MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL OF ABRAHAM
LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
HELD OCTOBER 1, 2013
A meeting of the Local School Council (LSC) of Abraham Lincoln Elementary School was held
in the school library, 615 W. Kemper Place, Chicago, IL at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1,
2013.
MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Mark Armendariz (Principal), Katie Fairbank (Chair), Tasha
Gelling, Stephanie Jensen, Dan Klein, Deb Nusret (Secretary), Jerry Quandt, Greg Thompson,
Ashley Williams
MEMBER ABSENT: Nada Riley
CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m. by the Chair, Katie Fairbank.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Katie Fairbank made a motion to approve the September 3, 2013 Regular Meeting Minutes, Jerry
Quandt seconded, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Concerns were raised about diversity and Lincoln’s current attendance boundaries. Katie
Fairbank concluded the first public participation with the reminder that the LSC is not the
decision-maker on our facilities issue and that we are awaiting a solution.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:
Calendar:
On Wednesday, October 2, 2013 we will have a High School Fair for our 7th and 8th graders.
Sixteen High Schools will be presenting and parents are also invited to attend. 8th graders will be
able to meet with school counselors.
Friday, October 4, 2013 - PTA Meeting will be held on at 9:00 a.m. in the Lincoln School
Greenhouse. Mr. Armendariz will host an event to thank the Academy of Paris for sponsoring
our Jules Verne teachers for three years.
Friday, October 11, 2013 - French Cine Club will be held in the Lincoln Auditorium at 3:45 p.m.
A French movie (with subtitles) will be shown. It is a free event.
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Monday, October 14, 2013 - No school; Columbus Day.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - Informational night for 8th grade parents from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
in the Lincoln Auditorium. Discussion of how to apply for selective enrollment and private high
schools.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 5th Grade assembly: There one will be in the morning and one in
the afternoon, times to be announced. Mr. Armendariz has asked the PTA to sponsor coffee and
treats after the assemblies (for adults only). It will be called “Coffee and Compliments” with a
goal of promoting a “feeling of connectivity” as the school continues to grow.
Thursday, October 3l, 2013 - 6th Grade Wax Museum will be held on the lunchroom floor. (a.m.
only)
Friday, November 1, 2013 - No school for students. Professional Development Day for teachers.
Staff Notes:
Mr. Armendariz has five candidates for the Library job. Ms. Rimington will be on leave until the
end of February. Library is on a flexible schedule; teachers may sign-up. Mrs. Fein, our third
grade teacher, will return by the middle of November from her leave.
Paperwork was submitted for another paraprofessional. We are in the process of interviewing.
Madame Maigne, our Jules Verne French teacher is working with five schools as part of a cohort
to develop relationships with other schools. Some ideas are to Skype to work on science
experiments and other curricular projects.
Transfer of funds for the Kindergarten position is in the works. Waiting for approval, which we
expect by the middle of October. Kindergarten teachers will be involved in the interview
process. The new Kindergarten will be in Room 305.
Discretionary Budget:
Jerry Quandt will address under Committee Reports.
Overcrowding: Space Utilization, Enrollment, Solutions Update:
We are looking at spaces for next year. DePaul only wants a one-year lease. They are planning
on having Theater Classes in the Education Building next year. Michelle Smith will negotiate
with DePaul. Parents are encouraged to go to Board Meetings to talk about DePaul. We need
something for next year; we need to work as a unified force. Our enrollment was 808 on the 20th
day of school.
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CIWP:
Will cover under new business.
Grants:
Amy Andrews, 5th grade teacher, applied for a Science grant. The Art teachers are looking into
writing a grant, possibly for a kiln. They’ll investigate what is necessary for setup, etc.
Professional Development:
The next PDD is on Friday, November 1, 2013.
Board Policies and Initiatives:
No report at this time.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Budget:
Jerry Quandt, reported the following: With an enrollment of 808, our net incremental funding of
$64,000, plus the SGSA roll-over monies have been earmarked for the new Kindergarten
position.
Budget is on track and we’re waiting for the system update. Will have a more detailed report
next month.
Building, Traffic, and Safety:
Nada Riley submitted her report and it was presented by Katie Fairbank. On September 6, 2013
Katie Fairbank sent a letter on behalf of Lincoln School to Michelle Smith requesting immediate
improvements to pedestrian safety at the Lincoln Avenue crosswalks and an additional full-time
security guard.
