Principal’s Report to the LSC – 2/12

Purpose

To provide updates at Kelvyn Park School from Instruction, Culture & Climate, Parents & Community, and Operations lenses to provide the LSC with a holistic understanding of the organizational improvement efforts.

Instruction

• On Friday, 2/7, principal submitted the proposal for KP to become a Fine & Performing Arts Magnet Cluster Program. The proposal was written in collaboration with Art Teacher Chad Huggins. To ensure the strength and quality of the submission, feedback was solicited from: Digital Media Arts Teacher Andrew Iverson, Band Teacher Henry Reichert, Chief Laura LeMone, and Instructional Coach Christina Moreno. We will have a decision in April 2020. 
• High School Science Fair – All four of the high school students who competed in the regional CPS STEM fair made it to the City Science Fair! Ana Rivas, Karen Menez, Jerry Menez, and Nevaeh Wade all received “Outstanding” awards! Please congratulate these students as well as our High School Science Fair Coordinator, Ms. Pera. 
• Junior High School Science Fair – Five of our Junior High students presented their hard work with their independent scientific inquiry projects at NEIU on 1/24. Congratulations to Nazly Cruz, Brendan Gazda, Nalani Arana, Marlett Patino, Zaria Watts, and their teacher Mr. Unger for their accomplishments. 
• Vacancies: 
  • Assistant Principal – Luz Robles will be the Assistant Principal, effective 2/18. She will support various department teams including the Junior High Team and Diverse Learners Department. She will also oversee all of culture & climate in the building including: integration of SEL into discipline and instructional practices, On-Track support, Security Team and SRC oversight, Attendance. Ms. Robles will also head our Recruitment and Enrollment efforts. More details are forthcoming about more specific roles that she will have. 
  • English Teacher – Holly Hernandez was hired to alleviate some overcrowding in 9th and 11th grade English classes. She also helps free up Ms. McGregory so that she can do some counseling for Junior High Students. 
  • Technology Coordinator – Was able to open up a full-time Technology Coordinator position during the week of 2/3. Interviews this week. This was done because our part-time Technology Coordinator resigned from his position. 

Culture & Climate: 

• Our College Enrollment numbers for the Class of 2019 have been received. This improvement is weighted 3-point gain (we were at 0 points for the Class of 2018 out of 5 total points) for this metric on the SQRP! Gains on the SQRP can positively contribute to our school’s rating: Class of 2018 enrollment – 39%; Class of 2019 enrollment – 60% 
• Vacancies: 
  • Student Advocate – Veronica Bedoya is our new Student Advocate. She works in the Student Resource Center helping integrate Restorative Justice Practices into discipline practices. 
• Umoja conducted two workshops with teachers and staff on 1/31. The topics were about the Foundations of Restorative Justice and developing teacher Self-Awareness. Umoja has another two workshops planned for teachers in April on the School Improvement Day. Umoja will also be conducting professional development for our Culture & Climate Team during the year. Their first meeting together was on Friday, 2/7. Umoja is conducting professional development for the Security Team and the Deans by the end of February. In mid- to late-March, they will work with the Student Resource Center to setup a Peace Room and provide resources to the school to help facilitate Peace Circles. 
• Albany Park Community Center is providing an additional counselor to the school once per week. She has a caseload of up to 10 students, and began the week of 2/3. 

Parents & Community: 

• February Parent & Community Events: 
  • 2/21 @9am in the Library – Café con el Director 
  • 2/24 @5pm – Last day to turn in LSC Candidate forms 
  • 2/26 @5pm – Financial workshop for parents in the Library. Facilitators will a present in both Spanish and English for parents. The following topics will be covered: budgeting essentials, how to create an emergency fund, debt management, having proper protection, building wealth, and estate planning for the family. 
• With the vote to maintain Kelvyn Park High School, the final edits are being made to the school’s logo. The logo embodies our CoRE Values: Community, Relationships, Empowerment. Principal is working with a clothing vendor to get new logo on gear for students, teachers, and staff and will unveil in conjunction with the new KP wear.