Superintendent's Message

Great Start to the Year!

It has been a joy to visit classrooms this month, see student learning, and witness the positive impact of great teachers (#ThankYouD102Educators).One of the best moments from this last month was when I visited a Kindergarten classroom at Barnsdale Road School, and a student invited me to do a puzzle with him and his partner.After we found a few pieces that matched, I asked him if he liked school.He looked at me like I was crazy and explained, “of course I like school, look at all this great stuff we get to do.” Unfortunately, we did not finish the puzzle because it was time to take school pictures, but I left that classroom enthusiastic about the school year - mostly because he was so excited about the school year.So many other visits and interactions over the last month confirm that D102 is a great place to learn, work, and play. But you probably already knew that!

Update on School Safety

In the world of education, it is often said that we must Maslow before we Bloom.In the most straightforward terms,we must consider the social, emotional, and safety concerns of our students and community (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) before we expect to see academic growth and achievement (Bloom’s Taxonomy).In other words, students who feel safe and accepted are more likely to do well academically in a school setting.

At our Board of Education meeting in August, I provided the D102 Board with an update on ongoing safety and security improvements and discussions.I would like to share with the community the highlights from that report.Many of these security improvement efforts started well before I joined the district this summer.I truly appreciate the strong foundation on which we can continue to build.

Needs Assessment: In July, our leadership team completed a security audit/walkthrough of the district (all buildings) with Paul Timm from Allegion Security.
- Results of the audit were shared with the District leadership team this week, from which we are creating a priority list of improvements the district will recommend. The tentative plan is to have a BOE security update and discussion at the September BOE meeting to review these recommendations.
Capital Improvements:
- The addition of exterior cameras to all buildings
- Securing lobbies with a multiple-step entry (buzzer) systems at all buildings
- Door and lock improvements throughout the District
- Additional secure window reinforcements
Training
- All D102 staff participated in A.L.I.C.E. training on their first Institute Day.We scheduled a security training for all front office staff.This training was facilitated by Mr. Timm and conducted jointly with all front office school personnel in the Lyons Township area. We thank Lyons Township HS for hosting all of us.
- All D102 administrators will receive training in the use of CrisisGo, a security/alert application.
Communication
- District 102 will test our emergency communication system with all families and staff in September.
- In early August, I met with leadership from the Police Departments of all three villages.We discussed communication protocols between the District, buildings, and their departments.
- District 102 plans to conduct a joint district / community / first responder ‘table top’ activity in the late winter/spring to improve our practices and communication protocol across all agencies in the event of a community emergency.

It’s important to be very clear about this: We have a safe community and safe schools.But we must be vigilant about how we maintain school security and always strive for improvement. Safety and security for all students is a common goal and a high priority for all D102 stakeholders.

Reminder from the Health Office

Any parent wishing to submit health forms for their child please submit them to their school's health office:

Barnsdale: brhealthoffice@dist102.k12.il.us

Congress Park: cphealthoffice@dist102.k12.il.us

Cossitt: cohealthoffice@dist102.k12.il.us

Forest Road: frhealthoffice@dist102.k12.il.us

Ogden Ave: oghealthoffice@dist102.k12.il.us

Park Jr. High: pkhealthoffice@dist102.k12.il.us

Kindergarten - Health Exam, Eye Exam, Dental Exam
2nd grade - Dental Exam
6th grade - Health Exam, Dental Exam
7/8th grade - sports physical for any student participating in a school-sponsored sport

To view which health forms need to be submitted, please refer to the Health Services page, HERE.

Curriculum Updates

District 102's curriculum is derived from the Illinois State standards and School Code that requires us to address established grade level goals and objectives. As a result, we are required to teach some sensitive topics. The School Code provides specific topics that parents have the right to opt their child out of participating in the learning experiences. Those topics include sex education and animal dissection. In District 102, our Fourth graders participate in a presentation by Candor Health on Puberty, our Fifth graders participate in a presentation by Cando Health on Human Reproduction, and our Seventh graders participate in a unit on Sex Education. Furthermore, our Fourth graders dissect a sheep eyeball when they visit the Science Center, and our Sixth graders dissect a pig heart in science class. Additional information regarding these units and experiences are shared with families through the schools or teachers closer to the time of the units. If parents want to opt their child out of one of these activities, they can contact the classroom teacher to request an alternate plan.

