Dear District 58 Parents and Guardians,
Welcome back to school! I hope you each enjoyed a wonderful summer, and I look forward to greeting our students as they return on Thursday, Aug. 23. The first day of school will be a full day, so be sure to get a good night’s rest! To help you prepare for a successful school year, I wanted to share some back-to-school reminders from District 58.
Elementary parents received an email yesterday with their child’s teacher assignment. If you did not receive this email, please call your school office to make sure we have your correct contact information. Middle school students will receive class schedules during Locker Setup Night tonight. Bus routes will be finalized and posted at www.dg58.org this week. Please visit our Back to School webpage at https://dg58.org/back-to-school/ to learn more.
Parent Handbook and Annual Report:
We recently published our 2018-19 Schools of 58 Parent Handbook online. Please review this important handbook with your child, as it offers an overview of the District’s policies. During school registration, you indicated whether you wanted an electronic or printed copy of the handbook. Parents who requested a print copy will receive it in backpack mail during the first full week of school. Parents will be asked on Curriculum Night to confirm that they received and reviewed the handbook, either electronically, as linked here, or in print.
We are mailing the 2018 Annual Report to the Community to all homes within District 58’s boundaries this week. This report highlights the many achievements that our students, staff, schools and district accomplished this past school year. We have a lot to be proud of, and I hope you take time to read this report with your family!
Curriculum Night:
Please plan to attend Curriculum Night at your child’s school this September. Parents can meet their child’s teachers and learn more about the curriculum, technology and instructional practice of each class. Please note the general Curriculum Night schedule below. Principals will send school- and grade-specific Curriculum Night times to their school communities.
- Thursday, Sept. 6: El Sierra, Fairmount, Hillcrest, Indian Trail, Kingsley, Herrick Eighth Grade and Grove Children’s Preschool (HP location)
- Tuesday, Sept. 11: Belle Aire, Highland, Henry Puffer, Lester, Pierce Downer, Whittier, O’Neill and Grove Children’s Preschool (IT location)
- Thursday, Sept. 13: Herrick Seventh Grade
New Staff:On Monday, Aug. 13, we welcomed 34 new teachers to District 58 for New Teacher Week training! We have a fabulous group of new teachers, and they are very excited to begin working with their students. We also look forward to welcoming our new instructional assistants and other support staff during an orientation tomorrow. This summer, six new administrators also joined the District 58 team. Please give a warm welcome to all of our new faculty and staff.
Strategic Planning:As you may remember, our Board of Education approved a Strategic Plan report last spring. This Strategic Plan reflects the community’s broad input and will guide the District’s decision-making for the next four years. This summer, Strategic Plan development teams comprising teachers, support staff, parents and administrators have worked hard to build out the action steps of our new Vision 58 Strategic Plan. They are creating objectives, strategies, timelines and performance metrics associated with the plan’s three big ambitious goals: Focusing on Learning, Connecting the Community, and Securing the Future. This fall, the Board of Education will form a new oversight team, the District Leadership Team, which will provide support and accountability for the Strategic Plan’s progress. We look forward to providing the community with regular updates related to our Strategic Plan work, and expect a presentation to our Board summarizing the summer teams’ work at the Board’s regular board meeting in September. We look forward to sharing our progress as we help fulfill District 58’s pursuit of excellence!
Safety:District 58’s top priority is providing our students with a safe environment to learn and grow. Last week, District leaders met with local law enforcement to review and update the District 58 Emergency Management Plan, which provides clear crisis response instructions for teachers and staff. I want to share some of our safety procedures with families, so we can all work together to keep our students safe at school.
School Entry: All exterior District 58 school doors are locked during the school day. Prior to gaining access to the school, all visitors must ring the doorbell and be visually and verbally identified via the entry camera. Visitors are asked to verify their name and purpose for visiting the school. Once approved and buzzed in, guests must sign in at the front desk and pick up a visitor's badge before continuing to their destination. Thank you for your cooperation!
Emergency Drills: All District 58 schools annually hold safety and emergency drills with students and staff, in cooperation with emergency responders. Our teachers share age-appropriate information with students to help them keep safe in an actual emergency.
Parent Communication: District 58 will use its SchoolMessenger parent notification system to inform parents of crises. If a hazard occurs outside a school building, sometimes a school may enter a “secure building and teach” status. In these instances, the school will bring all students indoors and lock its doors to all outside visitors, including parents, until law enforcement communicates that it is safe to reopen. Regular instruction will continue inside the school. While this situation is rare, should it occur, we will keep parents informed and appreciate your cooperation.
Social-Emotional Learning: District 58 integrates social-emotional learning curriculum into daily instruction for all students, and our staff works hard to nurture our students’ well-being and mental health. We also empower our students to inform a trusted adult when they observe or notice a potential threat. District 58 takes all inappropriate and potentially threatening comments seriously, even if they are meant as a joke, and will inform law enforcement when warranted.
Severe Weather: District 58 follows student safety protocols during severe weather. Please click here to view the District’s winter weather procedures, and please consult page 18 of the Parent Handbook for tornado response guidelines and other emergency preparedness information.
Please let your classroom teacher or principal know if you have any questions regarding District 58’s safety procedures.
Thank you, parents, for your continued partnership. It is an honor to serve the District 58 community, and I am excited to kick off another terrific school year!
Sincerely,
Kari Cremascoli, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools