District 88 wishes its stakeholders a safe and happy Spring Break

Pictured is District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton.

As we head into Spring Break, it’s difficult not to reflect on how our lives have changed in a matter of days.

Spring Break is typically a time when families enjoy vacations, when upperclassmen visit college campuses and when students can be seen playing outside with their friends. But this year we’re dealing with unprecedented impacts from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. There’s no doubt this is a challenging period in our history, but I know with our involved parents/guardians, engaged students and community members, knowledgeable Board of Education members and dedicated and passionate staff, we will come together and support each other through connecting and caring during this time.

We are committed to keeping you up to date with the latest COVID-19 information, and below are recent updates. We will continue to post current content at www.dupage88.net/Coronavirus.

Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/covid19.aspx)

Waiver: The ISBE recently submitted a request to waive assessments, summative designations and reporting on accountability metrics for the 2019-20 school year. The U.S. Department of Education has informed the ISBE its request appears to meet all statutory requirements and has directed Illinois to implement the waivers while formal approval is processed.

SAT: We know the free SAT provided by the state is the only opportunity many students have to take a college entrance exam. The ISBE is working with The College Board to develop options to allow current eleventh-grade students to take the SAT in the fall. Details are being finalized, and we’ll share updates as soon as they’re available.

Remote learning: As we’ve previously shared, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker issued a “stay at home” Executive Order on March 20. That order extended the closure of schools in Illinois from March 30 (as previously mandated) to April 7, with an anticipated return to school on April 8. These days were declared as Act of God Days. However, the ISBE is looking to shift those days to remote learning after March 30 to ensure continuity of education. An advisory group is developing recommendations to implement that change.

E-learning opportunities

At District 88, we will continue to provide extended learning opportunities through our E-learning plan to help make sure students remain college and career ready. I enthusiastically recommend all students stay connected and take advantage of every learning opportunity our teachers provide, and I ask that students check in and engage with their teachers. Below are links with more details.

E-learning information and guidelines for students: CLICK HERE
E-learning information and FAQs for parents: CLICK HERE

I would like to thank our staff, students and parents/guardians for their flexibility and partnership as we transitioned from a traditional school setting to providing online E-learning opportunities. We’ve had an average attendance rate of 93 percent (which is comparable to our attendance rate when school is in session), and that speaks volumes to the dedication and commitment of our teachers and pupils.

We continue to hear amazing stories of how teachers and staff are staying connected with and caring for students. Examples include:

Addison Trail math teacher Kirsten Olson motivating students in her precalculus class with virtual stickers and a Netflix/Hulu-themed e-portfolio to submit work.
Addison Trail English Department Head Amy Ferraro engaging two Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level language classes in an online chat about the changes to the AP exam, the end of “The Great Gatsby” unit and their work for this week.
Addison Trail world language teacher Judie Vitiritti-Lynch having students use Kahoot! and Gimkit to continue building their vocabulary and to stay involved with the Italian language.
Willowbrook English teacher Lucy Almanza-Fernandez using Flipgrid to have ESL students record themselves reading and annotating the text.
Willowbrook Art Department Head John Epple using Screencastify, which allows him to provide students with verbal feedback as he hovers over the artwork they’ve submitted, while highlighting the areas he’s speaking about and making virtual edits on their artwork.
Willowbrook math teacher Edgar Dorado using Google Hangouts to invite multiple students to get together and have a virtual class in real time (the screen share capability allows students to communicate their struggles and confusions and get immediate feedback and support from the teacher).
Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) staff members using Google Hangouts Meet to discuss student progress. They then called the parents/guardians of students with whom they have concerns to touch base and stay connected.

The Willowbrook Blue Crew hosting a virtual “Black Out” Spirit Day on March 23 (pictured above)

Willowbrook Art Department Head John Epple painting “The Rock” outside of the school with a special message for students (pictured above)

Addison Trail Student Council members and Youth and Government students, along with students from Roselle, writing letters to and forming a pen-pal program with residents at Clarendale of Addison Senior Living Community (pictured above).

Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level exams (https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update)

For the 2019-20 exam administration only, students can take a 45-minute online free-response exam at home. Educator-led development committees are currently selecting the exam questions that will be administered.
Some students might want to take the exam sooner rather than later, while the content is still fresh. Other students might want more time to practice. For each AP subject, there will be two testing dates.
Students will be able to take these streamlined exams on any device they have access to – computer, tablet, or smartphone. Taking a photo of handwritten work also will be an option.
The College Board continues to support students with free resources through exam day. Students and teachers can attend free, live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from throughout the U.S.
While The College Board encourages students to wait until closer to the test date to decide, any student already registered for an exam can choose to cancel at no charge.
For questions or more information about your student’s AP exams, contact Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Jamie Gourley at jgourley@dupage88.net or 630-530-3993.

Food service

As a reminder, District 88 is partnering with Addison School District 4, School District 45 and Salt Creek School District 48 to provide free meals to students (pictured above).

From March 17 to 20, the four school districts distributed 10,377 meals. From March 23 to 27 (today), we delivered 16,049 meals, along with 19,290 meals to cover Spring Break (the total number of meals delivered this week was 35,339). The grand total for meals distributed in three weeks is 45,716 and counting. District 45 will deliver Spring Break meals on Monday, March 30.

See details below.

This service is provided free of charge to all residents up to the age of 18.
Meals will be distributed on Tuesdays, starting April 7. Five days' worth of food will be provided each Tuesday (five breakfasts and five lunches).
Participants can pick up meals from 10 a.m. to noon.
CLICK HERE to see a list of distribution sites.
CLICK HERE to see other local food-service resources.

We are fortunate to have community members who want to help. We truly appreciate your willingness to assist in these efforts. If you’re interested in volunteering with our food-service program, please CLICK HERE to complete the form, or contact District 88 Director of Community Relations Dani Brink at dbrink@dupage88.net or 630-530-3989. Please note volunteers must be 18 years old or older.

I also would like to thank Arbor Management, Chartwells and Cottage Hill Operating Company for their incredible partnership in this program. This is a tremendous collaboration and an excellent example of how we will continue to connect with and care for students.

District 88 leadership

To ensure the district continues to operate as normal as possible, we are hosting Board of Education meetings and district and building leadership meetings using alternative methods such as online video calls and phone conferences.

Addison Community Television (ACTV) segment

On March 25, Addison School District 4 Assistant Superintendent of Innovation and Information Dr. Kim Lohse and I joined Village of Addison Mayor Richard Veenstra during an Addison Community Television (ACTV) segment (pictured above). During the filming, we discussed COVID-19 updates, including details about our E-learning plan and our food-service distribution. You can watch the segment at https://youtu.be/jZsSejMF-yY.

I wish our staff, students, parents/guardians and community members a safe and happy Spring Break. It’s because of your partnership we’re able to accomplish our mission of working for the continuous improvement of student achievement, and it’s that partnership that will help us all make it through this unprecedented situation. Thank you for your continued support of District 88, and be sure to check www.dupage88.net/Coronavirus for updated information.

Respectfully,
Scott J. Helton, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools, DuPage High School District 88