Dear Parents/Guardians,

Our week of Halloween/Fall activities was a big hit with our students and allowed everyone to send October off with many smiles and new memories. I would like to extend a thank you to those parent volunteers for their efforts in adjusting the way we normally celebrate Halloween to something fun, yet COVID-friendly. Please enjoy some fun photos from the festivities!

Hello November! In the spirit of feeling grateful, I want to kick off the Thanksgiving season by thanking each and every one of our parents and larger community members for their support of our schools. From our parents/guardians, community volunteers, PTA members and leaders, to our local business partners, we simply could not be as successful without your collaboration and support.

Everywhere I look across the District I see examples of how we are better when we work together to support one another and I am filled with appreciation for the teamwork and partnership of everyone in our District 15 community.

Last week we had one of our Winston Campus Elementary teachers donate a bike to one of our visiting teachers from Colombia. Local Palatine business, Mikes Bikes, not only offered to fix this bike for free, they also donated an additional bike for our other visiting teacher from Argentina! Thank you to Mikes Bike Shop for their support of our visiting teachers who did not have another means of transportation to get to and from work each day!

Please consider joining our food for the holidays campaign as we collect donations to provide holiday meals to D15 families in need. You can drop food drive donations off at the District Office located at 580 1st Bank Dr., Palatine.

At our upcoming Board meeting on Wednesday, November 10, we will be honoring our 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 bring continuous improvement while addressing the needs and wants of the communities we serve. #ThankABoardMember

This year, in an effort to continue to share more information about the many things we are proud of in D15, we have been sharing short videos on the 15th of each month that will only take 1 minute and 15 seconds to enjoy!

Please view our latest D15 in 1:15 video. You can access our archived segments on our Youtube channel.

Despite the fact that we are all likely facing our own set of challenges, we know we all have many things to be thankful for. We want to hear what you’re thankful for this November, so please use the hashtag #ThankfulD15 in your social media post so we can see what you’re thankful for!

Thank you for your support and partnership. I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Your partner in education,

Laurie Heinz

Superintendent of Schools

Our Citizen Task Force (CTF) met for the third time on October 28 to hear a recap of our Moving 15 Forward proposal and the associated costs to make the proposal a reality.

From 9 Priorities to 6 Gears

First Area of Focus – Full-day Kindergarten (FDK): To keep everyone informed of our areas of focus with our Moving 15 Forward initiative, we have created a brief video series that will highlight our why in recommending key components within our plan.

As a reminder, please ensure your child has a mask on when coming to school each day. When possible, please send your child with an additional mask as students have had some wet or torn masks throughout the day.

We appreciate your continued cooperation as we follow the guidance.

As you may have heard, in collaboration with the Cook County Department of Public Health, we made the difficult decision to move Willow Bend to an Adaptive Pause for two weeks due to an increasing number of positive cases.

Willow Bend adhered to health and safety measures recommended by the Health Department, including keeping 3+ feet of distance in classroom spaces, wearing face coverings, washing hands, and sanitizing the building more frequently.

We appreciated our staff’s swift action and our parent/guardian support and patience in the quick transition to remote learning. We continue to work with the health department on any additional cases that may arise at WB and any other potential outbreaks at other schools.

It is in partnership with our community that we are able to keep our students and staff safe and healthy and we appreciate your continued support of our schools and the District’s Safe 6 mitigations.

Our Health Services Team is working with our partners from Jewel/Osco to bring an optional vaccination clinic for our 5-11 year old students in November. An email with more information (dates, time, how to sign up) will be shared with our families soon.

If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment now, you can visit vaccine.cookcountyil.gov.

Show us your creative talents! We are looking for student artwork to showcase at the District 15 office for 2022.

Theme: Our School, Our District, Our Community

The submission deadline is Friday, December 10, 2021. See the flyer for more information (English & Spanish). Please contact Katie Dengler at denglerk@ccsd15.net or 847-963-3133 with any questions.

Starting last year and moving forward, all curricular standards and program resources will follow a Research, Design Implementation Model (RDIM). During this cycle, volunteer teams of teachers, specialists, and administrators review content standards, program resources, professional learning to implement new resources, and also collaborate in discussion on how best to serve our D15 students’ needs and align to our District’s instructional vision.

Currently, District 15 is engaging in 3 different pilot projects and we are implementing a new 6th grade math curriculum. The current three pilot projects are occurring in K-5 Math, 6-8 Science, and 7-8 English Language Arts.

Privacy and student data protection is a key priority for the District. Our three main technology departments (instructional technology, technology services, and data services) work to make sure our systems and vendors comply with the requirements of the Student Online Personal Protection Act or SOPPA, which regulates how student information is protected by school districts and education technology vendors they use. Our student privacy web page outlines our privacy related actions and protective measures.

We also employ a number of measures like on-site filtering, student device monitoring, and security tools which protect our network from outside threats. Students participate in digital citizenship curriculum, and staff can employ tools to support students in making good digital choices. Lastly, our District participates in several state and national consortiums, collaborating with other districts to keep informed on best practices and new resources that may support our data privacy policies.

The District 211 Special Education Leadership Team is hosting an informational session for families to prepare for their child’s transition to high school tonight, Tuesday, November 9. More information can be found in the attached flyers (English & Spanish).

Our World Language Department proudly collaborates and coordinates with the Palatine High School World Language Department to reflect on Spanish and French language development during the pandemic. More than ever, we celebrate students’ interest in world languages, review content pacing and placement criteria as well as discuss the future potential of the Seal of Biliteracy for our students.

District 15 will be holding Job Fairs on the following dates. Come apply onsite and Be a Part of Our Team!

Dates:

• Monday, December 13, 2021

• Monday, January 24, 2022

• Monday, March 7, 2022

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

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

We are looking for the following positions:

• Bus Drivers - no experience necessary; paid training; free benefits (employee only); pension; paid holidays

• Substitute Teachers and Substitute Program Assistants - set your own schedule!

• Full time Program Assistants

• Office and Library Clericals

• Maintenance/Laborers/Custodians

• And more!

Please contact Chanell Lopez at lopezc@ccsd15.net or Lori Thum at thuml@ccsd15.net in the Human Resources department with any questions.

Parents/Guardians - 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.

The District 15 mobile app is available on the App Store and Google Play! To download the free app, search for "CCSD15."

This communication tool allows parents and students to quick access to important school and district information, including Campus Parent, the D15 Bullying Tip Line, a quick link to MyStop (bus stop location and pick-up times), lunch menus, schedules, parent/student handbook, directory information, school news, and more.

• To see integrated student information on the app, click the "student information" button and log-in using your email address and your Campus Parent password. If you are unsure of your password, please visit Infinite Campus and click "forgot password." If you are still having trouble, please contact your school's main office for assistance.

• To make sure you aren’t missing any notices, make sure you turn notifications ON for the mobile app.

If you are not a D15 parent or staff member and would like to receive District updates, download the free mobile app to receive push notifications.

• Go to Notifications, Settings, and choose the schools you wish to receive push notifications from.

• November 10 - Board of Education Meeting
• November 11 - Citizen Task Force
  
• November 19 - Grade 1-6 1st Trimester Ends
  
• November 22-26 - No Student Attendance
  
• November 22-23 - Parent-Teacher Conferences
  
• November 25-26 - District closed for Thanksgiving Break
  
• November 29 - SPARK Meeting