Dear D57 Families,
Next week marks Disability Awareness Week for District 57. In the spirit of inclusion, the entire week will be packed with activities and educational information meant to celebrate all abilities. If you purchased a Disability Awareness t-shirt for yourself or your children, be sure to wear it (or any blue t-shirt) on Friday, April 28, to show your support!
During Thursday’s School Board meeting, we recognized those student-athletes who participated in last Sunday’s Special Olympics event at Prospect High School. These students exemplify determination, joy, and heart, and although the event was rained out midway through the day, our students came home with two ribbons and one silver medal. Incredible job!
Katianne Olson, a Special Education teacher at Fairview, presented Gerry’s Cafe co-founder Natalie Griffin with a donation of $675, monies raised through the sales of the Disability Awareness Week t-shirt sales. Gerry’s Cafe is an extraordinary nonprofit organization opening its first destination cafe in Arlington Heights, offering food and beverages prepared and served by employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We expect to see some D57 alums serving up lattes and pastries there very soon!
We also recognized Jen Kobus for nearly ten years of service on the D57 School Board. Jen moved to the Mount Prospect area specifically for the incredible District 57 school district, right around the time her youngest was to start kindergarten. Given that she was an education major and believed in servant leadership, Jen said that she “wanted to support this amazing community in an area that I am passionate about.” In her words, “The most rewarding part of being on the District 57 board is connecting with our community members, witnessing our amazing students excel in so many ways, and passing the district's first referendum that supported the Lions Park and Fairview expansion.” We wish Jen well in all her endeavors!
The School Board approved the appointment of Jason Jonas, one of our new assistant principals at Lincoln Middle School. Jason is currently the Assistant Principal at Holmes Jr. High in Mount Prospect. Before that, he served as the Dean of Jacobs High School, Assistant Principal of Lincoln Jr. High School (Skokie), and Humanities and Advanced Learners Instructor and World Geography teacher at Lincoln Jr. High (Skokie), among other roles. Jason has a wealth of experience working with students and staff in his previous roles, with significant expertise in developing positive and proactive behavioral systems for schools. Welcome to the team, Jason!
A lot of additional information was shared during the Board Meeting. I’ll summarize some key points here, but as a reminder, you can always view a recording of any Board Meeting you’ve missed by following the meeting’s webcast link.
Katie Kelly, principal at Lions Park Elementary, reported on a recent school-wide Kindness Challenge. The entire school took part in various activities that reinforced the impact empathy can have in our community. So proud of all the work Katie presented.
The district also presented a new initiative centered on increasing student voices in district decisions. In the next few years, our district will explore authentic ways of doing this, including establishing Principal Advisory Councils at each school.
The board also approved a two-year extension to our current transportation contract with First Student. Although the extension came with a slight increase in cost, the consensus was that maintaining consistency in this uncertain transportation climate would be a wiser approach.
Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this information - have a wonderful weekend!
In the spirit of education,
Dr. Mary Gorr
Superintendent of Schools
Mount Prospect School District 57
