Washington Wildcat Chat

Dear District 64 Families,

I hope everyone had a great first few days back! We’re thrilled to build on the momentum of the first half of the year and look forward to all the learning, growth, and connections in 2025. As we start planning, I want to discuss registration for the 2025-2026 school year.

Mark your calendars! Enrollment opens for all District 64 students on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, including kindergarteners and children returning to preschool. The registration deadline will be noon on Friday, March 14, and if you register your child and pay the fees by then, you will receive the early bird discount. You must fill out and submit registration forms by Monday, March 10, at 3:00 pm to take advantage of the fee discount. This allows our staff time to verify documents and send out invoices so you can pay them by noon on Friday, March 14. Any families who do not register by this date will receive a records release, as we assume you’re going to another district.

For the 17th consecutive year, academic registration fees will remain unchanged for families who register and pay by the deadline. However, the early bird discount does not apply to participation, bus, or tuition fees. Our website has the fee list and explanations for any fee increases, such as for Instrumental Music and Chromebook maintenance.

We are excited to announce the elimination of preschool registration fees and tuition, made possible by the Preschool for All Grant. As part of the grant, we require a few additional items from families to complete the enrollment process. Families with a child returning to Jefferson, as well as those registering a new child, can find the necessary registration steps on the Jefferson Early Childhood Center’s website.

Your timely registration helps us tremendously as we prepare for everything that goes into a new school year. It helps us accurately plan staffing throughout the District, consider classroom arrangements, organize transportation, and get the materials needed to support your child.

Where can you find registration information? On Tuesday, January 21, we will post all the links and directions for the 2025-2026 registration process at the top of our D64 registration page.

How do you make sure you receive the early bird discount? You must have the registration forms filled out and submitted by Monday, March 10, at 3:00 pm. This allows our staff time to verify documents and send out invoices so you can pay them by noon on Friday, March 14.

What happens after March 14? If you miss the deadline and receive a records release form but want your child to attend school in District 64, you need to complete a few items to enroll:

• Prove residency, even if you were previously cleared.
• Provide a birth certificate of the child registering.

Thank you for your continued partnership as we prepare for an exciting upcoming school year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Ben Collins
Superintendent

The PTO is excited to announce the return of Read-A-Thon, which will take place February 3rd through 24th. Last year's event created a lot of excitement about reading and was a successful fundraiser. Instructions for activating your reader's account will be sent out before Read-A-Thon begins. Readers can earn individual prizes and classrooms can engage in friendly competition!

We hope you will be reading with us this year!

This winter, our District administered the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test to all students in grades 2-8 in reading and math. MAP tests are adaptive tests that your child takes on a computer. Therefore, your child takes a test specifically created for his or her learning level.

Your child’s MAP results are reported in RIT scores. RIT stands for Rasch UnIT. The RIT score is an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches, which is independent of grade level. As a result, we can measure growth in learning over time.

On your child’s report, you will see your child’s target RIT for spring. You will also see your child’s RIT score for each test as well as the District and national RIT scores. In addition, there is information on your child’s achievement in the subcategories of the subject area. Click here for a guide to help you understand your child’s report.

As you may remember from the spring 2024 communications, NWEA upgraded its assessment to a new version of MAP Growth and is now using an algorithm that prioritizes more grade-level test items. Due to this change, math test scores are altered in a way that does not allow districts to compare this year’s Fall, Winter, and Spring results to previous data and norms. This data is not an apples-to-apples comparison to our previous data due to the misalignment with the 2020 NWEA norms. NWEA will release new norms in Summer 2025. Here you can find last year’s communication about this issue.

Please do the following to translate your child’s score:

1. Locate your child’s RIT and percentile scores on the original report.
2. Find the RIT score (Column D) on this table (be sure to find the appropriate grade level- Column B on the Winter tab).
3. Locate the concorded MAP score and percentile (Columns E & F).

As you look at this data, please keep the following in mind:

● Growth percentiles and RIT scores for Reading are consistent with previous versions of the test and are deemed valid by NWEA. This data can be analyzed “as is” to track student progress and growth and make instructional decisions.

● The concordance tool above will be used when making academic math placement decisions such as, but not limited to intervention services, class placement, and the Channels of Challenge program.

Additional information on the MAP assessment can be found at www.nwea.org.

Be sure you are logged into your Washington PTO account and that your child's information has been updated for the current school year.

The registration form can be found under My Account > Open Forms.

All abilities are welcome to participate! Space is limited so be sure to sign up soon.

We are also still seeking one 4th grade coach. Email board@washingtonpto.org if you are interested!

Swim for a Cause!

Band Orchestra Parents Association (BOPA) Fundraiser at Goldfish Swim School

Looking for a fun place to bring your kids on their next day off?

Join us for a Swim to Donate!

BOPA Fundraiser at Goldfish SwimSchool

Monday January 20th

1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Goldfish Swim School

678 N. Northwest Highway, Park Ridge

Registration Fee: $10

(ALL proceeds will go directly to D64 Band and Orchestra Parent Association)

SIGN UP HERE- registration required!

*You MUST register ahead using the link above. Only the first 90 registrants will be admitted.

*Children of all ages must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Registration fees can be paid through Zelle @ bopad64@gmail.com at the time of registration and are non-refundable. Please include Swim to Donate in the memo line when submitting payment and be sure to pay for each individual attending (adult and child). You will receive a confirmation email once your registration and payment have been received.

*Enjoy water play, snacks and giveaways!

Questions? Contact Christine Erickson at BOPAd64@gmail.com

• PTO Meeting, January 15th
• Parent University, January 15th
• No School, MLK Day, January 20th
• Registration Opens, January 21st
• PTO Meeting, February 12th
• No School, Teacher Institute Day, February 14th
• No School, President's Day, February 17th

Inspire all students to discover their strengths, embrace learning, achieve personal excellence, and demonstrate care. Students thrive in a rich, rigorous, and innovative curriculum delivered by highly qualified teachers. Each student learns and grows in a safe, nurturing environment. In collaboration with student, parents, teachers and the community, District 64 provides opportunities for each learner to investigate, be successful, be resilient, and become inspired and empowered as they contribute to our global society.