procedures

o Board Policy 5:30 Hiring Process and Criteria

o When our kids walk into our schools they need great people who make them feel safe and secure

o Thorough hiring practices

o Excellent, dedicated staff - connect with kids

● School Security Policies

o Board Policies 4:170 Safety, 8:30 Visitors to and Conduct on School Property, 6:235 Access to Electronic Networks

o Secure Entrances (Double entry doors that lead into a school or vestibule first)

o Visitor Policies and Procedures - Verkada Visitor Management System

o Gaggle - Scans email & Google Drive for students grades 6-12 for potential safety and mental health incidents

o Cybersecurity - Content filter & firewall block inappropriate content on student devices; Cyber Incident Response Plan, SOPPA requirements for third-party tools protect student data and information; Phishing training for staff to protect sensitive student information; Digital citizenship efforts to keep students safe online

● Multi-Hazard / Vulnerability Assessments (ongoing daily process)

o Board Policies 4:170 Safety, 4:150 Facility Management and Building Programs

o Assess for potential hazards within and outside of school

o Review safety procedures/drills - ALICE - one piece of overall responses/drills

o Life Safety - Yearly ROE Inspections

o Review emergency communication procedures in a school building

o District Safety Committee - oversee and vet processes; tabletop exercises - what/how o Homeland Security/FBI - Lock your doors, Know your kids, Execute your safety assessments

● Multi-Tiered Social-Emotional Intervention and Screening

o Multi-Tiered Social-Emotional Screening (Board Policies 6:65 Student Social and Emotional Development, 7:190 Student Behavior, 7:290 Suicide and Depression Awareness, 7:70 Attendance and Truancy) - includes questions to be answered for each of the following screenings: Trusted Adult Survey, Co-Curricular Mapping, Attendance Monitoring, ASQ, SAEBRS, EWS Review, B-SAD

o Multi-Tiered Social-Emotional Intervention (Programming) - includes descriptions of each of the following interventions: School Connectedness, Attendance Improvement Plan, Tier 1 Behavioral Plan and Framework, Student Education Programs, Camp Kinder, Behavioral Intervention Plans, Referral GPS, Student Service Supports, Emotional Wellness Program, Student Discipline

● School Mental Health Procedures

o Risk of Harm - Self (Is the student at risk of harming themself?); Risk of Harm - Others (Is the student at risk of harming others?); Safety Evaluation (Is the student safe to be at school?); Access to Outside Mental Health Supports (Can we connect the student to outside mental health supports?)

o Board Policies 4:190 Targeted School Violence Prevention Program, 6:65 Student Social and Emotional Development, 7:190 Student Behavior, 7:290 Suicide and Depression Awareness, 7:250 Student Support Services

● Risk of Harm to Others

o Identification - Self-disclosure of recent or previous harm to others; self-disclosure of thoughts of harm to others; disclosure to a peer or on social media of thoughts or actions related to harm to others; student writing related to harm to others

o Assessment and Response Plan - Two trained staff members from school student services team/administration complete the assessment; specific response protocols dependent upon threat classification; for very serious substantive threats, student should be evaluated by an outside mental health professional qualified to conduct a safety evaluation (i.e. - Hospital emergency room, District-contracted psychologist) 

o Post Assessment - Communication; Student Services; Safety Plan

o Board Policy 4:190 Target School Violence Prevention Program

● School Disciplinary Policies

o Student Handbook - Extensive Policies

o Board Policy 7:190 - Student Behavior

o District Discipline Support Team Process - 5 Lab Data

o Student Leadership and Input Groups

o Goal of Student Discipline - Student learns from their choice and does not repeat the behavior/action

● Students With Discipline Events (Non-Attendance) MS/HS (March 2024 Data) o 95% of MS and HS students have 0-1 discipline events

o 89% of MS and HS students have 0 discipline events (6% students with only 1 event, 4% students with 2-4 events, 1% students with 5 or more events)

o Currently standardizing 5 Labs process for elementary schools

● District Discipline Support Team

o Quarterly Meetings - Middle School and High School (first year of implementation)

o Purpose - Discuss processes to address student discipline, share effective strategies, identify areas of growth (coding, alternative to suspension ideas/programs)

● Student Leadership Input Groups

o Connection with adults in school is essential and most valued

o A feeling of physical safety

o The more connected, the safer students feel

o Staff show they care

o Student activities and clubs are very important and valued by students

● School Crisis Plan (all of the drills and processes come together under PREPaRE)

o Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)

