February 19, 2026 at 8:30 AM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Description:  ELC received the following letter from North Chicago Community Partners, after staff donated personal hygiene items, gloves, hats/mittens, and socks. All of these items were provided to families in need throughout Lake County. North Chicago Community Partners is located in Lake Villa and has been providing support to local communities since 2008.

Description:  The ELC's calendar is drafted after looking at the member districts' calendars. ELC's first day will be August 12, 2026. The school year will end on May 28, 2027, unless there are emergency days used. The ELC will have 179 student attendance days and 3 institute days for a total of 182 days. 

Description: 

The Business Service Team wants to continue using Skyward for our business/financial management (ERP) system. Our original three-year contract expires on June 30, 2026. Skyward is offering ELC another three-year renewal effective through June 2029. The cost of the core finance package will increase one-time by 4.8% from $3,200 to $3,353.60 and the remaining portion of the fee is a per-student calculation. A multi-year agreement fixes the cost for the entire term with no additional increases in years two and three.  

One-Year Proposal: $3,688.96 + $281.96 (38 students)

Description:  We have received two FOIA requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

FOIA #1 is from CT Mills, representing Public Info Access LLC.  The request seeks any existing records that describe purchasing or contracting approval authority within our School District.

FOIA #2 is from Brian Gavilan, representing Illinois Education Association-NEA.  The request seeks a list of all ELC employees and details about their employment, including job titles, hire dates, pay rates, work locations, and scheduled work hours. It also asks whether employees are part of a collective bargaining unit and, if so, which labor organization represents them.

Description: 

-Staffing Update: 

• Stevenson had a paraprofessional resignation and will not be replacing that position for the remainder of this school year. 

-Round of Applause 

• Congratulations to the four staff members who are being recognized this month for their outstanding contributions to the organization. There are two paraprofessionals at West, Angelique Castellanos and Ashley Marcos; one BCBA who works in D96, Kristin Kornelik; and one COTA who also works in D96, Lauren DeWilde. Thank you to these amazing ELC team members!

-Professional Development Update: 

• On February 9, we welcomed over 30 staff who participated in professional learning with our PRC Saltillo representative, Jenny Vallier. Jenny's session, Fostering Emergent Literacy with AAC was a new session, offered by Jenny for the very first time. Our partnership with PRC allows for this professional development at no cost for our staff.
• We have begun to measure professional development needs and interests for the 2026-2027 school year. This is done through consultation with our administrators and member districts as well as through input provided by our Job Alike committees. We are initially looking at sessions related to mental health trends and adolescence, attendance and truancy as it relates to our students with special needs, AAC and communication and continued work with our AI committee. 

-Parent Education Report: 

• On Friday, January 30, 2026, Exceptional Learners Collaborative partnered with The Arc of Illinois to host a statewide Listening Session as part of the IDD System Redesign Coalition’s efforts to gather community input and shape the future of Illinois’ intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) system.  See Parent Education- February 2026 Board Report.

-ELC West Update:

• The transition program completed volunteer work this month for North Chicago Community Partners. Our students received items from NCCP that were used to compile cleaning and hygiene kits for local community members in need. Throughout the month, our students have assembled over 150 bags that will support others.
• Our high school program has had a recent schedule change that allows for a longer period of cooking each week. This incorporates math skills and functional reading as students learn to read recipes and measure ingredients. In some cases, students are also included in the shopping trip beforehand where they follow a shopping list of the ingredients needed.

-Technology Update:

• The Director of Technology recently attended the Illinois Digital Educators Association (IDEA) conference, focusing on emerging trends in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity.
• Mr. Graham conducted targeted phishing awareness training for Paraprofessionals at Stevenson. This session included the hands-on implementation of 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) for staff accounts. We are currently on schedule to have all staff enrolled in 2FA protocols by Spring Break.

-Facilities Update:

• The roof work started again this past week with the warmer weather. This coming week they are supposed to replace the skylights at both locations. The management has been very communicative about the process. 
• The management company also replaced a heater in the backspace at East this past week because the old one was not working properly. The new heater in the back is so much quieter, which is great for our students and staff. 

-Business/Finance Update:

• The meeting with the business managers was canceled this past week as we had a call with the attorney regarding staffing. Sean is doing a fantastic job keeping the business managers updated. 
• We have had 12 people complete the application for the CSBO positions and five others start the process. The business managers and Dr. Clarke are completing the first round interview and Cabinet will conduct the second round.