Student Climate Survey Administration - Fall 2023

In D102, we know that a strong school climate has positive impacts on student achievement, attendance rates, and school safety, as well as creating conditions for developing healthy social and emotional skills. We also feel it is critical to hear the voices of our students. To help facilitate that communication we provide a Student Climate Survey twice annually, once in September/October and again in March.

D102 will gather student perceptions of their school climate, as well as their own social-emotional well-being, in the following ways:

K-2nd grade students will orally provide their input during a classroom meeting conversation with their teacher.
3rd-8th grade students will individually complete an online survey in Google Forms.

Results of the 3rd-8th grade survey are anonymous and will not be used to identify individual students. Rather, the data will be used to gather an overarching sense of students’ perceptions. Each building’s leadership team will use the survey results to inform school-wide planning while grade level teachers will use the data to help plan proactive classroom-based morning circles.

While the K-2nd grade classroom conversation is not anonymous, no student information will be collected or shared. Rather, themes identified during the K-2nd grade classroom conversations will be collected by the teacher and used to plan proactive classroom-based morning circles.

For more information see:

Families that wish to opt out of the survey should either contact their elementary child’s classroom teacher or their junior high child’s advisory teacher.

School Finance

The Business Office will be adding monthly updates and points of interest regarding the district's finances and operations for the staff and community to review. Stay tuned to see what the news is from our department!

Volunteer Sign Up

Registrar Aquí

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month is this month from Sept 15 - Oct 15. To celebrate, we'll be sharing resources, showcasing talent, voices, and recognizing programs available in our District that make La Grange D102 Strong!

Mark your calendar for the Cossitt Elementary School's bi-annual children's consignment sale on Saturday, September 23, from 9:30 am to 1 pm. Explore 20,000+ quality name-brand items from infants to size 16, including fall/winter clothes, coats, shoes, sports gear, and books.

Catch the amazing HALF PRICE deals from 12 pm to 1 pm. Plus, your purchases support local children in need – unsold items are donated to Chicagoland non-profits. Shop smart, help the community, and care for the environment!

For details and involvement opportunities, visit www.cossittptc.org/clothingsale.

Visit Employment Page

La Grange D102 APP!

We’re thrilled to announce the new app for LaGrange District 102! It’s everything LaGrange 102, in your pocket.

Download the app on Android: https://bit.ly/3zbalhW

or iPhone: https://apple.co/3sHUGnZ.

Referral GPS - Connecting People to Treatment: We are committed to creating a culture of well-being for students, staff, parents, and the community. In an effort to continuously support this commitment, the district has entered an agreement with ReferralGPS.

ReferralGPS is a web-based service focused on assisting our students, staff, and community in finding local mental-health and substance use-related treatment. The service compliments the districts existing systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment options, ReferralGPS provides Care Navigation to assist families in triage, appointment setting, and follow-up care.

School families may access ReferralGPS in two ways:

1) Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/dist102 to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care Navigator anonymously.

2) Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists, counselors) to seek out treatment options.

ReferralGPS takes into account all types of private and public insurance including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, Medicare, and families who are uninsured or underinsured. The platform also filters by age, gender, zip code, and special requests.

ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely confidential and securely stored.

If you are interested in seeking counseling-related services at this time, please consider visiting https://referralgps.com/find-help/dist102 or reaching out to the Student Services team.

Community Page

Looking to get you or your family involved in activities? Check out our community page for activities and programs within the area. Here are some activities currently on our community page.

Visit Community Page

Upcoming Events

District Events

Upcoming District Events

Sept 11: PTC/PTO Leadership

Sept 21: Board Meeting

Sept 23: Cossitt Clothing Sale

Sept 25: PAC Meeting

Oct 5: Board Meeting - Committee of the Whole

Oct 6: Institute Day (No School)

Oct 9: Indigenous People's Day (No School)

Oct 12: Monday Special Schedule

Oct 19: Board of Education Meeting

LaGrange District 102

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