District 54’s parent conferences will be held on Oct. 6 and 7. This is a great opportunity for your children to share their accomplishments. Your children may also share their personal, academic goals with you.

It is important that the teacher knows how an individual is doing in school, and it is important that parents are aware as well. However, it is most important that the child has a sense of how things are going and is involved in the goal-setting process.

If you have something you would like to discuss with the teacher without your child present, please make an appointment for another time. These conferences are designed to focus on the child and the child’s goals and accomplishments. The children enjoy sharing their world with their parents.

Junior high students will be dismissed at 10:40 a.m.; elementary students at 11:40 a.m. and Lincoln Prairie students at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday for conferences. No early childhood or kindergarten classes meet on Thursday, Oct. 6. No District 54 students at any grade level attend school on Friday, Oct. 7.

School District 54 would like to thank the many sponsors, donors, volunteers and participants that made the Run to Read 2011 a huge success.

The event – held Sept. 25 at Dirksen School in Schaumburg – raised more than $10,000 to support literacy in School District 54. Our goal is to collect 1,000 children’s books for every classroom in District 54. Many individuals brought books to the race to support our cause. More than 600 people turned out to participate in the 5K race, the 1-mile family fun walk or the 100- and 400-yard dashes for children. Another 80 people volunteered to work at the event and countless others were there to cheer on a family member or friend.

District 54 thanks the Campanelli YMCA – the title sponsor of the event this year. We also send our sincere appreciation to Schaumburg Bank & Trust, Premier Credit Union, Dick Pond Athletics, Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Schaumburg,  Hemisphere Educational Travel and ChiroOne Wellness Centers.

Several businesses also made donations and deserve our thanks:  Baker’s Breakfast Cookies, Brunch Chicago, Culver’s, the Chicago Wolves, Tasty Catering, Mathnasium of Schaumburg, FLO Mixed Martial Arts, the Schaumburg Township District Library, RedStar, the Chicago Bears, Gameworks, the Shedd Aquarium and Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire.

A special thank you to the Dirksen Boy Scouts who passed out information about the event to every home on our route.

Next year’s Run to Read will be held on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, at Dirksen School. Online registration is already available at http://sd54.org/runtoread. If you are interested in attending or sponsoring the event, visit the website or contact Terri McHugh at (847) 357-5028 or TerriMcHugh@sd54.org.

Race Results can be found at http://sd54.org/runtoread

It’s not too late to sign up for the Run to Read, hosted by School District 54 and the Campanelli YMCA, on Sunday, Sept. 25. Our goal is to collect 1,000 children’s books for every classroom in District 54. Online registration is avilable through 5 p.m. Saturday at http://sd54.org/runtoread.

Anyone who registered by Sept. 21 can also pick up their packets Thursday, Friday or Saturday (until 5 p.m.) at Dick Pond Athletics, 927 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg.

The event begins at 8 a.m. with a 100-yard dash for children in first grade and younger; followed by a 400-yard dash for children in sixth grade and younger. Both races take place at Dirksen School, 116 W. Beech Drive in Schaumburg.

The day of races also includes a 5K race at 8:30 a.m. and a family fun walk at 8:45 a.m.

The top male and female winners will each receive a $75 gift card to Dick Pond Athletics. Medals will be awareded to the top age group winners in the 5K. An awards ceremony will take place at about 9:40 a.m. All children participating in the 100- and 400-yard dashes will also receive a medal.

Registration continues until 8 a.m. on the morning of the event. Registration and packet pick-up will begin at 7 a.m. inside school gym.

All individuals participating in any run or walk must register. The cost to participate is $10 for junior high school age and younger, $20 for high school students and adults age 60 and older, and $30 for adults ages 19 to 59.

No bicycles, skates, scooters or pets are allowed on the courses. Strollers are allowed on the walk only.

Questions? Email terrimchugh@sd54.org.

District 54 Special Olympics is having its Annual Car Wash Fundraiser, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011, at Nathan Hale Elementary School, 1300 W. Wise Road inSchaumburg.

Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children with intellectual disabilities by giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic athletes and the community. We like to focus on what athletes can do. Like everyone, Special Olympics athletes like to win, but more importantly- they strive to do their best. The sportsmanship that is demonstrated on the court, field, or on the track serves as an inspiration to all.

Donations received at the fundraiser will be used for programming for the 2011-12 school year. For more information on the District 54 Special Olympics program, please call District 54 Special Olympics office at (847) 357-2106.

Frost Junior High School in Schaumburg was one of only three middle schools in Illinois to be named a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School based on its overall academic excellence.

The U.S. Department of Education will present Frost and 304 other schools from throughout the nation with their National Blue Ribbon School awards at a conference and awards ceremony Nov. 14-15 in Washington, D.C. Of those schools, 19 are from Illinois.

“It is through the dedication of the Frost teachers and parents that we are able to achieve, accept and celebrate this momentous award,” Frost Principal Yvette Davidson said. “This prestigious recognition represents the collaborative work of all staff, students, families and community supports toward a relentless focus that ensures success for all Frost students. As a Blue Ribbon Award-winning school, Frost is demonstrating that it has the strategies and systematic, collaborative processes in place to support junior high student learning at the highest level this year and beyond.

The National Blue Ribbon School award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve at high levels or where the achievement gap is narrowing. Since 1982, more than 6,500 of America’s schools have received this coveted award.

Frost was chosen as a school whose students are high performing as measured by state assessments. At Frost, 98.1 percent of students meet or exceed state standards in math, based on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) from the spring of 2011. In reading, 97.3 percent of students meet or exceed state standards.

“The educators at Frost held our students to the highest of expectations, worked collaboratively and focused on student learning results,” said Dr. Paul Goldberg, who was Frost’s principal last year when the school was nominated for the award (Goldberg is now the principal at District 54’s Muir School). “They proved that we can ensure the success of all students regardless of socioeconomics, language acquisition or disability and exceed the high standards set forth by No Child Left Behind.”

Before selecting National Blue Ribbon Schools, the Department of Education asks for nominations from the top education official in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Bureau of Indian Education. The schools are then invited by the Secretary of Education to submit an application for possible recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School.

The Frost community firmly believes that all Frost students will learn at high levels. Systems of support are layered across every element of the school to ensure this occurs.

Struggling readers are provided targeted literacy intervention beyond the core block. Students working toward proficiency in math receive targeted support on a daily basis in guided math groups. Tiered layers of support are provided to assist students in homework completion. A timely, targeted and systematic intervention and enrichment plan is incorporated into the daily schedule to provide support on our essential outcomes across many content areas.

Social-emotional and behavior systems and interventions are implemented consistently throughout the school to ensure universal behavior expectations are met and to provide secondary and tertiary supports for students who need small group and one-on-one supports. These layers of support have enabled staff to increasingly work toward ensuring the success of every student at Frost.

Frost has been recognized in many ways for its success. In the 2010-11 school year alone, Frost received the following five awards:

• Named one of five Evidence of Effectiveness schools by http://allthingsplc.info.
• Selected a Top 50 Middle School in Illinois – Chicago Sun-Times
• Recommended to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as one of three schools to visit to observe PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) implementation
• Selected to present at the local, state and national PBIS conferences
• Illinois Academic Excellence Award (90 percent of students met or exceeded standards in reading and math for the three most recent school years on state assessments)

“America’s long-term economic prosperity and civic engagement depends on our children receiving a world-class education,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “National Blue Ribbon Schools are committed to accelerating student achievement and preparing students for success in college and careers. Their success is an example for others to follow.”

Davidson, Goldberg and Frost Math Department Chair Tricia Leong will attend the national ceremony. Frost is also making plans for a whole school celebration. A list of the 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools is available at http://www.ed.gov/nationalblueribbonschools.

Today the U.S. Department of Education announced the 2011 Blue Ribbon Awards to date. While Frost Junior High School in District 54 was named as one of the schools to receive this honor, MacArthur Elementary School is still hoping to be added to the list.

