1/29/21 Enews from CCSD93

New Opportunities Coming to Middle School Schedule Next Year

Throughout the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, CCSD93 convened a Middle School Scheduling Committee consisting of middle school administrators, teachers from a variety of subjects and district administrators. The Committee sought to create a more flexible schedule to allow for greater intervention and enrichment opportunities for students.

At last night’s Board of Education meeting, members of the Committee presented recommendations for adjustments to the middle school schedule, which the Board of Education supported for implementation starting in the 2021-22 school year.

The starting and ending middle school day hours will remain as they were prior to the pandemic, but adjustments will be made within the school day. Here are the most important highlights:

What I Need Now (WINN) Time will be introduced for all grades, borrowing time from current core classes. This will be a flexible time, which will be updated for students every six weeks to best meet their individual needs and will include personalized opportunities for support in math, reading, writing and social-emotional areas. Students who need less support will be provided opportunities for enrichment in core subject areas.
Choice of Options at Lunch (COOL) Time will be introduced, replacing the current unstructured recess time. Students will have the option to choose between a Study Room, a Quiet Room or a Hangout Room, all of which will be supervised by teachers and better meet individual student needs.
For 7th and 8th graders, a second elective period will be introduced, and this will now include band and orchestra ensemble time during the school day. So now 7th and 8th grade students will be able to choose two from the following to participate in each day: band, orchestra, related arts or foreign language. Sixth grade students will still participate in the pre-pandemic 6th grade schedule, which does not include band or orchestra ensemble time during the school day.
All other current offerings will still be maintained, including related arts, world languages, core classes, advisories and middle school teams.

Families of current 5th, 6th and 7th graders will receive more thorough information about these adjustments to the middle school schedule by the end of next week. We’re thrilled about these new opportunities, which will allow CCSD93 to better achieve its mission of maximizing the academic, social and emotional potential of each middle school student with even more flexible and enriching opportunities.

Change of Learning Option Form for 3rd Trimester

Any parent who wishes to change their child’s learning option (Hybrid Learning or Remote Learning) for 3rd trimester, starting February 22, is invited to complete the form linked at www.ccsd93.com/3rdTrimester by February 3. If you do not wish to change your child's learning option, you are all set and do not need to take any action.

Please Continue to Practice Safety

Please continue to stay vigilant in practicing the three Ws of wearing a mask, watching your distance, and washing your hands frequently to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and contributing to conditions conducive to in-person learning.

Please read the following articles for the latest from CCSD93 and more.

Sincerely,

Dr. David H. Hill

Superintendent of Schools

CCSD93

Have a Young Child? Join Us Virtually

for Let's Play 2/13-2/21!

CCSD93's Birth to 5 Community Coalition is a partnership between many local organizations that specialize in providing care and services for the community's children ages birth to 5. Its goal is to ensure all children arrive at kindergarten ready to access the high quality education that CCSD93 is prepared to provide them.

This year, the Birth to 5 Community Coalition’s annual Let’s Play event which will be held online February 13-21! Families with children age birth to 5 will discover helpful resources from a variety of local organizations that provide care and services for young children and their families. It will include live virtual sessions on February 13 and partner videos posted through February 21 that focus on play ideas for families.

Register for the event for FREE at www.tinyurl.com/LetsPlay2021. Once you register, you’ll be able to pick up a free gift bag from the Carol Stream Public Library, which includes:

materials for live sessions
materials for some crafts and games
a free book
a free snack cup (and a soft feeding spoon for little ones)
flyers from the coalition and some partners

Registered children are also automatically entered into a raffle for e-giftcards or gift certificates. Let's Play! is made possible by funding through the DuPage Foundation's Bright and Early DuPage Grant. For more on the Coalition, visit www.ccsd93.com/Birthto5!

Track Your Child's Bus With FirstView Bus App!

Families of all students who qualify to receive bus transportation will be sent login information for the FirstView bus app next week. The app allows you to track your child's bus in real time! Look for more next week.

Need Groceries? Visit Mobile Food Pantry at GBN on 2/6!

1/28 Board of Education Meeting Recap

CCSD93's most recent Board of Education meeting was held at Roy DeShane School on Thursday, January 28. The following occurred at the meeting.

There was a Board Salute to the winners of the CCSD93 Seasonal Card Contest from each elementary and middle school.
There was a presentation by Roy DeShane administrators and staff members, who introduced a newly formed Literacy Committee and shared how it will improve the reading competency of students.
Representatives from ARCON and FH Paschen reviewed the plans for the Cloverdale Innovation Center and secure entrance project, which is scheduled to take place during the summer of 2022.
There was a presentation from CCSD93’s Middle School Scheduling Committee, as described above.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Services John Benedetti reviewed the tax levy process.
The Board reviewed the following eight Board Policies for first reading:
625 - Outdoor Education
635 - Before & After School Child Care Programs
645 - Acceptable Use of the Internet
645.03 - Electronic Media Publication
645.07 - Library Resource Center
655.04 - Student Conferences
674 - Animals in the Classroom
674.10 - Experiments Upon or Dissection of Animals
The Board approved a new more formal reference document of the agreements and expectations that the Board and Superintendent follow to conduct the work of the district.
The 2021-22 School Calendar was approved by the Board. It will be shared with families next week.
The Board approved CCSD93's Budget Preparation Calendar for 2021-22.

Visit our website

High-quality communication is one of CCSD93's goals. We welcome your feedback. Please call 630.539.3001 or email us with your comments or suggestions. Tell us what kind of news you'd like to read more about.