First-ever District 58  

Reading Games a big success 

2014-15 school calendar approved

On March 10, the District 58 School Board voted to approve the proposed calendar for the 2014-15 school year. This calendar sets Monday, August 25, as the first full day of school, eliminates Casimir Pulaski Day as a non-attendance day, adds the Monday after spring break (April 6) as a non-attendance day in alignment with District 99's calendar, and sets Wednesday, June 3, 2015 as the last day of school if no emergency days are used. The Board anticipates approving the end-of-year calendar for 2013-14 at its April 14 meeting.   

District 58 Education Foundation
to host evening with Big Head Todd
for 2014 spring fundraiser

District 58 family's band to play opener

Be sure to come early, because Rollo Time, which was founded by District 58 parent Jon Raleigh, will take the stage at approximately 7 p.m. to play the opener!  

The Downers Grove Area Council of PTAs will present a special parent program called "Reading and Education: The Home Connection,"with bestselling author Blue Balliett, on Thursday, April 10 from 7 to 8 p.m.at Hillcrest School, 1435 Jefferson Ave.

The event is free and open to all parents of children who attend District 58 schools. However, capacity is limited, so please register early to reserve your spot. Click here to register.

Blue Balliett's first book, "Chasing Vermeer," was a New York Times bestseller and Edgar Allen winner, and won the Chicago Tribune prize for young adult fiction. Her other books include sequels to "Chasing Vermeer," including "The Wright 3" and "The Calder Game," as well as "The Danger Box" and "Hold Fast." For more information about Blue Balliett, visit www.blueballiettbooks.com.

Her books will be available for purchase at the Author Fest event through the PTA Council's partnership with Anderson's Bookshop. The Downers Grove Author Festival, which will take place from April 9-11, is sponsored annually by the Downers Grove Area Council of PTAs and the PTAs of each participating school. It gives students a chance to meet and visit with well-known children's authors and illustrators. Half of the schools participate each year on a rotating basis. All parents and children are welcome to attend the author book sale and signing at Herrick Middle School Friday, April 11; click here for more information.

Spotlight on our Schools:  

Review of ELL and Bilingual Education Committee

Assistant Superintendent for Special Services Terry Martin and members of the District's English Language Learner (ELL)/Bilingual Education Committee reported on the committee's progress and next steps. The number of students receiving ELL services in District 58 surpassed 200 four years ago, and has been growing at a rate of 15 to 20 percent each year since then. The ELL committee was developed as a result of staff attending a six-day training on ELL program design sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education. The committee was charged with reviewing the current program, recognizing strengths and developing a set of recommendations for supporting the needs of English Language Learners throughout the District.

In 2012-13 the District introduced a bilingual resource class at El Sierra, in which instruction is supported in the students' first language as they transition to becoming proficient in English. Bilingual programs are required at schools where there are 20 or more students with the same first language who are eligible for Limited English Proficient services. Most students in District 58 receive English as a Second Language (ESL) support, in which instruction is provided in English with minimal translation. To provide students with additional needed supports, the committee recommends the District launch a full-time Spanish bilingual primary class at El Sierra and look at offering students at Highland School the opportunity to participate. Highland surpassed the 20-student benchmark for the first time this year.  

During the 2014-15 year, the committee also will study the possibility of launching bilingual cluster sites throughout the District. Other recommendations include ensuring that all eligible students meet at least five periods a week with an ELL-certified teacher, that proficiency levels determine the level of ESL service received, that staff continue to work to design a program that will create consistency within the District, that the District appoint a Director of ELL services with an ESL endorsement, and that the District provide parent training and opportunities for community input. Next steps include further consideration of staffing needs, resource identification, budget considerations, and child-find activities to identify eligible students at all schools but particularly at El Sierra and Highland.

Student fees approved for 2014-15 

The Board approved student fees for 2014-15 as follows:

• Instructional materials grades 1-8: $125/year
• Pre-kindergarten/Kindergarten: $75/year
• Middle school yearbook (optional): $20
• Busing for families living greater than 1.5 miles from school: $25 per child per year. This new fee will help to cover a portion of the District's transportation-related costs, which continue to increase even as the state's reimbursement continues to drastically decrease, and also help to ensure appropriate routing. The District also will be looking at combining routes where possible.
• Busing for families living less than 1.5 miles from school
  : $539/child/year where available 
• Outdoor Education (Camp Edward, sixth grade only): $150

District 58's 2013 Financial Profile placed the district within the Illinois State Board of Education's Financial Recognition range, the highest obtainable category of financial strength. The district has achieved this designation every year for the past 12 years, when the ISBE began using the Financial Profile to evaluate districts.  

The Illinois State Board of Education, which recently notified District 58 of the designation, said that "given the economic difficulties school districts are facing, the State Board realizes this is a significant accomplishment."

All Illinois school districts receive an annual rating from the ISBE, which takes into account financial indicators including fund balance to revenue ratio; expenditure to revenue ratio; days of cash on hand; percent of short-term borrowing ability remaining; and percentage of long-term debt margin remaining.

The 2013 Financial Profile for all districts in Illinois can be found online at: http://www.isbe.net/sfms/P/profile.htm.