In yesterday's community letter, Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell shared that District 58 will not change the schedule and structure of its hybrid learning model through the duration of the second trimester, which ends March 5. This decision was made after District 58 thoroughly reviewed community survey feedback and held several meetings with staff.

However, Dr. Russell added that teachers and staff are prepared should the District need to shift to a temporary full remote setting. As before, if an adaptive shift is needed, the District would aim to give families one week's notice to prepare.

If a family would like to change their child's learning model, they must contact their school principal by Tuesday, Jan. 19. The principal will work with the student, family and teacher to make the shift as quickly as feasible. After Jan. 19, students will not be able to make a learning model change until the second trimester ends.

Relatedly, last week the Illinois Department of Public Health released updated quarantine guidelines for individuals who are close contacts to confirmed or suspected positive COVID-19 cases. District 58 consulted with the DuPage County Health Department regarding this guidance. Going forward, the Health Department will continue to recommend that all close contacts complete a 14-day quarantine. However, close contacts may reduce their quarantine to 10 days if they meet the following criteria:

Please contact your principal or school nurse with any close contact quarantine questions. In other COVID-19-related news, starting next week, the District will eliminate universal temperature screenings at school due to their unreliability. Families are still required to take their child's temperature before school at home and complete the self-certification process as usual. Finally, District 58 will continue to communicate positive COVID-19 cases to school communities. However, the COVID letter template was recently updated to better convey the most important information succinctly.

District 58 continues to update its COVID-19 resource and Hybrid Learning Plan webpages with the latest information. Please continue to visit these pages to learn more!

The Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club awarded nine education grants totaling more than $2,700 to District 58 teachers and staff! The grants support a variety of helpful educational resources and tools. Congrats to:

* Keri Bernhardt, O’Neill

* Jenn Barnick, Belle Aire

* Katie Gallagher, Kingsley

* Georgina Cervantes, Highland and Herrick

* Colleen Sciacca, Lester

* Donna Haidle, Grove Children's Preschool

* Laura Bucaro, Grove Children's Preschool

* Rachel Bush, Kingsley

* Mandy Zimolzak, El Sierra

Thank you, Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club, for your support! Learn more about the grants and view a photo gallery.

District 58 certified staff learned a lot during the Monday, Jan. 4 virtual Teacher Institute Day! Superintendent Dr. Russell opened the day with an inspirational welcome. He challenged all staff to select one word to focus on for the year (his word is "gratitude"). Many staff took his advice one step further and challenged students to pick a word. Click here to watch a short video of Henry Puffer third graders sharing their word!

After the welcome, staff attended six one-hour learning sessions, presented by District 58 teachers and administrators, as well as outside experts and consultants. Staff could customize their schedule – there were nearly 100 sessions to choose from! Topics ranged from understanding implicit bias to advanced instructional strategies in specific subjects to time management hacks.

“All of the presentations were great, and immediately helpful. My favorite Institute Day to date!” said Whittier Teacher Librarian Kelly Coleman (via Twitter). And speaking of Twitter, click here to see staff tweets from throughout the Jan. 4 Teacher Institute Day! Learn more.

The Illinois Association of School Administrators' Leadership Matters magazine featured District 58 Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell this month! He shared the importance of communication, social media and strategic planning with school district leaders across Illinois. Thank you for your leadership, Dr. Russell!

View the entire interview on pages 10-11.

Do you want to receive text messages from District 58? Opt in by texting the word YES to 68453 using the cell phone number on file with your child's school. District 58 typically only sends text messages during emergencies or last-minute scheduling changes.

If inclement winter weather requires District 58 to quickly shift school to a full remote setting, the District will send parents and staff an email, robocall and text as soon as possible.

Will your child attend preschool next year? Do you have a friend or neighbor with a preschool-aged child? Save the date! Grove Children's Preschool invites future families to its virtual open houses on Monday, Jan. 25 and Tuesday, Jan. 26 from 6-7 p.m.via Zoom!

Grove Children's Preschool is District 58's gold-rated preschool program! The open houses will highlight its nationally recognized, research-based curriculum, instruction and assessment tools, as well as parent partnerships and the registration process. 2021-22 preschool registration opens Feb. 1. Learn more

District 58 schools will administer the Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP, assessment this month to students in grades K-8. MAP is an untimed, adaptive test that adjusts each question's level of difficulty as a student progresses through the exam. It is normal for a student to only answer half the questions correctly. The MAP assessment allows teachers and administrators to better pinpoint what a student knows and what a student is ready to learn next, which helps staff better differentiate instruction to each individual student's level.

In addition, students in grades K-2, along with select students in grades 3-8, will take the AIMSweb assessment this month. AIMSweb is an assessment that measures early literacy. District 58 uses AIMSweb data to identify each student’s current literacy level and to determine individual interventions to help each student succeed. 

Questions about MAP or AIMSweb? Contact your child's teacher or principal!

The Jan. 11 School Board meeting included a learning model update, an employee health and wellness spotlight, an Indian Trail School presentation, and resolutions regarding an intended $3.335 million bond issuance to pay for needed capital projects, among other topics.

View the agenda here; Board Briefs will be published later this week.

The combined Herrick and O'Neill choirs performed a wonderful combined concert over Zoom! The concert opened with an original song created by Herrick seventh grader Kevin O. At the 2-minute mark, the students begin singing "Can You Hear?" and "Theme from Elf." They did a fantastic job!

Pierce Downer’s Service Learning Committee (SLC) had a busy fall! This committee comprises Pierce Downer families that work together to give back to the community.

In November, the SLC collected 38 coats, four snowpants, 13 hats and six pairs of gloves for World Relief DuPage/Aurora, an organization that helps local immigrants and refugees. In December, they held a holiday toy drive, in which they collected toys and gift cards for local children living in poverty, through local organization, Sharing Connections. Thank you, Pierce Downer Service Learning Committee, for your kindness, charity and empathy to those in need!

Want your school featured in our 58 Doing Good service spotlight? Please share your 58 Doing Good stories with mhewitt@dg58.org for possible future inclusion in Communicate 58 and on our 58 Doing Good page!

Education Foundation board members Brian Krajewski and Karoline Kellam advocated on behalf of the Foundation to secure $7,513.54 in CARES Act funding for the Foundation’s COVID-19 Family Support Fund. The COVID-19 Family Support Fund provides grocery gift cards to District 58 families struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gift card recipients are identified by school principals, secretaries and social workers.

Thank you, Education Foundation and Downers Grove Township (which approved the funding allocation) for providing our families with these additional funds! Pictured here: Downers Grove Township Supervisor Mark Thoman presents the Foundation with a check!

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church donated several pairs of winter boots (sizes pre-arranged for specific students in need) and gift cards to local grocery stores to help District 58 families in need this past holiday season.

Thank you, Good Shepherd, for your kindness and generosity!

District 58 includes relevant e-flyers in Communicate 58. Many of the flyers linked below are from non-profit organizations unaffiliated with District 58. While we hope all organizations follow current IDPH guidance, we are not responsible for making sure that guidelines are followed by outside groups. Please be cautious and continue to follow all IDPH health and safety guidance when participating in any activity. Learn more.