District 88 supports students and staff to help them succeed during this challenging school year

Pictured is District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton.

As we wrap up the first week of the 2020-21 school year, I would like to thank all of our stakeholders for your ongoing support.

I know this school year will be challenging because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic – and that was evident right from the start. On the first day of school (Aug. 24), the online platform we’re using to deliver instruction experienced widespread outages. Instead of panicking and giving up, our teachers and students quickly adapted and came up with creative ways to maintain learning.

This is a historic and unprecedented time in public education. We understand it isn’t the situation anyone hoped for, and it isn’t an ideal learning environment. I want to commend our staff and pupils, who have turned their homes into classrooms and continue to do what it takes to make a virtual school successful. It isn’t easy – teachers are doing more than ever before, and students are adjusting to a new education system. Parents are balancing responsibilities at work with supporting their child’s remote learning, and administrators are facing issues we never could have imagined.

I want you to know we hear you, we see you, and you’re not alone through this – we are here to support you. We will work together to overcome this adversity. We will move forward. And we will get through this – because we have to. Because those students staring back at us on the computer screen need us to find a way to succeed. They need us to be there for them to provide so much more than academics, and they need us to keep building their futures. We are in this together, and we will show what it means to be Blazer Strong, Warrior Strong and District 88 Strong.

IMPORTANT UPDATES

  • District 88 2020-21 Return to School Plan: We have added a frequently asked questions (FAQs) document to our Return to School Plan web page at www.dupage88.net/ReturnToSchoolPlan. On that page, you also will find details about the schedule, special education, student behavior expectations, food/meal service, the school calendar, COVID-19 resources, a video segment with the latest information and more.

  • Food service: This past Wednesday, Aug. 26, we began our food service for the 2020-21 school year, and we distributed 1,170 meals to 117 students. Through this program, District 88 students are eligible to receive five days’ worth of food each Wednesday. See details at https://www.dupage88.net/site/page/11818. If your child plans to participate in the 2020-21 District 88 food service program to receive meals, please register at https://forms.gle/iT71fpSJXsN8NxWY8. We ask that this information be submitted by Sept. 1.

  • New learning standards: The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently released new Illinois Priority Learning Standards. According to State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala, “(ISBE) collaborated with a diverse and skilled team of educators from across the state to identify the Illinois Priority Learning Standards. The group focused on identifying learning standards that depict the knowledge, skills and dispositions we want all students to have – the standards that are the most foundational competencies, the most critical for continued success at subsequent grade levels and best suited for interdisciplinary or project-based learning.” CLICK HERE for more information.

  • Return to School Framework: On Aug. 28, the DuPage County Health Department released a “Return to School Framework” with the DuPage Regional Office of Education. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise locally, the “Return to School Framework” recommends school officials review and consider the level of disease activity in their communities as they make decisions about shifting between learning models this school year. To view the document, go to www.dupagehealth.org/ReturnToSchool.

  • Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) FAQs: The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently published on its webpage a new health-based Frequently Asked Questions document from the IDPH. The document addresses many health-related questions and can be viewed at https://www.isbe.net/Documents/IDPH-School-FAQs.pdf.

PARENT AND STUDENT MEETINGS

  • We will continue to meet with parents/guardians as part of our Transition/Reopening Committee. The next parent meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 15. If you would like to join the committee, or if you have any questions/concerns, please feel free to contact me at shelton@dupage88.net or 630-530-3980.

  • On Aug. 19, we met with about 65 students as part of our Return to School Student Advisory Committee. It was a tremendous opportunity to speak with our pupils and get their feedback, as well as address their questions and concerns. We will continue to meet with this group throughout the school year. Students who would like to join the committee should fill out the form at http://www.dupage88.net/StudentAdvisoryCommittee.

PREPARING FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR

  • On Aug. 12 and 13, we welcomed 22 new staff members during our annual New Teacher Orientation. Click the audio file and the video above for more about this event. Read more at https://www.dupage88.net/site/page/11829.

  • On Aug. 17, we hosted our annual Institute Day to welcome staff members and to discuss our areas of focus for 2020-21. We also shared videos with words of encouragement from students and alumni, as well as photos that showcase how staff, community members and volunteers have connected with and cared for students during this difficult time. Click the video above for more about this event.

  • On Aug. 19, we met with about 65 students as part of our Return to School Student Advisory Committee. On Aug. 24 (the first day of school), we spoke with a group of students to discuss what went well and what could be improved. Click the video above for more about these events, as well as highlights from the first day of school.

OTHER AREAS OF FOCUS

  • Resources: District 88 will continue to support the social and emotional well-being of students, staff, families and community members. See a list of available resources (including resources in Spanish) at www.dupage88.net/Coronavirus.

  • Equity work: We have been committed to creating and sustaining an equitable and inclusive environment for all students through Deep Equity and Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Youth Equity Stewardship (YES!) series for more than half a decade, and we have put in place many programs to support these initiatives.

    We know equity is a journey and won’t be reached quickly or easily. But as we recognized the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington on Aug. 28 (which honors when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial), we know we must be relentless in our pursuit of equity, inclusion and the elimination of racism in District 88 and our communities.

    We are maintaining our work with Deep Equity, YES!, Trauma-Informed Practices and Restorative Practices, and we also have implemented the District 88 C.A.R.E. Team (Committed to Academics, Resiliency and Equity) for students and staff to expand and deepen our work in these areas.

  • Updates from the Illinois State Board of Education: https://www.isbe.net/Pages/covid19.aspx and https://tinyurl.com/ISBEMessages 

We know this year will be difficult as we face this unprecedented situation, but we look forward to partnering with our stakeholders to accomplish our mission of working for the continuous improvement of student achievement. Thank you for your continued support of District 88.

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