• Superintendent's Message
• Residency Verification and Kindergarten Registration
• Food Service Updates
• And more!

The registration process for the 2025-2026 school year will begin next week. It consists of two parts: completing online registration through PowerSchool and attending an in-person proof of residency event for required grade levels. This spring, all current 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students must provide proof of residency. If your child or children are in one of these grades at Euclid or Indian Grove Elementary School, this requirement applies to you. Please review the important dates and deadlines below.

February 19, 2025:

• Kindergarten registration will be held from 4:00pm-8:00pm at Prairie Trails School

• You must pre-register for this event.

• River Trails Kindergarten families with older siblings already enrolled in the district may register ALL students at this time.

February 20, 2025:

• Registration for ALL students opens online through PowerSchool (including NEW district families in grades 1-8)

• Your PowerSchool username is the email address that you use for that account

• If you cannot locate or remember your PowerSchool password, click “forgot password”

• If you continue to have difficulty, please contact Audi Perez at aperez@rtsd26.org.

April 17 and April 18, 2025:

• IN PERSON proof of residency events at Euclid and Indian Grove Elementary Schools for all current students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5. More details to come.

• Online registration MUST be completed PRIOR TO PROOF OF RESIDENCY.

April 30, 2025:

• This is the last day for an “Early Bird” discount toward student fees.

A huge thank you to our incredible community partners—the Village of Mount Prospect, Mount Prospect Police , Mount Prospect Fire Department , and Mount Prospect Public Library —for their unwavering support of River Trails School District. Your partnership helps us create a safe, engaged, and thriving environment for our students and families!

As a reminder, all students planning to return to River Trails School district MUST register online. Current 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students MUST provide proof of residency IN-PERSON prior to August 1, 2025. Please make note of the following important dates:

February 19, 2025:

• Kindergarten registration will be held from 4:00pm-8:00pm at Prairie Trails School

• You must pre-register for this event.

• RTSD Kindergarten families with older siblings already enrolled in the district may register ALL students at this time.

February 20, 2025:

• Registration for ALL students opens online through PowerSchool (including NEW district families in grades 1-8)

April 17 and April 18, 2025:

• IN PERSON proof of residency events at Euclid and Indian Grove Elementary Schools for all current students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5.

• Online registration MUST be completed PRIOR TO PROOF OF RESIDENCY.

April 30, 2025:

• This is the last day for an “Early Bird” discount toward student fees.

August 1, 2025:

• Drop date for students who have not provided proof of residency documentation. Students who have not provided this information will be unenrolled from the district.

• Last day to request bussing.

• All bus fees must be paid in full by this date.

We will provide additional information on our website and will continue to communicate each of these events.

We are excited to announce that parents and guardians can now manage their children’s RTSD26 Chromebook usage outside of school hours!

By downloading the GoGuardian Parent app, families will be able to:

• Block websites on District Chromebooks during out-of-school hours

• Pause internet access on District Chromebooks during out-of-school hours, either on-demand or at a scheduled time

Instructions for downloading and connecting the GoGuardian Parent app have been sent, so make sure to check your email inbox!

This summer, we’re excited to offer enrichment camps for incoming 6th-8th grade students! Camps will run from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and may include courses such as Sports Camp, Kitchen & Gardening, Art Camp, Creative Writing, and more.

We will offer three sessions on the following weeks:

• June 23

• July 14

• August 4

The cost per session is $40. Stay tuned for more details!

Registration for incoming kindergarten (2025-26) is scheduled for Wednesday, February 19, 2025 from 4pm-8pm. Please help spread the word! Families of incoming students must pre register to secure a spot for the evening.

We are excited to introduce our New Winter/Spring Lunch menus! We have been working hard to offer a variety of delicious and nutritious meal options that will help fuel your child’s learning through the day.

Menu Rotation: We will begin our new menus on February 3rd. As a reminder, we follow a two-week cyclical menu. This means your child will see the same menu every other week. Cycle calendars are now included on the menus for easy reference. Please note that the new menus will begin on a B-Week.

New and Exciting Options: We’ve brought back some past favorites like Orange Chicken, alongside exciting new additions we believe your children will love! Be sure to check out some of our new Vegetarian friendly options like our Grilled Cheese, Bean Nachos, and Pasta with Marinara Sauce.

Easy-to-Understand Allergen Information: We are committed to the safety and well-being of all our students. Our new menus now include clear allergen symbols for all major allergens. These symbols will also be displayed in the cafeteria to help non-readers and multilingual students make informed choices. Please take a moment to review these symbols with your child and discuss any dietary concerns with the Director of Food Services, Jill Kersten (jkersten@rtsd26.org).

Daily Dose of Fruits and Vegetables: Did you know that students who purchase school lunch have access to at least 5 fruits and vegetables every day? Throughout the week, they’ll enjoy a variety of vegetables from all color groups and a large selection of fresh fruits.

Convenient Online Access: View the full weekly menus on our district website: https://www.rtsd26.org/departments/food-services/lunch-menus.

We encourage you to review the new menus with your children and discuss any questions or concerns with our Food Services Department.

• Please monitor your student’s MyMealtime accounts and help us avoid negative accounts. Please pre-pay for your student’s meals by loading funds onto their account.
• Free or Reduced Meal Applications can be completed at any point in the year if your household circumstances change.

After each Board of Education meeting, you can find a recap of the topics discussed on our website.

You can find the recap of the February 11 meeting here.

If you have any questions about the newsletter, please contact Stephanie Swieca at sswieca@rtsd26.org