September 2023 Staff Newsletter (English)

STAFF NEWSLETTER

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES

● We need your opinion! As we continue to enhance the CCSD21 communications – specifically the staff newsletters – we would like your feedback to help us provide the type of information you want to read, as well as its frequency. Please take the following survey by Sept. 30 – thank you!

C ng

Director of Communications

cassandra young@ccsd21 org Tel 847-520-2728

● Our newsletters are full of timely information for you and your family. Reading it keeps you up to date and also deepens your connection to the district. Do you know someone who would like to receive our communication? Send them here!

● Is your closet lacking some officially branded district apparel? Visit this link! (An account may need to be created)

● Applications are now open for the Donna Rae Steckling Memorial Educators Grant! Click here to apply (applications are due by Tuesday, Oct. 31)

EQUITY & LEARNING UPDATES

MAP Growth and MAP Reading Fluency assessments have begun! Students in second through eighth grades will be assessed in Reading and Mathematics during the test window of Aug 29 through Sept 13 CCSD21 utilizes the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth assessment as one measure to provide information on student academic growth

Beatrice Reyes Childress Assistant Superintendent for Equity & Learning

beatrice childress@ccsd21 org

Tel 847-520-2743

Students in grades K-1 will be assessed using MAP Reading Fluency, an online adaptive reading assessment for this age range of students, who are learning to read. It measures foundational reading skills, with an emphasis on oral fluency. Students will be assessed in MAP Reading Fluency between Aug 29 and Sept 13

Thanks for helping our students do their best by creating optimal testing environments and providing them with words of encouragement!

CCSD21 2023-24 committee participation: We have important work to do as we kick off the school year, and are looking for as many staff members to get involved with this work as possible! Below is a list of committees that we are assembling; brief descriptions of the main focus of each committee is included in the sign-up form. Please consider getting involved and sharing your talents! Committee work will primarily take place outside of the school day and staff members will be compensated for their time. Please sign up by Sept. 15.

● Committees:

● Climate and Culture

● Curriculum Council

● Elementary Science

● Elementary Social Studies

● Family Learning Program

● Middle School Schedule

● MTSS Handbook

● SEL Scope and Sequence

● Spanish Proficiency/Spanish for Spanish Speakers (Middle School)

EQUITY & LEARNING UPDATES (CONT.)

Language Services: Did you know… As a district, we are proud to celebrate the diversity of our learning community! During this month, many countries around the world celebrate their day of independence. Many people in our community acknowledge their native country’s independence by displaying a flag, or even participating in festivals or parades. Some of the celebrations taking place during the month of September include Labor Day, Patriot Day, Constitution Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah and Mawlid. 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.

Language Arts & Language Services Summer Professional Learning Celebrations: Throughout the summer season, our district was abuzz with a plethora of opportunities for professional growth and learning. As the temperatures soared, so did our commitment to enhancing our skills and knowledge in gaining a deeper understanding of literacy strategies and structures to meet the diverse needs of our students.

The summer months presented us with an abundance of chances to engage in meaningful language arts learning experiences in all languages of instruction These encompassed Elementary & Middle School Literacy PD & Planning, Benchmark English and Spanish Phonics resource implementation, and Benchmark Phonics Intervention training

The sessions were thoughtfully designed to cater to the diverse needs and interests of our district's professionals and were created and delivered by our Literacy & Language Services Directors, Middle School Literacy Equity Teachers & Coaches, Elementary Literacy Instructional Specialists, and Language Services Instructional Specialists From classroom teachers to administrators, from EL & SPED resource staff to teacher’s aides, everyone had a chance to partake in these enriching activities

Attendance to CHEER about…

● English & Spanish Phonics & Word Study PD: 151 staff

● Elementary Literacy PD: 73 staff

● Middle School Literacy PD: 29 staff

● Daily 5 Book Club: Nine staff

HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES

GCN Mandated Trainings

● We are anticipating that the Illinois State Board of Education will update us about mandated training for the 2023-24 school year soon. As soon as we have this information, we will send it to the entire staff.

Robert Gurney Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources

robert gurney@ccsd21 org

Tel 847-520-2724

● At this time, ISBE has the 2022-23 training on its website. Thank you for your patience as we await information for this school year!

Personal Days

● There will be days that staff will request to use personal days If you are looking to use a personal day on the following days in September, October, November or December, please fill out the Personal Day Request Form and send it with the supporting documentation to Bob Gurney as soon as possible

September 1, 5, 22, 26

October 6, 10

November 21, 27

December 22

● Special permission is required for the use of a personal leave day for the first and last five calendar days 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

● Verification of Employment (now through Verifent!)

● Loan Forgiveness Requests Staff members who need loan forgiveness forms completed should send their respective forms to annabel salgado@ccsd21 org Please remember to include all the pages of the form so it can be completed in accordance with the stated requirements

● Determination of Summative Ratings for 2022/2023

● Appealing an Unsatisfactory Rating: In August 2019, Illinois’ governor signed a bill requiring school districts to work with their union to develop an appeals process for staff members receiving an Unsatisfactory rating We met as a committee of teachers and administrators to develop this appeals process for our school district

HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES (CONT.)

