Unit 5 News and Special Events

Unit 5 names new principal at Parkside Junior High School

July 26,2010

McLean County Unit District 5 has named Dan Lamboley the principal of Parkside Junior High School for the 2010-2011 school year.

Mr. Lamboley spent nine years as an administrator and teacher in Unit 5, last serving as the associate principal at Kingsley Junior High School. He spent the past year as the principal of Olympia Middle School in Stanford. He also taught in the Tri-Valley and Peru school districts.

“I welcome Dan back to Unit 5,” Superintendent Gary Niehaus said. “He brings a strong curriculum background that will help the students at Parkside Junior High School achieve academic excellence.”

Lamboley graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts and Illinois State University with a Master’s in Administration and Foundations.

As a building administrator, Mr. Lamboley led a school instructional leadership team, established school improvement plans and participated in numerous curriculum committees. He is married to Michelle Lamboley, Asst. Director of Special Education for Unit 5. They have two children.

“Parkside Junior High School has a tradition of success and pride and I am committed to sustaining and building on these traditions as the principal,” Mr. Lamboley said. “I am fortunate to have been able to be the principal at Olympia Middle School, and value the time and experiences I have had the past year. I now look forward to working with the staff and families, at Parkside Junior High School as we collaboratively strive to ensure success for all students.”

The board will officially approve Mr. Lamboley’s appointment at its August 11 board meeting.

June 25,2010

Late Start Wednesdays 2010-2011

Beginning the 2010-11 school year, Unit 5 will implement 10 Late Start Wednesdays, which will have all students arriving one hour later than regular school start times.

Purpose
To allow Unit 5 staff members to meet for 90 minutes of job embedded professional development and collaboration, which will improve classroom instruction, enhancing the learning opportunity for students, despite the state’s financial crisis. Research supports ongoing, sustained, results oriented collaboration.

The common meeting time will allow teachers to:

• continue training in literacy practices and assessments

• develop student achievement goals driven by data

• collaborate in the development of instructional strategies.

• develop common course assessments.

• analyze assessment data to guide instruction.

• collaborate on differentiating instruction for students

• enhance classroom technology integration through training
  
  Dates
  
  The dates for Late Start Wednesdays are:
  
  September 15
  September 29
  October 13
  October 27
  November 10
  January 12
  February 9
  March 9
  April 6
  May 11
  
  Start times
  High School - 8:15 a.m.
  Junior High - 8:45 a.m.
  Elementary - 9:30 a.m.
  
  Transportation
  Buses will run one hour later. Students should be at their designated bus stop one hour later than scheduled pickup time during school year.
  
  Reasoning
  Within the current budget constraints, this change is essential, as it will save almost $1 million currently spent for professional development and substitute teachers. Unit 5 teachers, administrators, and Board members agree that to continue the level of professional development needed to promote differentiated practices within the budget constraints, job embedded collaboration is necessary. The additional professional development time will continue to prepare teachers in implementing successful teaching practices in the classroom, thus benefiting each student.
  
  Measures of Success

• Course teams establish differentiated instructional practices to enhance student achievement.

• Learning teams will monitor and document progress towards meeting student achievement goals and course objectives.

• Increase in standardized test scores including ISAT, EXPLORE, PLAN, PSAE and ACT.

• Survey data collected from students, teachers and parents

• Documents created to enhance literacy learning environment

• Increased use of technology learning tools in all classrooms

• Data collected from student achievement on common assessments

June 24, 2010

Normal Community High School’s Kevin Sues Awarded
Grosvenor Teacher  Fellowship

Kevin Suess is the recipient of the fourth annual Grosvenor Teacher Fellowships, established by Lindblad Expeditions in 2006 to honor National Geographic Society Chairman Gilbert M. Grosvenor’s lifetime commitment to geographic education.

The fellowships were awarded to six teachers nationally who demonstrate excellence in geographic education. They were donated in perpetuity to the National Geographic Society by Lindblad Expeditions to mark Grosvenor’s 75th birthday and to honor his service in enhancing and improving geographic education across the United States.

Kevin will travel this summer on an in-depth exploration of Arctic Svalbard aboard Lindblad Expedition’s ship, National Geographic Explorer. His journey will take him within 600 miles of the North Pole where he will experience the midnight sun set against the wilderness of towering glaciers, wild polar bears, walruses and some of the largest whales on earth. This adventure of a lifetime led by the unparalleled expertise of their Lindblad-National Geographic expedition team will provide her a wealth of knowledge to educate and inspire her students to explore and care about their planet.

