A goal of School District 54 Board of Education is to provide choice for parents in the selection of their child’s school. In addition to the neighborhood school, School District 54 has developed programs at several district schools, which it can now offer as choices.

District 54 invites parents to its annual Open Enrollment Fair on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. The fair will provide parents with information on nine elementary schools in the district:  Blackwell, Campanelli, Dooley, Enders-Salk, Hanover Highlands, Hoover, Lincoln Prairie, Link and MacArthur. Each school houses a unique program and School District 54 anticipates a few openings at each site next year.

Please know that you do not need to arrive early to get a spot at one of the schools. While applications are available on Jan. 25, names will not be chosen that evening. In addition, people who cannot attend the event can still apply for their children to attend one of our open enrollment schools. The application deadline is March 1, 2012, and schools will begin notifying parents if their children were selected on March 23, 2012.

The fair will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. at AddamsJunior High School, 700 S. Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg. Overflow parking can be found one block south at St. Marcelline’s Church. A short, formal presentation by Superintendent Ed Rafferty will be followed by opportunities for parents to visit each school’s booth and learn about each site in greater detail. Representatives from each school will discuss open enrollment opportunities and answer questions. A short description of each school is listed below.

Blackwell Elementary School: Blackwell, in Schaumburg, offers sign language as a mode of communication. Students learn signing from their teachers and communicate with both traditional oral and sign language. Blackwell also started housing hearing-impaired students in the 2001-02 school year. Supporting this communication theme, a full production lab is installed at Blackwell so students can participate in video production projects and classes. For more information, call Principal Brad Carter at (847) 357-5555.

Campanelli Elementary School:  Campanelli, in Schaumburg, offers a Mandarin Chinese immersion program. The goal of this program is for students to communicate effectively in Chinese as well as developing a deep understanding of the Chinese culture. During the 2012-13 school year, Campanelli will offer the Mandarin Chinese program in kindergarten and first grade. However, one grade level will be added each school year. For more information, call Principal Steve Kern at (847) 357-5333.

Dooley Elementary School: Dooley, in Schaumburg, started its Dual-Language Japanese Program and Early Instrumental Music Program at the beginning of the 2001-02 school year. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade currently have the option of learning Japanese and English together in this dual-language setting. In addition, early instrumental music (violin) is available to primary students at Dooley. Individuals can sign up for the Dual-Language Program only or the Dual-Language and Early Instrumental Music programs together. For more information, call Principal Marion Friebus-Flaman at (847) 357-6250.

Enders-Salk Elementary School:  Dual-Language Spanish kindergarten classes started in 2000 at Enders-Salk in Schaumburg. Currently, the school offers dual-language in kindergarten through sixth grade. The goal of this program is for students to communicate effectively in both languages by the time they exit the school at the end of sixth grade. For more information, call Principal Michael Henry at (847) 357-6400.

Hanover Highlands Elementary School:  Dual-Language Spanish kindergarten classes started in 2004 at Hanover Highlands in Hanover Park. Currently, the school offers dual-language in kindergarten through sixth grade. The goal of this program is for students to communicate effectively in both languages by the time they exit the school at the end of sixth grade. For more information, call Principal David Negron at (630) 736-4230.

Hoover Math and Science Academy:  Hoover School in Schaumburg offers a unique learning environment for students in the areas of mathematics and science. With a greenhouse, community garden, two science labs and a computer lab, Hoover Academy is designed to give students the opportunity to explore science and math topics in an inquiry-based learning model. Community partnerships enhance the learning opportunities for our students and service learning projects are embedded within the curriculum. Parent participation is an expectation at our school. For more information, call Principal Jake Chung at (847) 357-5800.

Lincoln Prairie School:  Lincoln Prairie, in Hoffman Estates, is a community school founded on the premise that students learn in a variety of ways. Lincoln Prairie is the only District 54 building housing children from kindergarten through eighth grade. Students are grouped in multiage classrooms, working with teams of teachers on integrated curriculum. Project Development Time, in which students choose learning projects offered by staff, is a popular activity. Parent participation is an expectation at Lincoln Prairie. For more information, call Principal Amanda Stochl at (847) 357-5955.

Link School:  Dual-Language Spanish kindergarten classes started in 2009 at Link, based in Elk Grove Village. Currently, the school offers dual-language in kindergarten through second grade, and will be adding third grade in the fall of 2012. The goal of this program is for students to communicate effectively in both languages by the time they exit the school at the end of sixth grade. For more information, call Principal John Schmelzer at (847) 357-5300.

MacArthur Elementary School: The original Dual-Language School in District 54, MacArthur, in Hoffman Estates, offers a full dual-language Spanish program with students progressing through sixth grade in their dual-language class. Kindergarten students will learn Spanish and English from classroom teachers who are fluent in each language. This successful program has been in existence for 14 years at MacArthur. For more information, call Principal Danette Meyer at (847) 357-6650.

People interested in viewing the programs in action, can visit the schools. Dates will be set after the fair, so that groups of interested parents can tour the school together. Call each school to make an appointment. For more information call Terri McHugh, community relations director, at (847) 357-5028.

