Thank you to all our families who have signed up for parent-teacher conferences! It is so important to create strong connections between home and school. Whether your child needs more support or they are doing a great job, we encourage our families to meet with teachers. We appreciate your collaboration so much!! Link and information is listed below if you have not had a chance to sign up yet!!

I also wanted to share that we have received our annual summative designation from ISBE and we continue to be a commendable school!! As a school community, we continue to celebrate the wonderful things happening at our school and identify areas for growth. We have a wonderful Instructional Leadership Team and many committees led by staff members who are working hard to ensure we review all available data through an academic and equity lens to continue supporting ALL of our students. Read more about our work below.

Remember that we cannot do it alone and thank you for your support throughout the school year!!

~Ms. Nicasio, Principal

nicasim@unit5.org

~Mr. Tripp, Associate Principal

trippd@unit5.org

~Ms. Oxarart, Assistant Principal

oxararta@unit5.org

We are happy to report that we have received an annual summative designation of Commendable as a school community!! We are proud to know that we continue to have not only proficiency but also all students are demonstrating growth in the areas of English Language Arts, Math, and Science. CJHS believes that all students can learn and strives to provide a positive and challenging learning environment to ensure ALL our students realize their individual potential. Learning experiences are designed to meet students at their instructional level and provide additional support as needed to ensure success and challenge all students to reach high standards of achievement.

We also know that our students thrive in learning environments that are physically safe and emotionally secure. We foster a culture of respect and connectivity within our school and community and we believe that every child deserves the daily opportunity for a high-quality educational experience.

Each year, our school disaggregates and analyzes student achievement data to set SMART Goals for the current year and review progress on past goals. This year, our school will focus on the following goals:

• Academic Goal: In the fall of 2023, 84.4% of students were at or above the benchmark. In the Spring of 2024, only 81.4% were at or above the benchmark. This is a decline of 3%.
• In our 5 Essentials Survey results under the Ambitious Instruction category, English Instruction was at the 54%ile and Academic Press was at 2%ile. In regards to English Instruction, overall students do not see the meaning of reading nor understand how connections are made between a reading and real life people or situations. In regards to academic personalism, students reported that they do not feel that teachers are connecting with them and making them feel supported in achieving their academic goals.
• Black or African American students fell in the 71.3% range in the Fall Star Assessment. This demographic was the lowest at Chiddix.
• By the Spring of 2025, Black or African American students at or above the benchmark in Star Reading Assessment will increase by 2%.

• Equity Goal: Behavior data indicates there is a disproportionality in exclusionary consequences for students in our school who identify as Black or African-American (14.6%), as well as students who identify as Two or more races (7.7%). Frequently, this is a direct result of multiple incidents: Insubordination, disruptive behavior, and physical aggression. Reducing the overall number of incidents for these student groups will also decrease the number of exclusionary consequences. This goal will allow all students to have equitable experiences in regards to student discipline.
• By the spring of the 2024-2025 school year, the risk ratio for all incidents of Black/African American students will decrease from 3.1 to 2.4 and Two or More Races students will decrease from 2.4 to 1.8. Both would be a decrease of 25% for all incidents.

Below you can read through the indicators used by ISBE to evaluate student success at CJHS. Please take a moment to review and we thank you for your continued partnership to ensure the academic, social, and emotional well being of ALL our students!

Chiddix IMC is hosting a Follett Book eFair from 10/28 to 11/8. You can shop our online book fair by visiting the CJHS Virtual Book Fair link below! Students are receiving a paper flyer in Lit & Comp class. All purchases will help add more books to the IMC collection. Thank you in advance for your support!

When you click on the link, you will select the conference(s) you would like to attend. You will then be asked your student's name, your name, and you must provide a valid email address. After that, you will receive an email inviting you to sign up for parent-teacher conferences. You will then need to click on the link in the email and select the conference(s) and times you would like to attend.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Our annual "unraiser" is the only fundraiser where 100% of your donation goes toward PTO budget and it DOES NOT involve selling products or spending your valuable time.

Please consider a donation of any amount to help support our school community!! Click on the link below for more information.

The PTO will be providing lunch for the Chiddix staff on Progress Conference Day - Monday, November 4th. The pasta and salad have been generously donated by the First Assembly of God and we're asking our families to help with the breadsticks, desserts and drinks. Please consider signing up to help us provide a delicious luncheon!

We wanted to share that Unit 5 is expanding its use of the Verkada visitor management system to all district schools. This system, which has been used in Unit 5 high schools for the past year, is designed to enhance the safety and security of our students, staff, and visitors.

Upon entry into a school, visitors and volunteers will enter the main office and present their photo ID to be scanned by the Verkada system. The system tracks the arrival and departure of visitors, while also strengthening student safety by checking all visitors against a registered sex offender database.

The visitor's full name and date of birth is searched on sex offender registries. Additionally, the name is reviewed on our district banned person list. Within seconds, the system will share the results with school staff and will print an ID badge for entry.

If someone doesn’t have an ID, they will be checked in manually by office staff, sharing other forms of information.

It is important to note, this is only in use for times a visitor is entering the school during the day. It will not be used for after-school activities or when a parent is just coming to pick up a child.

We believe that the implementation of Verkada will greatly contribute to a safer and more secure environment for everyone in our school community. We are committed to providing a secure learning space and appreciate your support as we integrate this new system.

If you have any questions or concerns about Verkada, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Thank you for your continued partnership in ensuring the safety and well-being of our students.

Mr. Tripp, Associate Principal

Ms. Oxarart, Assistant Principal

Phone Numbers:

• General Information: (309) 557-4405
• Guidance Office: (309) 557-4850
• Attendance Line: (309) 557-4454
• School Nurse: (309) 557-4687
• Transportation: (309) 557-4287

Email: nicasim@unit5.org
Website: https://www.unit5.org/Domain/25
Location: 300 South Walnut Street, Normal, IL, USA
Phone: 309-557-4405