They are the instructional leader in the school, challenging students and staff members to continuously improve. They must be an expert in curriculum, instruction, school law, and social-emotional learning. They spend hundreds of hours each year interviewing and evaluating staff. Besides being instructional leaders, they need to manage building safety, security, and cleanliness. In short, they ensure that students and educators have the necessary resources to excel.

 

In CCSD93, our terrific principals and assistant principals are dedicated to high standards of excellence. Despite the long hours and complications that arise from time to time, to a person, they love their positions. Their passion for public education is remarkable. I have seen a lot of great administrators over the past 40 years but no better collective than the current CCSD93 school administrators. If you have an opportunity next week or beyond, please take a moment to join me in recognizing these amazing and talented individuals for all that they do for your children and our community.

CCSD93 was honored once again this week to host international visitors interested in finding out about our innovative teaching and learning methods. On Tuesday, we hosted a delegation of 17 teachers, principals, and other administrators from Shanghai, China, who visited with our central administrators and then toured Elsie Johnson, Western Trails, and Stratford to learn from our students and teachers. Among the terrific educational experiences they encountered were:

They also toured CCSD93's redesigned Innovation Centers and Stratford's STEM Wing, and they even were played string pieces by CCSD93's 7th grade Orchestra students!

It was a pleasure hosting such gracious guests, who shared unique gifts to commemorate their visit. I'm so proud of our students and staff members for how readily and eagerly they shared what and how they learn.

For more photos of the visit, stop by our Facebook page, and for videos and more, see our Instagram Story about the visit.

Sandy McCall is the Innovation Media Specialist at Roy DeShane School, and with more than three decades at CCSD93, one of our longest-tenured employees. She helps her students pick out books that fit their interests, leads them in unique learning experiences involving relevant technology, and... spends a lot of her personal time riding motorcycles.

Find out even more about Mrs. McCall by clicking the image above to watch our new edition of CCSD93 in 93 Seconds! She's one of more than 700 CCSD93 staff members who positively impact student learning every day.

CCSD93 is proud of our effective, passionate educators who provide a relevant education to each CCSD93 student and challenge them to grow, learn, and succeed to the best of their abilities each day.

Though their daily efforts often go unheralded, the Golden Apple Awards are a terrific way to publicly recognize great teachers. Unfortunately for CCSD93, this year Golden Apple is only accepting nominations for high school teachers. However, they are accepting nominations of principals for the Stanley C. Golder Leadership Award from every level of education. If you feel strongly about one of CCSD93's outstanding principals and would like to celebrate their dedication to their school, students, and staff, I invite you to nominate them for the for the Stanley C. Golder Leadership Award here!

Winners will be recognized on PBS, win a scholarship for professional development, and receive funds to use on a school project.

This year across CCSD93, Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences will incorporate the student voice to become Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences, which students are expected to attend with their parents. In the coming weeks, more info will be sent from your child's school on exactly what the new conference format will look like.

CCSD93 Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held Monday and Tuesday, November 19 and 20. This is a great opportunity for parents to connect with their child and their child's teacher about their child's education!

CCSD93's schools will once again offer online scheduling of Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences through PTC Wizard. All parents will need to register a new account this year, even if you had one for last school year. You can sign up for conferences anytime between now and Friday, November 16 at noon.

Visit www.ccsd93.com/PTC for more details.

Para español, haga clic aquí.

The next CCSD93 Board of Education meeting will be held Thursday, October 11 at 7 p.m. at CCSD93's District Office, 230 Covington Drive in Bloomingdale. The following are among the agenda items.