“We join the entire District 54 community in offering the Frost staff and students our congratulations for their accomplishments. As part of the District 54 Professional Learning Community, we have had the opportunity to learn from the Frost staff and its successes,” MacArthur Principal Danette Meyer said.

At the same time, Meyer is asking the U.S. Department of Education to examine how it chooses Blue Ribbon Schools, especially those honored for academic improvement.

In May, MacArthur School received notification from the director of the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which said that the school’s Blue Ribbon application was accepted and the only requirement remaining for MacArthur School to be awarded the Blue Ribbon for Academic Improvement was to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) according to the criteria set by the state of Illinois.

According to the AYP status report received from the Illinois State Board of Education last month, MacArthur did not make AYP in the area of reading due to the scores of the Limited English Proficient subgroup. Originally MacArthur was nominated for the award because of its academic improvement. Therefore, Meyer sent a letter of appeal to the U.S. Department of Education illustrating the school’s consistent and significant growth in the last three years. That appeal is currently under consideration by the office of the Secretary of Education.

The following points were included in the letter.

1. In Illinois, a subgroup is made up of 45 or more students. The number varies from state to state. At MacArthur, there were 51 students in the Limited English Proficient (LEP) subgroup. In 2011, 75 percent of the LEP students met or exceeded standards in reading on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). This is a 45 percent increase in reading proficiency in a two-year period. However, 76.7 percent of the LEP subgroup needed to meet or exceed standards for the entire school to make AYP. This is a difference of approximately one LEP student.
2. Every subgroup, as well as the entire school, has significantly improved. Over a two-year time span, the Hispanic students improved by 24 percent; the Low Income students improved by 24 percent; and the LEP students improved by 45 percent in the area of reading.
3. MacArthur also monitors student growth and academic proficiency using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment three times a year. Of those 51 students identified as LEP, 42 students (or 82 percent) met their annual growth targets. Thirty-four of these 42 students actually doubled their growth in reading.
4. MacArthur’s math scores are well above 90 percent with LEP students gaining an impressive 40 percentile points in only two years. These double-digit gains demonstrate significant growth.
5. MacArthur staff constantly uses student data to improve instruction and programming for students. For many years, native Spanish-speaking students in our dual language program learned to read in Spanish at the primary grades and transitioned to English reading in third grade. Last year, as a result of data analysis, District 54 began teaching all of dual language students to read in both languages in first and second grade. While this change was positive, as can be seen in the data results, 12 of our 31 LEP third-grade students have not yet met Illinois standards in reading. These students are proficient readers in Spanish and 6 of them are proficient in English reading according to the 2011 state ACCESS results. Illinois does not have an achievement test available in Spanish as other states (such as Texas) do. As a result, dual language LEP students do not have an equal opportunity to fully demonstrate their academic proficiency as readers.
6. As MacArthur staff members researched the eligibility for the category of “improving schools” they found a section on the U.S. Department of Education website which states “improving student performance to high levels is defined by the CSSO (Chief State School Officer) of each state but, at a minimum, means: (a) the school has demonstrated a positive trend in test results from the earliest to the most recent year tested; (b) in the most recent year tested, the achievement of the school’s students places the school in the top 40 percent of schools in the state on state assessments of reading (or English language arts) and mathematics; and (c) disaggregated results for student subgroups, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds must show improvement similar to that of all students.” MacArthur School has met all three criteria in this year’s application.
7. If MacArthur School had submitted this exact same application in 2010, it would have been named a National Blue Ribbon winner because it would have easily made Illinois’ AYP criteria in 2010. It should also be noted that the criteria for winning the National Blue Ribbon changes each year and is different for each state due to each state determining its own AYP criteria, subgroup criteria and rigor on the state assessment. For example, in California AYP is 67.6 percent. If MacArthur School was assessed at this AYP level, it would qualify as a National Blue Ribbon School winner.

MacArthur is hopeful that the U.S. Department of Education will decide to include its school community in the Blue Ribbon Awards program for 2011.

