As the weather slowly changes, leaves turn and fall, and we all begin searching for our warmer clothes, a lot is happening in District 102. Here are a few highlights this month:

In an effort to continuously improve our District and school-based communication with families, we sent a survey to all parents and guardians to see how we can improve. We are so thankful to the nearly 600 parents who responded. We will use your advice and suggestions in the coming months. While approximately 90% of respondents indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied with the communication from buildings and the District, there were thoughtful suggestions for how we can improve. Here is our communication improvement plan for the next few months:

• We will be more intentional about focusing our communications on targeted groups - everyone doesn’t need communication that pertains to a small group of students or families.

• We will use more email and text message communication as these were the primary ways you asked to be contacted.

• We will create a few quick links on the district website to make it easier for families to access the information they are looking for: staff contacts, calendars, special events, and BOE meetings/agendas.

• We will continue a weekly cadence for communications from your child’s school/teacher and a monthly newsletter from the District (with occasional communications when something urgent arises).

• We will provide more communication from both the District, buildings, and classrooms about how to understand your children's academic progress and development.  

Emergency Communication Feedback

On October 4, we completed a test of our District 102 emergency contact procedure. All families should have received three communications from the District (email, text, phone) indicating that we were testing the system. The feedback on this test has been very positive, though some parents noted that their cell phone carrier detected the District phone call as SPAM.  If this happened to you, please add the District's main number as a contact on your phone: 708-482-2400.  Please contact your home school if you have questions about communications or would like to change your contact information or preferences. We will use this three-pronged approach for emergency communication in the future.

District Committees Have Started

And lastly, thank you to all the parents, guardians, and community members who have volunteered to serve on our Board of Education committees this year. We had the first meetings of our Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) and Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) last month, and CEMA and SNAP will convene later this month. These committees provide valuable information and feedback to the district administration and staff about ongoing priorities related to academic achievement and growth, financial and operational stability, diversity, equity and inclusive practices, and special educational programming. We truly appreciate and value the voices of our parents and community members. It is my hope that we will add many more parent and community voices as we engage in our Strategic Plan renewal later this winter. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

In the September newsletter, we provide a list of the ways that D102 is engaging in safety and security upgrades to our buildings and administrative practices. I am pleased to report that all of our plans are on schedule, including the additional security cameras on the exteriors of our buildings, adding double buzzer entrance systems in all of our facilities, reinforcing first-floor windows, and supplying emergency supplies to all of our classrooms in the unlikely event of either an intruder or the need to evacuate. I want to thank the Board of Education and our community for their vigilance and patience as we continue to improve our security practices in D102.

In addition to these structural upgrades and the regular training of staff, we are making two additional changes at the beginning of November in our front offices during the school day: 

1. Each building will be adding a digital visitor management system called Safe Visitor.  This fast check-in system requires that all parents/guardians and community members bring a Drivers License or State ID when they come to the school building as a visitor or when they are checking out their child during the school day.  The before and after school drop off/ pick up process is staying the same. The Safe Visitor system will check all visitors against a criminal and sex offender database and our internal PowerSchool system to identify individuals who should not be allowed in our buildings or picking up children. The entire check-in process takes less than a minute, and each front office staff member is receiving training on the system this month. Reminders and more detailed information will come directly from your child's school.

2. If your child’s school currently has an Open Campus lunch option, starting November 1, we will require that a parent physically come to the school to check their child out during lunch. In the interest of safety and security, we must maintain a more accurate and parent-supported system for students leaving our campuses during lunchtime. This change does not limit students from leaving campus for lunch, but it does require that a parent come to the school to check their children out of the school building.

D102 approved its FY24 Budget for $51 million at the September regular board meeting. Some of the initiatives included in the budget for this year are additional classroom technology devices, improved security measures, building maintenance and upkeep and more competitive salaries for all staff. These initiatives align with district goals for enhancing the instructional program and promoting a safe and positive school climate.

2023 is the second year that Cook County has delayed property tax payments for property owners. Property tax delays for schools can cause cash flow issues because it interrupts tax payment revenue that is needed at the beginning of the school year to operate. For our district, this resulted in the short-term borrowing option of a Tax Anticipation Warrant (TAW), which will cost the district extra money in interest. This cost was included in the FY24 Budget. According to the county clerk’s office, tax bills will go out to taxpayers around November 1 st with payments due shortly thereafter. Based on this information, December is the month the district expects to receive the first real tax payment distribution for the year.