More Information

 June 10, 2010

Normal West High School Wind Ensemble to International Music Festival

The Normal West High School Wind Ensemble (Normal, IL USA) is among two high school bands and four high school orchestras selected for the World Projects Los Angeles International Music Festival at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

The Normal West Wind Ensemble will perform its Los Angeles Preview Concert at 7:00 PM on Thursday, June 17, 2010 at the Miller Park Pavilion (Bloomington, IL). Admission is complimentary, and the concert is open to the public.

In addition to their performance at the Los Angeles International Music Festival, the Normal West Wind Ensemble will create a studio recording in a Disney Soundtrack Session as a part of the park’s Magic Music Days (Sunday, June 20) and perform at the Disneyland Carnation Garden Plaza Stage (Monday, June 21).In recognition of the group’s musical accomplishments, Mayor Christopher Koos proclaimed June 20 through June 26, 2010 as Normal West Wind Ensemble Week in the town of Normal. To view the proclamation in its entirety, visit http://www.normalwestbands.org/documents/proclamation.pdf

Walt Disney Concert Hall has been the new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its doors opened in 2003. Designed by architect Frank Gehry, the Walt Disney Concert Hall is one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world, providing both visual and aural intimacy for an unparalleled musical experience. The Hall is named recognizing Walt Disney’s devotion to the arts as well as the Disney family’s total contributions to the project, totaling over $100 million. The WDCH has been featured on the big screen in The Soloist (2009) and Get Smart (2008). For additional information about the WDCH, visit www.laphil.com.

To prepare for their Los Angeles tour, the Wind Ensemble has worked closely with the following guest artists: Dr. Mike Fansler (Director of Bands, Western Illinois University), Dr. Joseph Manfredo (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Steven W. Eggleston (Professor of Music, Illinois Wesleyan University), Dr. Charlie Menghini (President, VanderCook College of Music, Chicago), Robert Sheldon (Composer and Concert Band Editor, Alfred Music Publishing Co, Inc.), and Dr. John Bell (Professor of Music, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville).

The Normal West High School Wind Ensemble is comprised of 56 of Normal West’s finest student musicians and is conducted by Lisa Preston and Ryan Budzinski. For additional information, visit www.normalwestbands.org.

May 10, 2010

Unit 5 names new principal at Glenn Elementary School

NORMAL, IL . . . May 10, 2010 . . . McLean County Unit District 5 has named Julia Schoonover as the principal of Glenn Elementary School for the 2010-2011 school year. The position will be effective July 1. Mrs. Schoonover will take the place of Carmen Bergmann, who is becoming the principal at Prairieland Elementary School.

“Mrs. Schoonover’s leadership skills, her experience as a SAM at Pepper Ridge and her background with summer school, have prepared her to run her first elementary school,” Superintendent Gary Niehaus said. “She will be an excellent addition to Glenn.”

The Board of Education will officially approve Schoonover’s appointment at the May 12 board meeting.

Mrs. Schoonover is currently an administrator at Pepper Ridge Elementary School, serving as the School Administration Manager (SAM). She brings with her many years of classroom experience, having spent seven years as a teacher at Fox Creek Elementary School and five years as a teacher at Parkside Elementary School. She has also served on the district social studies task force, as a district math curriculum chair and as a Unit 5 mentor.

Last summer Mrs. Schoonover was the director of Unit 5’s special education summer school programming, a position she will hold again this summer.

“I am thrilled to become a member of the Glenn community,” Mrs. Schoonover said. “It is my goal to build strong, collaborative relationships with the students, staff and parents in order to continue the tradition of excellence that is associated with Glenn Elementary School.”

Mrs. Schoonover graduated from Millikin University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education, and she earned her master’s degree in Educational Administration from Illinois State University. She is married to Brigham Elementary School principal Geoff Schoonover and has one son and one daughter attending Unit 5 schools.

May 10, 2010

New Business Manager to join Unit 5

Erik Bush, the Chief Financial Officer for Peoria County, has been named the new Business Manager at McLean County Unit District No. 5.