“Most importantly, the staff at MacArthur is thankful for the continued support of our families and community as we have all committed ourselves to continuous improvement for the benefit of our students,” Meyer said. “Increased learning for all students remains our goal. Our students have performed better than ever before and we are confident that this coming year will be our best yet.”

Over the past several weeks, District 54 staff members have been preparing their classrooms to welcome more than 14,000 students in early childhood through eighth grade to the start of another successful school year. During the summer, our teachers and support staff spent countless hours attending professional development classes, pursuing advanced degrees and working with their colleagues to plan many exciting learning opportunities for their students. We continue to be very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of professionals who do whatever they can to help every student achieve at a high level.

Before I highlight several of the key projects that we will be working on this year, I wanted to share with you a quick synopsis of our district’s overall student assessment results. Reading and mathematics scores continued to rise and were at an all-time high. Seventeen of our schools met the district’s goal of having at least 90 percent of our students meeting or exceeding state standards, with every school demonstrating positive gains. We are also seeing significant progress in closing the achievement gap for students in all 27 of our schools. As a district, we continue to work hard to make sure that no student is left behind and every student receives a quality education.

We are particularly proud that 90.8 percent of our students met or exceeded state standards in reading and 94.6 percent of our students met or exceeded state standards in mathematics. Congratulations to our students, parents and staff members who have worked hard to make this happen. These are phenomenal results!

To support the efforts of our staff in meeting our district’s goals and our mission of Ensuring Student Success, we will again be working on a number of districtwide projects. We are continuing our laser-like focus in early childhood through second grade to ensure that our students read at grade level upon entering third grade. Last year, we implemented a new instructional model for our English language learners and have seen positive results. We are pleased with the gains that we have seen in these two areas, yet we know we can and will do even better this year.

Students in kindergarten through sixth grade will use a new interactive social studies curriculum. All 21 of our elementary schools will offer a variety of new enrichment activities in fine arts and physical education, which will provide interested students additional opportunities to develop a variety of new skills. We are also excited about the technology upgrades in each of our schools. To create and implement more interactive and engaging learning activities for students, every third- through eighth-grade classroom will be equipped with a projector, document camera and tablet computer. In addition, 39 classrooms will be piloting interactive whiteboards.

Several new projects have been included on this year’s list to strengthen communication with our parents and community. In August, our Board of Education began using a web-based system for their meetings. This will allow for the online posting of the meeting agenda and the supporting documents at least 48 hours prior to each board meeting. Later this year, parents of our junior high students will have access to an online parent portal to view their child’s grades and progress in real time.

The complete list of District 54′s 2011-2012 projects can be found on our website. Thank you for your ongoing support and we hope that we can continue to count on you to help us make the 2011-2012 year our best yet!

School District 54 hosted a two-day presentation with Rick and Becky DuFour on Professional Learning Communities Sept. 14 and 15, attended by District 54 employees and representatives from other school districts.

Professional Learning Communities have six key characteristics:

• Shared mission, vision, values, goals
• Collaborative teams focused on learning.
• Collective inquiry into best practice and current reality
• Action orientation/experimentation
• Commitment to continuous improvement
• Results oriented

PowerPoint presentations from Fox and Link elementary schools are included below:

Intervention at Anne Fox Elementary School

PLC Implementation at Link Elementary School

DuFour Presentation – PLCs at Work

District 54 submitted the following seven nominations for the 2011 Illinois State Board of Education’s Those Who Excel Awards program and all seven will be recognized:

• Erin Knoll, literacy director, won an Award of Merit in the school administrator category.
• Gail Mehlan, an English language learner resource teacher at Fox Elementary School in Hanover Park, won an Award of Merit in the classroom teacher category.
• Meg Kwak, the psychologist at Blackwell Elementary School in Schaumburg, won an Award of Merit in the student support personnel category.
• Alissa Rendall, a fifth-grade teacher at the Muir Literacy Academy in Hoffman Estates, won an Award of Recognition in the outstanding early career educator category.
• Kathy Pritscher, former PTA Council President, won an Award of Recognition in the community volunteer category.
• Jolanda McGinn, an instructional assistant at MacArthur Elementary School in Hoffman Estates, won an award of Recognition in the educational service personnel category.
• The Frost PBIS Team won an Award of Recognition in the team category.

