The Special Olympics Spring Games are upon us!

We have athletes from several D64 schools who will be participating in the track and field events on Saturday, May 10th at Prospect High School in Mt. Prospect. Opening Ceremonies begin at 8:00 am! 

Come and show your support to our athletes! We hope to see you there!

A huge thank you to all the amazing students and staff at Emerson for making this afternoon's clap-out for our athletes so memorable!

It was wonderful to see every floor packed with cheering faces, and the Emerson band was rocking out outside, creating the perfect soundtrack to send our athletes off to the games.

THANK YOU To All Of Our Staff

A big heartfelt thank you to all our amazing educators for everything you do! It was such a joy to celebrate Educator Appreciation Week together.

We're so grateful for the incredible work you do for our students and each other. As Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins beautifully put it, "You literally change students' lives every day!" We feel so lucky to have you on our team in D64.

And let's not forget a big shoutout to our wonderful PTA/PTO groups for helping us make this week special. What an awesome celebration!

Dear Families,

This is an end-of-the-year reminder for families who have not started or completed their child's registration for the 2025-2026 school year. Unfortunately, delays in registration numbers make our back-to-school planning efforts extremely difficult. 

Action Needed: If we do not have your registration completed and verified by 10:59 pm on Thursday, May 22, then 

• A bus route (if needed) will not be available until after Labor Day, and your child will not be able to ride the bus on the first day of school. 
• Your child’s Chromebook will be collected for the summer. 

This deadline is to allow our staff the proper amount of time to input information into our systems and create bus routes to start the year, which takes time to do correctly. Also, we now allow students in grades 2-7 who have completed registration to take their Chromebooks home for the summer. You can find more information about the Chromebooks here. 

Please register your child and have our staff verify the information before the May 22 deadline. All of the steps are online at d64.org/about/register. If you have any questions about the registration process, please contact the front office of your child’s school.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we plan for the upcoming school year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Adam Parisi

Chief School Business Official

The District 64 Board of Education will hold a regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, May 15, in the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Child Center. There will be a closed session first, and then the regular meeting will start at 7:00 pm.

Below is a look at the agenda:

• Meeting of the Board Convenes
• Board Recesses & Adjourns to Closed Meeting
• Board Adjourns from Closed Meeting & Resumes Regular Meeting
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Opening Remarks from The President of the Board
• Student/Staff Recognition - Special Olympics/Young Authors
• Spotlight on Emerson School (Horizon Schools to Watch Award)
• Public Comments
• Recognition of Tenured Teachers
• Superintendent Update
• Board Committee Reports
• Board Committee Assignments
• Quest Contract Renewal Approval
• Consent Agenda
• New Business
• Adjournment

Upcoming Board Meetings

The following are the next Board meetings:

• May 22, 2025 - Special Meeting (Board Training)
• June 26, 2025 - Regular Meeting - 7 pm

Looking to catch up on past meeting highlights? A summary of each meeting is available on our Current Board News webpage.

Please confirm meeting dates and times on the Board meetings webpage.

We would like to invite your student to join the District 64 Instrumental Music program next year! Beginning in 4th grade, your child is eligible to join Orchestra and 5th grade students are eligible to join the band or orchestra! To learn more about the program and the string instruments offered, please see the links below:

Read: Important Information About Instrumental Music

Video Presentation: All About Band!

Video Presentation: All About Orchestra!

If you already registered your child for the 2025-2026 school year but did not select instrumental music, log back into your account to add band/orchestra: Click Here to Add Instrumental Music, click "Forms" on the left, then "Enrollment" at the top and scroll down to instrumental music.

Click here for a video tutorial on how to add band/orchestra to your child’s registration!

The instrumental music registration deadline is August 1. Band/Orchestra teachers will communicate more information via email with registered families the second week of school. Lessons will begin the week of September 8. 

If you have any questions, please email Erica Faulhaber (efaulhaber@d64.org), Curriculum Specialist for Instrumental Music. 

Lincoln & Emerson Middle School band and orchestra students hit the road for an exciting performance tour of our district’s elementary schools! These talented musicians visited students in grades 3–5, sharing their passion for music and giving younger students a glimpse into what they can look forward to as future members of our instrumental music program.

Read more here.

Step into the past and learn about our history! D64 schools have a display featured at the Park Ridge History Center titled "Park Ridge Schools Past to Present - A Legacy of Learning". The exhibit provides an overview of the history of education in our community, showcasing photos and items from the Park Ridge History Center's archives, as well as contributions from our present-day schools.

The History Center will be open on Saturday, May 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at 721 N. Prospect Ave. in Prospect Park. Admission is a suggested $10 donation for adults, while Historical Society members, students, and children can attend for free.

Comments and questions may always be directed to the Superintendent or Board members through these links:

Email Dr. Ben Collins, Superintendent or contact members of the Board of Education via email links.

Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 | 847-318-4300 | news@d64.org

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