Other follow-up with Michelle Smith: Lincoln Avenue crossing: physical signage/street cones no new signage to be installed per CDOT. Will continue to work on this. Uniformed crossing
guard/police officer on Lincoln Avenue – the Commander of the 18th District is working with
Michelle Smith. They now have the schedule of times when the children are crossing. More
information at the next meeting. Recalibration of traffic lights at the Lincoln/Belden/Orchard
intersection is being discussed with CDOT.
Graffiti: The school was hit hard with graffiti during the weekend of September 7 and 8, 2013.
Due to the diligence of neighbors, three 15-year old boys were apprehended. School is pressing
charges. Michelle Smith was called on Sunday afternoon and she had the Graffiti Blasters at
school by 7:00 a.m. on Monday to remove the graffiti. Many thanks to Michelle Smith.
CPS Space Utilization Meetings were held at Taft and Prosser: Opened meeting with a
presentation by Todd Babbitt, followed by questions and comments portion. Observers and
participants included some LSC members, parents and community members.
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School facilities: The last 25% of the painting of the stairs and the undersides of the stairs will be
completed soon.
Floor tiles: Main floor and floor by lunchroom will be replaced over winter break.
Playground water fountain: Will be replaced or repaired depending on parts.
Bike racks: Four bike racks have been installed on Geneva Terrace.
Kemper and Geneva: Crosswalk work is scheduled to begin on October 17. Working with the
18th District for coverage when the assigned police officer is not available.
Neighborhood construction: Sidewalk replacement on the church side of Kemper and a few
other spots on the North side of the street to start on October 17th.
Communication:
All parent representatives took turns manning the LSC table at the September Open House. Jerry
Quandt supplied the banner. Stephanie Jensen got the word out about the LSC vacancies. We
are about a month away from the new school website. Discussion about where to run the LSC
recaps. Each Lincoln family will be responsible for their own updates.
Curriculum:
Ashley Williams reported the Curriculum Committee Meetings will be held on the last Tuesday
of every month at 8:15 a.m. Meeting dates are October 29 and November 26, 2013, January 28,
February 25, March 25, April 29 and May 27, 2014. Location to be announced. Everyone is
invited to attend.
Long-Range Planning:
No current report per Katie Fairbank. Mr. Armendariz is working with the ILT to determine a
five-year plan for the curriculum with the two PE teachers and Ms. Rimington.
Organizations:
Tasha Gelling reported that the FOL Auction kick-off was held at L’Occitane on Armitage on
October 2, 2013. The next FOL Meeting will be on Monday, October 20, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. The
FOL Phone-a-thon is scheduled for November 7 at the Arnold residence at 6:00/6:30 p.m. The
FOL have had $316,000.00 in funding requests.
PTA Meeting will be held on Friday, October 4 at 9:00 a.m. in the Lincoln School Greenhouse.
PTA is collecting gently used books/DVD’s in a box outside of the school office for sale at the
Thanksgiving Fest which will be held on November 22, 2013. PTA membership: 77% have
joined and six classes have 100%.
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ALESMA had two registration dates which were very well attended. ALESMA authorized the
purchase of a new Xylo Synth, a digital mallet instrument, for the band.
EFAC has two new teachers. French Cine Club on Friday, October 11. Lincoln will have a visit
on Wednesday, October 2 by administrators from the Academy of Paris.
Technology:
Dan Klein reported that we now have a complete asset registry of our technology. Mr. Okun will
help Mr. Klein with a Word document compiled of this information looking at what Lincoln has,
the age of the equipment, to the future, and cycle for improvement.
OLD BUSINESS:
LSC Vacancies:
We currently have two LSC vacancies – one for a parent representative and one for a community
representative. The following people are running for the parent vacancy: Bob Schnoll
(presented statement), Andrea Okun (presented statement), Lei Wang (not present), Lisa Barrow
(presented statement), and Thad Wong (not present, but submitted electronic statement which
Katie Fairbank read). The following are running for community representative: Mark Sneathen
(presented statement), Caroline Vickery (presented statement), Michelle Hoppe Villegas
(presented statement), and Carmen Gioiosa (presented statement).
All candidate statements are available for review on the PTA Bulletin Board, just inside the
school doors, center entrance.
