The Proviso High School Township District 209 Board of Education voted to bring deans back to schools.
The action item was approved 5-1. Board member Rodney Alexander voted against the item. Board member Arbdellla Patterson was absent.
The recommendation, presented by interim superintendent Alex Aschoff, comes as a way to help school administrators handle behavioral and disciplinary issues.
“Our Building Administrative Teams are spending a large portion of their time handling student disciplinary issues,” Aschoff said. “This impacts the amount of time administrators can dedicate to necessary core instructional needs throughout the day.”
According to the presentation, Proviso campuses reported 2,742 incidents throughout the 2022-23 school year.
Aschoff asked for five deans to be split between the three schools: two for Proviso East, two for Proviso West, and one for Proviso Math and Science Academy. According to interim superintendent Luke Pavone, D209 in the past had eight deans: four at East, four at West, and none at PMSA.
“We need support at our buildings for discipline,” Aschoff said. “I have my building administrators here and they will tell you that a large percentage of principals’ days are solely focused doing discipline and we know that their support is absolutely crucially needed for instruction. But because of the disciplinary aspect, that time is being spent there.”
Board member Rodney Alexander said he disagreed because he believes that adding the dean position back to the roster is a decision for the new superintendent, and because deans did not address disciplinary issues in the past. Proviso has been searching for a superintendent since 2023.
“There is a reason why we removed the deans and there is data that supports that,” Alexander said. “When we had dean in the buildings, the fights were just as much as we have now.”
The board had already agreed on not making those types of changes, Alexander said.
New Board President Samuel Valtierrez agreed.
“To me it is important. At least give us until September – we are continuing the superintendent search,” Valtierrez said.
Others said the decision could not wait.
Sandra Hixson, board vice president, said the addition of deans was something that had to be done “as soon as possible.”
“We have heard all of last school year that our schools need deans,” board Secretary Jennifer Barbahen said. “They need discipline support. Our principals have been begging. Our teachers have been begging. Everyone. Parents. Security has been begging for deans.”
Waiting for a superintendent is not an option, she said.
“We need to do something now because our students matter even if we don’t have a permanent superintendent,” Barbahen said. “This is the way that we can do that. Now. And it is in our budget.”
Proviso East Principal Rodney Hull said that waiting for a superintendent would mean that this “wouldn’t get off the ground” in time for the new school year.
“If there is going to be a change, it needs to be made,” Hull said. “Because we [principals] are being evaluated off of what Aschoff just presented. We are held accountable…we are being asked to do a thousand things but we are also being asked to raise scores. We cannot be in two places at the same time.”
Approving the addition of deans is a way to “move the needle for academics,” Barbahen said.
Proviso West Principal Elizabeth Martinez said the number of support staff at the high school who help with behavioral issues has dwindled from seven to two.
“It is physically impossible for anybody to do to the level of integrity that we need it to be,” Martinez said. “We want to focus on instruction … we are all instructional leaders, but when we are doing behaviors and discipline, which is the majority of our time, we are unable to focus on teaching and learning. When kids aren’t engaged with teaching and learning, that is when the behaviors increase.”
Pavone acknowledged that the district can review data before moving forward with the hiring process, which he said would need to start around June to ensure good candidates.
“The longer we wait, we aren’t getting premium candidates,” Pavone said.
“We probably want people to start bringing in some restorative practices into our district. I am not sure if they did that when they had things prior, but there are different programs now that we can try to go off of,” Pavone said.
The five approved positions will be posted by Jun 15.
Each position will cost the district $80,000 to $110,000 per dean depending on experience. Aschoff told the board that the district can afford the positions.
Aschoff also said that initial reviews suggested the district needed 10 deans: four at East, four at West, and two at PMSA, but they cannot recommend that number now because of cost.
“I can say that we can afford those five,” Aschoff said.
Alexander asked Aschoff and the team to later demonstrate how the deans would be used in schools.
Valtierrez agreed.
“A year from now, six months from now, if we say this is now working, it failed, the next time you bring us something you need to bring it as the board requests,” Valtierrez said.
The next board meeting will be held on June 11 at Proviso Math and Science Academy.