Volume 15, Issue 15| Wednesday, March 8, 2023

About the cover photos: Left: Lester students celebrate Dr. Seuss' Read Across America. Right: Indian Trail students enjoy the school book swap.  


Throughout this publication, you will see the following color-coded dots beside each article. The dots represent which strategic goal the article addresses:


• Focusing on Learning • Connecting the Community • Securing the Future


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District 58 calendar

Friday, March 10

7 a.m.: Financial Advisory Committee

O’Neill 


Sunday, March 12

Daylight savings time starts


Monday, March 13

3:15 p.m.: Parent Teacher Advisory Council

O’Neill


7 p.m.: Regular Board of Education Meeting at Village Hall


Wednesday, March 15

7 p.m. District 58 Festival of Music

Downers Grove North


Monday, March 20

7 p.m.: O’Neill Musical 

Tuesday, March 21

6-7 p.m.: Kindergarten Roundup at El Sierra, Fairmount, Henry Puffer, Highland, Pierce Downer


7 p.m. O'Neill Musical


Wednesday, March 22

6-7 p.m. Kindergarten Roundup at Hillcrest


Thursday, March 23

6-7 p.m. Kindergarten Roundup at Belle Aire, Lester, and Whittier


Monday, March 27-March 31

Spring Break - No School 


Wednesday, April 12

6-7 p.m.: Kindergarten Roundup at Indian Trail,* Kingsley (*updated, corrected date)



Click here to view the 2022-23 calendar.

Click here to view the 2023-24 calendar.

Universal full-day kindergarten open to all District 58 students in 2023-24 

The Board of Education at its meeting on Feb. 27 approved a full-day kindergarten program for the 2023-24 school year, ending the tuition-based OKEEP full-day program. The move allows all D58 students to participate in the full-day program.

“Full-day kindergarten strengthens students’ social and emotional skills while providing many academic benefits. I’m thrilled that we can offer a full-day option to every child in District 58,” said Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell. 


He also noted that the program is now financially feasible due to three changes in the district’s revenue stream. “We are now in a position financially where we can offer kindergarten without paid tuition,” said Dr. Russell. The passing of the facility referendum allows capital projects to be paid through the referendum bonds rather than operating funds, thus freeing up monies. Second, the dissolution of the downtown TIF (Tax Increment Financing District) provides a property tax revenue increase for the district. Finally, there are additional funds available through the state’s Evidence-Based Funding model that counts kindergarten students as full-day rather than half-day students. These three factors ensure the financial sustainability of a full-day kindergarten program.


At the board meeting on Feb. 27, administrators noted the benefits of full-day kindergarten, especially for those with special needs, students who need academic support and students whose families are experiencing hardship or who have not attended preschool. The full-day program enhances a half-day program by providing young students with increased discovery opportunities, additional instructional and socialization time and meaningful play-based learning. It also allows a more developmentally appropriate schedule that intersperses academic content with unstructured play, and gives teachers a better opportunity to cover the Illinois Learning Standards for kindergarten. Read more.


Kindergarten Round Up Schedule

Dual Language Information for Incoming Kindergarten Families

April 17 Dual Language Info Night Flyer (En Español)

Kindergarten Resource Page

IAR and Science Assessments planned in April for grades 3-8

In April, students in grades 3-8 will complete the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and additionally, students in grades 5 and 8 will complete the Illinois Science Assessment.  Both are state mandated assessments. In the coming weeks, your child will see sample test items and review online assessment tools, which allow them to familiarize themselves with the structure, format and questioning style of the test. Our curriculum and instruction are robust and complete and aligned with the standards measured on the assessments, therefore we do not “teach to the test.” 


How can you support your child?



These tests are important and as with any other assessment we ask students to give their genuine best efforts as we know they are strong, persistent and capable. In fact our approach to these tests continue to be “can-do” rather than “must endure.” We continue to ask for your support in encouraging your children to approach these tests with the same rigor and investment as they would with any other test. Please read this letter from Assistant Superintendent Justin Sisul about these tests and ways to to help support your student. As always, thank you for your support and partnership.

New visitor screening system installed after spring break

After Spring Break, District 58 will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and know who is in our building at all times. District 99 uses the Raptor system at both of its schools.  


Upon entering a school, visitors will be asked to present photo identification, such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.  


The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing school safety protocols in our district. We appreciate your patience as we implement this new protocol. 

There are still openings in D58 Summer School program

There are still openings in many courses at Downers Grove Grade School District 58 Summer School. Check out the offerings here and register your child for the grade level he or she will enter in the fall of 2023. Registration deadlines vary depending on the session. Registration for Session II - General Education and Enrichment, will close after March 24.

District 58 Summer School classes are open to students enrolled in public, private or parochial schools who live within the District 58 attendance area. Learn more about our programs.


