Walgren Lawsuit Against D203 Dismissed:
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against District 203 and the city of Naperville filed by the parents of a boy who died by suicide after having a disciplinary meeting in January 2017 with Naperville North High School officials. The parents of 16-year-old Corey Walgren claimed that school officials caused “extreme, intolerable and excessive emotional and physical distress,” and violated their son’s rights when they met with him without his parents present, and insinuated that a suspected recording on his phone could result in him having to register as a sex offender. Walgren left the meeting and later jumped off a parking deck. The judge in the case ruled that the threshold to prove Corey’s rights had been violated had not been met, and that the questioning methods used, though “harsh and aggressive,” were ordinary interrogation tactics. The door is open for refiling a new complaint or appeal, though the family has not commented on any plans to do so.
Neuqua Principal Moving to New Job:
Neuqua Valley High School principal Bob McBride will be stepping down from his post to take a new job as the Superintendent of Lockport Township High School District 205. He’ll take over for Dr. Todd Wernet, who is retiring on June 30, and assume his new role on July 1. McBride has been principal of Neuqua for the past decade.
D204 Calendar Approved:
The District 204 School Board approved the 2019-2020 school calendar at last night’s meeting. The school year will start on August 19 and end on May 28. Of note is the addition of three half-day school attendance days due to new state code, and District 204 schools closing on March 17, 2020, as it is the day of primary voting for the 2020 presidential election. A few school board members discussed renaming Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but with no official word on changing it from the state, Columbus Day remains the holiday’s name on the calendar.
New Performance Assessment
School District 203 is revising its assessment practices, with the adoption of Northwest Evaluation Association, or NWEA, MAP Growth assessment. This benchmark literacy and numeracy assessment system for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade will replace the Performance Series assessment, which 203 has looked to replace for over a year. Administration and staff say NWEA MAP Growth will measure alignment for standards, and be a better assessment to predict improvement, growth, and achievement. Implementation of the new program will begin in the 2019-2020 academic year.
NCC’s Men’s Indoor Track & Field Ranked Number One:
In the latest Division III national poll, the North Central College Men’s Indoor Track and Field team moved up to the number one ranked team in the country. The Cardinals are led this season by seniors Dhruvil Patel, the defending indoor national champion in the 5000 meters and Luke Winder, a 6 time national champion in the pole vault. Winder and Patel were named the CCIW co-athletes of the week last week and Winder was the Division III track and field athlete of the week.
