U-46 Citizens' Advisory Council seeking parent, community volunteers
Parents and community members interested in shaping districtwide initiatives are invited to join Elgin Area School District U-46's Citizens' Advisory Council.
The nearly 60-year-old council has worked on numerous projects, including student-led conferences, boundary changes, the district's curriculum and career fair, realtor breakfasts and seminars for parents of children with special needs.
"CAC is one of the best avenues for parents and the U-46 community to voice their observations and advocate for students' current and future education," Chairwoman Melissa Owens said. "Being involved in the council is the first stepping stone to improve educational success in our ongoing efforts to improve our schools."
Each U-46 school can have up to seven members on the council, of whom five are appointed by the school and two at-large members. Council representatives serve as liaisons between schools and the district. CAC advises and assists the U-46 school board and administration in providing the best possible educational opportunities for students.
The council meets once a month to share ideas and become informed about ongoing district initiatives and issues. CAC committees also meet monthly and focus on curriculum, family and community engagement (FACE), and specialized student services.
The curriculum committee collaborates with district staff and helps with implementation of new programs. In recent years, the committee helped implement Eureka Math, kindergarten through eighth-grade science programs and full-day kindergarten. Last year, the committee helped launch a curriculum fair that will be offered again this year. "Explore 2016: A U-46 Community Curriculum and Career Expo" will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 1 in Building J at Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.
The FACE committee introduced student-led conferences where students share their own academic work and progress with their parents while teachers are present. The committee also hosts realtor breakfasts during the school year to help guide area realtors on programs and services U-46 offers.
CAC also offers ongoing parent groups, such as parent-teacher organization/parent-teacher association networks, that meet two to three times yearly to share best practices and learn from experts.
The specialized student services committee provides resources within U-46 and outside the district to support students with special needs. In 2013, the committee partnered with the district's special education department and created an informational video, in English and Spanish, to help parents understand their child's individualized education program (IEP) that includes a written plan to meet each child's needs.
The committee will offer parent seminars this year between late September and March on a variety of topics, including community employment for special education students, recognizing anxiety attacks and impulse controls, and recreational opportunities available outside of school. The first seminar will cover Eureka Math, an introduction to resources for parents who did not use this curriculum, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in Room 240 at the Educational Services Center, 355 East Chicago St., Elgin.
CAC also will be working with U-46 staff and community members to review recent audits of the district's Career and Technical Education and Academy programs.
Last May, the district administration awarded the CAC enrollment and facilities committee the "Volunteer of the Year" award for spending more than a year working on elementary-level boundary changes that resulted in moving about 600 students to improve efficiency and use of building space.