Eligibility Procedures for Math Acceleration and Gifted Programs

District 58 is beginning the process of reviewing student eligibility for math acceleration and gifted programming in the 2023-24 school year. Information about the criteria for both math acceleration and gifted is found on our website. Families of students who are newly eligible for these programs will be notified by the 2nd week of May (specific communication timelines will be shared in future newsletters.) If you have questions about the process or procedures, please contact Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Justin Sisul. Student-specific questions will be best answered after the initial communications are shared in late April/early May. 

Registration for the 2023-24 school year begins next week

Registration for new and returning families begins next week. We will again be using the PowerSchool Enrollment Express system and a third party vendor to automatically verify residency for most families. We will ask returning families to register by April 4.  

Preschool application deadline for 2023-24

Today (Wednesday, March 8) is​​ the deadline to apply for priority preschool applications for the award-winning Grove Children’s Preschool. 


Please visit www.dg58.org/preschool to learn more about The Grove Children’s Preschool, including tuition information, a virtual tour, frequently asked questions and more.

A PHOTO GALLERY: The Reading Games

Five hundred students, 240 volunteers and hours of reading and fun. The 2023 Reading Games honored two hard-working teams, Rainbow Readers in the morning session and Hex Libris in the afternoon session, but we all know every student truly was a winner because they read books they might not have read, learned about things they hadn’t known about and discovered exciting new genres and book titles and collaborated with new and old friends. Thanks to Reading Games committee members Shannon Cleary, Amy Hancock, Deanna Horner, Margaret Geise, Tia Nash, Jill Schwartzers, Katie Suva and Jessie Warmbir whose hard work made the Games possible. Check out photos from the event.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Eighth Grade Service Award Deadline March 10

A reminder that applications for the Select 58 Recognition Awards, the service awards for eighth graders attending Herrick and O’Neill middle schools, are due this Friday, March 10. 


All students are eligible to apply for the honor, as long as they are passing their classes. Fifty-eight students – 29 from Herrick and 29 from O’Neill – will receive this honor. Learn more. 


Your input is important to us; Please take this survey

We are also asking parents, in addition to students and staff, to take the State’s 5Essentials Survey. Please click here to take the survey. Currently, our parent response rate is 8% and as a reminder we need at least 20% of parents to respond in order to receive a report. The survey is an important part of the Illinois Report Card for District 58. Your participation in this survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be confidential and not connected to you or your child. Learn more about 5Essentials. The survey closes on March 31, 2023. Please take the survey here. Staff and students will take the survey during school time.

Elizabeth Ehrhart named Assistant Superintendent

Mrs. Elizabeth Ehrhart was appointed as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction effective July 1, 2023. The interview teams described Mrs. Ehrhart as “experienced, relatable, child-centered, supportive of staff, hard-working, and dedicated,” said Dr. Kevin Russell, superintendent.


She will succeed Mr. Justin Sisul who was appointed as Assistant Superintendent for Personnel. Read more about Mrs. Ehrhart.


Do you know a D58 staff member or teacher who has made a difference?

A reminder that nominations for a Distinguished Service Awards honoring a District 58 employee are due Wednesday, March 22. The award recognizes those who have made a positive difference in a child’s life.


Any District 58 parent/guardian, student or staff member may nominate a District 58 employee for an award. Learn more at www.dg58.org/dsa

BOARD NEWS

Board of Education news

During its Feb. 27 Special Meeting and Curriculum Workshop, the Board heard reports on 15 different committees, ranging from the Professional Learning Council, which reviews feedback from every single training/professional learning session for teachers and staff and plans future ones, and the Positive Behavior Support Systems Committee, a new committee formed this year. The group reviews and is considering a consistent evidence-based behavior system district-wide that would standardize behavioral expectations for students.


The Board also held interactive sessions on five curricular areas that are new this year:

  • Elementary music
  • Social studies/inquiry
  • Writing pilot program (featured in video at right)
  • Middle school advisory
  • Dual language

The interactive sessions, given by teachers and other certified staff, offered presentations and lessons on what students are learning. In this video, above, shown during the interactive portion of the meeting, 2nd graders recounted how the Writing Workshop pilot program has increased their writing stamina, passion and prowess for writing. 


View the Board Briefs or a video recording of the meeting. Because of the structure of the interactive portion of the workshop and that it was held in five different classrooms, those sessions were not recorded.


Looking ahead: The Board will hold its Financial Advisory Committee from 7 a.m. - 8 a.m. on Friday, March 10 at O’Neill Middle School. The Board’s next regular Board meeting will be held on Monday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at Village Hall.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Community e-flyers

District 58 includes relevant e-flyers in the Communicate 58 newsletter and online. Learn more.



Downers Grove Grade School District 58

2300 Warrenville Road, Suite 200NE, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Community Relations Office: 630-719-5805 I fbehr@dg58.org | www.dg58.org

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