Despite financial setbacks like this, the district has maintained financial stability by being fiscally responsible through frugal spending and using cost effective measures. Our goal remains to minimize taxpayer liability, especially in the face of higher than normal economic inflation.

Standardized assessment reports will be mailed or sent  home beginning October 18.  Kindergarten and grade 1 reports will be included in the students’ backpacks on October 20, and the grade 2-8 reports will be mailed on October 18. The names of the assessment reports and grade levels are as follows:

FAST:  Kindergarten through grade 2 families will receive results from the FAST assessment (Formative Assessment System for Teachers) from the FastBridge Company measuring beginning mathematics (K) and reading (K -2) skills.  The kindergarten and grade 1 reports will be included in the students’ backpacks on October 20.  The grade 2 reports will be mailed along with the other grade 2-8 reports.

MAP: Families with students in grades 2-8 will receive results from the Fall MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessment reporting instructional levels in reading and mathematics.  The spring MAP assessment will measure fall-to-spring academic growth.

IAR:  The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is administered to students in grades 3-8 in the spring of each school year.  The IAR aligns with the Illinois Learning Standards.  Families with students currently in grades 4-8 will receive the 2023 IAR reports measuring proficiency of grade-level skills in English/Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics.

In D102 we use October to raise awareness of disabilities and to celebrate the differences and gifts that individuals with a disability bring to our LaGrange 102 community. There are many disabilities that are recognized throughout the year on various days, weeks, and months. Some of our schools may choose to recognize these disabilities at other times throughout the school year. The Teaching and Learning Department provides resources and lessons for teachers to use throughout the year. First grade and Fourth grade in particular have a specific lesson to teach.

This year we are excited to be partnering with Helping Hand, a local agency supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout their lives. Clients will be coming to visit with our Fourth Grade classrooms to talk about what it means to value all individuals, introduce students to adaptive technology/equipment, facilitate a collaborative exercise on inclusion, and talk about positive affirmations.

As a district, we remain dedicated to fostering respectful and inclusive communities, schools, and classrooms for people of all abilities. The experiences that we provide allow children to more clearly see the whole person, shift focus to the person's strengths and assets rather than their challenges and deficits, and finally to better understand some specific disabilities.

The spirit of the event is to promote a family friendly bike ride with the support of Ogden families, teachers and staff and the LGP Police Department. Students learned how to ‘protect their melon’ with an interactive safety demonstration and warm up with a certified fitness instructor. Parents were reminded how to properly fit a helmet and given instruction on how to register their children’s bikes with the LGP police department. Families were treated to pep stations throughout the 1 mile ‘tour’ in Harding Woods by local Ogden families. All families were welcomed and this was Ogden’s first inclusive event, with a suggested but not required donation to participate.

We were thrilled to have 99 families join as well as Principal Leeberg and Ogden staff. Meals afterwards were provided by Monk’s Burger bar in La Grange. Big thank you to Brookfield Oral Surgery for serving as event sponsor. 

On Tuesday, October 10th, Forest Road hosted their bi-annual Boosterthon fun run. Funds are used for teacher  appreciation, student events, classroom enhancements, and all other PTO sponsored activities. Together the students raised over $55,000 in donations in over a week to go towards playground improvements! In addition to raising the funds, each grade level participated in a school-wide Fun Run where they each completed a certain number of laps. Thank you to the Forest Road PTO for putting together such a great event, as well as the parents, families, and sponsors who volunteered to make this such a spectacular day for the students.

#ThankYouD102Educators October is National Principals Month! D102 Principals, thank you for your significant impact on the success and well-being of our students and for being a guiding light for our schools!

Members of Oak School Class of 1969 visited the McKinnon Art Gallery as part of their reunion activities. Every five years, the class rejoins as a group to revisit the building grounds and to reminisce with one another.

Oak School serves a long history within La Grange from the years 1929 - 1975 as it was the building and previous school to Park Jr. High and La Grange D102.

Together the class reunion toured the McKinnon art gallery accompanied by Zenia McBride, a former D102 art teacher, who gave a presentation of all the valuable pieces displayed within the D102 art collection.

We've enjoyed hosting this group and many other groups from previous graduating classes to honor the long history our district has within the La Grange community.

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.

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.

• After School Program at St. Michael's

• After School Program (Spanish)

• Bradley University Reading Programs

• Our Future Reads Tutoring

• Mosaic Project Tile Laying Workshops

  • Sign-up

• Right at School - Register for Fall 2023

• Move with Helping Hands Walk - Oct. 22, 2023

• Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library - After School Snacks

• Lions Age Group Wrestling