River Forest District 90 Primer

December 2015

Superintendent's Message

Dear Parents, Staff, Students, and Community Members,

The approach of Winter Break and the New Year enables all of District 90's families, faculty, and staff to take a well-deserved hiatus from the hard work of this school year. Throughout the fall and early winter, students have been diligently working in their classes, while faculty and staff have been guiding students to their collective best.

The results of these efforts appear in the results from the spring's Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments. District 90 mailed home individual student reports on December 11. Overall, the District's PARCC results indicate that our schools continue to provide an exceptional educational experience for our students. Our students consistently demonstrate levels of proficiency that are significantly higher than state averages. At the same time, the assessment results also identify areas for growth and improvement, and we will be focusing on these opportunities in the months ahead.

Members of the Inclusiveness Advisory Board (IAB) have also been delving into the results from this year's Inclusiveness Survey. While initial survey results revealed that many in the District 90 community feel accepted in our schools, a subcommittee identified three areas requiring additional attention. The areas for added focus are friendships and relationships for students, family support of inclusiveness, and additional professional development for staff. Going forward, the IAB will be investigating efforts that can help all students, families, and faculty feel as an important part of our school community.

At the same time, Green4Good is partnering with the Village to collect and recycle working and non-working holiday lights and cords. Used lights can be dropped off at a bin located at the Village Hall.

Lastly, there is an opportunity for students who are interested in filmmaking to showcase their ideas. The One Earth Film Festival includes a category for young filmmakers that encourages budding cinematographers to compete for cash prizes.There is still time to for students to submit entries for the Young Filmmakers Contest.

As we celebrate the holidays with friends and family, please make some time for rest and reflection. Happy Holidays!

With warm regards,

Ed Condon, Ph.D.

Superintendent

District News

ISBE Releases PARCC Results

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released District 90's Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment results for the District, schools, and students. District 90 mailed individual student results home to families on December 11. PARCC assessment results for each school and the District are available on our website on the District Information page under the State Report Card tab.

These PARCC results indicate that District 90 continues to provide an exceptional educational experience for our students. District 90 students consistently have achieved levels of proficiency that are significantly higher than the state averages. Yet, the results also indicate opportunities for improvement. District 90 faculty and staff are delving deeply into these results to ascertain specific areas where we should concentrate additional efforts.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has provided additional resources to help families interpret and understand their student's PARCC results. You can visit the links below for additional information.

District 90 is fully committed to providing a rich and stimulating curriculum within our nurturing instructional environment. While there are certainly variations in proficiency levels when compared to previous tests, our students continue to demonstrate competitive levels of performance when measured against others in the state and nation, overall.

Inclusiveness Advisory Board's Survey Results

The Inclusiveness Advisory Board (IAB) has been further investigating the results from its Inclusiveness Survey. The IAB conducted the survey earlier this year to obtain a better understanding of the issues surrounding equity and inclusiveness within the District 90 school community. Among its charges is to ascertain how the District's policies, practices, and procedures affect individuals' experiences and the overall school climate.

Initial survey results indicated that a majority of students, parents, and teachers generally feel welcomed and accepted in District 90 schools. However, the results also spotlighted several areas that would benefit from greater attention. After a thorough review of these results, an IAB subcommittee identified three areas for the group's attention. Those areas are:

Students - Friendships and relationships
Families - Strategies to help families support inclusiveness
Faculty and Staff - Expanded professional development in the areas of inclusiveness, unconscious bias, and mindful interactions

A sampling of the issues that prompted these themes included:

Some students reported that they lacked close relationships with other students or adults in the school.
Families indicating that they supported the concept of inclusiveness, but wanted additional help with practical applications.
Faculty and staff expressing the desire to develop strategies to be more inclusive with all students, families, and colleagues.

In the coming months, the IAB will be developing specific initiatives to address the three themes. Thank you to all of your students, staff, and families who were willing to share their feedback during the survey process to help our school district grow and improve in these essential areas.

Recycling Available for Holiday Lights

Green4Good is partnering with the Village of River Forest to collect holiday lights for recycling. From December 15 through January 15, you can drop off working and non-working lights or cords on Central Avenue in the container by Village Hall. Please deposit only holiday lights. The bin is unable to accept CFL or fluorescent bulbs. The types of holiday lights suitable for recycling include:

Italian mini-lights
Traditional lights
Extension cords
Rope lights
LED lights

Your recycled holiday lights can find new life in a variety of useful product while avoiding adding materials to landfills.

Calling All Young Filmmakers

Is your student a budding filmmaker? Students interested in film-making can enter the 4th Annual One Earth, Our Earth Filmmakers Contest. There's still time to prepare a submission for the Young Filmmakers Contest, which is due on January 17, 2016. Workshops are available to help with getting your submission in order. The Young Filmmakers Contest is part of the One Earth Film Festival. The film, Unplugged, which was produced by several Roosevelt students won the Middle School Category for 2015. Students can win a cash prize from $75 to $500 as well as a matching grant for the sustainability organization of their choice. For more information visit oneearthfilmfest.org.

Photo courtesy of D. Nielson

Lincoln's First Graders Visit the Morton Arboretum

In an effort to bring science alive, Lincoln's students in Grade 1 recently visited the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. Student took part in walking tours that encouraged them to observe nature up close and to learn how plants and animals get ready for winter.

The Frog and the Toad Appear at Willard

OPRFHS students took their successful musical, A Year with Frog and Toad, to the Willard School stage to entertain Early Childhood through Grade 2 students. The completely student-produced performances thrilled the audiences with its singing, dancing, and well-known story line. Based on The Frog and Toad children's book series, this family friendly musical was a delightful sharing of talent and message from OPRFHS.

Congratulations to Roosevelt Students for Science and Music

Whether making music or competing in science, Roosevelt students

Photo courtesy of A. Rains

demonstrate the exceptional education provided in District schools. Twenty Roosevelt students were among the nearly 600 middle school students who competed in the hour-long 39th Annual Fenwick Science Contest. Participants came from 44 Chicago-area schools and competed in all areas of science. With the Roosevelt team placing second in the overall competition, six Roosevelt students were among the top 25 who competed. Roosevelt's top scorers were George Bourgikos, Peter Zeh, Oliver Green, Garrett Credi, Nicky Altier, and Suleyman Ahmed. A round of applause goes to our Roosevelt scientists!

Photo courtesy of B. Hufnus

Congratulations also go to Roosevelt Band and Orchestra members Ellie Beck, Veronica Brooks, Isabelle Carrillo, Ethan Siegel, Sadie Beck, Ania Ocasio, and Alexandra Oberberger, who performed at the Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) District 1 Music Festival. These students were selected to perform based on auditions involving over 500 students from 50 area schools. Selection to perform in this event is one of the highest honors a middle school musician can receive!