December 2023 Staff Newsletter (English)

DECEMBER 2023

STAFF NEWSLETTER

HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES TRS Retirement ●

Robert Gurney Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources robert.gurney@ccsd21.org Tel. 847-520-2724

The Regional Office of Education is offering two different options for staff to learn more about retiring under TRS. This informational session will help you determine where you fit in and provide concepts for you to think about, including an up-to-date status on legislative actions that will affect you. Join us to learn more and ask the questions on your mind! ○ TRS for Educators – Friday, Dec. 14, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. ○ TRS for Educators – Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Virtual Job Fair!

Do you know a December graduate? We are really excited about a virtual job fair that we are offering to potential candidates. We will be meeting with candidates virtually from across the area on Monday, Dec. 11.

This is for positions that could start as early as January 2024!

Here is a flyer with a link that allows candidates to sign up to meet with an administrator. This is a great opportunity to be guaranteed a chance to meet with a school administrator to talk about a future position.

We have current openings in the following areas: ●

Pre-K Teachers

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Social Workers

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Special Education

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Speech Language Pathologists

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Psychologists

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Nurses

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ESL

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Teaching Assistants

We’re hoping that if you know someone who is graduating in December and is interested in working in this area that you will consider forwarding it to them. We have sent a personalized invitation to more than 45 universities and colleges across Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota.

In addition, if you know of someone who has 60 college credits and is interested in subbing, please encourage them to apply to be a part of our sub pool. To be eligible to sub as a TA or teacher, they will need to apply for their short-term sub license through ISBE. This licensure is valid through June 2025.

HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES (CONT.) ●

Evaluation Committee: The teacher evaluation committee meets each school year.

This committee has representatives that are DEA members, principals, and district administrators. During the 2021-22 school year, our evaluation committee made the following adjustments to the evaluation process. Click here to find out.

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Special Permission Required: As a reminder, staff members need special permission to use personal days to be absent during the first 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 will be requesting a personal day during any of these times, please fill out this form to request the day off.

You will need to provide supporting documentation to show why you need to be absent. More documents can be found here.

If you are looking to use a personal day on the following days in January, February or March, 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: ○ ○ ○ ○

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December 22 January 8, 12, 16 February 16, 20 March 18, 20, 22

GCN Modules: A reminder that all staff must complete the mandated training modules assigned to them per their job classification. These assignments will be based on state and federal requirements. We adjusted the timelines for the 2023-24 school year, as we received the information from ISBE later than we typically do.

The deadlines for completion of the online modules is as follows: ○ Sexual Harassment - Nov. 21 ○ Mandated Reporter - Nov. 21 ○ All other mandated modules - March 1, 2024

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CommuteEase: On Nov. 21, staff received an email about CommuteEase from the Employee Benefits Corporation from the following email address: notifications@ebcflex.com. This benefit allows you to put money into an account to reimburse yourself for commuting expenses, tax free.

This is a benefit offered to our staff related to and from work. Eligible transit expenses include passes, tokens, fare cards, vouchers or similar items for: ○ Mass transit (such as train, bus, subway or ferry) ○ Commuter highway vehicle (such as vanpools) Read more here.

EQUITY & LEARNING UPDATES ● MAP Growth and MAP Reading Fluency Winter Benchmarks: The winter MAP testing window is from Dec. 1 to 15. Thanks for helping our students do their best by creating optimal testing environments and providing them with words of encouragement!

Beatrice Reyes Childress Assistant Superintendent for Equity & Learning beatrice.childress@ccsd21.org Tel. 847-520-2743

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Encourage Reading Over Winter Break with an Exciting Opportunity (K-5): Congressman Brad Schneider is sponsoring a reading incentive through the Brad’s Bookworms Program for children in grades K-5. Children who participate in the program are asked to read and log 10 books with help from parents, grandparents, older siblings or other family members, and track their progress toward this goal.

Students who meet the 10-book goal will be invited with their families to a recognition ceremony with Congressman Schneider in early 2024. Students are also invited to take part in a contest to design a bookmark, and copies of the winning bookmark will be distributed to all children who complete the 10-book goal.

For any interested students, please share this following information with parents.

Complete the online registration here by Jan. 2, 2024: Brad's Bookworms | Congressman Brad Schneider (house.gov) or by filling out the form attached to this email and either emailing it directly to ari.botbol@mail.house.gov or mailing it to 111 Barclay Blvd, Suite 200, Lincolnshire, IL 60069.

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 December include: Pearl Harbor Day, St. Nicholas Day, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Bodhi Day, Las Posadas, Christmas Day, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve - 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.

BUSINESS OFFICE UPDATES ● Skyward is getting a facelift and will be inaccessible to users from late March to early April 2024. Please consider getting your W2 forms in January or February, prior to the switch to the upgraded system.

More information to come as the date approaches for the changeover.

Micheal DeBartolo Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations/CSBO micheal.debartolo@ccsd21.org Tel. 847-520-2707

● Reminder: Please review all videos and playlists that you plan to share with students to ensure that content is age-appropriate. Also, please supervise student usage for tools that include pictures and videos when using graphic design tools.

Mike Frantini Chief Technology Officer mike.frantini@ccsd21.org Tel. 847-520-2732

● The December edition of the Information Services Newsletter is here! This month’s topics include VR headsets, IIQ Quick Tickets, getting the most out of your ViewSonic, and a winter wonderland of activities. Feel free to keep the feedback coming so we know what you want to see in our next issue!

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COMMUNITY CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT 21 959 W. Dundee Road Wheeling, IL 60090 Tel. (847) 537-8270 www.ccsd21.org

Empowering Every Student, Every Day