On a mission to ignite the power and potential of each student.
DISTRICT 20 eNEWS
Highlights from January 2020
A Look Inside District 20 Classrooms
Student Growth Seen
Across the District
All District 20 students in Grades 1-8 take the online MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessment at multiple points in the school year to measure individual growth and performance. Teachers use this information to support the unique needs of students in Literacy and Math. The MAP Assessment can reveal growth through the school year, as well as growth over multliple years.

Distirct 20 students have taken the MAP Assessment twice already this school year, once during each trimester (Fall and Winter). The final assessment for this school year will take place in the last trimester. We were very excited to see student growth from the Fall to Winter assessments:

  • There was student growth from Fall to Winter at all grade levels in Literacy and Math.
  • 5th, 6th and 7th grade Math MAP scores exceeded the expected growth.
  • And 5th Grade Literacy MAP scores far exceeded expected growth.

Teachers use assessment data to help identify skills where students may need help, connect instructional resources for additional support, group students for differentiated instruction, inform lesson planning, and set growth goals with students. We look forward to continued additional student growth throughout the school year and in the future.
D20 STEM Club Gets Underway
Students in Grades 3-5 are invited to join the before-school STEM Club this winter to explore hands-on activities and challenges in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. This month, forty-five students at Greenbrook have gathered weekly on Thursday mornings 7:30am to 8:15am in the Innovation Center. After the six-week program is completed, the STEM Club will move to Waterbury for their students to participate.

STEM Club begins each week with a new story to introduce the theme for that day's activities. Students are given the chance to choose which of four teacher-led activities that they would like to engage in that day, in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math.

During one of the program sessions, for example, the students listened as a group to the story Bentley Snowflake. Students then chose from the following hands-on learning activities:

  • Science - students made their own snow and studied state of matter with a frozen water balloon melting it with salt and making observations;
  • Technology - students used Tinkercad to design their own snowflakes which were 3D-printed;
  • Engineering - students could build snowflakes with KEVA planks or cut their own designs from paper; or
  • Math - students designed snowflakes on the floor and coded the spheros to follow that shape.

Some of the other STEM storybooks and activities included After the Fall (Humpty Dumpty) and Where the Wild Things Are.
Balanced Literacy
District 20 engages in high-quality, research-based practices to develop strong foundational reading, writing, and communication skills for all students, recognizing that literacy is a critical part of the educational development of children. Teachers across the district are committted to implementing " Balanced Literacy" in their elementary classrooms this year. This approach focuses on guiding students towards proficient and lifelong reading.

The graphic below shows some of the learning activities used in district classrooms to support Balanced Literacy.
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District 20 Board of Education
The Keeneyville Elementary School District 20 Board of Education held a regular board meeting on January 23, 2020 at Spring Wood Middle School. Meeting highlights are listed below. The next regular meeting of the District 20 Board of Education will be held on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 7:00pm at the Spring Wood Middle School Library (2nd Floor).

Meeting information and minutes are located on the website, or click here . You can also view video recordings of Board Meetings on the Keeneyville YouTube Channe l .

January Board Meeting Highlights

  • The Board was recognized for their excellent work and service in assisting neighboring School District Bloomingdale SD 13 during their contract negotiations.
  • The Financial Dashboard was presented by Director of Operations/Treasurer, Wendy Flaherty.
  • The Superintendent's Dashboards on Student and Staff Attendance were presented by Superintendent Dr. Omar Castillo.
  • Dr. Castillo provided a review of the District's Illinois 5Essentials Survey Results from 2019, showing areas where the schools received high scores from students, teachers, and parents as well as areas where improvements may be needed. The 5Essentials Survey for 2019-2020 is open until February 14 and we encourage parents, students, and staff to participate in the survey to provide feedback. Click here to take the survey.
  • Dr. Carrie Stange, Director of Teaching and Learning, provided an overview of MAP Assessments and highlighted the student growth shown by assessment results from Fall to Winter 2019-20 testing dates.
Student Artwork Displayed

Board Meetings are typically held in the 2nd Floor Library of Spring Wood Middle School, unless otherwise noted. Student projects and artwork are rotated monthly and can be seen on display in the Library during Board Meetings. Below are some of the examples of the amazing artwork by 6th-8th Grade Students this month.
Board Committee Updates

Board Members gave updates on some of the Committees including the District Finance & Facilities, SASED and Wellness Committees. To see details, please see the meeting minutes and/or video recording of the meeting on the Keeneyville YouTube Channel.
School Highlights
Visit District News for more information about district-wide events.
EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
GREENBROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Greenbrook Kindergarten classes made their own snow in the school's Innovation Center this month when the weather did not cooperate for their winter unit. Students learned about snow and made their own snow inside by combining baking powder and hair conditioner! Students held Snowpalooza 2020 and explored snow through several different hands-on activities.

Visit School News to see other events and photos for Greenbrook.
WATERBURY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Waterbury students who participated in the most recent eleven-week Literacy through the Arts after-school program, sponsored by the Faubourg Theatre, were excited to showcase their talents to their families, school staff, and the park district’s after-school students. The recital was under the direction of one of Faubourg’s Teaching Artists, Ms. Sheli. At the end of their performance, the students encouraged the audience to join in the fun and taught them some of their dance movements. The students are already excited about the next session of this fun program!


Visit School News to see other events and photos for Waterbury.
SPRING WOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL
Spring Wood PTO hosted a " McTeacher's Night" at the Bloomingdale McDonald's near Stratford Mall this month. Administrators, staff and teachers enthusiastically served food in the drive-through and dining room to many SW supporters. It was a fun night and a great way to raise money to support the school.

Go to Spring Wood's Photo Gallery for more photos of the staff in action!
Spring Wood's Dare to Dream members attended the 12th Annual Dare to Dream Get Educated! Conference this month at the College of DuPage. Fifteen SWMS students attended with several parents They were among 380 students and 300 mothers who also attended the annual Latina conference.

The students attended sessions on goal setting, high school preparation, college acceptance, career opportunities, financial aid, real world situations, and mentoring programs. They also met with successful Latina professionals and heard about how they achieved their goals by overcoming obstacles and taking advantage of mentors and opportunities available to them. The students' mothers attended workshops on continuing education, financial aid, mental health programming and understanding the complexities of the college system.

Go to Spring Wood's Photo Gallery for more photos of this wonderful learning experience.
Visit School News to see other events and photos for Spring Wood.
Community Connections
Visit D20 VIrtual Backpack for information about community events and programs.
District 20 Annual Report to the Community for 2019
Residents across the district received the District 20 Annual Report for 2019 in late December/early January via US Mail delivery. The Report gives an overview of some of the highlights of the calendar year including the transition to the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan for the District.

Click here D20 Annual Report to see the complete publication.
Keeneyville Elementary School District 20 | 5540 Arlington Drive E | T (630) 894-2250