● Tuition Reimbursement/Educational Advancement: When deciding to pursue post-Bachelor and post-Master graduate work, please remember to check with the U S Department of Education’s Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs

There are often accreditations for the institution as well as the program These are not necessarily the same so be sure to check both options if they are available After you have checked, please fill out the following pre-approval forms and send them to Human Resources:

● Post-Bachelor’s Degree

● Post-Master’s Degree

● Insurance Benefits Guide: Do you have questions about our insurance? Please review the Benefits Guide. It has a lot of details about our plan. It can also be found through the Staff Intranet.

● COVID 2023/24: The COVID-19 state of emergency in Illinois ended on May 11. As a school district, we continued to follow the COVID protocols we had been following throughout the 2022-23 school year. As of the end of the 2022-23 school year, COVID days have ended.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has provided the following guidance for schools regarding positive tests for COVID for the 2023-24 school year. It recommends that people stay home from school for at least five days if they test positive for COVID The first day will be when symptoms initially appear They further recommend that people wear a mask for days 6-10 when returning to school

At this time, you do not need to report to the district that you have tested positive for COVID-19 Any days a staff member is out for COVID will be considered sick days We are encouraging everyone to follow the IDPH guidance

● SIP Day Hours for Sept. 22

Early Childhood: SIP Day – 9 a m to 2:30 p m with working lunch or 9 a m to 3:30 p m with lunch break

Elementary Schools: SIP Day – Noon to 2:30 p m with working lunch or noon to 3:30 p m with lunch break

Middle Schools: SIP Day – 11 a m to 1:30 p m with working lunch or 11:30 a m to 2 p m with lunch break

INFORMATION SERVICES UPDATES

Mike Frantini Chief Technology Officer

mike frantini@ccsd21 org Tel. 847-520-2732

● Chromebook reminder and updates: As a reminder to staff, all new students – as well as students in grades K, 3 and 6 – will receive a new Chromebook device if they have not already for this school year. The deadline that has been communicated to schools is that all students should receive their device no later than Sept. 7. More details have been provided recently by your principal and from the Information Services team; this is just a quick reminder of the 9/7 deadline. If you would like to review the details provided before, please review an overview process in the document here. Thank you so much to everyone for your cooperation and assistance in the deployment of these student Chromebooks! We know this is a huge process, and it would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of school staff It is a huge team effort and has been a huge success thanks to all of you!

● Tech help request reminders: Please be reminded that all technology support requests need to have a ticket submitted in order for proper completion of the support request This allows the Information Services team to properly and efficiently track requests on multiple levels, allows for timely two-way communication and updates, and is the pathway for monitoring and tracking data on tickets across the District

Please be sure to submit a tech ticket here This link can also be found in your CCSD21 Links folder and the Staff Intranet page Thank you for your cooperation!

● Print Shop Reminders: All print jobs should be submitted via the Print Shop Website. This link can also be found under your CCSD21 Links folder on your browser and on the Staff Intranet page.

○ For any larger quantity jobs, please allow more time for completion

○ Avoid Waste: If you submit a print order and find you need to print in school, please reach out to Jesse/the Print Shop to check on the status of your order before printing in your school.

● An introduction to CrisisGo

SUPPORT SERVICES & SCHOOL SAFETY UPDATES

Kim Cline Assistant Superintendent for Support Svcs & School Safety

kim clilne@ccsd21 org

Tel 847-520-2717

● World Suicide Prevention Day will be observed on Sept. 10 this year, and CCSD21 echoes the World Health Organization’s goal of “creating hope through action.” There are more than 700,000 suicides per year across the globe, according to current estimates, and “creating hope through action” will show people experiencing suicidal thoughts that there is always hope and that we care and are ready to support them. This year’s observance aims to focus attention on the issue, reduce stigma and boost awareness among organizations, governments and the public. Get more information on the WHO’s campaign here.

A note on safety from your school resource officers: In 2023, being a teacher/staff member is a role where multiple hats are needed every day. One of those hats concerns safety. Teachers/staff members play a vital role with safety in the classroom because they are the leader. The students will look to you, as a teacher/staff member for guidance and leadership on what to do and how to behave during times of stress. While we as school resource officers can lead the charge for safety, we need your help. Here are some helpful tips:

● Review and quickly become familiar with the Standard Response Protocol

● Set a reminder to review the Standard Response Protocol with your students monthly

● Examine your classroom and discuss what is unique to your location compared to others (does your classroom have a door or window that can be used for evacuation? Or a deep corner/hidden area to hide in?)

● Remind students what is unique about your classroom

● Review and become familiar with the CrisisGo app

CCSD21 will have a fall and spring safety week this year, coordinating drills across the district The new Standard Response Protocol Language is used to indicate which drills happen on which days

Sincerely,

Officers Devin Ladesic and Lukasz Czapla Wheeling Police Department

Officer Michael Essig Buffalo Grove Police Department

SUPPORT SERVICES & SCHOOL SAFETY UPDATES (CONT.)

Safe2Help: Your student can access this resource by clicking on the Safe2Help icon, which is located on the ta in.

Once your student clicks on the Safe2Help icon on their Chromebook, they will be redirected to the landing page for students to access the resources and submit a report As a staff member, you can find lessons under a topic on the Safe2Help website to use with your class