Incident Command Structure (unique to each school/level)

o Functional Annexes (Drills)

o First Responders are involved in the development of drills/responses

● Response, Communications & Reunification Protocols

● Response Protocols (Crisis Event Type + Impact Upon: Individual, Group, School Community)

o Regional-level, District-level, Building-level, Minimal

o Unified Command Team (Building-level ICS Team, District-level ICS Team, Community Responder ICS Teams)

● Communication Protocols (Crisis Event Type + Impact Upon: Individual, Group, School Community)

o Regional-level, District-level, Building-level, Minimal

● Families Will Receive a Communication When…

o There is a potential risk or threat to the safety and security of students and staff

o There is a change to normal school operations that will affect students/families

o Students may be impacted by a situation in the classroom, school, bus or nearby vicinity

● Information Not Included in Emergency/Crisis Communications

o Student/personnel information (protecting privacy)

o Any information that could potentially impede ongoing law enforcement investigations

o Information is not sent to all families in D200 or a school if a situation is not considered to be a safety threat or disruption to normal operations beyond a certain classroom, bus, or grade level, but is only sent to the families of students in the identified classroom, grade or bus

● Mass Communications Review Process - In most emergency/crisis communications, the information and communication is reviewed by:

o Director of Community Engagement and Communications

o Principal

o Local Law Enforcement/Public Information Officer

o Superintendent

o Senior Leadership Team Members

● Psychological Triage, Assessment, and Crisis Interventions

● Psychological Triage and Assessment

o PREPaRE Trained Team Members (Building, District)

o Crisis Facts that Inform Psychological Triage - Physical proximity, Emotional proximity, Personal vulnerability

o Match Intervention to Need (do not want to over-intervene)

o Board Policies 6:65 Student Social and Emotional Development, 7:250 Student Support Services

o The number of Total Social Worker, Psychologist, Counselor, Emotional/Behavioral Wellness Coordinator Positions for 20-21 (80.3), 21-22 (92.5), 22-23 (94.3), and 23-24 (97.3)

● Multi-Tiered Crisis Interventions (the intensity increases based on needs as you move through the different tiers)

o Social Support (Re-establish social support systems)

o Psychological Education (Empower survivors, caregivers and teachers; Informational documents; Caregiver trainings; Classroom meetings; Student psychoeducational groups)

● Next Steps - Emotional/Behavioral Wellness

o Continue to build strong student-staff relationships (relationship mapping, co-curricular involvement)

o Expand student leadership input group meeting frequency

o Expand Crisis Support Teams in each school - PREPaRE

o Parent Education and Support Programming (Parent Education Series/Written Series/Wellness Symposium; Referral GPS; Home Behavioral Coaching and Support)

o Internet Safety Education Programming

o Tier 1 Behavioral School and Classroom Leadership Teams

● Next Steps - District Residency / Physical Security - What are we focused on right now?

o 1 - District Residency (Third Party Verification and District Follow Up - Online Registration)

o 2 - Physical Security (Video Cameras, Electronic Door Access, Digital Panic Buttons, Closed Circuit TVs Systems, Nightlocks)

o 3 - PREPaRE Training

● A Physically and Emotionally Safe Environment ↔ PREPaRE

o People and Relationships

There was additional information/comments on the following:

● Annually the Board is presented with updates to the safety plan and to the SEL work. These two areas of work have started to come together and become intertwined.

● School safety continues to be a point of feedback within the community and also a national discussion.

● We have evolved when it comes to school safety - physical safety was the focus, and now this includes emotional safety.

● The District is in the process of training staff on the PREPaRE model.

● Psychological trauma risk is now an essential component of evaluating safety.

● Examining what was done and what can be done better - should always be included.

● PREPaRE was developed by the National Association of School Psychologists; it is considered the gold standard of school safety and crisis preparedness.

● PREPaRE’s comprehensive plan is where all protocols, responses, and assessments are housed; helps us organize them, uses a common language, and provides wraparound social and emotional support.

● Recovery is the goal; trying to get the vast majority of the student body and staff to the recovery phase, the model provides a road map to get there, no matter what the level of crisis is.

● Plan components focus on physical safety from a school security or hazard standpoint, then focus on the preventative measures, and end with how to assess the plan.

● “Gaggle” scans and reviews content for 6-12 grade students on District devices or if signed in on a school account and synced; students at the elementary cannot send or receive email outside of the district; looks for potential safety and mental health incidents, particularly around drug use, violence, and suicidal ideation; how the Gaggle system works; “flagged” content - two types; next steps when something is flagged; building phone trees.

