Dear D102 Parents and Guardians,
May has finally arrived. It becomes more difficult to stay separated as the weather warms and the green grass and sunshine beckons us to engage in sports, festivals and other summer fun. Alas, for the time being, that is not possible. So, as we continue to work and learn remotely, I want to provide you with some updates to questions that I posed in my last email.
It is with great pleasure that I announce that Karli Stamer will be appointed as the new Forest Road Principal beginning July 1. Mrs. Stamer follows Mr. Bergholtz who has accepted a Director of HR position in neighboring Downers Grove. Karli's strengths in planning, communication, and compassion were key attributes that made her a natural fit for this position. For the past seven years, she has served as Assistant Principal at Cossitt, Forest Road, and Ogden. During her tenure
, Karli has built strong relationships and has successfully demonstrated her ability as a leader supporting students, staff, and parents. Her commitment to District 102 has been evident in all she has done over her 11 years of service. She has been instrumental in the development of D102's Day of Design, the creation of school schedules at ea
ch of the schools she has worked in and has been involved with all of the district curricular changes that have been adopted over the last five years. Please help me welcome Mrs. Stamer as the new Principal of Forest Road School.
For the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, we will continue with our current plan of Remote Learning Days on Tuesday-Friday each week. Students will also still participate in alternate learning activities on Mondays that have been developed by teachers and other support personnel such as the Science Center staff, Interventionists or Social Emotional teams. The one unique difference for students in grades PK-6 will be our Day of Design on Monday, May 18. Our Day of Design Team has been working on some wonderful projects that individuals or families can do on this day building on the concepts around STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and (in this case) Miscellaneous). More information to come, but we strongly encourage all PK-6 students to participate, with their families if possible. Teachers will be planning some time to check in on the students’ work that day. Stay tuned!
There is no Remote Learning Day planned for Memorial Day, Monday, May 25. The last official day of school for students will be Wednesday, June 3. The plans for that week are still in development. We recognize that this last trimester has been far less than an ideal learning situation for most people. Our teachers continue to work on refining their lessons, creating plans for this last month that focus on specific standards, and will work to communicate those to parents. Please remain in contact with your child’s teachers or school staff if there are any concerns they or the district can address. While we are all experiencing the same pandemic and restrictions, we are not necessarily experiencing it in the same way. We understand there will be unique circumstances for families that will require you to adjust priorities as you go through these challenging times.
Will there be a graduation ceremony for Park Junior High 8th Graders?
Based on Governor Pritzker’s Stay-at-Home Order and directives from the Illinois State Board of Education, in-person graduation ceremonies are not allowed this year. We recognize this is a special milestone for our 8th graders and their families. We are disappointed that we will not be able to meet together to celebrate their promotion to high school and celebrate their years at District 102. Park Junior High and District 102 are currently planning a unique virtual presentation and ceremony. We will be sharing the details of this plan next week. We thank you for your patience and look forward to sharing the specifics with our families. While nothing can replace the experience of walking across the stage in front of your family and friends to celebrate this milestone, we are working to help families enjoy and celebrate their graduates in a meaningful way.
How do all students clean out their lockers/desks and pick up yearbooks, etc., and how will students return textbooks, library books, computers, etc.?
We are finalizing plans for students to collect their belongings from lockers and classrooms. Our staff will be collecting and bagging these items in order to limit access to our schools. Students will be keeping their chromebooks EXCEPT for 8th grade students or any student who is NOT returning to District 102 in the fall. Specific details of this process, including when families will be able to drive by the school to pick up materials and return library books or any classroom books, will be sent out by a school administrator at the end of the week.
What will Summer School and ESY look like this year?
ESY information is being shared with parents of students who qualify for ESY (Extended School Year) based on their IEP. The virtual ESY program will run from June 8-July 2 on Mondays through Thursday.
Currently we are working to design a “Summer Bridge” program for current K-6 students to develop skills in preparation for their next fall’s grade level. This program will be a virtual program that is facilitated by our teachers. Students will work online through a web-based program and then meet daily with a teacher to review content and skills and get help with the work they are doing. We are currently in the planning stages but moving very quickly to make this happen. More details will follow. This program will be taught virtually UNLESS we are given permission to hold small group lessons in person. The Summer Bridge program is scheduled to be taught July 13-July 30, Monday through Thursday.
Will students be promoted to the next grade level?
Unless teachers and parents had held discussions prior to March 1 about the possible retention of a student, all students will be moving to the next grade level. All of our students are experiencing this challenging unprecedented time. Teachers will be adjusting curriculum based on needs when we come back together next fall.
What happens if I already paid for graduation fees, field trips, transportation, etc.?
Any fees paid for summer school, canceled field trips, or afterschool classes will be refunded. While we will not have an in-person graduation, we are still planning for some of the materials that would normally accompany graduation to be provided. We are reviewing other possible refunding of fees with the Financial Advisory Committee and will be making those decisions later this month.
What will report cards look like at the end of the year?
We continue to look at the best way to communicate to parents and the next year’s teachers what standards were taught or introduced. While the structure of the report card may or may not look exactly like previous report cards, we do want to communicate the work and/or progress students have made during this last trimester in a meaningful way.
Will the schedule/calendar for the next school year change due to all that is happening?
We just don’t know yet. The State has asked us to plan contingencies for next fall. We will be planning for three scenarios and variations on these. First, would be a normal in-person start with sporadic remote learning events occurring throughout the year. Second, would be starting the school year in a remote-learning environment. Third, would be a hybrid or split-schedule concept where only some students come to school on certain days and others work from home. This is a very simplified explanation of a much deeper concept. At this time, the buildings are focusing on finishing this school year while the central office is beginning to plan for next year. This will be an evolving topic. Currently, there are more questions than answers.
We will continue to update this list in the upcoming weeks. We appreciate the continued partnership with the educational adaptations that have become necessary in the last few months.
