Amazing news to start the new year! District 153 is super proud to announce that Churchill School special education teachers Laura Kozel and Marisa Alborn have achieved National Board Certification (NBC)!

The NBC process is determined by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and has been called "The Gold Standard for the Teaching Profession." To be board certified, teachers must spend 600 to 800 hours over multiple years i n professional development, analyzing and documenting their work with students, reflecting on lessons, involving families and communities in their practice, collaborating with colleagues, and delving deeply into the decisions they make each day in order to show national education leaders that they meet their students' needs at the highest level.

We're so proud of the students who represented District 153 at the Special Olympics Basketball Tournament in Evergreen Park on Jan. 21! They brought home two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals for their basketball skills.  Way to go!

Back row: Student Assistant Coach Nolan McNellis, Jada Barr, Alyson Harris, Quinn McNellis
Front row: Naykeya Turner, Abby Dean

District 153 welcomes the first service dog in its history to Churchill School. Service dogs are recognized as a reasonable accommodation under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and are allowed in public settings, including schools.

Kilo, a Labrador retriever, has been specially trained to assist and perform tasks for 3rd-grader Sawyer Horcher (left).

To help Churchill students understand service animals and how to behave around them, Riann Cambrio and his service dog, Aero, from Lifel ine Assistance Dogs, demonstrated how service animals do their jobs during assemblies on January 23rd (below). The kids asked great questions and learned that it is important not to interrupt a service animal when it is working by trying to pet it or call out its name.