ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, the Rochelle School District 212 Board of Education received an update from Principal Chris Lewis about upcoming events at the high school as well as recent awards presented to Rochelle Township High School staff members.

Lewis said that Parent Communication Week was held from Feb. 12-16 this past week. Lewis said the goal of the week is for teachers to contact parents regarding students with either ‘D’ or ‘F’ grades and schedule potential conferences for those students. Lewis said the Parent Communication Week is designed to replace the school’s old Parent Conference Model.

“We felt years ago that the old parent-teacher conference model was obsolete,” Lewis said. “Nowadays, parents have instant access to grades and attendance. We’ve gone to a new model where I want to make sure that every student with a ‘D’ or a ‘F’ has been communicated to in person by the teacher. That’s been our process and teachers have a few weeks to do this.”

During his update to the board, Lewis said that RTHS will once again be partnering with the City of Rochelle for its upcoming Hiring Expo, which will be held Thursday, March 7 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for junior and senior students. The event will be open to the public from 12 to 2 p.m.

“This was developed with the city during the pandemic, when there were tons and tons of jobs that businesses were looking to fill,” Lewis said. “We’ve also been using this as an opportunity for our juniors and seniors to take advantage of going to this and potentially finding a career.”

Lewis said that planning for the 2024-25 school year will continue throughout this semester. Counselors and students met last month to begin signing up for classes. Counselors and students are meeting this month to review four-year plans and summer school sign-ups will start in March. Lewis said the master schedule will be created in April and disseminated in May.

Awards

Two RTHS staff members were recognized for their service during Tuesday’s meeting. AP Calculus teacher Tim Hill was honored for his reception of the ISBE Those Who Excel Award of Meritorious Service, while counselor Tasha Hacaga and school resource officer Jim Jakymiw were named RTHS Critical Thinking Award winners for the months of January and February.

Jakymiw was honored for his assistance during a medical incident involving senior student Alivia Henkel at RTHS earlier this month. Henkel and her family were in attendance during the board meeting, where Lewis thanked Jakymiw as well as Dean of Students Brett Zick and teacher Alison Vrana, who were also in attendance and assisted in the medical emergency.

“It was one of the scariest days I’ve had here and it was truly a team effort,” Lewis said. “It was truly a team effort and we have a lot of great people here. It feels really good to see you guys here and I want to express how appreciative I am of the team here.”

Personnel

The board approved personnel changes including the resignations of Jeff Truckenbrod (assistant boys and girls tennis coach), Talina Nava (assistant softball coach), Haleigh Nelson (dance coach) and Nelson Baker (Interact Club advisor).

Board members also approved the employment of Kyle Kissack (assistant girls track coach), Katie O’Rorke (assistant girls track coach), Kevin Hunt (assistant softball coach), John Michael Loggins (assistant boys tennis coach), Joseph Primrose (substitute bus driver), Mark Glosser (bass fishing coach), Ben Harvey (volunteer assistant wrestling coach) and Landon Mosley (technology support specialist).

Lastly, board members approved one transfer for Jennifer Howard (long-term substitute to substitute (full-time spring semester)). 

Agenda Items

The board approved its 2023 fiscal year audit report as well as a 10-year health life safety survey, paving bids, a request to sell old equipment and a push coin agreement.