Story by Kevin Woodard
The Unit 5 Community Engagement Committee (CEC) met Friday June the 3rd to begin planning the 2022/23 Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) calendar. According to the Unit 5 website, “The Council was created by the Unit 5 Board of Education in 1948 as a means of encouraging public participation in educational planning. It is currently composed of over 65 members who serve as a liason between the district and its community. The mission of the Council is to foster district-wide dialogue and examine topics of interest.”
Attending Friday’s CEC meeting were Board Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle, Dr. Kristal Shelvin, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Board Member Kelly Pyle, Board Member Kentricia Coleman and Dayna Brown, Director of Communications and Community Relations. Because board members rotate committees each year this was the first meeting of this particular group of individuals.
The task at hand was to set forth a tentative schedule for the year for both CAC and CEC meetings. As the Unit 5 website describes, “At least five general membership meetings of the CAC are held throughout the year.”
During the past school year meetings were held virtually due to COVID-19. What the district learned was that attendance was better at the virtual meetings than it was at traditional meetings. Therefore the CEC decided for the 2022/23 school year they will schedule the first meeting as an in person event so that people can get to know each other through socializing then hold the other four meetings virtually to maintain the increased attendance since public participation is a main goal.
The CEC set tentative dates for the CAC and CEC meetings and the schedule will be presented to the public at a later date. The CEC will send out a survey to CAC members to solicit topics of interest that they might like to see presented at their meetings.
The website describes the membership of the CAC as being, “composed of parent representatives from each school attendance center, as well as at-large members who reside in the district, but do not have children attending Unit 5 schools during their term.” For those interested in participating, “Application to the CAC is made at each school, with the parent organization defining its own selection process. At-large applications are submitted to the district office. The CAC officers select at-large representatives after reviewing application forms, giving special consideration to obtaining a membership that: is committed to active participation, possesses a variety of applicable skill sets and is representative of Unit 5 communities.”
