District 88 celebrates the beginning of the 2018-19 school year

Pictured is District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton.

Welcome to the 2018-19 school year!

We’ve had an amazing first few days, and we look forward to another tremendous year. Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause, Addison Trail Principal Michael Bolden and I celebrated the first day of school on Aug. 15 by riding a bus with students. It was a great way to meet our new students and continue to connect with our returning students. I also visited with students and staff in our District 88 Transition Program, which helps individuals ages 18 to 21 who have disabilities learn life skills, obtain job training in a community setting and transition to life after District 88.

Safety and security
The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our No. 1 priority. We work closely with local first responders to enhance our policies and procedures, to conduct drills and tabletop exercises and to continue to discuss this important topic. Before the school year began, our administrators and staff members received training in the district’s new school safety procedures. District 88 is implementing ALICE Training (which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) to continue to enhance the security of our buildings. The district is working with the Addison and Villa Park police departments to implement ALICE Training to ensure the buildings continue to follow best practices with regard to school safety. For more information, go to www.dupage88.net/Safety.

First day of school highlights (Aug. 15)

Addison Trail

Top left and right: Addison Trail Principal Michael Bolden (back right) and District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton (in front of Bolden) ride a bus home from school with students to celebrate the start of the 2018-19 school year on Aug. 15. Bottom: District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton hands out popsicles for students to enjoy. He's pictured with Addison Trail freshman Sharon Barbosa.

  • 97-percent attendance rate on the first day of school, and the drum line greeted students and staff as they entered the building.
  • Staff members displayed the 2018-19 Blazer Pride T-shirt, with the message of “Choose Kindness. Be Relentless. Chase Greatness.”
  • The Buildings and Grounds staff had the rooms cleaned and the floors waxed before the start of school.
  • Freshmen received their Chromebooks and are beginning to use them in class. For more information about this new delivery model for instructional technology, go to http://www.dupage88.net/site/page/8174.
  • The fall athletic season has begun. This year’s first football game will take place on Aug. 24 at home against Conant (varsity will begin at 7:30 p.m.). All other fall sports are practicing for their season.

Willowbrook

Top left: (From left) Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause and District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton greet Willowbrook freshman Zaafir Ashar and junior Nasar Ashar at the bus stop on the first day of school for the 2018-19 school year (Aug. 15). Top right: (From left) Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause and District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton greet Willowbrook freshmen Zaafir Ashar and Hunaid Irfan at the bus stop. Bottom left: Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause (back left) and District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton (right) ride a bus to school with students to celebrate the start of the 2018-19 school year. Bottom right: Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause helps Willowbrook freshman Phoenix Stoeckicht find her classroom on the first day of the 2018-19 school year.

Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause (right) greets students with a high five on the first day of school for the 2018-19 school year (Aug. 15).

Willowbrook Director of Deans Jose Jaramillo (left), District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton (middle) and Willowbrook Assistant Principal Bob Daly (next to Helton) welcome the Cottage Hill Operating Company bus drivers to the 2018-19 school year on Aug. 15 and discuss protocol and safety procedures.

  • 97-percent attendance rate on the first day of school, and the drum line greeted students and staff by performing in the hallways (watch a video of the performance at https://tinyurl.com/WBdrumline2018-19).
  • Staff members displayed the 2018-19 Warrior Pride T-shirt, with the message of “1 School, 1 Family.”
  • The Buildings and Grounds staff had the rooms cleaned and the floors waxed before the start of school.
  • Freshmen received their Chromebooks and are beginning to use them in class. For more information about this new delivery model for instructional technology, go to http://www.dupage88.net/site/page/8174.
  • The fall athletic season has begun. This year’s first football game will take place on Aug. 24 (varsity will begin at 7:30 p.m. at home versus Curie). All other fall sports are practicing for their season.