● Partnering with families through Lightspeed content filter - parents can now take an active role in what websites kids are going through.

● Cyber Incident Response Plan - developed as part of requirements for cyber security insurance; working with CISA (part of Homeland Security) to re-evaluate and improve our plan.

● Phishing training - with the purchase of KnowBe4 software, the District can do large-scale and more granular department training.

● District Safety Committee - includes reps from Wheaton, Warrenville, Winfield, and Carol Stream Police and Fire, park district staff, and reps from area private schools - great resources within that team that are used.

● Homeland Security and FBI have stated that schools and school districts should keep their focus on these three things: lock your doors, know your kids, and execute your safety assessments (risk of harm to self and others, response to crisis).

● Secure entries - the goal is to slow down access for someone with intent to harm so you can contact first responders and execute protocols inside the building.

● “Screening processes” in PREPaRE is any assessment or data piece on the front end that is being used; separate from the risk of harm screeners (which are mental health procedures). These screeners are important - tied to whether a kid is well; give an initial temperature check.

● Attendance monitoring - using the 5 Lab system this year to monitor attendance data.

● ASQ - screener used preschool and Kindergarten parents before the kids come to Kindergarten - does the student have behavioral concerns entering school? This allows the District to be better prepared to serve the student(s).

● Early Warning System (EWS) Review - new this year; the 5 Labs data system; assigns criteria to attendance, discipline, and academics. This data for the secondary schools is reviewed by Dr. Silagi and Mr. Biscan each quarter to ensure proper intervention and programming is in place for students who may be at risk.

● B-SAD - part of the Signs of Suicide program; a brief screening for adolescent depression.

● School connectedness - the District’s #1 commitment and is vital to our safety work; last year 95% of students reported having a trusted adult; continue efforts to work at getting the other 5% connected.

● Attendance improvement plan - this year, District attendance is up about 2% (districtwide); have been working vigorously on this in our buildings.

● Tier 1 Behavioral Plan and Framework - 80 school leadership members (teachers and principals) have been trained this year; ongoing work with this team. Centered around school and classroom expectations for an optimal learning environment.

● Student Education Programs include DARE for District 5th grade students, expanded into internet safety programming for MS students, drug prevention, and signs of suicide program (SOS).

● Camp Kinder - last year, the District had 90 students participate before the school year began for a week-long session; a social skill camp to prepare at-risk students for Kindergarten.

● Referral GPS - launched in October 2022; connector for us to get our students what they need (access to outside mental health care) from a priority standpoint; provided the number of treatment searches, referrals to care navigation, and searches on the school sites (parents can search anonymously).

● Student Service Supports - The district currently has 97 mental health professionals that fall underneath that umbrella; hospitalization numbers are stable from last year to this year.

● Student discipline is an intervention.

● Risk of harm to self - assessing if the student is at risk of harming themself; a student may make a verbal or written comment about harming themself, or it could be an observed behavior; in-depth training is done on this (all counselors, social workers, psychologists, and emotional wellness coordinators are trained to carry out this assessment).

● Risk of harm to others - see above detail in presentation notes; reviewed this assessment in collaboration with the Wheaton PD; different protocols are based on where the threat is deemed (transient or serious substantive threats).

● Student handbooks and discipline - what consequences may/may not be; gives latitude as incidents with students are rarely black and white - there is a lot of context around why students may make a choice; ranges help students to make better choices the next time.

● 5 Lab student discipline data (new tool) is accessible to all middle and high school leadership teams; can drill down information on the discipline incidents.

● Discipline support team and areas of growth - identified gaps in coding and how some buildings are coding incidents.

● Protocols structure as it relates to the PREPaRE model - making sure people are working together collectively during large-scale incidents.

● Unified Command Team - the idea that people from different agencies work together in fidelity to help mitigate a crisis.

● Different levels of incidents and responses - examples of incidents at each of the four levels (regional, district, building, minimal).

● Communications protocols - when different events/incidents are occurring, we are asking ourselves who is impacted, and what does that response and communication need to look like; those things go hand in hand; not a “one size fits all” - a very fluid situation; continuously re-evaluating the situation and the communication needed; the balance of communicating when necessary, and not communicating too much where it may be raising unnecessary panic among students, parents or the community.

