Thank you for allowing me a few moments to provide you with an update on the Rock Island School District No.41. As your superintendent of schools, I am going to share some district accomplishments from last year, the challenges we faced in the school year for 2021-2022.

In this last year we have really come together as a school district. We have had overwhelming challenges like never before, and we have kept up with the pace.

Here’s a look at our numbers based on the State of Illinois report card - the data that is available to us is from 2019-2020. COVID has definitely had an impact on state wide data and will be a challenge to know how things will look for the data to be released this October.

Enrollment Attendance Student to Staff ratio Average Class Size

Positive Growth Trends!  -       RIMSD#41 saw increased growth in both ELA (English Language Arts) and math on the IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness). In the past four years, the district has grown from 14% to 21% in math; and 16% to 22% in ELA.   -       The district’s growth percentile in ELA and math on IAR matched the state’s growth at 50 percent. The growth percentile for RIMSD is higher compared to other Illinois schools in the Metro Quad Cities.   -       The state report card shows that RIMSD#41 is growing at a faster rate than the rest of the state. Over the last four years, the district has grown by 6 percent in ELA, 7 percent for math, compared to the state average, which showed growth by only 2 percent in ELA and 1 percent for math.  -       From 2018 to 2019, the district saw an increase of four percentage points in ELA for the high school SAT.

Reviewing the entire 2019-2020 AND 2020-2021 school year will prove to be challenging, as many of our assessments and state testing were put on hold due to the pandemic. We are working with the state to determine how assessments and testing will look for this year. Our RIHS juniors that missed the SAT in the spring will be taking it this fall as seniors. As of now, our current RIHS juniors will take the SAT in the spring as expected.

In preparation for the 2020-2021 school year, RIMSD ordered more Chromebook devices as there were still students who didn’t have a device. The school district also purchased about 20 Cradlepoint Routers to distribute throughout the community. The routers will enable students to connect to the Internet wirelessly with their Chromebook devices and have been placed at each school building and several housing additions an community areas in Rock Island and Milan. We also created a unique partnership with Mediacom which allowed our ROCKfi wireless to be streamed through local Mediacom hotspots - over 70 - across Rock Island. This helped us provide an internet connection to students in those hard to reach areas. We also met with the City and arranged for our Rockfi to be broadcasted through their hotspots as well - including the library locations.

It was also important to reach out to our students who had Individualized Education Plans and our PPS staff and counselors worked hard to make sure all of the IEP guidelines were followed.

Despite all the pandemic threw at our school district - we were still able to accomplish some of those milestones in sports and end of year celebrations.

In the spring semester some of our elementary students were able to participate in the Young Artists at the Figge exhibition; Earl Hanson celebrated its 50 year as a school, and our athletes were able to compete in a shortened season. We had a Rocks Track and Field athlete, Samson Shukuru, receive first place in the long jump at state, and our wrestling team won the 15-team Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Class 2A regional tournament in June.

We were also able to hold a signing ceremony for all of our senior athletes who committed to a sport at the college level!

Recent RIHS graduate Ravon Johnson Taylor was awarded the McKenzie Foundation & Uncharted Learning 2021 GritGrant award. He was chosen as one of four recipients from across the country! Ravon was a part of the RIHS Entrepreneur Class and his team The Cobblers also won the top award at the annual Final Pitch Night.

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL….(NEXT SLIDE GRADUATION)

The most important accomplishment is the end of a 13 year journey for students. On June 5, 381 Rock Island High School seniors graduated! Those individuals earned over $3 million in college scholarships and funding, devoted thousands of volunteer hours in the community through the National Honor Society, and led sports teams to victory. This class truly accomplished some amazing things through the pandemic.

Some other highlights of the Class of 2021… • Out of 381 graduates, 142 seniors have a GPA of 3.0 or higher • Will be attending at least 50 different colleges, entering 2 apprenticeship programs, and enrolling in 4 branches of the Military • These colleges cover at least 13 states (IL, IA, CA, WI, SC, CO, MN, MI, GA, MO, FL, TN, NC) • 75 are members of the national honor society and served more than 750 hours of community service • 11 are Illinois State Scholars • More than 30 Rocky athletes are continuing their sports careers at the college or university level

RIMSD 41 kicked off the new school year on Monday, August 2, 5 days a week for full day. WE ROLLED OUT THE RED CARPET at Thomas Jefferson Elementary and welcomed the students back with a lot of fanfare (NO CLOSE CONTACT!) and celebration!

Mask mandates are in effect; and we do our best to social distance. We are at the halfway point of the quarter, and we have processes in place to mitigate the spread of COVID and contain those positive cases that pop up. RIMSD is working on implementing additional mandates by the state that include weekly COVID testing for those staff who are not vaccinated. Over 70% of teachers are vaccinated and we are promoting the importance of vaccination as an effective way to stop the spread of COVID.

The enrollment is a little over 6,100, which is below our enrollment last year. We continue to become more diverse in our student population. Children eligible for English Language Learner services is at about 700. The district continues to offer free/reduced meals to all students as we still fall under the percentage levels required for the Community Eligibility Program grant.

