The March 11, 2026 Board of Education meeting video recording is now available.
Meeting Recording Includes:
Open Session Meeting
Superintendent & Boards Reports
MARCH 2026 Highlights:
Share the Love Food Drive Student & Program Recognition
Resolution for use Bond Interest Funds
Administrator Reports
Mrs. Kim Maher - Director of Communication, Development, and Safety:
The district Threat Assessment Team, along with the building principals, met on February 23rd. The team reviewed the forms and documents developed as a result of our previous time spent together. Time was spent ensuring consistent understanding as well as planning for practical application of the plans and Targeted Violence Prevention Program. Using a scenario example, the team identified areas for refinement and improvement. In March, our SEL team will meet to review and revise pieces of the assessments and the team will reconvene for a final time on March 23rd.
Returning student registration is taking place and parents have the opportunity to register at a discounted rate through April 15th. Registration for new families and Kindergarten students will begin on March 16th.
Mrs. Cheryl Donovan - Director of Curriculum and Instruction:
ISBE is on track to finalize the Illinois Numeracy Plan on June 10th. You can review the second draft here.
District wide, we completed the state required ACCESS assessment of our English Language/Multilingual Learners.
Students in grades 3-8 will begin IAR testing next week in the areas of math and reading. 4th through 8th grade were selected to take a field test so they will complete one additional assessment for reading.
This past month our eighth grade social studies department articulated and completed observations with Lincoln Way West. We thank Lincoln Way for their partnership as we work together to ensure a smooth transition for our students from 114 to 210.
Mrs. Julie Hantson - Director of Special Education:
Our 2025-2026 Student Services Community Night is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 2025 (5:30pm-7pm) at Wilson Creek School. We have a variety of activities, vendors, animals, and a sensory truck confirmed for attendance for that night.
ESY registration is in progress for Summer 2026! We are still looking for staff to work for 843.
Our district is up for ISBE Indicator 8: Parent involvement survey. The Indicator 8 Parent Involvement survey was distributed to the parents of students with disabilities in our district to determine how well schools throughout the state are involving parents in their children’s education. Parents have received them and have begun filling them out and sending them back to the state.
Administrators at Wilson Creek and Mrs. Hantson continue to attend remediation meetings for
Preschool compliance in regards to having students in the LRE and access to general education peers.
Thank you to our Social Workers in the district for all they do! We just celebrated School Social Workers Week this past week: March 2nd-6th.
We are in the process of planning for next year.
Ms. Cari Rohe - Wilson Creek:
It's been a busy month at Wilson Creek! We held our Blast Into Learning Family Night late February. We had 540 students enter the building with their parents and even grandparents! Families were able to complete an escape room challenge, stomp on rockets, make their own blow rocket, etc. Student art work was also on display around the building for students to show their families their projects! The book fair raised over $5000 in sales and the raffles raised over $1,000. Mrs. Schoppe even dressed as an astronaut! Fun was had by all!
Our Kindergarten students showcased their musical talent a week later! Mrs. Miller Amato did an excellent job having the students show what they have been learning in music class. Wilson Creek is not only the foundation in the district for early literacy and math skills, but also developing student's abilities and knowledge in the area of music! Families packed the Wilson Creek commons to cheer on the Kindergarteners!
We hosted 2 Incoming Kindergarten Informational sessions where we reviewed what the registration and screening process looks like as well as reviewed Kindergarten pre-readiness skills! We are currently in the process for planning our screening days and getting ready to support our incoming families!
Wilson Creek is currently running the S&T pizza setup fundraiser as well as collecting quarters in honor of President's Day! The quarters will be used to purchase a George Washington sycamore tree in honor of America's 250th Birthday! Students also took their spring photos!
Our February Pride Assembly honored the Whitson Family and celebrated the Honesty character trait! Students came together to sing our school songs while all wearing their pride gear! We handed out certificates to all of the students of the month who have been exhibiting Honesty!
