March 24, 2026
Meeting Title: Action Ridge General Meeting
Date: 3/18/26
Location: Park Ridge Community Church/Jordan Hall
Time Called to Order: 7:08 PM
Attendees: See sign-insheet (24 plus speaker)
MINUTES
1. Welcome:
Nan Parson opened the meeting and welcomed all attendees, especially those attending for the first time. Noreen Gayford, who couldn’t attend the meeting, submitted a petition (passed around) to ask Congress to approve the ERA.
2. Notifications/reminders:
a. Reminder about the No Kings Rally--3/28/26—Liz Swanson
i. Park Ridge rally will begin at 12:00 Noon and end around 1:30 pm.
ii. Gather on Touhy between Summit and Prospect.
iii. Register to participate on the Indivisible website.
iv. Gather on 3/27 6-8 PM at PRCC to make posters in Jordan Hall.
v. There will also be a march around parts of UptownPark Ridge.
vi. Petitions to PR city council and to D64, regarding ICE activity in our town, will be passed around.
vii. Collection of household essentials will be available. Please bring donations.
viii. Volunteers are needed on the day – If you can help, see Liz Swanson or email actionridge2017@gmail.com.
ix. Elk Grove Village will also have an event on that day starting at 3:00 pm
b. Kate Kerin announced that Action Ridge is becoming a 501c4. Interest forms were available. Dues are $25 per person per year. You can:
i. Mail a check (payable to Action Ridge) to IanKahrilas at 249 Vine Ave. apt. A , PR 60068
ii. Pay cash at a meeting,
iii. Venmo (@lan-Kahrilas)
iv. Zelle (847-209-1217)
3. Guest Speaker: Alison Dauernheim, Director of Student Learning at District 64 and Director of the MTSS program and Student Culture and Belonging – Introduced by Valerie Halston, member of the AR Education Team
a. MTSS – which stands for Multi-tiered Systems of Support
b. Also covers Student Behavior and Culture and Multilingual Programs
c. District Demographics: 12% need special education; 8% are English learners (about 344 students speaking 44 languages with 11 multilingual teachers available); 4% low income. Overwhelmingly white and economically advantaged.
d. MTSS: 3 tiers of Support
i. Tier 1 -- What all students get. About 80% succeed at this level.
ii. Tier 2 – What the other 20% get in terms ofsupport. About 15% succeed with these supports.
iii. Tier 3 – What the last 5% need. A lot of individual planning and programming is necessary for this group.
e. Student Behavior and Culture Components
i. Proactive/Preventive Measures: Staff builds wide common area expectations and tiered systems of support to meet behavior and social emotional needs. There is an implementation of collaborative teams. CHAMPS is a District-wide classroom management program which means, Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation and Success. Each class uses this acronym to guide each activity.
ii. Instructional: Second Step. The Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum. Uses the SABER (Systems Approach for Better Education Results) tool for social and emotional learning screening (bi-annual administration). There is check-in/check-out and mentoring for middle school students with a trusted adult. Also, skills groups are formed as needed (additional tutoring).
iii. Reactive/Responsive:
iv. Responses are based on documentation. They define which behaviors need to be documented and could be handled by the teacher and which behaviors need to be dealt with by administration. The staff is starting to use restorative discipline to decrease the number of suspensions. Data is used to create building goals and direct programming.
f. Inclusive and Equitable Practices (starting but not currently district-wide)
i. International nights – celebrating different backgrounds held at the schools
ii. Live – streaming a translation tool at all schools
iii. ParentSquare – Communication translation tool
iv. “Speak Up at School” training for staff members to deal with racist comments in the classroom. Teachers are taught to Interrupt, Echo, Question or Educate when something inappropriate is heard at school. Training is just starting and voluntary at the moment (Field and Roosevelt).
v. Restorative Discipline – Alternatives to suspension
vi. Specialized inclusion programs – Trying to keep special needs students in the district.
g. Drafted Strategic Vision and Values to guide efforts. Developed by the district strategic planning committee including staff and specialists. Looking at what the model classroom in the district should look like. Also defining the model learner profile, including durable skills like collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
4. Question and Answer Period:
a. Would the district consider classroom-based pilots? Yes
b. Looking for input from parents and students? Not yet but on the radar. Using “Community Nights” for increased transparency and dialogue.
c. How soon will vision and values be in draft? Hope to finalize by June, 2026
d. What is the position of the district about ICE? Questions directed to Ben Collins, the district superintendent. Action Ridge has a petition asking the city to not allow ICE. A petition to D64 may be added.
e. Coordinating with District 207 to aide intransition from middle school to high school? Yes, having discussions.
f. How is the program engaging with parents whose children are experiencing difficulty in school? Samantha Alimo, who is the lead for Student Learning can be contacted. All of these programs report to her. Because of the huge workload, Alison’s position was created. Coffee Chats for parents with children who have IEPs are starting at some schools.
5. Introduction of the Student Group on Race Relations Program (SGORR)
a. A program for high school students to discuss racial issues and prepare 6th graders for the high school environment.
b. Mwende Lefler, city alderperson, is the lead on this but could not be at the meeting. She will follow up with Alison.
6. Other Business:
a. Susan Greenwood, Environmental Lead, reported that the City Council approved the “single use plastic bag” ordinance, which will Impact larger retailers including Walgreens and Jewel.
b. William Halleran suggested that election signs can be recycled for use at the No Kings rally/march. Just print up poster sized sheets at the library and paste on the signs.
c. The slides that Ms. Dauernheim used in her presentation are available on our website at actionridgepr.com on the Education page. If you were not able to attend her presentation, take a look there.
Meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm
7. Next General Meeting: In May, date to be determined.
Respectfully submitted by Sharon Kemerer and Nan Parson