MacArthur School is hosting a Spanish Language Speech Contest. Students in third through eighth grade are eligible. Application, speech drafts written by the applicant and video recordings no more than three minutes (one video recording per participant) must arrive at MacArthur School by April 11, 2012. The maximum length for speech drafts is two pages. The finalists will be notified via mail by April 25, 2012.

La escuela MacArthur será anfitrión este año del Concurso Anual de Oratoria. Los estudiantes de 3er a 6to grado pueden participar. Forma de inscripción, borrador del discurso escrito por el concursante, y una grabación de video de no más de 3 minutos (un video por participante) debe llegar a MacArthur School para el 11 de Abril del 2012. El discurso debe ser de dos páginas. Los finalistas serán notificados por correo para el 25 de Abril, 2012.

Spanish Language Speech Contest Flyer

Winter break for District 54 students begins at the end of the school day on Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Students will return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012.

While the District Offices are open for most of winter break, there are a few days we will be closed. District offices will be closd on Friday Dec. 23; Monday Dec. 26 and Monday Jan. 2.

Campanelli Elementary School in Schaumburg, home of District 54’s Chinese Immersion program, recently established a sister school relationship with Tianjin Hedong District Experimental Primary School.

Principal Steve Kern and Julie Colgrove, director of language and culture, visited China this fall as part of a group of educators sponsored by HanBan and the College Board. These two organizations have the goal of supporting schools and school districts that are interested in establishing or enhancing a Chinese language program in their schools.

The Chinese Immersion program at Campanelli is designed to teach students how to read, write and speak Chinese while also understanding the Chinese culture. The program is open to students in kindergarten this year, but will be accepting students in both kindergarten and first grade for the 2012-13 school year.

“During my visit to China I visited many schools and had the opportunity to talk with educators in these schools,” Kern said. “I quickly realized that they are trying to address the same challenges that we are faced with. We are both looking for ways to better educate the students in our schools.”

This relationship will give Campanelli students in both the Chinese Immersion program and other classrooms an opportunity to connect with students at the Tianjin Hedong District Experimental Primary School. For more information about the Chinese Immersion program, visit the Campanelli website.

Campanelli will also be at the Open Enrollment Fair on Jan. 26. Parents interested in learning more about the program will be able to sign up at fair for a tour of the school and an informational meeting. For more information about the Open Enrollment Fair, visit the District 54 website.

The Schaumburg Township Council of PTAs is once again offering one-year $2,000 scholarships to eligible seniors graduating in 2012. There are three types of scholarships:

• Junior College/Trade School/Vocational School Scholarships for seniors graduating in the upper 50 percent of their class (up to two available);
• Four-Year College/University Scholarships for seniors graduating in the upper 30 percent of their class (up to seven available); and
• The Bonnie Greenberg Memorial Scholarship for a graduating special needs senior with a current Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The student need not be enrolled in special education classes, but must have a current IEP (one available).

All seniors who meet the following eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply. For more information and an application, visit http://pta.sd54.org/highschoolscholarship.

Unbelievable gains in student growth. Impressive results. Closing the achievement gap. Raising the bar. These are just several of the comments that we heard from staff during the first round of our district’s 90-day school improvement planning process. We are in the teaching and learning business and our staff members take this work very seriously.

Early in the year, school teams take an in-depth look at what has been working, identify which practices they would like to continue and determine the areas in need of improvement. They thoroughly analyze all available data as they develop their school improvement plan to increase student learning.

The  plans are monitored at both the school and district levels on a continuous basis. This process was adapted from successful business practices and has been critical in helping to ensure that all 27 of our schools and the district as a whole are keeping a tight focus on meeting the student learning goals approved by our Board of Education.

The first review cycle has recently been completed and our data indicates that student achievement is at an all-time high. Information that is shared during these meetings not only becomes the basis for individual school improvement plans, but also provides us with priority focus areas that need districtwide support.

Several years ago, it became obvious that we were not seeing the type of growth in reading in the primary grades that we would expect. In response to this finding, the Department of Student Learning worked with groups of primary-grade teachers and reading specialists to develop a specific plan for improvement. In only its second year of implementation, schools are reporting extremely positive gains in the number of students meeting grade-level reading expectations.

Another districtwide area of focus has been restructuring the services that we provide to our English Language Learners. Even though the achievement level of our English Language Learners was one of the highest in Illinois, it was not good enough for District 54.

Due to the significant gains that these students are making, our district was selected as one of only ten districts across the country to participate in a best practice research study being conducted by the United States Department of Education. The Department of Education is planning to disseminate their findings to other districts for replication.

A common theme that schools will be working on this year is the expansion of enrichment opportunities for students who are achieving at high levels. Teachers will be placing greater emphasis on teaching creative problem solving and incorporating higher-level thinking skills into their daily teaching.

Our staff continues to share that this planning process is one of the most meaningful activities in which they participate as educators. It helps them to thoroughly analyze specific student and schoolwide achievement data, compare themselves to other schools and collaboratively develop specific action plans that are monitored on a regular basis.

