Superintendent's Message
February is Black History Month. Officially recognized by President Ford in 1976, Carter Woodson, African American historian, birthed the idea in 1926 as a week in February close to the birthdays of abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglas and President Lincoln to celebrate the accomplishments, achievements, and contributions of Black Americans who helped form this great nation. While names like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, and Martin Luther King, Jr. are well-known and rightfully praised for the immense efforts and contributions that changed the life of all Americans, the reality is that there were and are many African Americans that helped shape our country.
From the largely unknown Crispus Attucks, one of the first people to die in the Revolutionary War after protesting the British occupation, to well-known Barack Obama, the first African-American President, our country’s history is filled with unsung African-Americans who have helped to forge a new path for all Americans. This month, I encourage you to read about the often unwritten side of history. The role of African Americans in science, history, politics, music and the arts, education, etc. More often than not, our American history books under-represent the role played by African-American and Latino individuals and groups. Set aside time each week this month to learn something new. Visit the DuSable Museum of African American History. (www.dusablemuseum.org). We are fortunate to have some original prints by Margaret Taylor Burroughs, founder of the Dusable Museum, as part of the McKinnon Art Gallery. She visited Cossitt School in 1997. Take time to learn something new and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans in our community, state, and country.
The CommUNITY Diversity Group of La Grange Area (CDG) Arts Committee will be hosting a CommUNITY Mosaic Project! Help them piece together a beautiful mural for The La Grange Community Center. View the flyer below to see how you can contribute to the project.
2023 - 2024 School Calendar
Kindergarten Information Night
The schools will be hosting Kindergarten Parent informational meetings for the 2023-2024 school year in February. We encourage all families who are new to the kindergarten process to attend an informational meeting.
Please check the schedule below to attend your neighborhood school.
Students living in the Forest Road, Cossitt, and Ogden boundaries attend Full-Day Kindergarten at Barnsdale. Students in the Congress Park boundary attend Full-Day at Congress Park. Families interested in Dual Language attend Congress Park. If you are unsure of which school is within your neighborhood, please click HERE to view our school boundaries map.
Registration will be available in early March.
Barnsdale Road | Full-Day
Tuesday, February 21st at 7:00 p.m.
Congress Park | Full-Day
Tuesday, February 21st at 6:00 p.m.
Cossitt | Half-Day
Wednesday, February 22nd at 6:00 p.m.
Ogden Ave | Half-Day
Wednesday, February 22nd at 6:00 p.m.
*If you are in the Forest Road attendance area and interested in the half-day program, you may attend the meeting at Cossitt School.
Registration opens on Friday, Feb. 3th at 6 p.m.
Registration closes on May 12, 2023, at 3 p.m.
Summer Programming Times: 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
3 Week Dates: Starts June 12, to June 29.
No Classes on June 19. No Friday Classes.
Each child will need to be registered in PushCoin. The fee for registration for summer programing is $165.
Dear Parents/Guardians and Community Members,
We are excited to host an Anti-Bullying Seminar for students, staff, family and community members. We realize that it takes a coordinated effort to have a unified message for all stakeholders to support students during this eventful time in their lives. Our proactive approach is not due to any specific new concerns but a next step in our work to support the social emotional learning needs of all students.
This series will support the district's goals for Culture, Relationship, and a healthy learning environment. Material that will be covered will empower students to meet the expectations of being a part of a community and learning environment that values the totality of each students’ experiences, culture, and identity to support each others’ academic growth and life success. We expect students to bring their best every day.
We will host the Anti-Bullying Seminar on Wednesday February 22, 2023 for Park students during an assembly period during the school day. We will present it to our Park teachers from 2:30-4:30 PM. However, all District 102 parents/guardians and community members are invited to attend a session from 7:15-8:15 PM at Park Junior High in the auditorium. If you are not available to join us in person, you can watch the live stream on our District 102 YouTube channel. The link is available HERE and it will be available on the District 102 website main page.
