The13Times

Spring 2013Bloomingdale, IL

Relieving Stress for Student SuccessWestfield Middle School went the extra mile this year to ensure the best possible testing situation for all Westfield students. In an effort to relieve the stress of standardized testing, a “comfort dog” visited with students every morning.

“Comfort Dogs have the ability to lower anxiety and help people adjust to stressful situations,” said Westfield Principal Dr. Debbie Kling. ”We initially targeted specific students with high anxiety to spend time with the dog, but she was so popular that the opportunity to spend time with Zippy was offered to any student.”

“Mariela Siegert (Westfield librarian) is truly the mastermind behind the idea,” said Westfield social worker Sheila Zagotta. “We had approximately 25 kids come on the three days that the dogs were here.”

“Studies have shown that the more kids move and have fun, the greater focus occurs when they settle in for serious testing,” said Dr. Kling. “So, we

introduced a 10-minute team builder before ISAT for teachers to get kids moving before taking their tests.” Activities included ball tosses, paper basketball in the trash cans, jumping jacks and the Conga Line. Mrs. Stavnem led her class through the halls as more and more students joined the line. The kids had a ball!

Westfield students were also given the opportunity to participate in a volunteer exercise program that links improvement in ISAT scores and aerobic fitness activities. This school year104 students participated in the open gym.

“The kids really seemed to enjoy it!” said Mrs. Zagotta. “After the open gym they were all offered a snack and drink before they went on to their classrooms to begin testing.”

The Wellness Team is again gathering data which has shown that the students who start their morning with exercise do better on their ISAT tests.

31BLOOMINGDALE, ILLINOIS

SCHOOL DISTRICT

Welcome Patrick HaugensAfter a long and laudable career in District 13, Dr. John Markgraf will be retiring from his position as prin-cipal at Erickson Elementary this June. Mr. Patrick Haugens has been chosen to take on the leadership role at Erickson.

“I know I have big shoes to fill,” said Mr. Haugens. “But,

I hope to continue the success that Dr. Markgraf has built.”

Mr. Haugens credits his experience helping his mom in her role as a school librarian with leading him to the field of education. “I would read to the students in my mom’s building when I was in high school,” Mr. Haugens stated. “I really liked working with kids and it seemed to be a good fit for me.”

Mr. Haugens spent seven years as a 4th grade classroom teacher. During that time he became accredited in Gifted Education and has worked on classroom website design, differentiated instruc-tion, character education and curriculum mapping.

“I loved every aspect of the teaching experience,” Mr. Haugens asserted. “But, I decided I wanted to be an instructional leader and impact an entire school of 300-400 students, not just the 30 to 40 in my classroom.”

Since 2006, Mr. Haugens has held positions as both an elementary principal and a middle school assistant principal in the Taylorville and Ball-Chatham school dis-tricts in central Illinois. Some of his many duties and ac-complishments include:

•Serving as chairperson of the RtI committee and presenting an RtI session at the 2010 IASB Confer-ence in Chicago

•Creating a monthly podcast parent newsletter•Creating a school-wide self-manager program to

promote positive student behavior•Analyzing achievement data and making recom-

mendations for academic improvement and imple-mentation of best practices

•Serving as building coordinator for 504 plans, ELL and special education

When not at school, Mr. Haugens is kept busy with his young children. He and his wife, Meredith, who is an assistant principal, are expecting their third child in July. His son, Layne, will be three in March and daugh-ter Addison is currently 18 months.

It was family that precipitated the move to the Chica-go suburbs. “My wife is from Prospect Heights and we thought it would be good for us and the kids to have them to grow up around family,” he said.

Mr. Haugens also likes to stay fit, enjoys golf and hopes to someday run a marathon. Other activities include coaching and officiating basketball, serving as a Salva-tion Army Tree of Lights Volunteer and being an Op-timist Club member. He not only promotes, but also models the pillars of character.

“I believe that education is about more than test scores,” said Mr. Haugens. “I want students to become great members of the community who demonstrate character, leadership and responsibility.”

Patrick Haugens

The Talented Students of DuJardinDuJardin students

showcased their skills for their

classmates and parents in the

annual DuJardin Talent Show.

