Superintendent News
Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95
A Message from Dr. Kelley Gallt
March 31, 2021
Dear District 95 Families,
Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope your time away from your daily routine was restful and restorative.
As we prepare for the return of in-person learning five days a week on April 7th, it is worth mentioning that during the 2020-21 school year our district will have implemented all three of the pandemic related plans that the Pandemic Planning Committee teams created last summer: eLearning, Hybrid Learning, and Full In-Person Learning. Each of these plans, and the pivots associated with them, took many hours of planning and preparation by hard working staff members. I am eternally grateful to all of our staff and our district families for the commitment and patience that has brought us to this exciting point, certainly on a more positive trajectory than just one year ago at this time.
Although pandemic plans have been the primary focus for the past year, it is important to recognize that many other district initiatives have also been underway at the same time. Please see the article below, Forward95 Strategic Plan Updates, to understand and celebrate some of the other initiatives that have been realized during the 2020-21 school year.
I hope you are proud, as I am, that our district has continued to move forward while also meeting the substantial needs presented by the pandemic.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kelley Gallt
District 95 Teachers Make A Difference Award
As we enter the final months of what has truly been an unusual and historical school year, I encourage you to take a moment to recognize those teachers who have truly made a difference for your child and your family.
We are asking parents and/or students to consider submitting a nomination for our annual Teachers Make a Difference Award. Each year, three teachers are selected for the award from among the district’s many outstanding professionals. The award recipients will be honored and will receive a monetary award toward the use of professional development or other educational resources. Nominations are due by Friday, April 9th, 2021.
Please direct any questions to nominations@lz95.org.
Attendance And Full-Time In Person Return
We are very excited to move forward with our full time in-person learning model beginning on April 7, 2021. Throughout the pandemic, parents, students, and staff have demonstrated great flexibility while the district implemented hybrid learning. Now that the district has determined the ability for schools to move back to a full-time learning model five days a week, the district will expect all students whose families have elected full in-person learning to attend school daily. Please note that students who are in-person learners but are absent for vacation and other unapproved reasons will no longer be allowed to access learning remotely.
Important Calendar Dates & Changes
April 5th & 6th
- There will be no school for District 95 students on these dates. Due to the pandemic, Illinois school districts were given additional Institute Days for professional development – these dates will be used for staff development and preparation for our new plans. Please note, this does NOT extend the school year, the last day of school remains the same.
April 7th
- Return to full time, in-person learning at all grades for those who selected this option.
April 12th
- Summer school registration (all grade levels) will open and can be accessed on the district website.
April 12th
- Registration opens for returning students for the 2021-22 school year and can be accessed on the district website.
May 14th
- This date will now be an Early Release day for all grade levels (PreK-12th).
May 21st
- This date will now be a regular attendance day for all grade levels (PreK-12th).
June 1st
- Tentative last day of school (assuming no emergency days are used between now and the end of the school year).
Changes To Meal Assistance Program
On April 7th, the district will begin with full-time in person learning for those who selected it. To accommodate students returning to school, the meal assistance program will be changing slightly, but lunches will still be available without payment for the rest of the year.
- Beginning on Friday, April 9th, meal pickups and home deliveries will be moving to FRIDAYS. Pickups will remain at the high school, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The last Monday meal pickup and delivery will take place on Monday, April 5th (for the week of April 5th only there will be two pickups, one on Monday to provide meals for Monday-Friday, and another on Friday to provide meals for the weekend and the following week).
- For fully remote families – If you are currently receiving home delivery or picking up at the high school – you will continue to be provided 7 breakfasts and 7 lunches for consumption at home.
- For students attending school in person – If you are currently receiving home delivery or picking up at the high school – you will be provided 7 breakfasts and 2 lunches. A school lunch will be provided at no additional cost during the week at school.
If you have any questions or would like to add or remove meal support, please email the businessoffice@lz95.org with your students name, grade, address and contact information.
