From the desk of Principal Kathryn Anderson

School Year 23-24; Issued on February 22, 2024

Things you need to know:

• Next Week's Schedule (Feb. 26-March 1): Monday - LS day, Tuesday - 78 day, Wednesday - 56 day, Thursday - 34 day, Friday - 12 day
• The 5Essentials survey for parents is now open. See the District News section for more details.

Dear DHS staff, students, and families,

At the board meeting on February 20th, there were two announcements made by Dr. Law and the Board of Education. First, I hope you had an opportunity to read the email sent from the district welcoming Dr. Chala Holland as the newly hired Superintendent of District 113. I am thrilled to welcome such a powerful leader, lifelong learner, change agent, and student advocate to serve at the helm of our District 113 family. Dr. Law also announced a proposed structural change to science classes in D113. Please know that discussions are still ongoing at the district level. As a result, at this time, students do not need to make any changes to their requested courses for next school year.

Winter sports are wrapping up and spring sports are just around the corner. (Starting next week we'll begin recognizing each winter sports team in the newsletter). For student-athletes competing this spring for the first time this year, please recall that physicals need to be submitted prior to tryouts. With that said, the IHSA is granting a 2-week waiver for spring sport student-athletes, whose preparticipation physicals are held up by the Lurie's Children's Hospital cyber-attack, as long as they have a physical on file with their school within the last 2 years. This waiver period will end on Monday, March 11 and students will need to have an updated physical turned in to their high school at that time. Any questions, please reach out to our Athletics Department.

Finally, please see our parent/guardian organization section for upcoming events and details about the new Arts Alive! art festival at DHS. Please contact Tamara Jenkins if you are interested and able to provide support by volunteering or through donations and sponsorships.

Sincerely, 

Principal Anderson

Week of February 26- March 1

• Monday - LS day
• Tuesday - 78 day
• Wednesday - 56 day
• Thursday - 34 day
• Friday - 12 day

The Inaugural Arts Festival at DHS ARTS ALIVE! Will Run from April 15 to 20 2024.

Township High School District 113 is proud to announce that after 60 years of Focus on the Arts at HPHS,  Deerfield High School will finally have an arts festival of its own.

Arts Alive! is a new arts initiative developed for Deerfield High School with the input of Deerfield High School Administrators and Fine Arts staff at Deerfield High School,  exposing students to a diverse array of art and artists and celebrating the intersection between arts and academics. 

Over this inaugural session of this biennial weeklong celebration, professional artists from multiple disciplines will be brought into the classroom to present workshops, masterclasses and interactive performances. Throughout the week a muralist and student artists will create a mural representing the message that the current student body would like to leave to future students. The mural will be created on panels in the cafeteria where the entire student body can view the process. On Friday, April 19, two all-school assemblies presenting professional performances in music, dance, and theater will mark the end of festival events for that school week. 

On Saturday April 20, from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM the entire community will be invited to an “Art Expo Open House” where 30 professional artists will show their work, demonstrate their techniques and allow the public to get hands on with projects. In addition, pop up performances will run throughout the day and will include puppet shows, drum circles, an interactive dance performance, as well as a performance by our magnificent DHS Choraliers.

Director of Arts Festivals Tamara Jenkins says,” As an alumna of Deerfield High School, I am honored to have been tasked with shepherding this new arts program for the students at DHS and the Deerfield community. While still in the scheduling and contracting phase, we already have a robust roster of incredible artists who have agreed to be part of this event!”

Among the presenters: Northlight Theater will do an eight-week residency with drama students that will culminate with a 10-minute devised play presented during the all-school assemblies.  World music group Funkdesi and Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre are also slated to perform along with a few other groups yet to be announced.

Jenkins states, “This family-friendly Saturday Arts Expo on the 20th will build a beautiful bridge between the community and the High School, with special outreach to our elementary schools and families. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Like the Highland Park High School Focus on the Arts model, the community will be asked to help support programming through donations and sponsorships. Please email tjenkins@dist113.org if you are interested in sponsoring the event.

Dear Parent or Guardian:

I write to announce that parents and guardians, students, and teachers across Illinois have an opportunity to participate in the eleventh annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school.

On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are: 

• Effective Leaders
• Collaborative Teachers
• Involved Families
• Supportive Environments
• Ambitious Instruction 

Prior research in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these “5Essential” indicators were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains in math and reading than those that were weak on three or more Essentials.

All teachers and students will be responding to this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if their teachers and/or students meet the response rate threshold of 50 percent. These reports will be sent to schools and districts in May 2024 and will also be included in the State School Report Card.

Additionally, District 113 has chosen to provide the optional Parent survey supplement. If at least 20 percent of District 113 parents complete this survey at each school, a parent supplement report will also be generated. The parent data will not be reported on the State Report Card.

Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey for students and teachers will be conducted through March 29, 2024. The Parent Survey Supplement will be conducted during that same timeframe. To take the survey please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin.

For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous years’ Reports, please visit https://www.5-essentials.org/illinois. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact UChicago Impact Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or impact-surveys@uchicago.edu. 

Sincerely,

Michael Lach, Ed. D.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment