Tuesday’s District 428 School Board meeting tackled a number of important issues, first looking at how to appropriately support the important extended-day programs at Chesebro Elementary School and Huntley Middle School.

Before-school program

Fifty students are participating in the school’s before-school program, but that number is increasing, said Chesebro Principal Rafael Segarra. “The before-school program is the key for those students not achieving at their academic level.”

Chesebro was also recognized for translating its Web site into Spanish.

Chesebro has seen an increase in students participating in the school’s lunch aid program from 41 to 58 percent of students. Segarra pointed out the statistic to note that the district needs to pay attention to Chesebro’s significant low-income population and the demand for the program.

More special needs students

“We are seeing an increase in special needs students,” said Huntley Middle School Principal Roger Scott. As Huntley approaches having 45 special needs students, they will have to watch their progress closely, for the students will be tracked as a sub-group on standardized tests. If that were to happen, the school would need to devote more money to their educations.

Another goal for Huntley is to increase instructional time in math and reading, Scott said.

One way Huntley is increasing math time is by incorporating its use into other classes, a sort of math across the curriculum program.

Asking for tax rate increase

At a public hearing on the tax levy, School Board 428 announced it would ask for a 3.3 percent increase in the tax rate.

We are “basically just asking for standard of living increases,” said MeriAnn Besonen, assistant superintendent of Business and Finance. “The increase will not be much to taxpayers.”

The tax levy will be on the agenda for a vote Dec. 13.

Looking to add new courses

DeKalb High School submitted its own information on adding two new courses. One is a multi-cultural literature course titled “Narratives in Diversity.” The semester-long course for juniors and seniors offers an intensive reading and writing component, said Linell Lasswell, assistant superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.

DHS would also like to offer an accelerated Spanish II curriculum to complement last year’s addition of accelerated Spanish I.

Both courses have been approved by the District Curriculum Council and will be up for vote, also on Dec. 13, Lasswell said. A percussion class along with a math elective could also come up for vote on the same day.