We often hear criticism that public schools underperform, make excuses for the lack of student progress and do not prepare students to be competitive in the global market. I am proud to say that this is not the case in District 54.  During the review meetings one of our teachers said it best. “Goals can be meaningless and data just numbers until we put a student’s name and face to it. Data and goals only become meaningful when we develop specific plans and monitor our progress to ensure that all of our students reach their full potential. This is what we do at our school, this is what we do in our  district and this is why our students are so successful!”

District 54 staff, students and community members will celebrate American Education Week Nov. 13-19 with a variety of activities.

The NEA has chosen the theme of Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility as it celebrates the 90^th annual American Education Week. The theme highlights the importance of providing every American child with a quality education and the message that this goal is everyone’s responsibility.

District 54 schools have invited parents into the classroom for an up-close look at what a typical day is like for their children.

District 54 also invites its partners from all 27 schools to a celebration of these relationships on Nov. 16. Four partners will be honored as Super Partners:

• Jersey Mike’s
• Motorola
• Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg Rotary
• Elk Grove Village Rotary

District 54 thanks all the partners, parents, students, staff, School Board members and everyone else who contributes to our mission of Ensuring Student Success.

In a move to improve communications with all members of its community, District 54 is launching a new e-newsletter, instead of the quarterly Visions newsletter, which had been emailed to all parents and staff.

If you sign up for this newsletter, you will receive an email after our School Board meetings with news from the meeting and other information about District 54. The School Board meets once or twice a month. However, we will also use the e-newsletter to communicate important, time-sensitive news as necessary.

Currently, we only send news to families of District 54 students, employees and a select group of key communicators. By hosting this signup online, District 54 will be able to reach out to families of children who haven’t entered school yet, individuals planning to move into our community, local businesses and organizations, alumni and their families, and anyone interested in news about District 54.

Privacy is important to us; therefore, we will not sell, rent, or give your name or address to anyone. Also at any point, you can select the link at the bottom of every email to unsubscribe.

To start receiving our e-newsletter, visit http://sd54.org/email-signup/. Please note that when you sign up on this site you will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription. You must click on  the link in that email to complete your subscription. Also, feel free to pass this link on to a friend, neighbor or colleague so that they may sign up too.

School District 54 is looking for community members who would be interested in serving on the Budget Review Committee that will be reviewing the 2012-13 budget. The committee will begin meeting in January 2012, so that the administration can present a tentative budget to the School Board before the 2012-13 school year begins.

The Budget Review Committee, consisting of board members, staff and community members, meets for the purpose of obtaining input on the acquisition and allocation of resources.

Member Responsibilities

1. Attend up to six meetings from 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on Thursdays (January-June).
2. Participate in discussions on school finance.

To obtain an application for the Budget Review Committee, please visit our website, at http://sd54.org/committees.  If you have the need to speak to someone, please contact Ric King, assistant superintendent of business services, at (847) 357-5039 or RicKing@sd54.org.

Applications are due in the District Office, 524 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, IL  60194, by Dec. 2, 2011.

When the General Assembly continues the veto session on Nov. 8, one of the bills under consideration will be House Bill 3793, which will have a far-reaching, negative impact on District 54, all school districts and all other taxing districts in Illinois. We urge all state representatives to VOTE NO for HB 3793.

The bill requires that if the equalized assessed valuation declines in communities with tax caps, such as District 54′s community, the allowable increase in a taxing body’s levy would be 0 percent (or a higher rate if approved by voters).

District 54 opposes this bill for the following reasons:

• District 54 would lose about $2.3 million in tax revenue this year if this bill passes.
• Each tax levy is based on the previous year’s levy as a percent increase. Therefore, a reduction for one year is permanent, continuous and compounding.
• The tax cap already effectively limits a school district’s ability to increase its tax levy to 5 percent or the CPI (whichever is lower). For the 2011 tax year, the CPI is just 1.5 percent.
• District 54 has already experienced reduced revenue through cuts in transportation (a $1.4 million loss this year), special education (a $800,000 loss) and cash flow due to the state of Illinois making late payments.
• The bill eliminates a school board’s authority to levy based on the needs of its community. School board members are elected to make these decisions. The bill is a further erosion of local control.

District 54 examines our revenues and expenditures each year in an effort to live within our means, while at the same time providing a quality education and safe learning environment for our more than 14,000 students.

With taxing bodies limited to a 1.5 percent increase, the larger increase in property owner tax bills are due to other factors, such as property tax appeals and reassessments.

Support local education. Call your local legislator and tell them to VOTE NO for HB 3793. The bill was introduced by state Rep. Jack Franks, but it is co-sponsored by local Representatives Fred Crespo and Michelle Mussman.

To read the Illinois PTA Action Alert opposing HB3793, click here.

To read the letter sent by the District 54 School Board to local legislators, click here.

To find your state representative’s contact information, click here.

To read the full text of HB3793, click here.