Lake County Gazette

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 has introduced a new process called “Rounding” to improve communication and address concerns among new teachers. Superintendent Dr. Jeni Gotto learned about this method during her superintendent training in the summer of 2024 and has implemented it district-wide for all first-year teachers.

Dr. Gotto said she is now able to understand what is on the minds of new teachers, such as April Wine from Colorado STEM Academy, not through surveys or chance encounters but by meeting directly with them through Rounding sessions. She noted that this approach has already led to positive changes and helped resolve several issues raised by teachers last year.

According to Studer Education, Rounding involves three main actions: thinking differently by encouraging leaders to act as collaborative team members; planning differently by making Rounding an ongoing part of strategic planning and empowering teams; and acting differently by using feedback from these meetings to build trust, improve service, and enhance communication throughout the district. The goal is for education leaders to engage actively with staff, students, and community members for continuous improvement.

A recent visit with Dr. Gotto was documented by What’s up WPS cameras as she met with staff as part of this initiative.

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 covers numerous schools across Lake County, including Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School, Carman-Buckner Elementary School, Clearview Elementary School, Daniel Webster Middle School, Early Learning Center, Glen Flora Elementary School, Glenwood Elementary School, Greenwood Elementary School, H.R. McCall Elementary School, Hyde Park Elementary School, Jack Benny Middle School, John S. Clark Elementary School, Little Fort Elementary School, Lyon Magnet Elementary School, Miguel Juarez Middle School, North Elementary School, Oakdale Elementary School, Robert E. Abbott Middle School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Washington Elementary School, Waukegan High School and Whittier Elementary School (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

The district serves a diverse student body that is 3.2 percent White, 13.2 percent Black, 79.5 percent Hispanic and 1.3 percent Asian (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). There are 1,014 teachers in the district who earn an average salary of $63,524 before pension contributions; women make up about 71 percent of teaching staff while men account for nearly 29 percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). Notably none of the teachers have more than ten absences in a school year.

In terms of spending per student in 2020 Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 spent $23,429 per student for a total expenditure of $359 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

"Rounding isn’t just about asking questions; it’s about acting on the feedback," according to Studer Education's guidelines included in the district's announcement.