St. Charles School District to start listening sessions later this month

St. Charles School District 303 leaders want to hear from the community.

The district later this month will start its first round of listening sessions, which will be hosted by Superintendent Paul Gordon, who recently started with the district.

The listening sessions are part of the district’s new community engagement plan titled Listen Learn Return. The first session will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 31 at the Haines Center, 305 S. Ninth St., St. Charles.

There also will be a second session that day from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Haines Center.

There will be a third session from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 6 at Bell-Graham Elementary School, 4N505 Fox Mill Blvd., St. Charles.

Another round of listening sessions is set to take place at the end of the year and a third round will be scheduled next spring.

“I think that’s been a hallmark of my superintendency, to engage our community,” said Gordon, who started with the district July 1. “It’s really about trying to make sure that we’re engaging all aspects of our community. My new chief communications officer Scott Harvey and I have been working closely together to develop a wide-ranging communication strategy and communication plan for our district. We’re excited about being able to hear from our community members about our schools.”

Gordon said the first round of listening sessions will cover a broad spectrum of topics.

“We want people to tell us about D-303, about what’s working, along with maybe some of the challenges and other things that they want us to know,” he said.

Gordon previously served as the superintendent of the Wenatchee School District in Wenatchee, Washington. Before that, he served as superintendent for Glen Ellyn School District 41 for six years. He succeeded Jason Pearson, who left the district to become the superintendent of Northbrook School District 28.

During a recent school board meeting, board member Matthew Kuschert said he hopes the listening sessions will increase community engagement and increase the amount of voices that are heard within the community. Gordon said he will be conveying to board members what is being said at the listening sessions, a point reiterated by Harvey.

“There’s going to be a lot of continued dialogue throughout this process,” Harvey said. “And this first round of meetings is really going to guide where we go.”