Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Communications topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents urge clearer notice and supervision after student walkout; district recommends ParentSquare rollout
Summary
Two parents thanked the district for allowing a student-led walkout but asked for earlier notice and parent volunteers; the board’s communications task force recommended ParentSquare as the unified mass communications tool, with a phased rollout and a first-year cost presented as just over $15,000.
At the start of its March 11 meeting, the District 59 board heard two parents urge clearer communication and more adult supervision surrounding a recent student-led walkout.
Mindy Larkin, who said she has children at Ridge and Grove, told the board she appreciated that the district "allowed for that to happen" as a student expression but asked for earlier notice to parents and an option to sign students out. She said the walkout felt student-led and recommended that parents be given the opportunity to volunteer to help supervise so the protest message doesn’t get lost in safety or supervision issues.
Deb Benke, also identifying herself as a Ridge and Grove parent, echoed the request for clearer notices and suggested a preplanned route so students would be supervised and deviations could be addressed with school consequences. “If they had a little loop and anyone who deviated would have consequences,” Benke said, arguing that supervision, not policing the message, should be the priority.
Separately at the same meeting, the district’s communications lead presented a task-force recommendation to adopt ParentSquare as the district’s unified communications platform. The presenter said the task force unanimously recommended ParentSquare after demonstrations and staff input, and that the phased rollout will begin with district and building leaders in 2026–27. The presenter gave the projected first-year cost as “just over $15,000,” and said that this is lower than the current combined annual spending on School Messenger (approximately $18,000) and Smore (about $3,000).
The communications lead noted the district will phase rollout to avoid overwhelming staff and families and that the board will have a view-only or supervisory access level. The ParentSquare recommendation is scheduled as an action item at next month’s board meeting.
What’s next: The district will bring a formal action to the board next month on ParentSquare and continue follow-up on questions about walkout supervision and parent notification.
