Triad’s new math curriculum update led off April administrator reports

By Editor | May 7, 2026 |

By Charles Bolinger

Editor • Triad’s administrative department heads gave their April reports ahead of the April 27 board of education meeting and added to them as needed that evening.

New Math Curriculum Pilot

Amy Van Hoose, director of curriculum and financial projects, told the superintendent and board that the new mathematics curriculum pilot materials have begun arriving.

She described the summer timeline. “Teachers will have access to both print and digital resources throughout the summer. A virtual training will be offered in June to support teachers in navigating the platform and to provide an opportunity for early exploration. In addition, McGraw-Hill will offer a series of webinars and short training sessions over the summer.

“In-person professional learning will take place closer to the start of the school year to ensure teachers are fully prepared for implementation,” she concluded.

Renée Voegele, director of student programs, shared some news about the district’s Preschool For All program.

“I am excited to share that our Preschool For All (PFA) received the additional grant funds that I shared last month,” she said. “Our district was fortunate to receive both additional grant monies totaling almost $192,000 for our program.

“We were able to cover our outstanding operating expenses from transportation, salaries, supplies, and student snacks. In addition, our PFA classrooms are adding a gross motor track and extending the fenced playground area. The team is adding a tricycle path complete with stop signs, mailboxes, light posts and community buildings. It will allow the students additional space to play and incorporate the gross motor equipment that we are unable to include in our current playground structure. It also provides additional safety measures as we will be fencing in the back door area where students meet the buses and transition to the playground. I have already amended the grant and received approval for the above plans.”

Due to receiving this grant, she added that the district’s grant allotment for next year was also increased by approximately $140,000.

Mike Wielgus, director of technology services shared some technology updates. First, the technology department has moved out of the administration building to a single-family house on the northwestern corner of the Triad High School campus, near US 40.

“So they’ve moved all of our storage and all the technicians are out there full-time,” he said. “It’s a little different to have them over there but we’re making it work.”

Skyward – New and returning student online registration was released on May 1. Information is posted on all websites and social media channels with information on how to enroll/register

Phone Update – We had our kickoff meeting with our new phone vendor in anticipation of switching all district phones over this summer. It was a good initial conversation and things are in motion for the early stages of transition to take place starting in May
Summer Tech Help – Three TSI students will act as summer tech help as Wielgus’ department will refresh nearly 1,200 Chromebooks (second-fifth grades, eighth grade and 12th grade), deploy 40 interactive flat panels across the district and other routine technology maintenance. Summer is always a busy time for the technology department and we have found that having summer help is tremendously advantageous in order to accomplish tasks needed to compete before school starts
Apple Mac Beta Test – SY 26-27 – His department will begin a beta test with select staff to use Macbooks for the 26-27 school year. The purpose is to gauge effectiveness and connectivity in the different environments to explore the possibility of switching to Mac devices for our staff refresh for the 27-28 school year. We have asked for staff volunteers for this beta test and the response has been very positive. The tech team is looking to put the Macs into environments that will test the compatibility and functionality of all external connected displays and peripherals. We will continue to use Chromebooks for the student population in the years to come

Kowalski, director of special education, reported that she has the keys to Knights Crossing and she showed off some interior photos now that everything is in its proper place.

Parent Survey 2026

She said a parent survey was conducted regarding the special education services provided by the district. Of the 68 parents who responded, satisfaction scores across the board averaged 4.7 out of 5! Families feel that their kids are safe, well-supported, are making real progress and are genuinely cared for by staff.

What’s going really well

Overall, families report strong communication and partnership with staff. Parents feel heard and respected when they bring concerns, and they note that IEP goals are clear and easy to understand. Staff is described as responsive and open to parent input, contributing to a positive and collaborative relationship between home and school.

Families also expressed high confidence in special education services. Teachers and support staff are viewed as knowledgeable, caring, and committed to student success. IEPs are being delivered as written and students are benefitting from meaningful peer interactions and inclusive opportunities. Academic, behavioral and social-emotional supports are described as solid and effective.

In terms of student progress, families report steady and meaningful growth. Students are making progress toward IEP goals, particularly in communication, language and social-emotional development. Increased independence and improved literacy skills were also commonly noted.

