We are thrilled to share that Carpenter Elementary School was ranked #20 in the state according to the latest U.S. News & World Report of the top elementary schools in Illinois. 

“The top-ranked schools are all high-achieving and have succeeded at educating all their students,” read U.S. News’ ranking methodology. Schools were assessed on their shares of students who were proficient or above proficient in their mathematics and reading/language arts state assessments. “Half of the formula assessed the scores themselves, and the other half incorporated the test results in the context of socioeconomic demographics,” according to the website. 

In total, 47,573 elementary schools and 23,861 middle schools were ranked. 

“I am exceptionally proud of our staff, our students, and the support of our parents,” said Carpenter Principal Brett Balduf. “It takes all of us working together to create a positive and collaborative school community where our students can best thrive academically and emotionally, which lends itself to such positive results.”

“Congratulations to Carpenter on this outstanding achievement,” said Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins. “This recognition reflects a school and community dedicated to excellence in education. We are proud to be featured in this report and will continue to provide the highest quality education in all of our schools.”

Our five elementary schools also earned the “Best Elementary Schools” designation, and our two middle schools were named “Best Middle Schools.” Our District earned these honors because our schools were in the top 40% of the U.S News’ Illinois rankings. 

A big round of applause for everyone!!

We hope everyone has a great Fall Break and a relaxing week away! There is no school during the week of November 25. We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday, December 2.

Also - we wanted to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to our families who celebrate. This year, Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 28th, and is a federal holiday for all states. Thanksgiving is a day of giving thanks for the harvest and blessings of the preceding year. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

Help Us Reach Our Goal

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated to the annual Kiwanis Park Ridge D64 Holiday Food Basket Drive. We’re so close to reaching our goal of raising $8,700 to support families and children in our community. 

To reach our goal, we still need to raise $3,042 by November 30, and your help can get us there! 

Donations of EVERY SIZE can make a huge difference in the D64 Annual Food Basket drive! Please consider donating $5, $10, or more online at KiwanisPR.org. Let's all rally and help brighten the holidays for KIDS in our school district! 100% of donations directly support this drive, which runs until 11/30/2024. 

You're Invited To Our Parent U

Join D64 and Dr. Devorah Heitner for a discussion on shifting the conversation from just “internet safety” to helping our kids understand who they are. Dr. Heitner is a global speaker on topics such as digital well-being, parenting, screen time, digital citizenship, mindful technology use, and raising empathetic children in a connected world.

The event is for parents/guardians and will be on Tuesday, December 3 at 6 pm inside the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center (8200 W Greendale Ave, Niles).

Click here to RSVP or scan the above QR code.

Thank you to the hundreds of people who have already completed our ThoughtExchange survey on the District’s middle school experience. If you haven’t filled out the survey, you have until Sunday, November 24th, to share your insights to help us make informed decisions on the middle school schedule, programming, and structure. The original message to families describing the survey can be found on our website. 

If you’ve already filled out the survey, you can still help us gather feedback through the “share your thoughts” portion of the ThoughtExchange. As the survey has continued, more answers have been added and rated by our D64 community.

This is an important piece of the process and allows us to see what items families care about the most. 

So, even if you’ve already gone through the ThoughtExchange once, we invite you to help prioritize key areas by sharing and rating more thoughts: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/scroll/912938006/welcome

Thank you in advance for your input.

Upcoming Board Meetings

The following are the next Board meetings:

• December 19, 2024 - 7 p.m. - Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center

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.

MaineStay offers affordable, strength-based counseling for children, adolescents, adults, and families both in person and via telehealth. MaineStay provides a variety of free or affordable programs for youth ages 3-17 that are designed to help maximize each child's full potential in life. Some of their newer programs include:

• Team Work Trailblazers: Socialization and Problem-Solving Group
• Game Masters: Board Games and Coping Skills Group
• Imagination and Ink: A Creative Writing Journey
• Creative Calm: Art and Coping Skills Group
• Hooked on Crochet
• Family Fun Nights
• Tutoring
• Social Wellness Nights

For a full list of programs and online registration, visit mainetown.com/mainestay

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

#engageD64