New May Whitney Cafeteria
New May Whitney Collaboration Space
Seth Paine Addition, New Library and Innovation Lab
Forward95 Strategic Plan Updates
The following includes a few of the initiatives that have been realized during the 2020-21 school year:
Action Plan 4B22 (photos above)- Develop and Implement Facility Designs that Support the Teaching and Learning of 21st Century Skills
- Substantial completion of New May Whitney Elementary School, opening in August 2021
- Completion of Seth Paine addition/renovations/AC
- Completion of Sarah Adams AC/library
Action Plan 4C19B - Implement a District Enrollment Map According to Criteria
- Board Advisory Committee composed of parents and staff developed and recommended new attendance boundaries for the 2021-22 school year
- Board of Education adopted new attendance boundaries in January 2021
Action Plan 2A20A - Establish and Sustain Professional Learning Community (PLC) Practices That Enhance Collaboration, Continuous Improvement, and Advances Student Learning
- High Impact Teacher Teams created
- Teacher participation in professional learning grounded in best practices
- Team leaders identified to facilitate PLC's across the district
Action Plan 2A20B - Establish Common Grading Practices and Reporting Structures for Lake Zurich High School
- High School grading committee developed
- Teachers and administrators designed and implemented a research-based grading structure district-wide
- Teacher implementation of an 80/20 grading scale
Action Plan 2A22A - Establish Common Grading Practices and Reporting Structures for K-8 Content Areas
- Middle school adoption of the 80/20 model of grading, aligned to the High School
- Teachers and administrators designed and implemented a research-based grading structure district-wide
- K-2 standards-based report cards launched during the 2020-2021 school year, aligned to state priority standards
Three Symptoms Removed From COVID Symptom List
Please note, the Lake County Health Department (LCHD) has updated their COVID-19 symptom list by removing the following symptoms:
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Runny nose/congestion
Therefore, the LCHD guidance related to schools sending home or denying entry to students and/or staff has been adjusted to now include ANY of the following symptoms being present:
- Achiness (muscles/body)
- Shortness of breath
- New cough
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue from unknown cause
- Fever (100.4 F or higher)
- New onset of moderate or severe headache
- New loss of sense of taste/smell
- Sore throat
- Vomiting
Social Emotional Wellness
Family Seminar Series
Recently, the district hosted a virtual Family Seminar Series in response to family feedback asking for additional resources for supporting students at home. If you missed these informative sessions, please click here to access the recordings of these sessions and self-paced session content.
Social-emotional Learning Frequently Asked Questions
Recently, we have fielded additional questions from families regarding different elements of social-emotional learning. Linked HERE is a document that provides answers to commonly-asked questions.
Social Emotional Support Reminders
There have been several additional opportunities for accessing student social emotional support developed across the course of the school year. Linked HERE families can find information on requesting additional support for their student, making an in-person counseling appointment, and other opportunities. As always, families are also encouraged to reach out to building-based teams with student-specific concerns.
5Essential Survey for Parents - Ends April 2nd
District 95 parents have an opportunity to participate in the annual Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the learning climate of your child’s school. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness. Students and teachers also have had an opportunity to take the survey.
On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. This survey identifies five indicators that can lead to important student outcomes. The five indicators that affect school success are:
- Effective Leaders
- Collaborative Teachers
- Involved Families
- Supportive Environments
- Ambitious Instruction
District 95 has chosen to provide the optional 5Essentials parent survey. If at least 20 percent of a school’s parents complete the survey, a parent supplement will be generated for schools and sent to the school. The parent data will not be reported as part of the public reporting on the State Report Card on the Illinois Interactive Report Card.
Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the learning conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.
The Parent Survey Supplement will be conducted through April 2, 2021.
**To take the survey please visit http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/ and select the appropriate survey to begin.**
For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous year’s reports, please visit https://illinois.5-essentials.org. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or 5essentials@uchicago.edu.
Privacy Policy http://survey.5-essentials.org/privacy/