Viking Newsletter
Jim Calabrese, Superintendent, Taft SD 90
March 28, 2021
Viking of the Week
We are extremely pleased to announce Gage as our Viking of the Week. We sincerely hope he can continue to have such a great performance in PE and know that he has the ability to apply the same consistent effort to the rest of his classes.
Yearbook
State Testing
As part of the compliance with various state and federal requirements, all Illinois public schools are required to administer various assessments for our students. Taft has already completed the ACCESS assessment for our English Language Learners. In the upcoming weeks, we will also be administering the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) to students in grades 3 through 8. The IAR is designed to measure student's current performance in relation to the Illinois Learning Standards. Along with the IAR, Illinois public schools are also required to administer the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) to students in grades 5 and 8.
Our target window to administer the IAR will be from April 26 - 30. Any make-ups will be scheduled during the following two weeks. We have not completely finalized when we will administer the ISA for our 5th and 8th grade students. All assessments will be scheduled during school hours and administered at Taft. Remote students are encouraged to participate and attend school in person on those dates. Unfortunately, there is no option to administer the assessment remotely. Due to various testing locations, we will still be able to maintain the 6 feet of social distancing in all classrooms during these dates.
Remote students who are continuing to stay remote will have the option to attend in person or to choose to not attend in person--there is no option for remote administration for the State Accountability Assessments. All public schools in Illinois are waiting for additional guidance and clarification from ISBE concerning the Federal accountability waiver which removes the summative distinctions/ratings for schools and the participation rates.
Friday - April 23, 2021
Just a reminder that Friday, April 23, 2021 is an early release due to our School Improvement Meeting. Just like with our other early release days, all students will have a remote learning day. Students in 1st-8th grade will have classes beginning at 8:30 AM and kindergarten students will hear from Mrs. Troha about their learning schedule.
Board of Education Members
Once the new board members have an opportunity to be seated on the Board of Education the new members as a whole will discuss the need to fill the remaining seat. Traditionally the board would put out an invitation for interested parties to apply to be on the board. The board then would hold interviews and pick a community member for the unfilled seat. Please be on the lookout for more information about this process after the meeting on April 28, 2021.
New Website Design
Current 8th Grade Students
Please use the button below for a link to information and registration to Lockport Township High School's Fresh Start 2021.
Board of Education Meeting Date Change
School Calendar
4/13/21 - Kindergarten Round-up - 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
4/23/21 - Remote Learning Day - All Grades
4/26/21-4/30/21 - State Testing Window - All Students in 3rd-8th Grade Students Attend In-Person Learning at Taft - 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM - No Remote Learning - Students in K-2 Follow the Regular In-Person and Remote Learning Schedule.
4/28/21- Board of Education Meeting - 6:15 PM
Taft School District 90
Email: j.calabrese@taftsd90.org
Website: www.taft90.org
Location: 1605 South Washington Street, Lockport, IL, USA
Phone: (815)838-0434
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taft.vikings
Twitter: @jjcalabrese