D15 Family Newsletter

At a reception before the May 8, 2024, Board of Education meeting, we will be honoring our retirees who together have 718 years of service in D15! Many, many thanks to all of our retirees for their dedicated service to our district. Their impact will live on in the lives of thousands of students. We wish them the very best as they begin their next chapter. It goes without saying that they will be deeply missed!

In order to ensure we are appropriately staffed we need all new AND existing families to register for the 2024-2025 school year.

Complete registration in a few easy steps!

1. Register online

2. Provide required documents

3. Provide proof of residency (living situation)

4. Pay student fees

1. Please note that student fees can be paid at a later date if a family needs more time to pay their fees. The Free and Reduced Application will be available in July.

For more details and links to the documentation required, please visit the registration page of our website.

We will continue sending monthly updates on Moving 15 Forward over the summer. You can also follow our District’s social media channels (Facebook and Instagram) for photo updates on our summer construction projects!

Have a terrific summer. See you when school starts on Thursday, September 5, 2024!

Your Partner in Education,

Dr. Laurie Heinz

Superintendent

Summer EBT provides families with a monthly grocery benefit to feed their children for three summer months (June, July, August) when children are not receiving free or reduced-price meals at school.

In the summer of 2024, families will receive a one-time benefit of $120 for the summer for each eligible child. Benefits are distributed on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card and can be used at authorized retail stores.

To qualify: Children must be eligible for free or reduced-priced school meals, in other words they must reside in a household that has total household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level.

Find more information or apply at https://wegotyouillinois.org/summer-ebt/.

There is so much parenting advice, programs, and talks on parenting everywhere! It is no wonder parents feel overwhelmed with an overload of information. It’s one thing to have knowledge about parenting strategies but it is another thing to put whatever you know into actual, consistent practice.

Have you ever been in an intense parenting situation that ended with yelling, crying, and guilt? Parenting can be a very challenging role we play, especially given the stressful lives that most people live. There is no “one size fits all” in parenting and every parent needs to discover a unique path that works best for them and their families.

View the flyer below for information about a parent seminar on May 16.

Please view your student's meal account on School Cafe. If you have a graduating eighth grade student, you can do the following with funds that are left in the meal account:

• If there is a sibling in the district, any remaining funds can be transferred to the sibling. Please contact Heidi Mals in the School Nutrition Department at (847)963-3930 or malsh@ccsd15.net.

• If you wish to have a refund of any money left on the account please contact the School Nutrition Department at (847)963-3930 or malsh@ccsd15.net.

If your student has an unpaid meal balance, please settle the account before the last day of school. Payments can be made via School Cafe, there is a 3% service charge for using School Cafe. Cash or checks made out to Nutrition Services can also be taken to school. Any unpaid meal balance remaining after the last day of school will be transferred to a sibling that is remaining in the district.

• 3 Phases – the 12 schools under construction are on time and on budget

• Asphalt improvements this summer:

• HR - east and west parking lot improvements

• LS - extend parent drop off/add more parking

• WC - bus lane maintenance and sidewalks

• GMS - front sidewalks and asphalt near construction

• CR - extend bus lane (requires MWRD permit)

• TJ main office space improvements

• Moving 400+ teachers, desks, curriculum, and new furniture in new classrooms

As a reminder, we will be getting a new website for the 2024-2025 school year. We have completed the design phase and are working on migrating the content from our current website over to our new website. We cannot wait for you to see it!

We're excited to share that students in Kindergarten-5th grade will soon bring home the workbook for the final math unit of the year! Due to our current curriculum pacing, this unit is optional during the school year. This unit does not teach new skills or topics, rather serves as an opportunity to apply the skills your child has learned throughout the year. It's a chance to put their math knowledge to the test in a real-world context and solidify their understanding. This is a nice option for a summer review at home, should you choose to use it. It is entirely optional. Please reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions.

As a District, we are about to go through many changes in our schools and spaces, and are gathering technology materials as a part of this. If you have any “old” or extra Chromebooks, Chromebook chargers, or any other tech devices in your home, please return to your school office. There’s a red bin in each office, and we will gladly take any materials you return, no questions asked.

