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Message from the Superintendent
Happy New (School) Year! It always amazes me how a new school year appears to reinvigorate everyone. Each year brings the opportunity to start fresh - a new grade, new teachers, new classmates, new students, new rooms. When we experience the first day of school through the eyes of our students we experience the anticipation, the anxiety, the joy and the fears that every one of us has experienced in our life. The microcosm of school exemplifies the larger, though generally more sheltered, aspects of the world around us. My goal this year is to really look at our schools through our students' eyes, viewing the impact of decisions, programs and learning through the consumers' lens.
There have been a lot of changes over the past year. As I begin my second year in the district, I look back on all that was learned from the numerous
visioning sessions, presentations, and committee meetings that parents, teachers, students and community members attended and provided their feedback. I learned:
- La Grange School District 102 has an incredible parent community that volunteers countless hours to support their children's school;
- Teachers continue to strive to be better tomorrow than they were today;
- Students enjoy coming to school and learning and are not shy about sharing what works for them and what doesn't work for them;
- People are proud of where the district is, and want it to continue to become better each year;
- The passion for teaching coupled with the compassion I have witnessed in and out of the classroom has created an environment ready for the journey that education requires.
With all of these exciting things, we are also faced with yet another year of deficit spending. While our proposed budget has reduced the deficit, we recognize that the financial trajectory does not paint an optimistic picture without some significant changes. To that end, the Board of Education made some significant decisions through a reorganized fee structure, charges for transportation, and the decision to place a referendum on the November 2016 ballot. These decisions were made only after much thought and analysis of our historic, current and projected financial situation.
I will always remain an optimist when it comes to our children and their future. The high school class of 2029 started kindergarten this year. We owe it to these youngest District 102 learners to ensure that we, as a community, surround them with enriching and engaging curriculum and experiences in order to best prepare them for their future. As we continue to build upon the visioning sessions held last year, looking for ways to contain costs, we will keep our children and their growth in the forefront. I encourage you to stay informed, reach out and learn more about District 102 and how you can help support our future leaders, thinkers, workers, educators, etc. They are worth it!
Kyle
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Teaching and Learning Department
Welcome back from the District 102 Teaching and Learning Department. We are excited for the successes our students will achieve this year. We know that success in school hinges upon many factors -relationships, knowledge, and guidance (to name a few). These terms are linked to a key concept we are exploring and promoting here in the D102 - mentoring. At the core of any mentorship is the building of supportive relationship between the mentor and the protégé. There are several examples of mentorships occurring within the district and many more under development. We hope you enjoy learning about them through these three spotlights!
Twenty-four new staff members joined District 102 this fall. Each of these teachers are partnered with experienced teachers who meet regularly with them and engage in reflective dialogue regarding teaching and learning. This very important mentorship experience is designed to provide direct support and feedback opportunities to these new team members. Mentor teachers make themselves available to answer questions, problem solve, and collaborate. They connect their protégés to resources and other district personnel and assist with data analysis and differentiation in order to improve student growth.
A second mentorship experience in the district is focused on connecting school with the community. Ten adults from the community (many of whom are District 102 parents) will be mentoring nineteen 8th grade students. High ability students applied to participate, and the mentorships were matched based on student interest. Mentorships include such areas as architecture, health care, photography, and psychological/sociological research. Students meet monthly with their mentor to initiate and develop a project that is showcased in May. Although this is the fourth year of this experience, this year provides the most students and careers/fields represented. Thanks to our community, these students gain an experience that enriches the grade level curriculum.
Our third noteworthy mentorship is with our Instructional Coaches. As a support to all teachers, District 102 provides an Instructional Coach at each of our elementary buildings. These specialized teachers provide job embedded, side-by-side teaching support to teachers and also provide ongoing professional development to staff. Teachers have access to their Instructional Coach to model instruction, troubleshoot instructional issues, find resources and engage in reflective dialogue with to support students and improve instruction at the classroom level. Like any winning team, having a strong and supportive coach is both critical and central to team success.
These examples are just some of the ways we are building and fostering supportive mentorships between students, teachers and the community. We look forward to having a great year. Stay tuned for more great mentoring opportunities!
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Special Education Department
Welcome to the 2016-2107 school year! It has been a very productive summer for the special education department. Our Extended School Year Program was a huge success! We are extremely grateful to the teachers, related service providers and teacher assistants who committed to the program and worked very hard to service our students.
The feedback that we received on the Orton-Gillingham training the last week of June was extremely positive. The presenter was outstanding and we will be sure to request her for our second round, which we intend to host next summer. Several of our special education teachers attended and as a result, are very excited to implement the instructional strategies.
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Finance Department
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New Financial Projections: The district has posted new financial proje
ctions based on activity at the State level. Currently, there is not a plan for a TRS Cost shift,
shifting the State's liability of the TRS System to school districts, nor is a property tax freeze in current discussions at the State level. With this new information we have p
osted the new financial projections for the district showing the impact on the District 102 F
und Balances with a $3 million
referendum and with no referendum.
Click here for more information.
