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District 64 eNews November 15, 2024

Happy School Board Members Day

We would like to recognize our Board of Education for their service and commitment to the District! November 15 has been officially designated School Board Members Day in Illinois to recognize these public servants for their commitment and contributions to our public schools.


"It's wonderful to work with a school board that understands the complexities of our work and respects the professionalism of our staff in the school district and just wants to see the best for all of our kids," said Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins. "I think the future is absolutely bright in this school district with everything that we have moving forward. There's no possible way we'll ever be able to thank you in the way that we possibly could other than just to say how appreciative we are of the work that you do, and how excited we are to continue that work in the future. So thank you so much."


Thank you to the members of the District 64 Board of Education:

  • Dr. Denise Pearl - President
  • Monica Milligan - Vice President
  • Matt Doubleday - Secretary
  • Gareth Kennedy
  • Phyllis Lubinski
  • Rachel Georgakis
  • Demetri Touzios

Share Your Thoughts On Our Middle Schools

Elementary, Early Childhood, and Middle School Parents, 


District 64 staff---administrators, teachers, and support personnel--are currently reviewing the middle school structure, schedule, and programming. In order to make better informed decisions, we are asking for feedback from parents or caregivers. Please think about your child's current or future middle school experience and offer insight into the topics within the questions. Please keep the mission and vision statement in mind as you complete this survey.


Vision Statement: 

  • District 64 middle schools will provide a safe and nurturing environment where everyone is inspired to learn, collaborate, grow, and care.


Mission Statement: 

  • The middle school community of District 64 will foster a safe, supportive and inclusive school environment. The community will value diversity, student growth, social-emotional learning, and respect for self and others. Staff, families, and community members will work collaboratively to empower middle school students through exploration, choice, and strong relationships while providing rigorous and differentiated curriculum that includes real-world learning experiences and extracurricular opportunities.


You can find the link here. This survey will close on Sunday, November 24th. We thank you for your time!


To gather your feedback, we're using a tool called ThoughtExchange. All of our voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued. You'll be asked to respond to survey questions. In addition, you'll be asked to answer one open-ended question, consider and assign stars to some of the ideas shared by others (20 to 30 is ideal), and learn what's important to the group.


Your responses, thoughts and stars are confidential. You can come back as often as you'd like to participate and, in fact, we ask that you do come back to star some of the new ideas shared since you first participated. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas to focus on.


If you need technical help, please call ThoughtExchange at 1-800-361-9027 ext. 4 or email help@thoughtexchange.com. 


News From November 7 Regular BOE Meeting

The District 64 Board of Education held a regular meeting on Thursday, November 7, in the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center. You can watch or listen to a meeting replay on our YouTube page. 


Spotlight On Music


We had the pleasure of having the Emerson Middle School Chamber Orchestra in attendance to play Over The Rainbow (Hawaiian Version). They did a great job! We also honored the 11 students who made the ILMEA District Orchestra, one of the state's most prestigious orchestras. You can read more about our excellent student musicians on our website


Review of Tentative 2024 Proposed Tax Levy, Adoption of Resolution #1350 to Approve 2024 Proposed Tax Levy, & Establishment of Public Hearing


Motion Approved


The Truth In Taxation hearing is scheduled for the next Board meeting on December 19 at 7 pm. You can view Chief School Business Official Dr. Adam Parisi’s presentation on the Tentative Tax Levy here


Approval of Maintenance Grant FY25


Motion Approved


Approval of Real Estate Contract for the Sale of Property for 820 Rowe Avenue


Motion Approved


The original deal had to be altered. As a result, it was approved during a Special Board Meeting on Wednesday, November 13. The purchase price of $101,000, less the broker fees of 6.9%, for a total of $94,445, was approved. 


The 820 Row Avenue lot is vacant but was once connected to the former Oakton School. The District originally kept the land when the Oakton building was sold. However, since the District has no use for the property, we decided to sell it. 


Presentation of the 2023-24 Illinois School Report Card


Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Dr. Samantha Alaimo gave an in-depth breakdown in her presentation on how D64 did in the recently published 2023-2024 Illinois School Report Cards. 


The report card components are the following: Performance on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), Performance on the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA), Progress to Proficiency (PtP) for our English Learner (EL) population, Chronic Absenteeism, Performance on the ISBE Equity Journey Continuum, and Performance on the Illinois 5Essentials Survey.


“We continue to see high and improved proficiency data on IAR, meaning students are meeting that grade level basis that we would like, which is amazing,” said Dr. Alaimo. “We should be really proud of those.”


Field Elementary School demonstrated exceptional IAR growth percentiles and ranked in the top 10% of schools and earned an exemplary rating. The remaining six schools in our District earned a commendable rating. Franklin Elementary School was less than 1 point away from earning an exemplary rating. 

  • Exemplary schools have no underperforming subgroups and perform in the top 10% of schools statewide.
  • Commendable schools have no underperforming subgroups but are not in the top 10% of schools statewide.

You can listen to/watch Dr. Alaimo’s presentation to the Board here. Additionally, Dr. Alaimo’s written memo can further explain the report card data and factors


Approval of Calendar for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 School Years


Motion Approved


Now that the referendum has passed, the plan is to finish construction within two years. To help with this, we have adjusted the school calendars for 2025/26 and 2026/27 to allow crews more time to work in the buildings.


Here are several key points:


  • Winter and Spring Recess dates are aligned with Maine Township High School District 207 as in past practice.
  • School will begin for students on August 21, 2025 and tentatively on August 27, 2026.
  • The last day of student attendance will be June 4, 2026 and tentatively on June 10, 2027
  • March 17, 2026 is an Election Day and will be a staff institute day with no student attendance.

You can always find the most up-to-date calendars on our website.


Consent Agenda


Motion Approved


Approval of Meeting Minutes


Motion Approved

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.

Join Us At An Upcoming 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.

Kiwanis D64 Holiday Food Drive

The annual Kiwanis District 64 Holiday Food Drive is now open and runs through November 30th!


Donations of all sizes will help fund grocery gift cards for families in our District. Help us support children in our community. To donate, go to www.KiwanisPR.org.

D64 Spelling Bee

Click Here To View Spelling Bee Details



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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