Room to grow

While overall feedback is positive, families identified a few areas for growth. Communication is not always consistent across staff and some parents expressed a desire for more frequent progress updates. Families also noted interest in expanding inclusive and extracurricular opportunities, as well as increasing access to executive functioning supports and interventions.

This survey is a testament to the hard work and compassion of our special education staff and the trust that families place in our district. The overwhelming positive feedback validates our commitment to inclusive, high-quality services. We are grateful for this feedback and remain committed to delivering special education services that families can trust!

Associate Superintendent Dr. Rodney Winslow was next to report.

Dual Credit Report

One of the items the board approved during this meeting relates to the Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) Dual Credit and Running Start Agreement(s) for 2026–2027, said Associate Superintendent Rodney Winslow. There are 651 Triad High School students enrolled in this program, saving an estimated $561,000 in tuition, he noted. This is an increase of 62 students over last year.

Henderson clarified on April 29 that, “The tuition savings is just an estimate on what we have saved our families by helping their students get college credit through our dual credit classes,” he wrote. “So that amount was figured out by looking at how many college credit hours our students have gotten and how much it would cost if they had to take those hours at a college or university.”

These agreements usually get signed every fall but we are making a concerted effort to have the agreement in place prior to the start of the 2026–2027 school year.

The Running Start Agreement is for juniors and seniors who solely attend SWIC on their Belleville or Granite City campus and earn both high school and college credit. These students pay tuition and are able to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time. During this school year, we have five juniors and seniors utilizing Running Start. Dual credit at SWIC is taught by our THS staff and allows students to earn high school and college credit at the same time at no cost. The benefits of both programs are significant for our students, parents and community. I encourage you to review the 2026–2027 SWIC Dual Credit Report attached to this board report; THS statistics are found on the last page. I modified this report to include only our District’s data metrics.

Diligent Community Migration

Winslow said they are less than a month away from transitioning fully into Diligent Community (DC). “Our directors and principals have placed all of their April reports into DC, along with all the other sections found within BoardDocs. We continue to learn as we become more familiar with DC and its capabilities. On May 4, Board Docs shifted to a read-only site,” he continued. “The launch date for the public side of DC remains May 15, with the board’s first meeting after launch taking place May 18. BoardDocs should be deactivated in early June.”

Choosing Furniture with MBI

One major activity of this building project is choosing furniture with Modern Business Interiors (MBI). Selecting furniture that balances student and teacher flexibility with durability is no easy task. It has involved many iterative discussions between our representative and Triad staff to provide input first on the design and then on product selection. For Marine Elementary, product examples were brought to the school so teachers could evaluate with their students whether the furniture matched classroom needs. At the high school, teacher input was highly valued in selecting products that would allow students to complete their art and culinary creations while addressing each group’s storage needs. One of the action items for today includes approval of the furniture for these projects, along with the renderings of each space provided by MBI.

Parenting Plans and Enrollment

As we prepare next year’s online enrollment in May, I have been working with our school secretaries to confirm that we have parenting plans for students whose parents are divorced or separated. Typically, we request these parenting plans during initial registration; however, we have found that we don’t always receive up-to-date information when living situations change. Per Illinois statute, “When both parents retain legal guardianship or custody, the resident district is the district in which either parent who provides the student’s primary regular fixed night-time abode resides; provided, that the election of resident district may be made only one time per school year.” For school residency, the student should be living with the parent who is a District resident. This is something we are emphasizing with parents in this situation, and we have developed a means for them to assure us of residency with a notarized signature if residencies have changed since a parenting plan was put into place by the court system.

School Fee Balance

The following list demonstrates a reduction in the balance of school fees for this school year.

Dec. 15, 2025 – $248,802.62
Jan. 15, 2026 – $194,156,39
Feb. 15, 2026 – $128,134.89
Mar. 15, 2026 – $86,817.19
Apr. 15, 2026 – $59,892.95

Then it was Dr. Henderson’s turn.

Over the summer, he said there will be minor updates to the board room via acoustic panels, which should tamp down on the echoes and reverberations in the room as well as adding some Triad-centric décor to the room to brighten and freshen it.

The next Triad School Board meeting is May 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the district’s administration headquarters, 203 E. Throp St. in Troy. The meeting date is a week earlier than usual due to Memorial Day on May 25.