● PREPaRE training has two parts - one is all of the safety and security protocols; part two is training on how to ensure kids are safe, secure, and working to return back to normal after a crisis/incident. Since last April, we have begun the training and certification of staff at all of our schools and at the District level on how to match the intervention that is needed when some crisis/incident happens.

● Recovery is the norm for all students, but depending on the level of trauma, that recovery time can take a little bit longer.

● District residency - moved to online registration (currently for new students and next month will be for all returning students); the benefits of using this system for parents registering new students at multiple schools/levels; affirmation aspect to residency - will be an annual requirement to affirm the information in the system; better information in our system; relationship to Board policy.

● CLEAR (Thompson Reuters) - batch processing information public system; they aggregate data from many different public systems and provide information to the District on residency to the District for follow-up (letters sent) - identification of potential outliers.

● Physical security - history of information gathering from the buildings on what aspects of physical security they wanted to be addressed, developed a priority list.

● COPS grant - applied for the grant to fund some of the physical security items; we did not receive the grant; how much would it cost to complete all of the physical security items - all at once vs. piecemeal?

● Provided an overview of the security priorities (video cameras, electronic door access, night locks, digital panic buttons, closed circuit TVs, network equipment), and the projected total cost for each of the items; noted this is a very hard process to bid accurately, primarily on the labor cost (requiring cabling to run to a central closet/switch). The estimated total cost is $1.8 Million.

● Hosting data for security measures in the cloud - cost.

● Nightlocks - physical locks that make it easy for teachers to secure their doors if needed - currently piloting this at Sandburg.

● Digital panic buttons - would be an upgrade to current panic buttons in buildings; eliminates a third-party service contacting emergency responders if needed, therefore a faster response.

● Closed Circuit TV systems - standardization to ensure there is a clear line of sight and the clarity of the picture is improved.

There were questions and/or additional discussion on the following:

● The process for background checks for contract employees; and receiving updates should an offense occur (any updates to a contracted employee’s background check go to the contract service agency that took out the background check); expectations for third-party vendors included in contracts.

● Gaggle - contact with law enforcement; limited to one municipality (Wheaton) - other municipalities in D200 would be contacted by Wheaton PD if necessary; Gaggle is currently limited to email and Google Drive, but expanded search just released; social media blocked on District devices; elementary students and Google Drive; “lists” flagged by Gaggle.

● Content filter screening - all devices have; Lightspeed blocks inappropriate content on student devices; strict, especially at elementary level. Types of content blocked.

● Scanning of driver's licenses - how the process works and procedures if something is flagged in the system; individual states and how they collect criminal data; creating specific lists based on custody, etc; high volume visitor attended events in schools - procedures.

● Standard list of safety assessments for schools - risk of harm to self and risk of harm to others are the two major ones; The PREPaRE model has building and physical safety assessments that can be utilized.

● How to stay abreast of what is going on, up to speed on what the latest is, and what other districts are doing in terms of safety - training, conferences, safety email updates, District and County safety committees, networking, first responders, Google resources, CoSN organization, etc.

● Transportation as it relates to safety - access to information from transportation partners, visual data, protocols, and procedures in place if there is an accident/incident.

● Numbering of doors on the inside and the outside for communication purposes; 3M product for glass in buildings and the amount of glass on the outside of buildings at ground level. Look to the safety teams/committees to guide the District in this area.

● The Safety Committee and the development of the middle school facility plans. Open Session Minutes – April 24, 2024 Page 8

● Screeners/Assessments - tracking at the school or District level? The importance of having the information accessible if the student changes schools or moves to another level; the use of 5 Labs as well as information being housed through electronic systems.

● Screenings - lack of understanding for some parents; request to opt-out - how to explain the value to parents. The number of requests to opt-out is few and far between.

● Student connectedness - student connection to a trusted adult; teachers being cautious about getting too close; is the environment causing caution among staff? Student data and kids speaking to general authentic connections.

● Boundaries between teachers and students - have seen beautiful relationships and also occasionally crossing boundaries; the relationships between parents, students and teachers; a continuum of where you operate - the importance of connectedness, yet realization there have to be boundaries; when there are issues or concerns, ensuring we are thorough in investigative procedures; every concern noted is valid.

● Trusted adult data - do we track data of teachers that are not chosen? If a teacher is identified, they are notified; building principals know which teachers are identified as trusted adults.

● Threat to harm others vs. threat to harm staff - the potential discipline noted in the student handbooks for each of these; not being enumerated the same.

● Safety evaluation and when parents are brought into the process.

