March 15, 2023

Stay tuned for upcoming events with our District website calendar available here.

• Monday, March 20: Board of Education meeting. Details here.

• Monday, March 27-Friday, March 31: Spring Recess. No classes for students. Details here.

• Tuesday, April 4: Election Day. No classes for students. Details here.

U-46 has partnered with Care Solace, a mental health care coordination service, to better connect students, staff, and their families to quality care. This is a free resource provided by U-46. If you are looking for help with mental health or substance use, Care Solace will quickly and confidentially find available partners matched to your needs.

Students, staff, and families may access Care Solace in two ways:

1. Call 888-515-0595 at any time on any day. A Care Solace coordinator will help you research options, secure appointments, and follow up to make sure it is a good fit.

2. Visit caresolace.com/u46 to answer a few questions and get matched with an extensive list of care providers. The website also has more information about Care Solace’s relationship with community partners, how it keeps information confidential and securely stored, and more.

We love seeing our students every day at school, especially as we near the spring recess at the end of March. Please remember that it is extremely important that our students are in school and on time to class every day, right up until the end of the school day.

Every day in school counts and helps build the foundation for your child’s academic success. It is an important opportunity for students to learn as well as collaborate with their peers on rigorous, standards-aligned tasks that require critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. When your child is absent, they miss out on this collaboration.

Extended absences and/or vacations during the school year are discouraged and considered unexcused absences. The only approved vacation periods for U-46 students occur during Thanksgiving and winter recess, spring break, and summer vacation. Thank you, as always, for your support and cooperation.

For our Student Attendance Guidelines as part of our Student Handbook, please visit u-46.org/attendance.

Planning is well under way for the 2023 STEM Expo, being held on Saturday, April 29, at Eastview Middle School in Bartlett. Participants who register before April 1 are guaranteed a free t-shirt and tri-fold board.

The STEM Expo is open to all students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It allows students to explore and discover Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Math through hands-on investigation and research. Participating students will plan and carry out projects based on their natural curiosities, and present their projects to fellow students, families, and community members at the Expo.

Find more details, and a link to the registration form, at u-46.org/science.

Students in 4th through 12th grade will be asked to participate next week in U-46’s fourth annual Panorama Equity and Inclusion Student Survey. The survey is designed to measure how well students feel included and represented in school. It also asks important questions about diversity, cultural awareness, and action, how comfortable they feel talking about race and culture in class — and the frequency that educators are leading those discussions.

Students will receive an email around 7 a.m. Monday, March 20, with the survey link. Teachers are being encouraged to set aside about 20 minutes of class time to let students complete the survey before the end of the week.

More information can be found on our Student Equity and Inclusion Survey website, including directions for how parents or guardians can have their child opt out of taking the survey.

Can you set aside 15 minutes this week to help make a difference in your children’s schools?

That’s all it will take to complete the 5Essentials Survey, a research-based survey that provides a unique opportunity for teachers, students, and parents to have a voice in improving our schools.

This survey generates reports to help drive school improvement on the five leading indicators or “essentials” – effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environment, and ambitious instruction. Schools in U-46 use this valuable feedback to make changes and create new programs. For instance, at one elementary school, the survey’s results led to more after-school offerings and a 6th grade parent panel to support students transitioning to middle school.

The 5Essentials Survey is completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child. It is available in English and Spanish and can be taken on your mobile phone, tablet, laptop or computer. To take the parent survey, click here.

More information is available at u-46.org/5Essentials

It is important that schools throughout School District U-46 are equitable in terms of physical condition and educational programs. Decades of wear and tear, plus the need to update schools to accommodate best practices in classroom instruction for our children, have resulted in the need to repair and renovate our schools. The improvements we make now will benefit many generations of students and families who live, and who will live, in the U-46 district.

Our April 4 Zero-Tax-Rate-Change Bond Proposal will take steps to ensure building conditions are equitable at every school. It is our turn — our time — to make these needed improvements in our schools, for our kids, and for our families. See the list of projects at u-46.org/bondprojects.

Your Vote is Important

In any election, every vote counts. It’s important for you to vote on April 4, or before—and remind your friends and family to do the same.

Illinois makes it easy to vote. You can vote on election day, by mail, or early vote. You can still register and vote through a process called grace period registration and voting. Visit our Voting Information page to find the link to your County Clerk's elections and voting webpage.

Have you considered becoming a part of the U-46 team? We are hosting two hiring events for open positions in March at the U-46 Welcome Center, 1019 E. Chicago St., Elgin. The dates are:

• Friday, March 17 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

• Saturday, March 18 between 9 a.m. and noon

We have a variety of part-time and full-time vacancies, from teaching positions to groundskeepers, bus drivers, and more. School District U-46 offers competitive wages and benefits, robust professional development, opportunities for growth, a diverse and welcoming work environment, and the chance to work with more than 35,000 amazing individuals - our students! Please consider joining us at these fairs to learn more.

You can learn more about our District and job openings at u-46.org/careers.

Visit our U-46 Online Backpack to find information on community events, activities and resources for our U-46 families and students.

Coming up:

• Bartlett Raiders Football - Registration

• Elgin Hispanic Network - Scholarship Opportunity

The flyers in the Online Backpack are the responsibility of the group listed and not a District endorsement. Visit Online Backpack to view the organization's flyer for more information.