At the Board of Education meeting on August 10, 65 Rock Island High School seniors were honored as Charles O. Austin Jr. Scholars. The students were presented with certificates of recognition for completing six semesters of study and earning a 3.5 GPA or higher.

Career/Technical Education is full-steam ahead!

Through COVID this past year, the district was able to expand career education programs. The high school launched the Welding Apprenticeship where Welding students take classes in the morning and then work the afternoon at John Deere.

Also as a part of the plan, the new Education Internship course was launched and will place high school students who are interested in the education field in our own schools. Interns work directly with district educators to observe and carry out classroom tasks and activities. Any student who goes through the program and graduates from a college or university with the an education license will be guaranteed an interview with RIMSD #41.

This year, our CNA program is expanding to give students more experience by partnering with local businesses to offer nursing students an apprenticeship.

Also, the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program is running strong at our junior high and high school buildings and even at one of our elementary schools, Frances Willard. The program has been going strong since 2014 and served hundreds of students. he three main components of the program are academic instruction, tutorial support, and motivational activities. Their self-images improve and they become academically successful leaders and role models for other students. They are proud to be in the program.

Over the 2020 summer, there were more than $2 million in construction projects that include bleacher replacement at Rocky Fieldhouse, Washington and Edison Jr. High, and new roof at Rock Island Academy.

The Rock Island Schools Public Stadium also received some upgrades: new turf, track resurfacing and the stadium restroom renovation.

The previous school year 2019-2020, we added secure entryways to Horace Mann ELC, Earl Hanson Elementary & Edison Jr. High and completed Reconstruct RIHS Tennis Courts and Fencing in addition to a new roof at Thomas Jefferson and tuck pointing at Rock Island High School.

During the 2020-2021 School year, construction was started on the $2.1 million renovation at Washington Junior High School. The project will feature a secure entryway and cafeteria renovation and expansion. Plans also include administrative offices, two flexible spaces for specialists that serve students and a space for the school nurse that includes a separate bathroom and shower.

We anticipate that we will have a ribbon cutting soon and are waiting on a few more materials to complete the project.

Plans were also being created for the Rock Island High School.

The school district is looking at a $9.8 million construction budget for work that will include a cafeteria renovation, commons addition, secure entry addition, food service equipment and site work. The proposed construction will add 38,000 square feet.

A ribbon cutting was held a couple of weeks ago and construction has started! It will take approximately 14 months to complete the project. A virtual tour is on our website under Capital Projects.

Early in the fall of 2020, RIMSD #41 Administration started the planning process for Rock Island High School updates and the possibility of relocating the district food production facility at the high school. After doing a survey and public (in person and virtual) forums to gather feedback from the community, district administration decided to look at other options and locations aside from the high school for the food production facility. The $7.6 million project will include 15,000 square feet for administration offices, 15,000 square feet for warehouse space and 5,000 square feet for a production kitchen.

The school district met with the City of Rock Island Planning Commission about zoning, and then received approval from the City Council on May 10 to move forward. The bid was approved at the August 24 Board of Education meeting

From a budget perspective, we have the 2021-22 tentative budget is on display on the website with anticipated $71.89 million in revenues for the and $71.84 million in expenditures. The big piece is rounds two and three of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding that will add $32 million to the final budget.

The district has earmarked money in several areas COVID related - PPE, sanitation, technology devices and curriculum/social emotional learning support. We are also able to use CARES money to improve the air quality in our school buildings and the board approved money to go toward the Guaranteed Energy Saving Program to upgrade and replace several rooftop units in the school district. Thanks to this money we are able to accelerate the replacement of rooftop united by several years instead of waiting to use proceeds from the 1% Sales Tax Revenue.

Our strategic plan RIM 2025 has high expectations of all staff members and embodies everything we do as a pubic school district.

The theme “Pipeline to a Productive Future” stems from the various facets and definitions centered on the importance of pipelines. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a pipeline as a course of individual advancement or development especially to fill organizational needs. In finance, the term pipeline is used to describe progress toward a long-term goal that involves a series of stages; and in the world of oil, gas and liquids, a pipeline delivers energy from where it’s produced to where it is turned into useful fuel for our community.

Our educational pipeline analysis conveys the importance of viewing student progress as a continuum leading from preK through 12 education into postsecondary education, the completion of a college degree and/or start of a successful career in a chosen field. Ultimately we are preparing students for life.

The Pipeline to a Productive Future Starts in RIMSD #41.

Kiwanis are great partners with the School District.  They passionately work to provide school supplies for our students. This year, they provided school supplies to 4,400 students that totaled approximately $125,000!  

Rotary – another great partner.  They have committed and supported so many wonderful opportunities for our students including:  supporting financially, providing mentors and coaches for the entrepreneurship class at Rock Island High School. They have been long-time business partners with Earl Hanson Elementary School with many supports and programs to help students and staff in the school be successful. You make a difference. Thank you!

Most of all, thank you to the community that supports public education.

Here is a short video from some of our Rocky seniors for you to enjoy.