NEW BUSINESS:
Set date for Special Meeting to discuss LSC Membership Appointments:
The LSC set an Executive Session on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in the Lincoln
Library to discuss the appointments. The regular meeting of the LSC will begin at 6:00 p.m.,
during which time the vote will be taken.
CIWP:
Reviewing and working on Strategic Priority 1: Foster critical thinking through evidence- based
discussions while providing a base of knowledge across a wide range of fiction and non-fiction
reading selections in all content area. There are eight milestones under Strategic Priority 1.
Milestone 1 is completed. Thirteen Lincoln educators attended professional development on the
Socratic Seminar method at St. John’s College.
Would like to combine Milestone 2: Teacher led professional development focused on
education-based discussion/seminars and Milestone 8: Teachers will attend professional
development that has a focus on developing critical thinking while integrating evidence-based
discussion in the classroom.
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FOL has provided $5,000.00 to support teacher professional development.
The ILT (Instructional Leadership Team) consists of eight members, made up of grade level and
specialty teachers who meet with their SWASes to discuss instructional goals and techniques.
We plan to have teacher-driven professional development. Mr. Armendariz is spear-heading the
idea that specialty teachers at Lincoln and other Network schools’ specialty teachers will
collaborate to develop professional development for specialty teachers. Mr. Armendariz has
spoken to some other Network principals about this, and they think it is a good idea. More to
come.
Milestone 3: Has been cancelled due to the District’s mandate that we do not purchase new LA
materials. Materials need to align with the Common Core Standards.
Milestone 4: Attend professional development on Socratic Seminar method at St. John’s College
in Santa Fe. This milestone has been completed. A representative from the 5th and 8th grade
attended. Teachers spend one week in Santa Fe. Lincoln teacher, Amy Andrews, conducted
Socratic Seminar “exposure and training” to the lower grades reading teachers at a Literacy
Team Meeting. Seminars are not just fiction/novel based. Primary sources such as the
Gettysburg Address and Presidential State of the Union Addresses are covered.
Milestone 5: Started pre-observation conferences this week. A calendar has been created - will
have to do four sets of observations/conferences every year for each PAT teacher and two per
year for tenured teachers.
Milestone 6: NWEA has been changed to only one time in spring. Lincoln will do one test in
winter and one in spring so we will be able to compare results. It will be good for the next year’s
receiving teacher. Will work in areas of growth on the ISAT. The ESL teacher will be working
with primary grade students that need additional foundation reading skills.
Milestone 7: Grades K-2 teachers to develop rubric to determine meets/exceeds criteria for
Strategic Priority 1. Will work on this at the November 1, 2013 Professional Development Day
Meeting.
Milestone 8: Is to be combined with Milestone 2. We are now able to have faculty meetings
once a month due to the CTU membership vote for restructuring our days which allows time for
30-minute meetings throughout the year. We should merge Milestones 2 and 8 as part of our
long-range planning.
We are looking at the 2012-2014 CIWP. We should reconsider choosing two or three milestones
as mandated. We should review thee strategic milestones and see if we want to keep them or
revise them. We should look at the CIWP as a living document month-by-month. We will do a
recap of Priority 1 at the next Meeting and then move on to Priority 2.
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
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Question raised about bathroom facilities for our students at DePaul, if Lincoln students
shared bathroom facilities with DePaul students/staff. Mr. Armendariz clarified that our
students have separate bathroom facilities, only accessible to Lincoln students.
Parent comment: the new “walking schedule” has made a big improvement.
Concern expressed about bike safety and pedestrian traffic. Katie Fairbank will followup with Nada Riley on this point.
A LaSalle parent thanked Lincoln for being considerate of them. Parent reported that
LaSalle has 580 students/full enrollment.
Public comment: We need to bring people together. Please consider this when filling
LSC vacancies.
Public comment: We need a short term solution for next year. We don’t want to wait
until June.
Katie Fairbank made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:08 p.m. Jerry Quandt seconded the
motion, and the meeting was unanimously adjourned.
An Executive Session of the LSC will be held on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in
the Lincoln Library. The next Regular Meeting of the Local School Council will be held on
Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. in the Lincoln School Library.
Respectfully Submitted,
Deborah A. Nusret
These minutes were approved as read (corrected on) Wednesday, November 6, 2013.
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