Our presenter Jodee Blanco describes her Parent/Family Seminar in these words:
“The Parent/Family seminar is an enlightening interactive workshop for parents and their children. It deepens their understanding of each other and actively improves the way in which they communicate. I take parents back in time to my school years, and help them reconnect with that part of their own past so they can better relate to their children’s experiences in the here and now. Then, engaging the assistance of all the kids in the audience, we walk the parents through the typical clichés adults use on bullied kids and why they don’t work. Kids love being able to teach their parents, and you can see the bond between parent and child strengthening in the room. It’s palpable. Then I offer fresh and effective alternatives to those clichés. I describe the warning signs a child may be a bully or a target, how to intervene successfully, how to approach the parents of the bullies and/or their targets, how to work productively with the school, why some children are targeted by bullies more than others, how to spot the warning signs a child may be suicidal due to bullying or may be contemplating violence; how to help that child create an interim social life until issues at school can be resolved, and other critical information. I also share deeply personal insights about the mistakes my own parents made and how to avoid them, as well as what my parents did that helped and why.”
Jodee Blanco
Upon completion of this series, we ask that parents/guardians and the broader community continue to be a part of a learning environment that values students’ experiences, culture, and identity as a key support to all students’ academic success by supporting the students' learning on this subject. This is one of many steps in this important work for the remainder of this school year and beyond.
Sincerely,
Jerome Green - Principal Park Junior High
Lynette Campbell - Assistant Principal Park Junior High
State of Illinois Assessments
In March, District 102 students in grades 3-8 will participate in the annual, mandated state assessments. The testing window is March 6 - March 24. The testing schedules will vary by school and will occur over multiple days.
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) are the state accountability measures for Illinois students enrolled in a public school district. IAR assesses the Illinois Learning Standards incorporating the Common Core in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics and is administered to students in grades 3-8. The Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) measures the Illinois Science Standards incorporating the Next Generation Science Standards and is administered in grades 5 and 8 only.
Talent Development Assessment Dates
As part of the identification process for Talent Development courses, students in 4th and 6th grade are given an aptitude assessment. Unlike an achievement assessment, aptitude assessments look at verbal, non-verbal, and general reasoning skills. This assessment allows us to gather information on student potential in these areas.
Typically D102 has given this assessment in Jan/Feb, but we are moving the aptitude assessment to the first two weeks of April. It will be given to all students in the 4th and 6th grades. Parents will receive more information about this assessment and the identification process by the end of March.
STEM EXPO 2023
On March 4th, the STEM EXPO will be in-person to showcase the talents of District 102 students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and creative Making. This event is designed to show off those talents in the scientific areas.
When: In-person on Saturday, March 4th, 2023 from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Set-up is Friday, March 3 from 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Where: Forest Road School Gym - 901 N Forest Road, LaGrange Park
Registration: This is open to all students grades K-6
Do you have your project planned? Go ahead and Register here
For more information: Visit our STEM EXPO website
For more general info visit: https://sites.google.com/a/dist102.k12.il.us/stem-expo/general-information
All exhibitors will receive a participation certificate and a STEM EXPO t-shirt. Register on or before Feb 17th to be guaranteed your t-shirt size.
Exhibits will not be judged; exhibitors will be assigned a 1/2 hour time period and gym location when they will be required to be at their table to answer questions and explain their project to an EXPO Official.
Do you have questions? Call or email Mrs. Hohl or Mrs. V at the Science Center. We are happy to help!
Phone: 708-215-6405
Email: hohlvi@dist102.k12.il.us
Upcoming Holidays
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.
Upcoming Events
District Events
Upcoming District Events
Feb 20: President's Day - (No School)
Feb 21: Congress Park Kindergarten Parents Information Night
Feb 21: Barnsdale Kindergarten Parent Information Night
Feb 22: Cossitt Kindergarten Parent Information Night
Feb 22: Ogden Kindergarten Parent Information Night
Feb 22: Anti-Bullying Seminar
Feb 23: Board Meeting
March 3: Parent-Teacher Conferences (Student Non Attendance)
March 11: Cossitt School Spring Clothing Sale
March 16: Board Meeting
