March 2024 Staff Newsletter (English)

HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES

Robert Gurney Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources

robert.gurney@ccsd21.org

Tel 847-520-2724

Did you know that if you work in multiple Illinois school districts that any unused sick and personal days are reported to the Teacher’s Retirement System and added to your service credit upon retirement? Service Credit is one of the factors used in determining your pension amount. The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund also requires all unused sick and personal days to be reported when a staff member leaves a district. Read more about service credits here.

● HealthCheck360 Biometric Screening: Based on the positive response we received from offering health screenings at all of our schools last year, we will once again offer them at every school this spring. You can choose the location you’d like to go to based on date and availability. A link to sign up will be going out soon. View the dates of the screenings, along with more information on the screenings and a promotional video on how to schedule one, through this link.

● Special Permission Required: As a reminder, staff members need special permission to use personal days to be absent during the first five or final five days of school. It is also needed if the personal day is on a day preceding or following a non-attendance day, school holiday, vacation or recess period, or for observance of a recognized religious holiday of the staff member’s faith. If you are looking to use a personal day on March 18, 20 or 22; April 1; May 24 or 28; or June 3, please fill out the personal day request form and send it with the supporting documentation to Bob Gurney in Human Resources as soon as possible. Read more here (scroll down).

● 2024-25 Calendar: Here is the calendar for next school year It was prepared by the Calendar Committee, which consists of DEA and administrator representatives The start date for students is Aug 28, with them completing the year on June 10 We are starting a week later than we did in 2023 based on the planned construction in multiple schools during the summer Read more here (scroll down)

● CCSD21 Tenured Teacher Three-Year Evaluation Cycle: The PERA/Evaluation Committee is composed of both certified staff members and administrators. Based around Public Act 102-0252 (HB 0018) – (Tenured) Teacher Evaluation Frequency, the PERA/Evaluation Committee has decided to move forward with a three-year evaluation cycle for tenured staff members, starting with the 2024-25 school year. This document details the rollout of the three-year cycle. Read more here (scroll down).

Beatrice

Tel 847-520-2743

EQUITY & LEARNING UPDATES

● Don’t forget to complete the 5Essentials Survey! This survey provides valuable information about a school’s learning conditions and organizational culture. To receive this data, at least 50 percent of teachers must participate in the survey. Read more here and take the survey here.

Report Card Reminders and Updates for Trimester 2 (November 17, 2023 to March 1, 2024)

Report Card Support

● Report Card Timelines has due dates for report card creation and proofing

● Use PowerTeacher Pro for walkthroughs and directions on entering grades, assignments, comments and more!

Updates and Reminders

● NEW for Trimester 2: Report Cards will also be emailed directly to parents/guardians on Monday, March 11 (They will also be posted in the Parent Portal)

● For kindergarten through fifth grade staff, please make sure to copy comments in the “Homeroom AM” section to enter both Learner Quality and Academic comments

● Use the Report Card translated comments document when you need support creating comments in additional languages

Let’s Celebrate!

Did You Know As a district we are proud to celebrate the diversity of our learning community! Some of the celebrations taking place during the month of March include: Read Across America, International Women’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Greece’s Independence Day, Holi: Festival of Colors, Casimir Pulaski’s Day, Beginning of Ramadan If you’d like to learn more, click on the links! If there is a celebration that we missed, don’t hesitate to reach out and share it with our Language Services Department

Equity & Learning Listening Tour Feedback Form

We are seeking feedback from teachers to inform our Equity and Learning (E&L) Department on how to better support the instructional needs of our district. In addition to our in-person listening tours at each building, we are providing an opportunity to provide feedback via this survey. This important feedback will help with resource development, instructional support and planning future PD opportunities. We are asking that feedback be provided before March 22.

Reyes Childress Assistant Superintendent for Equity & Learning beatrice childress@ccsd21 org

BUSINESS OFFICE UPDATES

Tel 847-520-2707

● Skyward transitioning to new version: As you may be aware, the district is moving from the current version of Skyward to a newer, updated version. As such, Skyward will be shut down during the week of Spring Break in order for the conversion to be facilitated by Skyward, our tech team and the business office The new version will go live upon our return from Spring Break The changes and additions will enhance the look of the system and create better functionality for reporting, entering of purchases and budget reviews. Read more about this transition here.

INFORMATION SERVICES UPDATES

Mike Frantini Chief Technology Officer

mike frantini@ccsd21 org

Tel 847-520-2732

● Information Services Staff Newsletter: The March issue of the Information Services Newsletter is now available! This month’s topics include:

○ Giveaway prizes!

○ Canva and VR training opportunities

○ Self-guided Google Workspace trainings

○ Changes to Canva

○ Digital citizenship mini-talks

○ And more!

Micheal DeBartolo Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations/CSBO micheal debartolo@ccsd21 org