THRIVE IN 159 UPDATES

In celebration of Black History Month, on February 22nd, we held our Real Men Read Day at each of our elementary schools and the day was a huge success! During the event, 95 men throughout the community visited our 65 pre-k through 5th grade classrooms, reading books to our scholars. Our scholars were as excited as the visitors, as members of the National Junior Honors Society and student council escorted the guests to the classrooms.

The awesome group of guest readers included Rich Township High School football team, and Village of Richton Park President, Rick Reinbold, and Trustee Brian Coleman. Our school board members Mr. Carl Scott Sr., and Mr. Kenneth Williams also participated. Several members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity were guest readers as well.

The event was coordinated by our Family & Community Engagement Coordinator, Mrs. Ina Jones, who did a stellar job in recruiting men to participate in the event. Thank you Mrs. Jones for your dedication! Great job! An additional thank you to Mrs. Cherryl Mitchell and Mrs. Shelia Friday for their assistance and collaborative mindset!

A big thank you to all of our guest readers for taking out time to be a part of this special day! We appreciate you!

See the pictures below of some of our guest readers!

During the month, we celebrated HBCUs and their contributions to society. We recognized 29 HBCU legends on our social media platforms and with a powerful Powerpoint presentation that was provided to parents to share with their students. We also recognized our district HBCU graduates, and held HBCU t-shirt and sweat shirt day. Our scholars joined by representing their parents during our events.

In addition, we highlighed African American Greek Sororities and Fraternities by hosting Divine 9 informational sessions at each of our schools. District employees who are members of the Divine 9

provided insight to the history, mission and contributions of the organizations, giving our scholars an opportunity to learn about their importance. Our scholars joined us in celebrating the Divine 9 on Greek Colors Day.

Each of our Black History events were enjoyed by employees and scholars.

Check out a few of our pictures below.

March is Women's History Month and we will celebrate our women employees in a number of ways. Stay tuned!

Parents and guardians are requested to participate in the statewide 5 Essentials Survey. The survey will give parents and guardians the opportunity to give their input and share their thoughts on important elements of school effectiveness, and assist us in guiding school improvement. The online survey collects data related to five indicators that are important in predicting important student outcomes.

Respondents identity and responses will be kept confidential. We encourage our parents and guardians to complete this important survey.

We appreciate your on-going support as we strive in thrive in ESD 159.

Email: communications@dist159.com
Website: www.dist159.com
Location: 20700 Matteson Avenue, Matteson, IL, USA
Phone: 708-720-1300