Dear District 15 Parents/Guardians,

I hope 2021 is off to a good start for you and your family. The month of January has flown by with many exciting events taking place both at our schools and as a District. Everyone did a nice job managing our remote learning snow day.

IN-PERSON LEARNING UPDATE

As you are aware, our elementary students who chose in-person learning attend school five full days per week. This is because we had a high level of virtual learning requests, making in-person class sizes small. At the junior high level, not as many students opted for virtual instruction, meaning we have only been able to offer in-person instruction on a hybrid schedule.

Some junior high parents have inquired about 7th and 8th grade students attending five full days a week, and if/when that will be a possibility. This is a topic that administration is currently discussing to see if additional in-person learning time can be offered to junior high students in the future.

At this time, all District 15 students are spaced out six feet or more as much as possible. The only way we would include more students in the building would be to ensure we are able to adhere to this social distancing guideline.

While I know a local District has made the decision to forgo six feet of distance between students, we are not planning to do so at this time, as it would significantly diminish our mitigation efforts that have been working extremely well throughout the school year. As I’ve said repeatedly this school year, safety is my number one priority.

STAFF VACCINATION UPDATE

As I am sure you have heard on the news, school personnel are considered “Tier 1B” in the Illinois COVID-19 vaccination rollout. As a result, school staff in and around our area are beginning to receive the COVID 19 vaccine. Our nursing staff is working tirelessly with the local regional Office of Education and Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) to bring vaccinations to our employees. In a county as large as Cook, things are moving slowly as demand is exceeding available vaccine doses.

Should you have a contact at a local Walgreens, Jewel/Osco or CVS that might help bring vaccination to D15 staff sooner than CCDPH can “deliver,” please contact Executive Assistant Mary Graff at graffm@ccsd15.net. We have been cold calling local pharmacies to see if we can form a partnership to vaccinate our staff as soon as possible, but our efforts have not been fruitful so far. We have encouraged staff to connect with their local physicians and county health departments to get vaccinated on their own if they are able to obtain the shot faster through alternative means.

FREE COVID TESTING

As the pandemic wears on, we are also seeing more community testing locations pop up in the area. I want to be sure you are aware of the FREE COVID-19 testing site now at the POC. This testing location is accepting people by appointment only, so please call ahead to schedule your time slot. ANYONE can make an appointment, as this is not limited to District 15 students/staff. Insurance is not required.

I want to thank you for your continued partnership as we move forward through this difficult and complicated school year. We could not continue offering this level of in-person and virtual instruction without your collaboration and support. As always, we will keep you informed of any changes that arise related to COVID-19 and our schools.

Your partner in education,

Dr. Laurie Heinz

Superintendent of Schools

What is World Read Aloud Day? LitWorld founded World Read Aloud Day in 2010 in celebration of the power of the read aloud to create a literary community, to amplify new stories, and to advocate for literacy as a foundational human right. Over the last eleven years, World Read Aloud Day has evolved into a global movement of millions of readers, writers, and listeners coming together to honor the joy and power of reading and sharing stories.

District 15 students will have the opportunity to participate in some special read aloud activities on February 3. You can follow #WorldReadAloudDay on social media to engage with readers from all around the world—we invite you to participate at home.

To help you do so, please check out the CCSD15 Parent University newsletter which offers parents read-aloud resources via SORA—a free digital and audiobook online library for independent reading. After setting up their SORA account, thanks to our partners at Palatine Public Library, students are able to “check-out” audio and digital books to read and listen to for up to two weeks. This is free with no library card needed.

To coincide with World Read Aloud Day on February 3, and to continue to help our students foster a love for reading, D15 is hosting its first ever districtwide virtual book fair from February 1-12! Should you wish to participate, please help your child create their online wish list that can be shared with other family members that might want to purchase books for them. You can also visit follettgift.com to purchase a card online.

Click to view the short video tutorial on how to purchase books at the eBook Fair. We hope you are able to find time to explore our online book fair and that your child finds their next favorite book while doing so!

All books will be shipped directly to students' homes after the virtual book fair closes.

With every purchase made, our school will earn 15% back in rewards to support our goal to update library collections in our classrooms as part of our larger literacy initiative.

It's back! The 3rd Annual 50/50 Raffle benefiting the one-five Foundation that is. Enter now for your chance to win up to $30,000! Tickets for the 50/50 raffle are available for purchase from February 1 - March 17, 2021.

Here’s how it works:

• Each $100 ticket purchased will earn one entry into the raffle.

• Only 600 tickets will be available for purchase, so the odds of winning are good!

• You can buy tickets online by visiting https://www.one-five.org/50-50-raffle.

Here’s why it’s important:

• Half of the money raised through the raffle (up to $30,000) will be retained by the one-five Foundation to fund Blessings in a Backpack that provide food for families in need over the weekend and to help update the LRC spaces within our schools.

• The other half of the money raised (up to $30,000) will be issued to the raffle winner!

• Last year's winner took home $13,350 and in 2019 the winner took home $16,500!

Feeling LUCKY? The raffle drawing will take place live at 12 p.m. on March 17, 2021, through District 15's Facebook page. Click here for complete raffle rules and terms and conditions.

Please consider supporting the one-five foundation in their fundraising campaign!

Kindergarten and new student online registration for the 2021-22 school year begins on February 15. You may register your new student by visiting the registration page on the District website. Many questions about Kindergarten can be answered by reading our “Welcome to Kindergarten!” guide.

Please be aware that new students must show proof of residency and age to complete the registration process. District 15 is also developing a process for verifying residency for existing students as well. When the process is complete, we will share the revised requirements with all families.

Each school year, teachers, parents, and older students have an opportunity to share their views and perceptions about their school by participating in the 5Essentials Survey. 5Essentials survey information is a key tool that your school uses to identify and prioritize areas for improvement. As a parent, the 5Essentials survey is an opportunity to share your thoughts on the school's effectiveness.

The 5Essentials Survey will be administered online. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, is anonymous and asks questions about five areas that are related to important student outcomes, including improved attendance and learning. The five areas focused on are:

• Effective Leaders

• Collaborative Teachers
  

• Involved Families

• Supportive Environments

• Ambitious Instruction

Your participation in the parent portion of the survey is one important way schools can use parent information to help understand the conditions at your child’s school and focus improvement efforts. The survey is managed by the University of Chicago and the school does not have access to your identity or survey responses.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey window will be open from February 2 until March 5, 2021. Please take the survey by visiting https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin. Your feedback is important as we work to continually grow as a school District.

• February 1-12: District 15 Follett eBook Fair
• February 1-March 17: Foundation 50/50 Raffle
• February 3: World Read Aloud Day
• February 3-March 5: Illinois 5Essentials Survey Window
• February 10: Board of Education Meeting
• February 15: No school in honor of Presidents' Day
• March 12: No school for students—ISBE grant eLearning Day for staff