Registration

Each spring, parents or guardians receive a notification regarding registration for the upcoming fall. Parents are asked to prove residence within district boundaries and to review their child’s information to register in District 54 for the next school year. If you have a parent portal account, you can register online through the parent portal. If not, you would have received a preprinted registration form in early May.

If you do not have access to the online parent portal, you can scan or take a photo of that registration form and email it to [email protected].

Parents or guardians are required to pay a $50 consumable materials fee prior to the start of the school year for each kindergarten through eighth-grade student to cover the cost of workbooks, paper, art supplies and other items used by students. You will have the option to pay this fee through the parent portal, or by check or money order at the child’s school. If you believe you will qualify for the Free Lunch Program, and therefore will qualify for a fee waiver, do not pay the consumable material fee. Applications will be available in August for the Free Lunch Program.

Families new to District 54 must provide documented proof of their residence within the boundaries of the district to enroll a child in District 54 schools for the first time and every year thereafter during registration. All documents provided must be current and reflect your name and address within District 54 boundaries.

For existing families, the district attempts to verify the address information electronically. It that is not possible, you will have the ability to upload your residency electronically through your portal account. If you do not have a portal account, you can also email the required documents to [email protected].

Provide a copy of at least one of the following documents:

• the most recent real estate tax bill or mortgage statement for the residence showing the owner as the taxpayer;
• a signed lease for the residence including a beginning and end date; or
• a closing statement for the purchase of the residence.

In addition, provide a current copy of at least two of the following documents:

• Illinois driver’s license;
• gas, water, electric, internet, television, telephone bill or letter confirming service connection;
• public assistance documentation;
• voter registration card;
• home or vehicle insurance certificate;
• Illinois automobile registration; or
• receipt for local city vehicle sticker where applicable.

Any person asserting legal custody over a student, who is not the student’s parent or legal guardian, must provide current documentation from a court supporting the student custody arrangement.

Students who are in a temporary living situation may attend school in the district pursuant to provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Learn more about McKinney-Vento.

Families should notify the school secretary if they move to another location within the district, so that records can be forwarded to the new school, and must prove residency at the new address. Families may request permission for the student to finish out the school year at the original school by submitting a request in writing to the school principal.  If permission is granted, families are responsible for providing transportation, and ensuring that behavior, tardiness and absenteeism do not become a problem. Approvals are for the remainder of the school year.

Whenever possible, students are assigned to the school nearest their home. However if the number of students at a particular school causes class sizes to be unusually larger than the district average, a designated residential area may be assigned to a District 54 school in another attendance area. The School Board annually reviews school boundary lines and class utilization plans for assignment of students to schools.

Under certain conditions, a parent’s request for re-assignment to a school other than the student’s base school may be approved. Approval will be granted only if the grade level to which the child seeks re-assignment is not overcrowded. Should a parent’s request for re-assignment be approved, the parent will be required to provide transportation to and from school. Approval is typically granted in August. Requests must be made annually to the school principal before May 1. If enrollment numbers increase, a principal may deny new or continuing requests. District 54 reserves the right to revoke approval if a student’s attendance, behavior or tardiness becomes problematic or if District 54 determines that the transportation arranged by the parent poses a safety issue.

District 54’s Early Learning Center offers programs for children ages 3 to 5 who have been identified as needing special education due to a disability or who are screened and identified as not progressing at a rate anticipated for potential success in kindergarten due to one or more at-risk variables. The district does not offer a parent-paid preschool program. Visit our Early Learning Center website for more information about our early childhood programs. For Early Childhood registration or to schedule a screening, call (847) 230-1700.

School District 54 follows Illinois School Code which specifies that to enter kindergarten children must be five years of age by September 1 of their kindergarten year and six years of age by September 1 of their first-grade year. The District 54 School Board permits accelerated placement into kindergarten or first grade for students younger than the entrance age requirements only for students who demonstrate high ability pursuant to the Board’s Accelerated Placement Policy. Read more about Accelerated Placement in District 54.