In the past few weeks and over the next month, all current 5th and 6th grade students around the District will be receiving new Chromebooks in anticipation of the move to middle schools in the fall. These new devices are touchscreen, and feature a new kind of case that snaps directly onto the Chromebook.

Some things of note:

• Students no longer need to use their Chromebook case/bag that they currently have, but if they’d like to keep it, they’re welcome to do so.

• Students will use the same charger they have currently.

• This is a touchscreen Chromebook, and students will have a stylus that works with the device in Fall 2024.

When your student receives their new Chromebook, they’ll bring home a letter with information and the updated Responsible Use Contract. Please take some time to discuss this new device and have your student show you around. If you have any questions, please contact your student’s building administration team.

Across the state, student absenteeism is getting a lot of attention right now, and for good reason. In Illinois, more than 1 of every 4 students misses about 2 days a month, or 10% of the school year. Students missing this much of the school year are considered Chronically Absent. Missing two days a month may not seem like a lot, but it equals missing a whole month of school. In fact, if starting in kindergarten, a student who misses just 1.5 days each month will have missed 175 days by the end of their senior year. That’s a whole school year of lost instruction!

In District 15, about 1 in five students (21%) was Chronically Absent. The positive academic and social impact of regular attendance is so important that District 15 has committed to reducing the number of chronically absent students in half (from 21% to 10%) by 2027. To support this goal, District 15 is starting an “Every Day Counts: Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow” initiative in the Fall of the upcoming school year.

Next Fall, parents will see some new actions and communication from the District. These actions are designed to promote regular student attendance. In the Fall, families will begin to receive information about the importance of attendance, tips on how to help students attend as much school as possible, and regular updates to help families track how often their student is absent each month. Our schools are also organizing themselves to reach out early and support students and families experiencing attendance difficulties. If you are concerned about your child’s attendance, consider logging into Infinite Campus to check exactly how many absences they had this year. You can also contact your school for assistance.

Each year, District 15 carefully monitors each child’s academic progress. Part of this monitoring includes using a series of quick, standardized tests using the FastBridge Assessment System. This data, combined with information from other assessments, is used to guide instruction and assess growth. All students in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade take FastBridge assessments in the Fall, Winter, and Spring of each school year. FastBridge uses brief measures of early literacy and math at the Kindergarten and first grade levels. These brief assessments provide data on an early learner’s reading and math development. The FastBridge assessments typically take less than 10 minutes per student, but the data gained provides teachers with insights and suggestions to help address each child’s needs.

Fastbridge test results for students in kindergarten through third grade, from the fall, winter, and spring testing periods, will be available to parents via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. The results for Spring will be posted at the end of May. When you log into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal you will need to select "more" from the dropdown window and then select "Assessments".

To learn more about each assessment and how to interpret your child's scores please visit our district website at https://www.ccsd15.net/Page/10414.

Every three years, CEDA undertakes a Comprehensive Needs Assessment of suburban Cook County to ensure its services effectively meet the community's evolving needs. The feedback received influences the development and improvement of services. CEDA wants you to be part of the process. To participate, complete this Survey .

Dual Language Culture Camp will take place on June 10-13th at Winston Campus! Dual language students in grades K-5 will build their biliteracy skills through a systematic study of culture and language as explored in the texts of Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia! More information about our Dual Language program that begins in Kindergarten, can be found here! Acceptance letters for our incoming 24-25 class were sent out last week.

• May 6 - 6th Grade Track Meet
• May 7 - Notice of Public Meeting
• May 7 - BPAC Event: José Hernandez, NASA Astronaut
• May 8 - D15 Job Fair
• May 8 - Board of Education Meeting
• May 11 - IESA Sectionals
• May 14 - D15 Track Meet
• May 15 - D15 Job Fair
• May 17-18 - IESA State Meet
• May 22 - D15 Job Fair
• May 22 - 8th Grade Graduation
• May 23 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL