There were no requests to speak at the meeting today.

Susie Girard updated the board that we have drafted a new "Privilege of the Floor Policy" and it is making its way through the Governance Committee before coming to the board for a vote.

Sergio Martin Explained the interview format: The Board will ask each candidate a set of questions.  They are the same for all candidates.  

• Matt Yezukevich welcomed Dr. Art Fessler to the meeting and asked him to introduce himself.
  • 33 years in education. 24 years in administration
  • Biology teacher
  • Coach High/Middle school Basketball
  • Married with five children
  • Elementary/Middle School principal
  • Superintendent 11 years southside of Chicago
• Anissia Vixamar -Could you please provide some clear examples of how you would ensure your visibility in our School?
  • Block time on his calendar to visit schools and keep a log to ensure he is sharing his time equally with all schools, not just the ones closest to his office
  • Build Trust
  • He acknowledged that a superintendent visiting could make some people anxious and worked hard to put people at ease.
• Anissia Vixamar -Could you please explain the methods you will use to tune into potential school problems and to stay attuned to them?
  • Office hours
  • Has a list of open-ended questions for stakeholders. Students, Staff & Parents
  • sends surveys to get anonymous answers too
• Anissia Vixamar -What do you consider to be your major strengths as an administrator? What are your areas of opportunity for professional improvement?
  • Strengths
    • Teaching / Learning side: Professional development, building principal, starting with the end. Likes "being in the mix," a good communicator
  • Areas for improvement
    • Prioritizing his time.  Works long hours
• Todd Tetreault -Please provide some specific ways of how you would judge your effectiveness as an Interim Executive Director and how the Board should evaluate your work and effectiveness.
  • Seeks feedback via the 360 tool
  • sets strategic goals with metrics
  • 3-4 informal reviews each year to do check-ins with staff
  • 100-day entry plan and reviews every 100 days
• Todd Tetreault -Please tell us how you would build consensus and develop teamwork among those individuals and groups you serve.
  • Build to ownership. Top-down pyramid
  • Work with Board, Staff
  • Setting a plan
  • Conversations with understanding
  • Ask the right questions throughout
  • Key is to set a career plan in Elementary School
• Badawi Dweik-Please be specific about why you want to serve as our Interim Executive Director at this time in your professional career.
  • Retired at 55 for a lot of reasons from Illinois. Can't continue to work in education in Illinois due to retirement status.
  • Down on education at the time
  • Media stories made things difficult
  • Would like to take another shot at it
  • Likes the size and diversity of FRCS
• Badawi Dweik-Is there any additional information you would like to share?
  • Collaborative working style
  • Important to have an understanding with the Board
  • Chain of command is key to clarify
  • Have working agreements
• Susanna Girard -What questions do you have for the board?
  • What are the Top areas to focus on 
    • Susie stated DE&I, Staff Recruitment & Retention as well as Student Recruitment & Retention.
    • Matt Explained the roller coaster the school has been through in the last few years including COVID and frequent changes in leadership.  Spoke of the teachers being a top priority this year if we can only choose one.
  • What is the school district good at?
    • Pivoting to deal with the issue as they pop up
  • Who does the school address DE&I issues?
    • The school has student groups, A board committee dedicated to DE&I as well as training programs.
• Susanna Girard-Please give us your closing statement.
  • Passionate 
  • High energy
  • Approachable
  • owned a small company
  • understands leadership
  • Asked board members to think about 2-3 names of our school teachers that made an impact on us and why.

Susie Girard requested we table the minutes from 20SEP2022 so she could be prepared to take notes.