The Board of Education unanimously approved Mr. Bush’s hiring at its April 28 board meeting, and the position will be effective July 1. Mr. Bush will fill the position of outgoing Interim Chief Financial Officer, Martin Getty.

“I welcome Erik as a valuable addition to Unit 5,” Superintendent Gary Niehaus said. “He has shown outstanding leadership skills while at Peoria County and has all the credentials necessary to help Unit 5 through these difficult economic times.”

Mr. Bush brings with him an extensive background in finance and management. As Chief Financial Officer for Peoria County, Mr. Bush is responsible for a $125 million operating and capital budget. During his tenure there he was a key engineer of a balanced 2010 fiscal year spending plan which included no tax increases, layoffs, or material reduction in services. The plan represented an 11 percent reduction in appropriation from 2009. Mr. Bush also implemented in-house financial statements and the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report preparation, providing more financial accountability and a direct cost reduction in financial reporting costs.

“I'm coming into Unit 5 with my eyes wide open from a budget standpoint, having just been through the process of reducing the county's budget by multiple millions of dollars,” Mr. Bush said. “I found the relational side - communicating with people, listening to concerns, informing them to the true scale of challenges and opportunities - to be the area where the heavy lifting needs to occur. Building trust is important and more difficult than reading a balance sheet.”

Prior to coming to Peoria County, he served as City Administrator for the City of Flora, Ill., where he managed 110 employees and a $25 million budget covering municipal services as diverse as electric and natural gas pricing and distribution, to economic development and public safety. Mr. Bush also served as the Director of Finance and Information Services for the City of Warrenville, Ill.

Originally from Burbank, Calif., Mr. Bush enlisted in the Navy as a radar technician upon graduating from high school. Following his naval career, Mr. Bush earned his Bachelor of Science in Workforce, Education and Development from Southern Illinois University and his Master of Public Administration degree - with concentrations in urban management and fiscal administration - from Northern Illinois University. In his free time, Mr. Bush is an award-winning marathon runner.

Mr. Bush will be relocating to the Bloomington-Normal area with his wife and their four children.

“Unit 5 presents an amazing opportunity for me professionally, and my family personally,” Mr. Bush said.
“Unit 5 is an excellent organization and I hope to add to that through my fiscal and communication skills. It's bittersweet too, though, as Peoria County has been very good to me. It's not often a person is presented the opportunity to create a business operation from scratch, but the county supported me every step of the way in establishing a competent finance function there.”

March 16,2010

Unit 5 names new principal at Prairieland Elementary School

NORMAL, IL …March 16, 2010…McLean County Unit District No. 5 has named Carmen Bergmann as the principal of Prairieland Elementary School for the 2010-2011 school year. The position will be effective July 1. Mrs. Bergmann replaces Tim Arnold, who is leaving the district at the end of the school year.

“From the time Prairieland opened, I have heard great things about the faculty, students and families. I am excited to continue the wonderful traditions at Prairieland,” Mrs. Bergmann said. “I look forward to building new relationships with the Prairieland staff, students and parents as we work together to provide an excellent learning environment.”

Mrs. Bergmann has been a teacher and administrator in Unit 5 for 16 years, and is currently principal at Glenn Elementary School. She has served in that position since 2007. Prior to that, Mrs. Bergmann was principal at Carlock Elementary School. She also taught at Northpoint and Pepper Ridge elementary schools. Mrs. Bergmann completed her student teaching at Parkside Elementary. She has served on numerous Unit 5 committees and helped launch Unit 5’s Illini Data project.

The Board of Education will officially approve Bergmann’s appointment at its April 14 regular meeting.

“Mrs. Bergmann is a wonderful administrator,” Superintendent Gary Niehaus said. “She has the experience necessary to continue the tradition of excellence at Prairieland.”

A graduate of Illinois State University, Mrs. Bergmann earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Science degree in Educational Administration. Mrs. Bergmann currently is attending classes to earn her superintendent certificate.

Mrs. Bergmann is married to John Bergmann, who is a teacher at Normal Community High School. They are both Unit 5 graduates. The Bergmann’s have three children in Unit 5. In her free time Mrs. Bergmann enjoys supporting her children’s sporting events, running and watching Cubs baseball.

“This is a bittersweet time for me because I love Glenn, yet I am ready for the challenge of a larger building,” Mrs. Bergmann said.

February 2, 2010

September 14, 2009

August 21, 2009