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Schools

Board Briefs: Lots of Honors at District 219 Meeting

New food lauded, Niles North science teachers among top in the state and board member a top dentist.

New food hits the spot

The new food service provider at Niles North and Niles West high schools has been a big hit with students and staff.

“There’s no doubt the students are loving it - the prices, the quality, the quantity,” said Cody Lefkowitz, Niles West student government representative of the Niles Township High School District 219 school board.

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School board vice president Sheri Doniger, who led the committee that chose Organic Life to provide food at the schools, said that she has been impressed.

“I’m a very picky eater, and everything I have had has been good,” she said.

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Some prices have gone up, but portions are larger so that students are getting good value for their money, she said. The district has also made a point of reversing the usual pricing policy, charging less for healthy items and more for junk food.

Earlier:

Tops in science

The Illinois Science Teachers Association presented the Niles North High School Science team with its first-ever Excellence in Science School Award. The new award recognizes excellence in science teaching and learning at the school building level. It was designed to recognize schools whose science teachers embody a special creativity and dedication in their work, developing a solid understanding of science for their students. 

ISTA Past President Gwen Pollock and ISTA member Rita Januszyk, a teacher at Gower West Elementary School in Willowbrook, presented the award to the Niles North Science teachers at the Sept. 12 District 219 school board meeting. Januszyk came up with the idea for the award. 

“What a privilege it was for me to read the application and see the video about the excellent science going on at Niles North High School,” Januszyk said. “Niles North embodies an excellence in science instruction across a school with all members fully engaged in a collective vision of what is best for teaching and learning science. As the first award recipients of the ISTA Excellence in Science Award, Niles North High School sets a high standard and example that we hope will serve as a blueprint and inspiration for schools across the state.”

The ISTA Excellence in Science award program is built on the concept of Critical Mass. Critical Mass describes the contributions of each member of the school’s team, all working toward achieving a common goal associated with success in the sciences for their students. Critical Mass depends on the special talents and skills of each member, realizing that the success of science teaching and learning is a shared, common responsibility of the teachers, administrators and the larger school community. 

Niles North’s award application was spearheaded by science teacher Suzy Trzaskus. Other members of the Critical Mass Team are: Mike Beeftink, Christine Camel, Ingrid Erickson, Brad Greenspan, John Kretsos, Lisa McKenna, Gina Milanesio, Conrad Musleh, Jacki Naughton, Scott Reed and R.J. Thielsen.

Algebra help adds up

Hundreds of students have benefited from District 219’s summer school programs, which prepare them for higher levels of math. Incoming freshmen who are not ready for Algebra I are placed in an algebra readiness class. A third of them were ready for the class by the end of the summer. Those who weren't ready will have an extra period of algebra support, said Anne Roloff, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Students who were not quite ready to take geometry as freshmen were offered an algebra proficiency class. Eighty-eight percent of the 76 students who took algebra proficiency were placed in geometry at the beginning of the school year. Combined with the number of incoming freshmen who placed out of algebra on the placement exam, 223 freshmen started their high school math sequence with geometry.

“This is life-changing,” Roloff said, because students who take geometry as freshmen are on track to take calculus as seniors, which is necessary for many college math and science programs.

Board member honored

District 219 school board vice president Sheri Doniger has been named one of the Top 25 Women in Dentistry by Dental Products Report. Doniger was one of five dentists across the country recognized this year. She operates a solo dental practice in Lincolnwood and is editor of the Chronicle, an online newsletter offered by the American Association of Women Dentists. Doniger also writes a column called Dental Diaries for drbicuspid.com, an online national publication that covers the dental industry.

Besides her contributions to the industry, the award recognized Doniger for her volunteer work in the community. In addition to serving on the school board, she is also a member of the Village of Lincolnwood Police and Fire Commission.

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