St. Charles school district to host ‘Listen, Learn, Return’ sessions Wednesday

St. Charles School Superintendent Paul Gordon helped lead the district's listening session Thursday at St. Charles East High School.

St. Charles School District 303 is holding two “Listen, Learn, Return” sessions for students, staff and families on Wednesday, Feb. 1 to discuss recent survey feedback.

The first session is from 9-11 a.m. and the second is from 6-8 p.m., both at the Haines Center, 305 S. 9th Street in St. Charles.

According to a news release from the district, the meeting will focus on action steps for the operations theme, which is one of four prominent themes to emerge from the surveys. Participants expressed concerns about the size of district buildings, noting overcrowding issues in some facilities and the impact on student learning and staff.

Last fall, the district held multiple in-person sessions and conducted online surveys asking for feedback on the district’s challenges, opportunities for growth and points of pride. There were over 2,000 participants who provided feedback during the in-person sessions and online surveys. From that feedback, 13 total themes were identified, which align with a district department or collection of services, the release stated.

“When we started these community conversations last fall, our intention was always to return to share what we learned. Now we’re excited to enter the next phase of our Listen Learn Return initiative, when we share how your feedback is helping move us forward,” Superintendent Paul Gordon stated in the news release. “Our goal is to provide you with a status report of the action steps for this theme. While there is still work to be done, it is important that we continue to engage our community along the way and inform you of the processes driving our work.”

The Feb. 1 morning session will be recorded and a video posted online that summarizes the meeting. Questions about the operations theme can also be submitted in advance from attendees and non-attendees and will be answered during the meetings.

The three other prominent themes the district is currently reviewing are administration, staff and student services. These themes specifically included feedback on policy, a voice in decision-making, staff salaries, professional development, behavioral intervention and student consequences, according to the release.

Additional community meetings will be scheduled as the district continues to establish action steps for these themes, the release stated.

Learn more about “Listen, Learn, Return” and view survey results at district.d303.org/llr.