Naperville School District 203 officials have announced a new initiative aimed at increasing transparency, building deeper connections within the community, and shaping the district’s future direction.
Superintendent Dan Bridges announced the program, Forward Together 2032, in a presentation at a board of education meeting Monday, Aug. 17.
‘Human-centered’ approach, superintendent says
A number of goals are at the heart of Forward Together 2032, Bridges said, including strides to rebuild trust and connection with the community in response to transparency-related concerns that have arisen.
Bridges in his introductory remarks on the plan described it as “human-centered” for visioning Naperville 203’s future in the years ahead. Students, parents, staff, and the broader Naperville community will be invited to participate in the initiative, Bridges indicated.
“The process is intentionally designed to identify the experiences and conditions our community values most and seeks to rebuild trust and connection, elevate authentic stakeholder voice, and collaboratively shape the 2032 community framework,” Bridges said.
There are a number of components to Forward Together 2032, including a preliminary community survey via the district’s website, small group discussions among different district stakeholders, publication from administrators of a “What We Heard” report, design workshops, and the actual introduction of the report.
Transparency concerns raised at recent board meetings
Bridges’ announcement of the yearlong initiative comes on the heels of a range of transparency-related concerns residents have raised at recent board meetings.
Public comment at the most recent board meeting lasted more than an hour, and, at one point, the meeting was recessed because a speaker went over his allotted 3-minute time limit and would not stop speaking when asked to do so.
Some of the transparency concerns, such as Bridges’ contract renewal through 2031, are more recent; others, such as the innovative school day proposal, occurred in prior years.
Speaking as a district parent, Councilman Josh McBroom addressed the board at its recent meeting and asserted transparency has been lacking within the district for a prolonged period of time.
“There’s public frustration, as you see, with the district right now, and people feel like they’re not being heard,” McBroom said. He later commented, “Parents in this district, I can tell you, have not felt like 203 boards have heard them for a very long time.”
Rich Wistocki, a retired detective with the Naperville Police Department, also spoke at the recent board meeting.
During his tenure, Wistocki said he attempted to reach out to Naperville 203 officials for Internet safety presentations, while noting he also gave the same overtures to Indian Prairie School District 204. While District 204 officials responded to his invitation, Wistocki said the same scenario did not occur in District 203.
“I just don’t know why we were never allowed into 203 schools to do these great programs,” Wistocki said.
Recently retired Naperville 203 employee Holly Bergmann also addressed the board at the recent meeting and shared a staff perspective on the transparency concerns. Bergmann said the district’s FMLA policy lacks transparency.
“I’m here because I’ve listened to these parents describe this pattern of withholding information,” Bergmann said. “I want you to know that I have dealt with the same pattern for a full year over FMLA and other disability issues.”
Bergmann later stated, “Transparency should exist without a request for it.”
Other public commenters at the recent meeting addressed the ongoing concerns around a teacher’s alleged inappropriate behavior that a parent raised this summer and a teacher’s public grievance concerning his desire to speak on his beliefs concerning Palestinians’ rights within the classroom.
Student safety district’s “highest priority”
Bridges read a prepared statement later in the meeting noting that student safety is the district’s “highest priority.”
“The district does not ignore or dismiss reports involving student safety or staff conduct,” Bridges said. “Any concern brought to school or district administrators is addressed promptly through established review and investigative procedures.”
He noted state and federal privacy laws require the district to protect student confidentiality rights and teacher rights, but added, “the limitations on our ability to comment on such specific matters should not be taken as any failure on the part of the district to act in that matter or any other.”
Bridges added that those with concerns about a student being harmed at school can also contact police and other protective agencies, particularly if individuals feel the district has not adequately addressed them.
Board members weigh in on proposal
As for the Forward Together 2032 initiative, Bridges and other Naperville 203 administrators within his cabinet heard varied comments from the board of education on the plans in motion, with most in support of the processes in place.
Amanda McMillen said Forward Together 2032 is another opportunity to hear from the community.
“I really love this idea because it gives us an opportunity to step outside the formal meeting format and go into the community and ideally be proactive and hear from people and staff directly,” McMillen said.
Kristine Gericke said she was “excited for this,” and also commented she was appreciative of administrators’ efforts to obtain community feedback through multiple means.
“What I like about this is that small group thing because I know, for me, I do better in a small group,” Gericke said. “I feel like I can engage more in a small group. What I’m hoping the community sees here is multiple opportunities to engage, whether you prefer to do it through a survey or there, in person.”
Melissa Kelley Black expressed concerns with the framework in place for Forward Together 2032. She said her preference is to have an outside third-party firm facilitate the process.
“Every school district should seek meaningful input from its community,” Kelley Black said. “The problem is that this proposal asks the public to trust the very people who caused that trust to erode. The timing alone raises serious questions, just days after approving a 5-year contract to the superintendent.”
Board President Charles Cush said he is enthusiastic for the possibilities ahead that can be gleaned from the feedback tools. He encouraged the community to invest the time and participate.
“The more input we get, the better the output is going to be,” Cush said. “The more voices we hear, the better the output is going to be.”
Timeline and next steps outlined
Bridges indicated the processes involved in formulating the Forward Together 2032 plan are intended to span the next year.
The district launched a “Forward Together” tab on its website after Bridges’ presentation. The page currently features a button for community members to take an initial survey as the process gets underway.
Bridges indicated all Naperville 203 households will soon receive a postcard with a link and QR code to the page.
Based on the information Bridges shared at the meeting, the timeline includes beginning the small group sessions, described as core chats, in October and November. Work and dissemination of the “What We Heard” report will occur in December and January.
Additional steps include plan design workshops from February to April, plan refinement in May and June, and finalization of the plan and board adoption in July and August of next year.
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