LM april 2021 final hi

Dr. McGuire is also one of the founding superintendents of the Illinois Personalized Learning Network, along with Dr. Ken Wallace (Maine Township High School District 207), Dr. Jennifer Kelsall (Ridgewood HSD #234), Dr. Tom Mahoney (Oregon Community Unit School District 220) and Dr. Hank Thiele (Downers Grove HSD #99). The Illinois Personal Learning Network is a group of Illinois superintendents that have joined together to build a broad network across the state to provide support for school districts to grow and improve their Personal Learning programs by connecting to other districts to grow a learning network. Dr. McGuire presented on IPLN at IASA’s 56th Annual Conference with Dr. Wallace, Dr. Kelsall and Dr. Thiele. “We want to be able to help schools implement more personal learning,” Dr. McGuire said. “The learning journey needs to be personal to each individual learner.” Elevat g McGuire ... cont’d.

Schwemmer ... cont’d.

credits to graduate. Instead of sitting through extraneous classes, the students serve as teaching assistants at the district’s school for preschool through eighth-grade students. The initiative was started as a way to expose Black students in the district to the teaching profession. “We had students in our senior class tell us how important it is to have more people in the profession that looked like them,” Dr. Schwemmer said. “Our kids have loved it and our teachers have also recognized it’s their responsibility to make this profession more attractive.” Dr. Schwemmer has also been at the forefront of thinking outside the box on strategies to reduce burnout with staff and improve culture— two issues magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Weekly yoga classes, self-care challenges, feeding frenzies, staff surveys, spirit wear days and the promotion of pop-and-sub are among the innovative approaches implemented in the district. “The smallest gestures can help tremendously,” Dr. Schwemmer said. “You will be amazed at the level of productivity you get from your students, if your staff is healthy and happy.”

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LM April 2021