Students win state golds; board approves consent agenda and cybersecurity purchase

Students and advisors told the board that the district’s SkillsUSA chapter competed at the Illinois state level, bringing home multiple medals and awards and earning national invitations.

“Through about six hours of that competition, I came out the next day and seen that I had won gold, first place,” student Adrien Jimenez told the board, describing a first-place finish in computer applications and the opportunity to compete at the national conference in June.

Administrators and the board praised the career-and-technical education program’s community service work and preparation for national events. The board approved the district’s attendance at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (June 1–6, 2026, Atlanta) as part of a larger consent agenda.

The consent agenda included multiple curriculum and partner renewals, software subscriptions, and the district’s purchase of a managed-endpoint security platform (CrowdStrike) funded by a cyber-security grant. Board members emphasized the need for safeguards and teacher training for new instructional tools and said administrators should monitor usage and outcomes.

The consent agenda, moved by Mr. Riddle and seconded by Miss Fabian, passed on a roll-call vote with all members voting yes; individual items were discussed before the omnibus vote. Board members also approved operations renewals including bus contracts and a High Park playground improvement.

Administrators said some textbook adoptions for Washington High School (accounting and business) will include both online access and classroom hard copies, and the digital materials can be made available in Spanish.

Next steps: SkillsUSA students will prepare for nationals in June; administrators will report back on implementation and usage monitoring for newly approved curricular software.