Family Newsletter

November 4, 2022

Dear District 15 Families,

The recent Halloween/Fall activities were a big hit with our students and staff. So many people reported that it felt nice to have “fun events” back in our schools. Thank you to all of our schools for hosting such special celebrations for our students – without our cherished volunteers, events such as these just wouldn’t be possible.

Every October, schools receive an annual Illinois Report Card that shows how schools and the District are progressing on a wide range of educational goals. Due to the pandemic, 2022 marks the first time since 2019 that a summative designation has been conferred. The designation is based on the school’s overall accountability indicators, as well as the data for individual student groups.​​ Schools fall within one of four performance designations: Exemplary, Commendable, Targeted Needs, and Comprehensive Needs.

For the 2021-22 school year, all District 15 schools have been designated as Commendable. A Commendable school designation means that not only does the school’s overall performance fall within the state’s performance targets, each of the student demographic groups in the school also meets the state’s performance targets. Additionally, District 15 continues to outperform the state average in each tested area: English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and attaining English proficiency for students learning English.

Building on resources found within the Illinois Report Card (IRC), the District also mines data from a variety of additional assessments to create a fuller picture as we create and drive school improvement plans. Key sources range from the 5 Essentials School Climate Survey, Measures for Academic Progress (MAP) achievement tests, Fastbridge Early Literacy assessments, as well as assessments of student mental health to identify and respond to student social-emotional concerns and levels of risk for mental health concerns.

Tune into Wednesday’s Board meeting to learn about Fall benchmarking tools and how they are used at the District, school, and building levels.

Our staff and leaders are committed to knowing, engaging, and supporting the needs of all learners.

During the spring of 2022, a large committee of community members, parents, staff, students, and administrators worked together to develop the first ever Portrait of a District 15 Graduate. Our Portrait of a Graduate work identified the qualities, skills, and characteristics we want our students to embody as they move through District 15.

As we start the journey of building a new strategic plan, we want to hear from you! You can share your input on your hopes for our strategic direction by completing our Strategic Planning Community Engagement Survey.

The survey will take no more than 15 minutes and will allow us to incorporate your thoughts into our new Strategic Plan. The survey will close on November 18th.

A Strategic Plan will serve as our roadmap for many years to come. It informs our actions as a district and focuses our work around what is best for students so please help us create a plan that both inspires and meets the needs of our students.

Our next two Board meetings will be on Wednesday, November 9 and TUESDAY, December 13. Please note, due to scheduling conflicts, that the December meeting was moved to a Tuesday.

At our upcoming Board meeting on Wednesday, November 9, we will be honoring our wonderful Board of Education as part of the Illinois Association of School Board’s (IASB) Board Member Appreciation Day celebrated annually on November 15.

As you know, these seven individuals volunteer their time to help continuously improve D15 while also listening to stakeholders within the communities we serve. You can email our Board of Education here. #ThankABoardMember

This is our final newsletter before the community votes on the Moving 15 Forward plan. We hope you have felt informed about what this plan brings to our students, staff, and schools. The plan has been a true labor of love over the last three years and has us excited about its possibilities.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our families, staff, and communities for their feedback to help us develop a comprehensive plan that was designed with careful thought and intention to ensure it benefits every student, school, and community in District 15.

We appreciate everyone that has attended an informational session, those who filled out one of our surveys, and everyone who has reached out with questions. Thanks to your input – you helped make our plan what it is today.

If you want to learn more or review the frequently asked questions, please visit www.ccsd15.net/Moving15Forward.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8 and all Illinois public schools are closed on this day.

Early voting ends Monday, November 7. To find an early voting location near you, visit the Cook County Clerk website.

Not registered to vote yet? On Election Day, voters who are not registered to vote can register and vote at their home precinct only. Any voter who is not registered and needs to know where to go to register and vote on Election Day can utilize the Clerk’s online Your Voter Information Tool to find their proper polling place by address or birthday. Voters planning on registering to vote or updating their address on Election Day must bring two pieces of identification to register, one with a current address.

Again, there is no school on Tuesday, November 8 due to Election Day. Please ensure your voice is heard by getting out and voting.

Just as we did last year, we are doing Thankful Thursdays on our social media channels! In the spirit of feeling grateful, I want to kick off the month of November by thanking each and every one of our families, community volunteers, PTA members, and our local business partners.

We would not be as successful without your collaboration and support. Please use the hashtag #ThankfulD15 in your social media post so we can see what you’re thankful for!

As always, thank you for your partnership and support. It is when we work together, that we can achieve endless possibilities for District 15.

Your partner in education,

Laurie Heinz

Superintendent of Schools

District 15 will be holding Job Fairs on the following dates. Come apply onsite and be a part of our team!

Dates:

• November 7, 2022
• November 14, 2022

Location: Palatine Library, 700 N. North Court, Palatine, IL 60067

Time: 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Please contact Lori Thum at humanresources@ccsd15.net with any questions.

Student fees are due. If you have not paid your student fees, we will be emailing you an invoice in the next couple of weeks.

Parents/Guardians - Especially as we get closer to the colder months, please make sure you have all of your contact information updated in Infinite Campus (email address, phone number, and cell phone number) for absence calls, school, District, and Board newsletters, emergency notifications, etc. To check your contact information, you can log in to Infinite Campus to review and update.

The District 211 Special Education Leadership Team is hosting an informational session at Fremd High School for families to prepare for their child’s transition to high school on Tuesday, November 15 at 6:30 pm. More information can be found in the attached flyers (English & Spanish).

We have two parent engagement sessions coming up especially planned for our bilingual Ukrainian and Spanish speaking families.

Ukrainian Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee Meeting
Тема: Об’єднаємо наші українські родини

Коли: Вівторок, 15 листопада, 2022 року, 6:30-8:00 вечора

Адреса: Lincoln Elementary School - 1021 N. Ridgewood Lane, Palatine

Theme: Uniting Our Ukrainian Families

When: November 15, 2022 from 6:30-8 p.m.

Where: Lincoln Elementary School - 1021 N. Ridgewood Lane, Palatine

Please see the flyer linked here for more details.

Spanish Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee Meeting

Tema: Cambios de conducta en los hijos y cómo actuar de manera efectiva
¿Cuándo?: Jueves, 10 de noviembre de 2022 de 6:30 a 8:30 pm

¿Dónde?: Escuela Primaria Lake Louise - 500 N Jonathan Drive, Palatine

Theme: How to Effectively Address Changes in Children’s Behavior

When: Thursday, November 10, 2022 from 6:30-8:00 pm
Where: Lake Louise Elementary School - 500 N Jonathan Drive, Palatine

Please see the flyer linked here for more details.

• November 8 - No School (Election Day)
• November 9 - D15 Substitute Teacher Training
• November 9 - Board of Education Meeting
• November 10 - BPAC Meeting
• November 15 - Parent University
• November 15 - MPAC - Ukrainian Parent Meeting
• November 18 - Grade 1-6 Progress Reports Issued
• November 21 - No Student Attendance (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
• November 22 - No Student Attendance (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
• November 23 - No Student Attendance
• November 24 - No School (Thanksgiving Recess)
• November 25 - No School (Thanksgiving Recess)
• November 28 - SPARK Meeting
• November 29 - MPAC Meeting