Our preschool classrooms recently launched a new Creative Curriculum study on Weather. Through hands-on activities and daily observations, students are learning about different types of weather, how weather affects our daily lives, and how people prepare for and enjoy changing conditions. The study supports early science inquiry while also strengthening language, literacy, and problem-solving skills through play-based learning experiences.
PFA and EC staff will host our Spring Family Involvement Day on March 26. The event will begin with our annual Spring Fashion Show, followed by hands-on, “make-and-take” style literacy, math, fine motor, and STEM activities in the preschool classrooms. These activities are designed to foster caregiver–child connections while helping families extend learning from school into the home. Preschool for All inquiries are at an all-time high, and enrollment for the upcoming school year is filling more quickly than usual. We have two additional preschool screenings scheduled this spring, with one final screening planned in August to help finalize rosters for the 2026–2027 school year. These screenings also support the district’s Child Find responsibilities by identifying young children in the community who may benefit from early childhood services.
Mrs. Elise Kirk - Anna McDonald:
LW Art Show- Thank you to Mrs. Davis and all MSD114 art teachers for their hard work and time preparing for the LW artworks show. The show is on March 14th at Lincoln Way East.
Edward Tulane- All 2nd and 3rd grade students received a copy of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo for a school-wide reading event. We encourage students to read at home each week and participate in a weekly raffle. Our literacy night on April 21st will be themed around this story!
Music/Choir Club- The second session of music club and choir began this month. Thank you to Mrs. Bloom and Mrs. Davis for your dedication and time!
Read Bowl- Anna Mac participated in Read Bowl, a school-wide event promoting literacy across the grade levels. As a school we read over 326,000 minutes!! Congratulations to Mrs. Mancke and Mrs. Donovan’s class for reading the most minutes and earning a pizza party!
IAR- Our 3rd grade teachers have been working hard to prepare students for IAR testing later this month. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to ensuring students are prepared. Best of luck to our students that will take state assessments at the end of the month.
Specials Superstar: Each month our Art, Music, PE and STEM teachers nominate two students that demonstrate outstanding character. Their picture is displayed on our Specials Superstar wall and they receive a certificate and trophy.
Character Strong- This month we are learning about Cooperation and celebrating our Cooperative Koalas!
PTO- Thank you to our PTO and volunteers for planning our Spring parties at the end of the month. I hope everyone enjoys their Spring Break!
Mr. Ryan McWilliams - Manhattan Intermediate, Director of Buildings and Grounds:
Manhattan Intermediate School
Our Math Dept continues to work together through the math curriculum. MIS should be in a good place finishing this school year and starting 2026-27.
The ELA Department also continues to enhance Tier 1 instruction in reading. Work is also getting done at both 4th and 5th grade with writing instruction. The group will also soon pilot materials for Spelling & Language Arts.
Mrs. Ramsey and Mrs Boersma have done a nice job working with the Math Department integrating geometry concepts into STREAM classes prior to IAR testing.
Good luck to Mrs Palonis as she heads into her maternity leave.
IAR testing slated to begin March 16th. Good luck to all our kids and staff. We will do awesome… no sweat.
Thank you Mrs Abbott for once again planning our IAR pep assembly. We must be getting close to 20 years of planning!
A big thank you to our PTO and all our parents for hosting spring parties March 27th.
A thank you to the entire Ole MIS staff who continue to make MIS a safe, warm, & inviting place for our kids and living the mission of "Better today than yesterday & Better tomorrow than today."
MIS Literacy Night & Art Show is April 30 from 5-630pm
Buildings and Grounds
Once weather breaks work will be started dressing up the MJHS concessions area. A retaining wall, paver edging and asphalt will be added to the area.
Boilers at WC will be inspected March 11th.
Chillers across the district will be serviced prior to switching over to cooling. This work is consistent with our commitment keeping our equipment properly maintained.
Mr. Vince Perillo - Manhattan Junior High:
5Essentials Survey: MJHS students have started to complete the 5Essentials Survey during Morning Advisory. As of Thursday, March 5th 97% of students, 67% of staff, and 27% of parents have completed the survey. To help with parent completion of the survey, MJHS will be holding a competition between morning advisory classes to see which group can have the highest completion rate.
