District 88 celebrates the beginning of the 2015-16 school year

On behalf of DuPage High School District 88, I would like to welcome everyone to the 2015-16 school year.

We are very proud of our past successes – including receiving national honors as “Top High Schools” by Newsweek, “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” by The Washington Post, “Best Public High Schools in the Chicago Metro Area” by the Niche Rankings and “Best High Schools” by U.S. News & World Report – and we look forward to many more successes to come this year. Our first day of school was Aug. 19, and it was great to see the energy and enthusiasm of the students and staff. It’s always a tremendous feeling to greet students as they step off the bus and into the buildings for their first day.

To welcome students, Willowbrook Principal Dan Krause and I rode a bus to school, and Addison Trail Principal Mike Bolden and I rode a bus home with students at the end of the day. I also visited with students in our District 88 Transition Program, which helps students ages 19 to 21 learn life skills, obtain job training in a community setting and successfully transition to adult life. It was an amazing first day, filled with opportunities to meet with our students and staff!

Other highlights from the first day of school and the beginning of the 2015-16 school year include:

Addison Trail

94.7 percent of students attended the first day of school.
Buildings and Grounds made sure the school was ready for students and staff – inside and out. The maintenance staff renovated the school’s culinary arts kitchen, and the room is ready for students.
The main gym floor was refinished and re-striped as part of the regular maintenance plan for the facility.
Addison Trail will again take the freshmen class to visit University of Wisconsin-Madison this year, and the sophomore class will visit University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The fall athletic season has begun. The Boys Golf Team hosted its annual Blazer Invitational on Aug. 19, which was comprised of 20 Chicago-area teams. Addison Trail’s first home football game will take place on Sept. 18 against Downers Grove South. Girls Golf, Cross-Country, Girls Tennis, Girls Swimming, Boys Soccer and Girls Volleyball have begun their seasons as well.

Willowbrook

97 percent of students attended the first day of school. The staff welcomed students and displayed the 2015-16 Warrior Pride T-shirt.
The Willowbrook Drum Line welcomed students by playing in the hallways before school.
The Buildings and Grounds staff had all the rooms cleaned and the floors waxed before the start of school.
Banners that celebrate the top schools in America honors Willowbrook has earned individually and as a district with Addison Trail were displayed in the school.
The fall athletic season has begun. Boys and Girls Golf have participated in preliminary tournaments as they prepare for the Conference season. Willowbrook's first football game will be on Aug. 28 at Glenbard East. All other fall sports are practicing in anticipation of their season beginning.

District 88 Transition Program

The Transition Program will open its Perks & Possibilities Café at 9 a.m. on Sept. 1. This is the sixth year the café will be open. Students in the Transition Program help set up the café, and several students stay for job training. The café is open from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday through Thursday in the Addison Public Library. The café is successful because of generous donations from the community.
The Transition Program is proud to welcome 38 students this year.
This year, Transition Program students will experience community-based learning opportunities such as joining recreational leagues and going to museums, theater performances and other venues to develop life skills. They also will enjoy guest speakers to learn about services offered in their community and to increase independent living skills.
The Transition Program participates in a variety of volunteer programs throughout the year such as a canned food drive in October, where canned foods are collected from the community. In November, Transition students take those canned goods and stock them at a food pantry at the Humanitarian Service Project.
Students who have graduated from the Transition Program have gone on to earn competitive employment at various locations in the community. Other students have gone on to continue to use their life skills through placement in group homes, supportive living and residential placement.
Students in the Transition Program receive job training at more than 20 vocational sites. To see a list of those sites, go to https://dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=2390. The program is always looking for new job-training sites. If you’re interested, contact District 88 Vocational Coordinator Christine DiRienzo at cdirienzo@dupage88.net or 630-530-3248.

2015-16 school year calendar
As we begin the new school year, I would like to remind you about changes to the calendar. This school year’s calendar is the result of collaboration between our teaching staff, teacher aide staff, classified staff, custodial/maintenance staff, administration and Board of Education. We worked together to create a schedule that would best serve our students, in particular with regard to assessments. We also aligned to our feeder school districts as closely as possible.

Elements to note on the 2015-16 school year calendar include:

Parent-Teacher Conferences blended with early dismissal days (Oct. 7 and 8, 2015)
1:40 p.m. dismissal days on Sept. 3, 2015, Oct. 7, 2015, Oct. 8, 2015, and Jan. 14, 2016
2:05 p.m. dismissal days on Nov. 24, 2015, and March 24, 2016 (complies with the Illinois State Board of Education’s 5-Clock-Hour mandate)
Completion of first-semester exams before winter break (Dec. 16 - 18, 2015)
Student attendance day on Casimir Pulaski Day (March 7, 2016)
Completion of the school year before Memorial Day (May 27, 2016 – excluding the use of emergency days)
Graduation: May 22, 2016

Breaks:

Thanksgiving break: Nov. 25 - 27, 2015
Winter break: Dec. 20, 2015 - Jan. 1, 2016
Spring break: March 28 - April 1, 2016

Exams:

First-semester exams: Dec. 16 - 18, 2015
Second-semester exams: May 25 - 27, 2016

To see the full calendar, go to http://dupage88.net/site/public/files/?item=2289.

Institute Day
To prepare for the first day of school, District 88 staff members participated in an Institute Day on Aug. 17. We began the day with a presentation that highlighted successes from the 2014-15 school year and updates for this year. We then discussed our areas of focus, including enhancements to our staff evaluation process and continuing to celebrate our diverse student population through maintaining an environment that welcomes and embraces cultural diversity. More than 500 staff members participated in activities to reinforce those goals.

We are thrilled to have more than 4,000 students back in the classroom as we begin the 2015-16 school year, and we can’t wait to see the great things that develop throughout the year. Thank you for your continued support of District 88.

With District 88 Pride,
Dr. Scott J. Helton
District 88 Superintendent