Every year, District 54 welcomes hundreds of new families into our community and we are so excited for you to be a part of it. We hope to make this transition a simple and seamless one. This section hosts useful information for new families, such as registration instructions, immunization and residency requirements, before and after school care and screening information. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your school’s office or the district office.
At this time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most District 54 students are attending school remotely. We are just starting a return to in-person learning for some special education students and English learners. The safety and health of our students and our staff is now, and has always been, a top priority for District 54. As a district we will continuously review data associated with the virus as well as guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Department of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and other public health officials to best support the health and safety of our students and employees. All updates will be posted online at sd54.org/reopeningd54 and shared with our families and employees.
We are still enrolling students for the 2020-21 school year, and will assign them to a virtual class with a teacher from their base school.
If you don’t know what school your child will attend, you can enter an address by visiting our interactive Boundary Map to find your neighborhood elementary or junior high school.
If you are having trouble finding your neighborhood school, please call (847) 357-5104 or email Transportation Services.
District 54 offers online registration for students entering kindergarten through eighth grade.
For registration instructions, requirements and important information, please visit the Registration page.
If you are ready to start registration, get started now!
District 54 provides free lunches and milk for those students unable to pay under the Illinois Free Lunch and Special Milk Programs. Children from households that meet federal guidelines are eligible for free lunch and milk. To receive free lunches and milk for your child, you must complete an application and return it to school. Applications for free lunch must be renewed each year.
Lunches will be provided for pickup at your school during remote learning.
For more information, visit the Free Lunch page.
Physical Exam: The Illinois School Code requires that children entering preschool, kindergarten (or first grade if kindergarten was not attended) and sixth grade must have had a physical exam within one year prior to starting that grade level. Students of any age transferring from a school outside Illinois must also have had a physical within the last year. School Physical Form
Immunizations: The Illinois Department of Public Health requires specific immunizations for students enrolling in public schools. Click here for the full list of immunization requirements by grade.
By Illinois law, physicals and immunizations are still required during remote learning. For more information, visit our Health Services page.
Early childhood screening is coordinated by the District 54 Early Learning Center. For more information or to schedule a screening, please contact the Early Learning Center at (847) 230-1700.
In an effort to provide appropriate instruction for all students, the state of Illinois requires an English language screening assessment for any student who speaks a language other than English or lives in a home where a language other than English is spoken.
For more information or to schedule an English language screening assessment, please contact the District 54 Welcome and Assessment Center at (847) 357-5074 or visit the English Language Assessment Center page.
District 54’s Transportation Services Department works in conjunction with school personnel, First Student and parents to provide a safe and efficient service.
For information on routes, stops, fees and more, visit the Transportation page.
Instead of attending their neighborhood school, students who live in District 54 and are registered to attend District 54 schools can apply to attend one of our schools that offer unique learning opportunities, such as Chinese Immersion, Japanese Dual Language and Spanish Dual Language.
For more information about the Open Enrollment process and programs, visit the Open Enrollment page.
Students who move into the school district and received gifted services at their previous school will be considered for gifted service eligibility upon registration. New students to the district must meet District 54’s gifted eligibility requirements. Upon moving into the district, parents will need to register their students at their base schools. Upon receipt of gifted records from the previous school, District 54 will determine if a student is eligible for services or needs further assessment to determine eligibility. No outside private evaluations are accepted for any District 54 gifted service or programs.
For more information, visit our Gifted page.
If your child has an IEP, 504 Plan or Health Care Plan, please provide a copy of the most recent paperwork when registering at your new school. For more information about special education programming in District 54, visit our Special Education page.