D34 Parent News
Timely news for District 34 families and the community
November 2018
Stay in the Know!
November No School Days
Need to find your voting site, or want to see who is on your ballot? Click the button below!
Focus Forward Together - Strategic Planning Update
The Strategic Planning Team met on October 24 to review input from engagement sessions, student focus groups and stakeholder surveys. Almost 700 students, staff, parents and community members provided input on the Strategic Planning Team's analysis of the District's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats -- the SWOT analysis. When you combine that input with the 2,400 stakeholders who took the initial survey, it's very clear that we have an engaged community that cares about our schools and our students!
Look for further input opportunities in the coming weeks as the Strategic Planning Team begins to build the District's mission, vision and values.
D34 ParentConnect Next Up!
D34 ParentConnect Discussion Groups
It’s the end of a long day, you are completely exhausted, and your children’s arguing pulls you in to referee. “Mooooom! Justin snatched my cookie!” “No, I didn’t… You started it!” Sound familiar? Have you ever had those parenting situations where you are just trying to survive? Pulling from Drs. Daniel Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson’s framework of the Whole-Brain Child, the D34 ParentConnect Discussion Groups will teach parents about Whole-Brain Parenting and will support parents in developing strategies to transform parenting moments of survival into opportunities for thriving. Participants will learn basic information about their child’s brain development, how to identify their child’s emotional needs, and how to respond optimally in order to develop strategies to support their child’s healthy development. Check the website for the schedule.
Group Presentations
Almost 200 parents came to the inaugural D34 ParentConnect presentation, Children & Anxiety: Considerations for Mindful Parenting, on October 3. If you weren't able to attend, or if you want to revisit your learning from that evening, please visit the D34 ParentConnect webpage for a copy of the presentation, a Q&A and resources shared.
And, mark your calendar for the next presentation on January 30, 2019, A “SnapChat” for Parents: Parenting Children & Adolescents in the Era of Social Media.
K-5 Report Cards Posted on PowerSchool on 11/30
On November 30, parents of K-5 students will be able to log into PowerSchool to see your child’s first trimester report card. There will be a “Report Card” icon on the left navigation bar when report cards are posted (that icon is not visible now). If you have trouble logging into PowerSchool, click here for help.
With District 34’s move to standards-based grading comes a report card that has a different look and provides you and your child with greater information to understand his or her progress. Please visit the K-5 Report Card page of the website to find resources for understanding standards-based grading, answers to common questions about the new report card, and samples of the report card.
Report cards will be translated into Spanish, Korean and Mongolian. You’ll see the tabs at the top of the screen on the Report Card page in PowerSchool.
If you have any questions about the standards-based grading or the new report card, please contact your building principal, your child’s teacher, or Dr. Matt Silverman, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction.
School Facts: The Illinois Report Card
the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) releases the 2018 Illinois Report Card for all of the public schools in the District. You can find your school’s information online here.
You will see that this year, the report card offers several new data points, including the official 2018-19 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) school designations. ESSA is the federal law that tasks individual states to create a plan to ensure every child is learning and on the path to college and career. Illinois’ plan establishes four designations for schools:
- Exemplary
- Commendable
- Underperforming
- Low performing
You can find a more detailed description of the four designations here. They are are based on multiple indicators:
Academic growth (50%)
Chronic absenteeism (20%)
English language arts proficiency (10%)
Math proficiency (10%)
English learner progress (5%)
Climate survey data (5%)
Learn more about the definitions and weights of these indicators here.
School Facts: Our Data Dashboard
5Essentials: Statewide Survey
- Effective Leaders
- Collaborative Teachers
- Involved Families
- Supportive Environments
- Ambitious Instruction
Research shows that schools strong on at least 3 of the 5Essentials are 10 times more likely to improve student outcomes. D34 will use the results of the survey to ensure that we provide the most effective environment for student growth, well-being and success.
D34 did not administer the 5Essentials Survey last year; we plan to use the results of this year's survey to give us a clear picture of our schools' climate and culture. Please click here or the button below to take the parent survey. We will be pleasantly persistent in the coming weeks as we hope to reach 100% participation before the survey closes on January 18, 2019.
Students in grades 4-8 also will be given the opportunity to take this survey. Per Board Policy 7:15, you have the right to review the survey questions and decide if you do not wish your child to participate. The questions will be published here soon. If you do not wish your child to take the survey, please email both Cathy Kedjidjian and your child's principal by November 12, 2018.
Second Meeting of BPAC
The group of parents with bilingual children in D34 (BPAC) will have their second meeting on November 13, 2018. We will offer techniques that would help you guide and motivate the education of your children at home. In addition, we will have a hands-on workshop for the use of school applications to monitor the educational progress of your children from home.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 | 6:00-7:15 p.m.
Springman Library (2701 Central Road)
Please click here to confirm your attendance. The program will be in Spanish; indicate on your RSVP if you require English translation.
For additional information, please contact Alan Hernandez at 847-638-8568 (Voice or Text Message).
Talking to Children About Violence
Mastery Check: 4th-8th Grade District Math Assessment
District 34 strives to ensure that our instruction and environment supports students in reaching their learning potential. In November, all students in grades 4-8 will take a “Math Mastery Check,” a D34-developed math assessment that allows teachers and administrators to evaluate student content retention and performance on math standards. This test will help guide programming decisions. It also will identify areas of strengths and those in need of more support. The Mastery Checks will be administered through Schoology during your child’s math class sometime between November 1 and November 14. Teachers will determine the date that best fits into their classroom schedule.
See the District 34 website for more information. If you have questions about this assessment, please contact Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Dr. Matt Silverman.
Do You Know the Glenview Northbrook Coalition for Youth?
We would like to introduce ourselves...
we are GNCY - Glenview Northbrook Coalition for Youth. The Glenview Northbrook Coalition for Youth (GNCY) is a Drug-Free Communities Coalition dedicated to empowering youth (ages 11-18) of Glenview and Northbrook, Illinois to live safe, drug and alcohol-free lives. Through community and family partnership, the coalition aims to increase community collaboration in substance abuse prevention and to prevent and reduce youth alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug misuse.
Thank you to the D34 parents who attended our recent presentation on how to protect our youth on the negative effects of vaping and JUULing. More information can be found on our website, gncy.org.
Future presentations topics to include alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs.
Parent tip: Watch this video and then ask your child - Do you know what is in a JUUL?
Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitte
Events, Programs & Activities Around the Community
This month, look for fliers about:
- Charla de Café para Madres al Youth Services of Glenview
- November programs at the Glenview Public Library
- Jr. Titan Wrestling
- GBS Dance Intensive
- A Salute to Veterans
- And More!
Check back to the website regularly - we update the page as we receive new information.
About Us
Email: news@glenview34.org
Website: glenview34.org
Location: 1401 Greenwood Road, Glenview, IL 60026
Phone: (847) 998-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/glenview34
Twitter: @glenview34