Referendum: On August 17, the Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution to place a referendum on the November 8 ballot asking for an increase to the limiting tax rate. The district is in need of $3 million per year in order to continue to maintain class sizes, implement educational programs and provide updated technology and online resources. Under this referendum, taxes would increase $112 per $100,000 resulting in an additional $336 a year on a $300,000 home.
Financial Advisory Council: The FAC is always looking for new members. It will require a commitment of time and energy but we believe that it is extremely worthwhile. You will be able to have an ongoing voice in keeping the community informed about District 102's financial health. We welcome your participation as a member of the Financial Advisory Council.
Meetings are currently held on weekday mornings from 6:45 am to no later than 8:30 am, at the District's offices at Park Junior High School. We are considering adjusting the time to allow additional members to become involved in the FAC. If interested or for more information, please contact
Lauri Kearney, the Assistant Superintendent for Finance, at 708-482-2400, ext. 7003 or email
[email protected]
.
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Technology Department
The district has moved to a new system, Pushcoin, to manage student
accounts. Going forward, we will use the system for all types of
payments, from athletic participation fees, to
instrumental
music festivals, to field trips. Pushcoin
not only makes it
simple to pay for these items, it
also maintains a clear record of all charges and payments.
With this change, we hope parents find that they now have
a new level of transparency a
nd control over their financial
dealings with the district. To learn more, please click here.
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Volunteer Committee Members Needed for CEMA
In the Spring of 2016, the District created a committee, CEMA-Committee for Equity and Minority Achievement, to address the ideals of academic and programmat
ic equity throughout the district and to provide support to the district in closing the achievement gap. We are now ready to branch out into sub-committee work and are seeking parent/community volunteers who may wish to serve on these work groups. We are looking for people who can actively participate by attending meetings and doing some studying in two specific areas. One work group will be focusing on School/Family/Community engagement and will research models of effective engagement in order to support student learning and growth. The second work group will be focusing on Curriculum to ensure that the district is able to incorporate diverse culturally relevant curriculum and instructional practices. If you are interested in participating in either of these work groups, please contact Michael Thomas at
[email protected]
.
The first meeting will be held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, September 13 in the Park Junior High LRC. Meetings will generally occur at 6:00 pm on the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of the month. Dates may be flexible based on the availability of committee members.
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The start of the school year, while exciting, can also be fraught with things that we don't have as much control over as we like to think we do. We apologize for the rocky start with a couple of our bus routes. At this time, we think all of the bus route issues have been resolved. Routes were added where there was overcrowding and routes were modified when we felt that they were longer than necessary. Thank you to the parents who called or emailed and offered suggestions. Thank you for your patience. For day to day questions about your child's bus routes, please contact the secretary at your child's school. For questions that are related to the actual routes, and times, please contact Lauri Kearney at
[email protected]
.
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District 102, in collaboration with Helping Hand, is conducting screenings for children birth to age 5 for children living within district boundaries. The purpose of the preschool screening is to assess those children whose parents have concerns about delays in their child's development in any of the following areas: vision, hearing, speech and language, fine and gross motor skills, or cognitive development. This is not a general developmental screening nor does it replace a child's routine visits to the doctor. Children from birth to 2 years, 10 months will be screened by Helping Hand, which works in collaboration with District 102. Children age 2 years, 10 months to age 5 will be screened by District 102.
Parents will be required to complete a questionnaire for each child prior to scheduling a screening. Based on the results, parents will be notified if their child should attend a screening. Screenings occur approximately once per month. To request a questionnaire, please call Doreen Robinson at 708-215-6826.
Depending on the results of the screening, a child could potentially be considered for the following:
- Early Intervention Services (Birth to 3) - determined by Helping Hand and provided by public agencies not related to District 102 services
- Vision and hearing referrals to a child's private practitioner (Ages 3-5)
- Fine and gross motor recommendation for home activities
- Pre-Kindergarten At-Risk Programs - programs providing school for children ages 3- 5 determined to be at-risk for achieving educational success.
- Early Childhood Special Education - screening team will refer children identified as experiencing significant developmental delays for further evaluation to determine eligibility for special education services.
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Dates to Remember
(Please visit a school or the district site for additional dates.)
September 5: Labor Day - No School
September 9: Barnsdale Welcome Event, 5:30-7pm
September 11: Ogden Back to School Party, Ogden Blacktop,
4-6pm
September 15: Board of Education Meeting, Park Jr. High School LRC (2nd Floor), 7pm
Forest Road PTO Back to School Celebration, 5:30-7pm
September 22:
Screenwise
with Dr. Devorah Heitner, Park Jr. High Auditorium, 7pm
(Staff Presentation at 4pm)
September 22-23: Park Jr. High Springfield Field Trip
September 29:
Board of Education Meeting, Park Jr. High School LRC (2nd Floor), 7pm
September 29-30: Park Jr. High Springfield Field Trip
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La Grange School District 102 | 708-482-2400 | 333 N. Park Road |
La Grange Park, IL 60526 |
www.dist102.k12.il.us
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