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Visions Newsletter


May 20, 2021


 

Congratulations to our District 54 Graduates

We are so proud of the District 54 eighth-grade students who will be graduating on Sunday, May 23, at Wintrust Field. The image above is a sneak peek at one of our amazing student videos that will be shared at each school's event. Since tickets were limited this year due to social distancing, all five junior high ceremonies will be streamed on the District 54 YouTube Channel (Lincoln Prairie will stream its ceremony on the Lincoln Prairie YouTube Channel).

Graduation Timeline
  • Keller - 9 a.m.
  • Mead - 11 a.m.
  • Eisenhower - 1:30 p.m.
  • Lincoln Prairie - 2 p.m.
  • Frost - 3:30 p.m.
  • Addams - 5:30 p.m.

Brief from the May 20, 2021 Board Meeting


Discussion - Curriculum and Task Force Updates:
In preparing for the 2021-22 school year, District 54 is focused on balancing academic success and social-emotional wellness. Students will engage in lessons that include more hands-on learning, differentiation and leveraging technology in creative ways.

District 54 also has a variety of engagement opportunities for students this summer. Our Extended School Year program will serve 354 students in special education programs. We also have more than 1,500 students enrolled in our summer enrichment camps.

Students choosing to participate virtually can find grade-level reading lists posted on our literacy website, links to Learning A-Z and DreamBox on their Chromebooks or iPads and an entire Virtual Summer University website with learning opportunities for kindergarten through eighth grade students across all subject areas.

District 54 also will continue to focus on professional development for our employees so they are well prepared to support our students. Over the course of the 2020-2021 school year 93 professional development sessions were offered after school hours and the sessions had almost 6,000 enrollments.

Summer professional development begins June 2 with the District 54 Summer Symposium; and continues with Year Long Planning Workshops for literacy, math, science, social science, special education, whole child success and social-emotional learning in June and July. In August, District 54 will offer a class focused on a positive start to the school year, as well as its annual Induction Week for new employees.

This fall, a virtual curriculum was created across all content areas for early childhood through eighth grade students. These lessons served as an anchor for high quality learning and ensured a smooth transition between in-person and remote learning. The lessons also were modified to meet the needs of all English learners and students in special education programs.

Despite the pandemic, District 54 introduced a new social science curriculum as planned for kindergarten through eighth grade. The Teaching & Learning Department will next form a Science Task Force during the 2021-22 school year to evaluate and update that curriculum. In addition, this department is creating an After-School Academy for first through eighth grade next year to support students’ learning recovery needs.


Equity and Inclusion Statement:
The School Board voted to add the following Equity and Inclusion Statement to the District 54 Promise strategic plan:

In District 54, we will promote a culture of unconditional belonging in which all students, staff and community members will be treated with dignity. We will ensure high levels of access to resources, experiences and success. In District 54, we strive to ensure that all students, staff and community members are 

  • Safe, welcome and cared for;
  • Heard, validated and supported; and
  • Represented in curriculum and staffing.

For more information from tonight's board meeting, click here.

D54 Community Engagement Committee

The District 54 Board of Education has a history of seeking input from its citizens through committees such as the District Citizens’ Advisory Committee, which was created in 1978.

With that goal in mind, the District 54 School Board is creating a new District 54 Community Engagement Committee, which will consist of School Board members, District 54 staff and community representatives.

Committee members will be asked to

  • Review new ideas that impact teaching and learning in District 54;
  • Review anticipated revenues and expenditures, and other issues related to District 54’s budget;
  • Track legislative issues impacting District 54’s students, staff and taxpayers, and work to build positive two-way relationships with local legislators;
  • Provide input to the Board on projects related to the board goals, vision and strategic focus areas; and
  • Foster positive communication and community involvement at the district level.

Interested individuals should fill out the online District 54 Community Engagement Committee Application by August 1, 2021. The term of service for this committee is one year.

Meetings for the upcoming school year will be held at 6 p.m. August 26, 2021; Jan. 27, 2022; and June 16, 2022.

2021 Virtual Illinois History Day Ceremony

Four students qualify for National History Day

District 54 is proud to announce that 14 Mead Junior High School students competed in the Illinois History Day competition in May and four of these students had projects qualify for the National History Day competition, which is being held virtually in June.

Congratulations to the following two student groups who qualified for the National History Day competition.

  • The Count and His Band: Revolutionizing Jazz Exhibit – an exhibit by Andrew Yamaguchi and Harshil Joshi 
  • The Subjacent Meanings of Jazz: A Means of Communication for Social Change – an exhibit by Alvena Bhutiani and Alyssa Senese 

Each of the following projects advanced to the finals round during the Illinois History Day competition this month. The students will receive a state finals ribbon.

  • A Journalist’s Voice for the Voiceless: How the Chicago Defender Defended Civil Rights – a documentary by Sukanya Ghosh, Arianne SanMiguel and Anishka Vora 
  • Henry Gerber: How He Pioneered Communication of Homosexual Civil Rights in the United States of America – a paper by Anne Gabrielle Robidas
  • Communication through Chicago’s Art: The Key to Cultural Understanding – a documentary by Anvita Vinu, Carolyn Zhang and Nandini Indraganti

In addition, the following project won at the Chicago Metro Regional History Fair in March and qualified for the state competition.

  • Solidarnosc: Communicating to End Communism in Poland – a documentary by Michelle Belzowska, Veronica Dragomirov and Mridula Prabu.

District 54 is also pleased to share that Mead Teacher Julie Morrison received the 2021 Illinois History Day Governor’s Award, which is presented annually to a teacher at a school whose student historians over the years “excel in the competition highlighting their skills in research and project development.” Julie has been a District 54 social studies teacher for 21 years, spending her past 11 years at Mead.

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