Invitation to participate from co-chairs
Mark Trembacki and Kathy Ruiz  (en español)

Future Focus flyer with calendar dates (en español)

What YOU say at these sessions and contribute through discussion will MAKE A DIFFERENCE. This is NOT just for families with children, but for a COMMUNITY that values children and their education.

SESSION III

Opportunities for Student Success

In the third Future Focus 203 community engagement session, Naperville CUSD 203 is asking the question “Do our schools and programs present students with the opportunity for success?” This month’s sessions will be held Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16.

The school district will use what it learns during this session to help determine the types of learning opportunities that may need to be added, expanded, reduced or changed in focus.
 
Each session involves a brief presentation, but the most significant contributions come from the participants who work as teams to delve into the questions being asked, and raise new ones.

At the April Future Focus Session, attendees were asked to identify and rank what they, as parents, staff, students and community members, believe are true “success indicators” for measuring student achievement.  The top ranked indicators were: college and career readiness, demonstrated academic growth, being a self-directed learner, showing personal growth and goal-setting, demonstrated social-emotional growth, and long-term success post graduation.

A brief presentation on how successful school districts provide opportunities for student growth – academic and personal - will be followed by group discussion. This month, participants will be asked to self-select the level of schooling – elementary, middle or high school – that they would like to focus their attention on for the work group activities.

Someone who has no children currently enrolled may choose from any group based on their personal area of interest. Maybe junior high where emerging social-emotional issues impact student learning and personal identity are an area of interest to someone, even though they don’t currently have a junior high student.

If you have not attended one of Future Focus 203 session, you can learn more on the District web site by reading the verbatim documents and viewing video presentations at www.naperville203.org.  Session one included a “State of the District” report presented by Superintendent Dan Bridges.

The most direct way to participate is by attending one of two work sessions to be held next week. Community members can choose between at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, May 15 at NCHS or at 8:30 am on Thursday, May 16 at Grace United Methodist Church. RSVPs are requested in helping plan the session, but NOT required. Call 630-548-4342 or email futurefocus@naperville203.org.

Community feedback can also be submitted via email at futurefocus@naperville203.org or on Facebook by “liking” www.facebook.com/FutureFocus203. Additional news information about Naperville District 203 is also available @Naperville203 via Twitter.

For additional information about Future Focus 203, please call Julie Carlsen, Director of Community Relations at 630-420-6815.



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With this in mind, Future Focus 203 will:

• Assist the Board of Education and Administration in broadening their understanding of the community’s beliefs, aspirations, desires and priorities related to public education, specifically the needs and interests of District 203;
• Invite and engage the community in District planning and decision making;
• Obtain relevant perspectives that build upon, expand and enhance the previous planning initiatives by the District;
• Define priorities and improvement strategies;
• Discover what resources will be needed as the District moves toward continuous improvement;
• Build an ongoing process for strengthening trust, communication and collaborative efforts with the full community.

The Process

Facilitating Team

The Facilitating Team is a group of dedicated community volunteers who, together with several staff members, accept responsibility for “facilitating” the engagement process from its initial session through a final report to the community.

The primary role of the Facilitating Team is to:

1. attend to the charge from the Board of Education;
2. bring forward specific recommendations representing the desire of the larger community; and
3. provide leadership and coordination throughout the entire process.

This team, consisting of approximately 20 individuals, helps with decisions regarding process, strategy and communications; it meets regularly to develop agendas, review discussion materials and keep the program focused and on task. The Facilitating Team will hold several planning meetings prior to the first community engagement session and meet at least twice between each monthly meeting in an effort to review the work of the previous session and to prepare for subsequent sessions.

Community volunteers provide the leadership for the Facilitating Team and the entire Future Focus 203 process. The community co-chairs, selected for their commitment to District 203 and their leadership ability, are Kathy Ruiz and Mark Trembacki.

Community Engagement Sessions

The community engagement process begins by inviting members of the community to take part in meaningful discussions about our school district. These discussions are designed and governed by the Facilitating Team, which is comprised of community members.

Once the Facilitating Team is established, the next step is to encourage full community participation in the Future Focus 203 process.

In order to reach a wide audience of community members, including those without currently enrolled students, the District has arranged to:

• send press releases to all local media
• submit meeting dates and description to community calendars
• issue TALK203 messages (Community members can enroll in this messaging system here.)
• post information to the District web site
• tweet announcements via Twitter feed

• give participants a State of the District Report,
• provide a thorough orientation to the process, and create an opportunity for participants to meet new people and hear different perspectives