National Junior Honor Society: With the end of Trimester 2, candidate information packets were made available to all current seventh-grade students as well as any eighth-grader who is currently not a member of National Junior Honor Society. To be considered for NJHS, students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.80 over the last five trimesters. Those individuals who have that academic achievement that submit their candidate information packets are then scored on a matrix in four pillars: leadership, service, citizenship, and responsibility. Packets must be submitted by Thursday, March 19th. The Induction Ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 23rd.
IAR Testing Preparation: MJHS staff members passed out and went over the students previous year’s IAR scores during morning advisory to allow the students to reflect on their learning and testing and to set goals for the upcoming tests. Math and ELA teachers will be conferencing with the students to create action steps to help the students best prepare for IAR in April. Thank you to Meghan Petschinsky and Michele Hallihan for their help in ensuring both students and staff are ready for the IAR Tests.
All content areas have begun academic preparation for the IAR test in their instruction by reviewing the concepts, skills, and standards the students have learned this year and will be tested on. Staff members are also working with students on areas such as how to navigate the testing system, testing strategies, and more.
IAR Testing is March 18-20 for reading as well as March 23-25 for math.
Reading Challenge: To promote interest in reading as well as stamina, MJHS started a Reading Challenge for students during school hours. Students have earned House Points by being caught reading (at appropriate times) in classes outside of ELA, such as morning advisory, math, science, and more. Thanks to Mrs. Meghan Petschinsky for her lead with this initiative.
Manhattan Food Panty Donations: Thanks to the work of Ms. Tooley, Mrs. Pierce, Mrs. Dunlap, and a bunch of our MJHS students, our school was able to provide a donation of $2750. Students brought in items and money to earn a chance at pieing a staff member in the face. Thanks to all the staff members and 3 board members who volunteered to be a part of the school-wide assembly on Friday, February 27th, as the culmination of this charitable work!
Leprechaun Traps: On Friday, March 13th, Rooms 500, 502, and 503 will host their 16th Annual Leprechaun Traps for staff and other adults. The students always amaze the audience with their designs and presentations of their work!
Washington D.C. Trip: Fifty-nine 8th-grade students are excited to travel to Washington DC March 12th - March 15th! We are appreciative of the following staff members making this possible: Mr. Carl Minuth - Program Leader; Mrs. Jamie Smith - Chaperone; Mrs. Maria Hora - Chaperone; Mr. Ryan Dylla - Chaperone. Deepest thanks are extended to Manhattan School District 114, including the parents and especially the school board, for allowing our school this tremendous opportunity!
Athletics: MJHS Bowling is in full swing over at Laraway Lanes with the competitive season picking up now. Track and Field will begin practicing next week and Manhattan will be hosting Sectionals again this year. Congratulations to our Manhattan Wrestling team for winning their IESA Regional Tournament. The team will be sending 15 individuals to compete at Sectionals on Saturday, March 7th.
The IESA State Wrestling Meet is March 13th-14th. Our 7th grade Girls’ Volleyball team fought hard in the second round of Regionals. 8th grade Girls’ Volleyball Regionals begins this week. Manhattan Athletic Summer Camp information will be coming out soon for students to sign up.
Music: All of the music groups, under the direction of Mrs. Pedziwater and Ms. Perkne participated in their Step-Up Concerts at Lincoln-Way West and received fantastic feedback. The 6th-Grade Concert Band and the Symphonic Band will host their IGSMA Pep Rally Wednesday, March 11th.
IGSMA Competition: The MJHS Orchestra hosted competition on Saturday, March 7th with Choir competing at Hickory Creek the same day and Band hosting their competition at MJHS on March 14th.
On Saturday, February 14th, all members of the Madrigal Singers and Chamber Orchestra competed at the IGSMA Solo and Ensemble Contest at Mokena JHS. ALL students who competed received a division 1 rating!