District Newsletter

This will be our final Family Newsletter of 2024, but you will receive December’s Board News following the regular Board Meeting on Wednesday, December 11. Not receiving Board Briefs? Join our email list.

Whatever holiday you and your family celebrate or traditions you hold dear, I hope you are able to spend quality time with loved ones in the coming weeks. I wish you all a truly happy and healthy holiday season!

Your partner in education,

Proud Superintendent of Schools

Term grades for Kindergarten-5th grade students will be available in Infinite Campus on Friday, December 13 after 4:00 p.m. Here are directions for accessing your child's progress in both English or Spanish. For additional languages, please refer to this resource when viewing your child's grades. Please reach out to your school principal if you have any questions.

As a reminder, we will be in session until Friday, December 20 with school resuming on Monday, January 6, 2025. Please note that our 12-month staff frequently take time off during our breaks and our building may be closed on various days depending on vacation schedules. If you need to go to your child’s school over break, we strongly suggest you call the school office or reach out via email first to determine the best time to stop by.

Winter break might just be the perfect time to clean out your closets and donate clothes your children no longer wear to our dear partners at the POC. They have a wonderful and very busy Clothing Closet located at 1585 N. Rand Road Palatine, IL 60074 that is in need of winter clothing and outerwear.

Can’t get to the POC? Please drop the clothes off at your child’s school and we will get them there. Thank you in advance for considering making a donation.

On e-Learning Days, students and staff will transition to virtual learning from home, following their regular school schedule. Should we need to call an emergency/inclement weather day, we will notify families through email, text message, and phone calls via our Mass Notification system. The information will also be posted as a popup notification on our District and school websites, as well as on the CCSD15 mobile app. Live instruction will be provided online through a Google Meet to ensure continuity of learning. This means:

Please review the guidelines we follow when making decisions about indoor vs. outdoor recess and inclement weather days.

As part of our commitment to student safety, we’ve created a Safe Gun Storage resource page on our district website. This page provides important information and guidance for families to help ensure the safe storage of firearms and protect our students, families, and overall community.

At this time of every school year students, staff, and families alike begin to look forward to the end of the first semester. December is however, one of the more critical times for students to be at school and stay engaged in learning. The final weeks of the year include many important lessons, activities, and preparation that set students up for success in January and beyond.

Let’s work together to keep absences as low as possible, keep students in contact with key friends, and help our students finish the semester on a high note. Thank you for partnering with us to support every child’s success!

If you have questions or need help, please don’t hesitate to contact your school. Every day counts—even in December!

Our staff is always eager and excited to connect with families. If you need to contact a staff member for any reason, please use the Contact Us form on the school’s website. Once we receive a form submission, we will ensure it gets to the appropriate person.

As a reminder, 2024-25 Student Fees were due on June 1, 2024. Please log in to Infinite Campus to review your balance and make any necessary payments. Any questions regarding student fees can be directed to Kameswari Pullela, Business Department at 847-963-3065.

Just a reminder, you have a powerful tool that you can use at home to monitor and manage your student’s Chromebook use: GoGuardian Parent. Check out enrollment info below!

Our school has granted you access to GoGuardian Parent, a mobile app designed to provide parents/guardians insight and control over their student's online activity when on school-managed devices and accounts. First, the GoGuardian Parent app provides an overview of your children's online activity on school-managed devices and accounts - this overview includes the apps, extensions, documents, and websites your student visited. Second, GoGuardian Parent provides you with an additional set of internet controls that you can set for out-of-school hours. GoGuardian Parent was created to help provide students additional educational support and is a companion to the classroom engagement and internet filtering tools that our school uses.

Please see information here on how to download this app and sign in. This app uses the parent email that was used for school registration. Please contact your building’s secretary if you need to update that email address.

Is making a difference in your community important to you or someone you know? Palatine Partners for our Communities (POC) is hiring a Family and Community Engagement Specialist to work in two of our D15 schools. This role offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with students, families, and educators, coordinating programs that promote growth and provide essential support. We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds who are enthusiastic about teamwork and helping others. Read the full job description here or contact Cristina Correa at cristinac@partnersforourcommunities.org or call 847-776-9500 today!

Our one-five Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports all of the students, staff, and schools in District 15. They plan a 50/50 raffle, staff mini-grant, and staff tributes each year, and they're looking for more members! Are you interested in joining this exciting group of volunteers? Email Jen Dunkin at dunkinj@ccsd15.net for more information.

Please join us to learn more about Dual Language Programming for potential incoming kindergarten students for 2025-26. Meetings will be held:

• February 6, 2025, at Jane Addams School, at 6:30 p.m.

• February 13, 2025, at Winston Campus, at 6:30 p.m.

• February 20, 2025, at Kimball Hill School, at 6:30 p.m.

For detailed information about the Spanish Dual Language program for your Kindergarten student, please view the February 2024 Dual Language Presentation to Kindergarten Parents (English) | (Spanish)

As shared at our November Board of Education Meeting, all District 15 8th graders will graduate on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.

For families considering summer school in District 211 in June, Superintendent Small shared that although their summer school start date cannot be changed, District 211 is ready to work with families to accommodate any missed days.

They understand our extended schedule and are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for students. Families should coordinate directly with their child’s new high school to develop a plan.

The 2025 ACCESS testing window is on the horizon. All English learners in District 15 will participate in our federal and state-required ACCESS testing from January 15 - March 4. This assessment will measure students’ growth in proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in English.

Please join us for a virtual parent meeting on Tuesday, December 17, from 6:30-7:30 pm to learn more about this important assessment and how best to support your child. Read more information and RSVP here.

Band or Orchestra Enrollment for incoming 5th-grade students for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! 4th-grade families, please read more about our program here and register your child.

• December 11 - D15 Job Fair

• December 11 - Board of Education Meeting

• December 13 - G K-5 Progress Reports Issued

• December 17 - Virtual Parent Meeting for ACCESS testing

• December 23 - January 3 - Winter Break

• January 6 - School Resumes

• January 15 - Board of Education Meeting