Erin Knoll

Erin Knoll has provided remarkable instructional leadership for the District 54 community in her role as director of literacy for the past three years. Under Erin’s leadership, District 54 has witnessed unprecedented gains in academic achievement in reading moving from 76 percent of our students meeting or exceeding state reading standards in 2005 to 90.8 percent of our students meeting or exceeding state reading standards in 2011. Erin’s skill in developing clear instructional guidelines for literacy across each of our 27 schools has been a key factor in our district realizing these significant achievement gains.

Gail Mehlan

Gail Mehlan was nominated for this award for her 10 years of service in District 54 supporting the educational growth of students whose first language is other than English in kindergarten through sixth grade. Gail is enthusiastic about learning, but her impact extends beyond her classroom connections to students. One morning per week, Gail volunteers to serve breakfast to Fox’s low-income students. Gail also leads the Hanover Park Kids at Hope Coalition, a community group whose membership represents the park district, mayor’s office and Fox School. The Kids at Hope mission focuses on the variables that contribute to life successes for children as they moved into adulthood and making conscious efforts to identifying these talents and skills within children in purposeful ways.

Meg Kwak

Meg Kwak goes above and beyond her role as a psychologist on a daily basis. She has been awarded the Above and Beyond Award given by the District 54 School Board of Education for her volunteer work with our Foods For Families program and football mentoring program between the high school and the Blackwell fifth- and sixth-grade students. In addition to Meg’s work as psychologist she is also the school’s truancy officer, co-director of Schaumburg Parent University, new staff mentor, assistant to the principal and a volunteer for a myriad of extracurricular activities that she organizes.

Alissa Rendall

Alissa Rendall, a fifth-grade teacher at Muir, was nominated last year when she worked as a language arts teacher at Frost. In just three short years, Alissa Rendall became an integral reason for the many successes at Frost. As a member of the Frost PBIS Secondary team, Alissa helped the school put systems of support in place for students who are struggling academically or social-emotionally. The systems she has helped establish have resulted in about a 98% reduction in student suspension. In two consecutive years, Frost has had only one suspension from school resulting in more students learning in the classroom. Alissa has led staff development for teachers across District 54, in areas such as Quantum teaching strategies and using assessment results to identify student deficit areas and making them areas of strength.

Kathy Pritscher

Kathy Pritscher’s service to District 54 began when her sons enrolled at Hale Elementary School in 1999. Twelve years later, she was still an active volunteer in School District 54 as the president of the Schaumburg Township Council of PTAs last year. In this role, she oversaw a council that consists of the PTA presidents from 27 schools, as well as a council board and 17 council-level committees. As if her service to the PTA Council wasn’t enough, Kathy also served as a trustee on the Schaumburg Township Elementary School Foundation. The Foundation was established to generate and distribute financial and other resources to the School District 54 community for enrichment programs and other projects aimed at enhancing the quality of education and providing students with extended learning opportunities.

Jolanda McGinn

Jolanda McGinn excels in all she does for MacArthur School. Her primary responsibility is her work as an instructional assistant working with students with special needs. She has enriched the lives of her students through her dedication to their learning and her strong belief in the capability of her students to grow and participate actively in their school and community. Beyond her work as an instructional assistant, Jolanda positively impacts students with her leadership of student clubs and activities such as Student Council, Environmental Club and School Store.

Frost PBIS

This team includes teachers, support staff, parents and administrators who are focused on supporting students and helping them achieve success. The team has developed reward systems, systems to celebrate behavior, instructional lesson plans to teach behavior, fundraisers, systems of support for students who struggle, learning groups, mentorships and wrap-around plans. The Frost PBIS Team is really three teams in one, representing universal, secondary and tertiary support for students. The team has genuine concern for all students’ academic and social emotional growth. The team members understand the impact behavior can have on a student’s overall success.

The Illinois State Board of Education will honor all seven District 54 representatives during its 37th annual Those Who Excel banquet on Oct. 22 in Normal.