CCSD15 Staff Newsletter
March 30, 2020
A Message From Dr. Heinz
Dear Staff:
Welcome back from Spring Break and to what would have been opening day for the Cubs!
I hope your teacher plan today allowed you to connect with colleagues virtually and determine how to shoulder distance learning together. I also hope you had a chance to read my latest communication sent to you last night that outlined some of the latest guidance related to remote learning from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Thank you again for all of your hard work related to this enormous endeavor. I value all of your input and efforts as we work to launch a new way of educating students and for doing so in such a short period of time.
I wanted to share that our Wednesday, April 8 Board of Education meeting will still take place, but will be held in a virtual environment. We will be live streaming the meeting to our Facebook page and District website, which is the same process we utilize when live streaming our regularly scheduled meetings. The only difference will be that the Board members will be participating through Zoom instead of in-person and interested members of the community can address the Board during Public Comment via a Google Form that will be shared with the community early next week. We are able to make such adjustments to the meeting structure through an emergency provision allowing a change to the Open Meetings Act.
Lastly, I would love to know the creative ways you are connecting with your students as we embark on distance learning for the first time! I have heard from so many parents how much their children miss school -- the predictable routines, time with their friends and learning with you. Please email me and share what is working so I can push these “good news” stories out at a time when good news is hard to come by. I really would love to hear from you and to be able to share all that our wonderful staff continue to do to address the needs of the whole child.
Thank you again for the passion you bring to this important work. Your effort and collaboration are not going unnoticed. We will continue to share updates with you periodically during the extent of our school closure and will be stronger as a District when we get to the other side of COVID19.
Warmly,
Laurie
VIDEO: Remote Working Productivity Tips
Distance Learning FAQs
The distance learning team has reviewed staff questions and updated the distance learning FAQ. Currently, the FAQ is a google document, linked HERE.
In the future, the FAQ will be located on the secure staff portion of the website. Staff will have to login to the website to access it. Click HERE to access directions on how to login to our site. We hope that this will answer many of your questions.
We will continue to review staff questions submitted to the question form linked HERE. Please continue to provide your questions as they occur.
SPECIAL EDUCATION FAQ REGARDING DISTANCE LEARNING
Questions? Contact Alicia Corrigan.
SEL Activities and Resources during Distance Learning
For social emotional learning (SEL) activities and resources, please visit the District SEL Distance Learning website. From there, students and families can visit the elementary and junior high specific websites to engage in SEL activities, videos, and learn more about the 5 core SEL competencies. COVID-19 resources and emotional / financial support can be found there as well.
Please share these websites with your families and students. It is important to note that while these websites are currently available, they are still being developed. Thank you for your patience!
IMPORTANT YOUTUBE INFORMATION
This is a simple process. Please view this tutorial to verify if a YouTube video has been approved for students to access.
For additional edTech tutorials check out the Teacher Information and Tutorials page. Please book mark this page as we will continue to add content.
One-Five Foundation Mini-Grants
Due to current circumstances the one-five Foundation has had to hold off on reviewing the mini-grant applications and will meet as soon as possible to review and notify all applicants.
Retirement Benefits
CCSD15 has established voluntary 403(b)/457 plans that allow you to participate through payroll deductions. Contributions are calculated and deducted before taxes, and your contribution is sent to the investment company of your choice. We offer a wide range of investment products and companies from which to choose. In the next few days, you will receive information from TSA Consulting Group, the District’s 403(b)/457 plan administrator, on how you can set up one of these accounts. Once you receive the material, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Francine Mueller in Benefits (muellerf@ccsd15.net)
Morgan Delack
Email: delackm@ccsd15.net
Website: www.ccsd15.net
Location: 580 North 1st Bank Drive, Palatine, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-3204
Facebook: facebook.com/CCSD15
Twitter: @D15Schools