River Forest District 90 Primer

January 2016

Superintendent's Message

Dear Parents, Staff, Students, and Community Members,

Happy New Year! This is normally the time to make New Year's resolutions that are aligned with positive intentions. For many of us, our intentions may be to improve our habits around health or perhaps to set a stretch goal for ourselves. For 2016, District 90 resolves to continue to act in the best interests of every student as we provide an exceptional and equitable educational experience to all students. The District resolves to maintain a student-centered focus as we make curricular and instructional decisions that affect all students.

An administrative change emanating from that student centered focus is the amended timeline for the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) and MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments. Be sure to keep reading to learn more about the date changes for the MAP and PARCC as well as other upcoming changes to the PARCC assessment.

Every year in August we welcome a new cohort of Kindergarten students to District 90. While school starts in late summer, Kindergarten registration begins on February 5. Children who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2016 can be registered for this year's Kindergarten class. Families can pick up their registration packets as early as January 27 from the District Office, Lincoln School, or Willard School. If you have a youngster who's ready to register for Kindergarten or know of a child who's at the age to register, please share the registration information outlined below.

As we begin planning for the coming school year, the Board recently approved the 2016-2017 school year calendar, which has the first day of school scheduled for Thursday, August 25, 2016. This school calendar is the result of the dedicated efforts of the Calendar Committee, which was comprised of parents, faculty, and staff members. Additional information about the upcoming school year is explained in the article below.

In the spirit of social emotional learning, all of our schools shared the warmth of the holiday season prior to the Winter Break. District 90 students made floral bouquets for seniors in a local residential facility, donated new children's pajamas to a local social service agency, donated to Toys for Tots at the Village Hall, and collected winter wear for students who may lack warm clothing.

Similarly, middle school students have the opportunity to become more involved in the local community by volunteering to be a SAY YOUth council member. SAY YOUth is part of the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation family, and provides youth within the Oak Park and River Forest communities with a voice to address local decisions surrounding youth. More background and application information can be found in the story below.

Lastly, congratulations go to all of the contestants in the National Geographic Society's National Geographic Bee. Thirteen Roosevelt students competed in the Geographic Bee, with seventh grade student Aiden Redmond winning the opportunity to compete at the next level.

The days and months ahead offer a chance for students, families, faculty, and staff to concentrate their efforts on making the year ahead the best it can be. May the New Year bring delight, joy, and opportunities for continuous learning.

With warm regards,

Ed Condon, Ph.D.

Superintendent

District News

Kindergarten Registration Packets Available

Registration for students entering District 90's incoming Kindergarten class starts on February 5. Youngsters who will be five years of age on or before September 1, 2016 can register for Kindergarten. For families who are new to District 90, registration packets can be picked up at the Administration Building, 7776 Lake Street. Families with an older student currently enrolled in a District 90 school can obtain a registration packet at either Lincoln or Willard. The packets contain all the forms and information needed to register, such as acceptable proof of residency. Hours for registration at the Administrative Office are 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

We are asking all families with students who plan to attend Kindergarten in August 2016 to register their child as soon as possible. Doing so helps district administrators and school principals make critical decisions about class size, the number of morning and afternoon sessions, necessary numbers of teachers and support staff, and other matters. Visit the District's website for additional information.

Willard and Lincoln Schools are also holding a Kindergarten Information and Registration Night on Tuesday, February 23 at 7 p.m. at each school. Families who reside north of Chicago Avenue should plan to attend the Willard program, while families who live south of Chicago Avenue should plan to attend the Lincoln event. This is an opportunity to learn more about the District's Kindergarten program. Families will be able to hear from Kindergarten teachers, the school nurse, the principal, and leaders from the PTO. The evening will also feature a tour of classrooms. If you have a Kindergarten age child or know of one in your community, please join us on February 23 at 7:00 p.m. to learn more about D90 Kindergarten.

Board of Education Approves 2016-17 School Calendar

In early January, the Board of Education approved the D90 2016-17 calendar. For the upcoming school year, the first day for student attendance will be Thursday, August 25, 2016. Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for the middle of November. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving will be a non-attendance day for the District. Winter Break is scheduled for December 26, 2016 to January 6, 2017. Spring Break will be the last week of March in 2017. The Calendar Committee was comprised of parents, faculty, and staff members. The Committee worked to align District 90's non-attendance days with those of OPRF High School's non-attendance days. You can view the entire calendar on the District's website.

PARCC and MAP Assessment Schedule Change

Because of the change in the administrative format, District 90 is amending the testing window for this year's PARCC (Partnership for Assessment for College and Careers) and MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments. The PARCC assessment will be conducted from April 18 through May 6, and the MAP assessment will be given from May 9 to May 20. Each school will determine the specific dates for the assessment during those timeframes. Along with the goal of carefully balancing all assessments given by the District, the revised assessment schedule provides additional time for classroom instruction. It also enables the District to maintain a student-centered focus in scheduling assessments and recognizes the many factors affecting student performance. For most students, the PARCC assessment will be shortened by about 90 minutes this year. The math testing time will be reduced by about 60 minutes and the English/Language Arts portion will be 30 minutes shorter. Additionally, the PARCC assessment will be administered only once during the 2015-16 school year. It will continue to be aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and to focus on critical thinking, concept mastery, and writing skills.

The amended timeframe for the MAP assessment reflects the District's review and deliberate evaluation of all student assessments that help gauge student progress.

SAY YOUth Seeks Council Members

Has your student expressed interest in an incident or news item affecting the local community? Does your student look for ways to get involved in improving the community? If the answer is yes (or even maybe!) then your middle school student should consider becoming a member of a youth organization that is interested to advancing the concerns of young people. The Success of ALL Youth (SAY YOUth) is looking for students who are interested in becoming a SAY YOUth Council Member. Serving on the council can help middle school and high school students develop leadership skills and learn how to become an advocate and voice for young people. For more information and an application, visit the SAY YOUth website. Interested students and families can also click the links for the flyer and application. Success of ALL Youth is part of the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation family.

Lincoln's 3rd Graders made flower arrangements for Brookdale Senior Home.

District 90 Students Shared the Warmth of the Holiday Season

As part of our schools' initiatives to advance our students' social and emotional development, District students helped to make the holidays a bit brighter for area residents. Willard School's Kindly Wizards helped to make the holiday's special for many youngsters by donating more than 100 children's toys to Toys for Tots at the Village Hall. Lincoln School third graders made flower

Willard's Toys for Tots donation at the Village Hall.

arrangements for residents of the Brookdale Senior Home in Oak Park, while the school's Kindergartners collected more than 75 children's pajamas for the partnership of the Pajama Program and Scholastic. The pajamas were donated to an Oak Park social service agency. Roosevelt students collected hats and gloves for youngsters who face the winter months without the necessary warm clothing. These efforts and others enabled District 90 students to share the warmth of the holiday season.

Roosevelt's Geographic Bee Champion Advances to the Next Level

Thirteen Roosevelt students in Grades 6-8 competed in the school's version

A. Redmond receives congratulations and a certificate from teacher T. Considine.

of the National Geographic Society's National Geographic Bee. Seventh grade student Aidan Redmond is Roosevelt's 2016 Geographic Bee Champion. He prevailed against Grade 6 student Sarah Altier, as the two finalists squared off in the Championship round

Roosevelt's champion will advance to the next level where a written qualifying exam determines the statewide competitors. Up to 100 of the top scorers on that test in each state will then be eligible to compete in their state Bee on April 1, 2016. The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state winners to participate in the Bee national championship rounds May 22-25, 2016. The first-place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and a National Geographic Expeditions trip to a national park in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.