Curriculum for the FutureThe Illinois State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010 to replace the Illinois State Standards. The Common Core Standards are designed to be deeper, clearer, more rigorous and more closely aligned to college and career readiness. As part of this shift to Common Core, the ISAT test will be phased out and replaced with the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests in the 2014-15 school year. Twenty percent of the questions on this year’s ISAT tests, which students took in early March, were aligned to the Common Core.

“We’ve been slightly ahead of the curve on implementing the Common Core,” said Superintendent Dr. Jon Bartelt. “We’re systematically adjusting the curriculum to meet the demands of PARCC testing.”

Over the past few years District 13 students have scored exceptionally well on the ISAT exam. Last year, both Westfield and Erickson were recognized on the Illinois Honor Roll for academic excellence.

“The focus of our staff development work the past few years has been geared toward implementing the Common Core,” said Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Dr. Amanda Belanger. “Using the

Understanding by Design (UbD) framework, staff have worked to align the District 13 curriculum to the new standards.

“UbD starts with the end in mind. Curriculum is designed backwards, beginning with a standard and building a curriculum that has students achieving that standard at the appropriate time.”

“The maps give us a visual representation of our curriculum and without them, the critical conversation of increasing student achievement would have little meaning,” said Dr. Bartelt.

The Board of Education initiated Strategic Planning to take the annual district goals one step further. Focus groups of teachers, administrators, students, parents and community members were convened to determine district priorities for the next five years. The plan will be unveiled in May or June and the administration will work over the summer to develop initiatives to meet the goals of the plan.

“Though these transitions can be difficult, I believe we’ve done the right things to adjust our curriculum and prepare our students to the greatest possible degree,” said Dr. Bartelt.

Eighth grader Benji Wortsman (center) teaches Erickson 5th grade teacher Mary Kay Lepore (left) about WeVideo software as technology teacher Paul Taylor looks on.

Developing the ProfessionAt the most recent institute day, District 13 teachers took part in a wide range of professional development sessions to expand their knowledge base and repertoire of teaching tools. In most cases, they learned these skills from each other. Thirty different staff members shared their expertise with their colleauges in sessions entitled, “Wisdom Begins in Wonder,” “Demystifying the Close Read,” Technology Tools at Your Fingertips,” and “Text Complexity: A Closer Look.” One of the day’s sessions was taught not by a staff member, but by 8th grader Benji Wortsman. He instructed staff members in the use of WeVideo, a video editing program in the cloud. Benji demonstrated the use of basic editing tools, saving and sharing files, and the advantages and disadvantages of WeVideo compared to Windows Live Movie Maker.

“Benji comes in to help other students and will be assisting in Spanish classes as those students are

creating videos,” said technology instructor Paul Taylor. “This shows the level of sophistication of some of our students and also demonstrates our staff’s willingness to learn.”

Bloomingdale School District 13164 S. Euclid AvenueBloomingdale, IL 60108DuJardin Elementary School630-894-9200

Erickson Elementary School630-529-2223

Westfield Middle School630-529-6211

Board of EducationMr. Terry McKeown, PresidentMs. Tamara Peterson, Vice PresidentMrs. Linda Wojcicki, SecretaryMrs. Diane BirkleyMrs. Fina KlcoMrs. Susan LancasterMr. Cary Moreth

AdministrationDr. Jon Bartelt, SuperintendentDr. Amanda Belanger, Assistant Superintendent for Learning

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

CAROL STREAM, IL

PERMIT NO. 1152

A Phonetic Phenom “It was a challenge,” commented Erickson 5th grader Andrew Mill-er when asked why he participated in the District 13 Spelling Bee. Andrew took part in the bee in 3rd and 4th grade and became the D13 champion this year. With that victory, Andrew qualified to compete in the DuPage County Bee.

Andrew faced-off against 25 other top spellers in the county and finished the competition tied for fourth place. Only three eighth graders bettered that performance.

“My dad and I practiced about an hour every week until it got clos-er, and then we practiced every day,” Andrew explained about his preparation for the competition. “Even though I didn’t win, it was an accomplishment to be tied for fourth.”

Andrew plans to continue to be involved in the Bee when he moves to Westfield next year. So, don’t be a bit surprised to turn on your TV next spring and see Andrew on the stage at the national competition.

Erickson 5th grader Andrew Miller poses before competing in the DuPage County Spelling Bee.