● Student with discipline events - how the data compares to other comparable districts; this is self-reported data.

● 5 Labs - what data is being collected and reviewed - incorporates attendance, discipline, fast bridge data; SAEBRS; Noted risk of harm and other mental health data are housed separately; 5 Labs is related to Frontline Education.

● Clarification on what defines a discipline event; office referrals and detentions are included.

● Capturing discipline data - do we track who the victim is to understand if students are repeatedly targeted? Not tracked in the system; the involvement of the building teams should this occur.

● Alternatives to exclusionary discipline - standard training or models? Sending staff/deans for this training.

● Focus on being more consistent and accurate in coding.

● University of Chicago report showed a direct link between kids at school and how safe they feel and the relationship to student achievement - validating that student activities and clubs are very important and valued by students.

● Barriers to students getting involved in activities and clubs - any known? The one originally identified was transportation at the HS level - activity buses were activated, noted limited ridership last year, removed, but brought back after feedback from the activity directors. How to get the message out about the activity buses; feedback loops.

● The process in place when students approach the activity directors about ideas for a new club.

● If kids do not feel safe at school - what do we do and how do we coach them? Noted the people/roles of those in the buildings who would reach out to students and be intentional about finding out why/ reason the student feels unsafe; “See something, say something” and the kids being the eyes and ears of the schools.

● Communication - Who makes the determination as to whether a communication regarding an incident should be sent to one building or more? Principal vs. district administration; Not a one-size-fits-all answer.

● The connection to parents through the different tiers of crisis interventions - communication and resources for them.

● MS video cameras cost in security priorities - Edison, Franklin, Monroe included in middle school capital projects cost.

● Electronic door access - will allow for centralized monitoring of which doors might be ajar; granular with notifications to buildings/district when doors are left ajar.

● Nightlocks - have been vetted by the state fire marshall.

● Clarification on security priorities subscription costs - would require a line item in the budget for the annual fees in perpetuity.

● Refresh cycle for physical pieces of hardware/equipment needed - average 7-8 years.

● The idea of including security hardware and labor items into the MS plans/potential referendum; would complicate it if broadened to all twenty schools. Noted the excess TIF distribution from the City of Wheaton that currently is parked in fund balance; making the Board aware there is a one-time funding source. Bringing conversation to both the facilities and finance committees.

● Bathrooms - brought up last year; what have we changed to help students feel safe? Some noted items - having people between passing periods monitoring/supervising bathrooms, “see something say something”, additional resources, etc.

● PREPaRE framework - is this framework being used by other districts in our region? Yes, (specifically noted St. Michael’s) and noted members of the team participated in an online roundtable for districts using the PREPaRE model; self-assessment tools for the framework model and option for external audit? Exhaustive assessment tools.

● 5 Essentials data as it relates to feedback on safety - any next steps as to how we integrate looking at that data to efforts noted tonight - noted the direct conversations with kids/student groups; where do we best focus time and energy on this?

● How to educate parents on what we are doing as it relates to this framework at the start of the next school year - noted series of communication elements; monthly communication through next year to focus on different aspects of the framework including a common message for all buildings with an opportunity for principals to personalize and connect it to the building; using the visual of the flow chart to connect everything back to it.

● The administrative staffing level for safety - do we have enough staffing resources at the administration level for this? Common trend to have a specific director of safety often focused on the physical aspects; the largest chunk of it sits inside of SEL emotional wellness space; development of Dr. Silagi’s position to incorporate this; something to look at over time; all of the safety work that Mr. Kish does at the District level.

PUBLIC COMMENTS – Agenda Items & Non-Agenda Items

In accordance with Board Policy 2.230, members of the public wishing to offer public comment had the opportunity to do so. A public comment sign-up sheet was made available until 7:00 p.m. at the meeting site. The Board Meeting was available for viewing via live stream on the District’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/communityunitschooldistrict200.

Per Board Policy, the Board may shorten the time allocation for each person to less than three minutes to allow the maximum number of people the opportunity to speak. The Board did not shorten the time allocation for each person to speak due to the number of speakers.

Speaker        Topic

Lee               Prior Fear and Love

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION

There being no further business to come before the Board in Open Session, Member Long moved, Member Kulovits seconded to adjourn the meeting. Upon a voice call being taken, all were in favor. The motion carried 7-0.

The meeting adjourned at 9:55 PM.

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3696/CUSD200/4303815/Minutes_4.24.24_COW.docx.pdf