District 88 Transition Program (this program helps individuals ages 18 to 21 who have disabilities learn life skills, obtain job training in a community setting and transition to life after District 88)

District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton (center) welcomes students and staff members in the District 88 Transition Program to the 2018-19 school year on Aug. 15. That program helps individuals ages 18 to 21 who have disabilities learn life skills, obtain job training in a community setting and transition to life after District 88.

  • The Transition Program welcomes 56 students this year.
  • The Transition Program plans to open its Perks & Possibilities Café after Labor Day, which will offer a variety of new menu items. Students in the Transition Program help set up the café, and several of them stay for job training. The café is entering its ninth year and will be 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.
  • This year, Transition Program students will experience community-based learning opportunities such as joining recreational leagues and going to museums, theatre performances and other venues to develop life skills. They also will have guest speakers to learn about services available in the community and to increase independent living skills.
  • Students in the Transition Program receive job training at more than 33 vocational sites. 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.

Niche 2019 rankings

As we begin the 2018-19 school year, we’re excited to share the Niche 2019 rankings.

  • Most Diverse School Districts: No. 2 out of 644 in Illinois and No. 65 out of 11,851 in the U.S.
  • Best School Districts: No. 35 out of 408 in Illinois and No. 1,781 out of 10,758 in the U.S.
  • Best Places to Teach: No. 47 out of 632 in Illinois and No. 1,050 out of 10,828 in the U.S.

Equity and cultural competency
We will continue our work with cultural competency and culturally responsive teaching for the inclusion, equity and excellence of all students. As mentioned above, we are the second-most diverse school district in Illinois. We have about 40 languages and more than 30 countries represented among our families, and about half of our pupils speak a language other than English at home. Addison Trail and Willowbrook students come from various backgrounds, and embracing that diversity has led to continued success in the classroom and beyond.

District 88 formed an Equity Task Force in spring 2015 to further enhance the district’s cultural competency, and our staff members have participated in Deep Equity training with Gary Howard with the Deep Equity Institute and Corwin. Our students also have been involved in this process through the Youth Equity Stewardship (YES!) series, led by Benjie Howard and Wade Antonio-Colwell. The goal of that program is to prepare students to recognize and learn from the diversity around them.

Getting ready for the school year
To prepare for the 2018-19 school year, we hosted the following events.

  • On Aug. 1 and 2, our district and school leaders came together for a workshop, where they discussed topics for their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for 2018-19 and areas of focus for the school year. Pictured above (At top left is District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton, and next to him is District 88 Assistant Superintendent Jean Barbanente.)
  • On Aug. 9 and 10, new staff members participated in New Teacher Orientation, where they were welcomed to the District 88 family and received information/training to acclimate them to the district.

  • During the New Teacher Orientation on Aug. 9, we hosted our sixth annual Community Breakfast, which is an opportunity for our community leaders and local service organizations to meet our new staff members and learn more about District 88. Intergovernmental agencies that attended the breakfast were the Village of Addison, the Addison Police Department, the Addison Fire Protection District, the Addison Public Library, Addison School District 4, the Lombard Police Department, the Village of Villa Park, the Villa Park Police Department, the Villa Park Public Library, District 45 and Salt Creek School District 48. Service groups represented were the Kiwanis Club of Addison, the Addison Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club of Villa Park, the Villa Park Lions Club and the Rotary Club of Villa Park. State Rep. Kathleen Willis attended as well. Pictured above

  • On Aug. 13, all staff members attended an Institute Day to begin the school year. Pictured above (from left to right, top row to bottom row) District 88 Board of Education President Donna Craft Cain, District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton, District 88 Assistant Superintendent Jean Barbanente, Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause and Addison Trail Principal Michael Bolden welcome staff on Institute Day.

10 areas of focus for 2018-19
Our focus and initiatives this year will include continuing the great work that takes place in District 88 through …

  • Continuing our work with equity and culturally responsive teaching
  • Aligning to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)/College and Career Readiness Indicators
  • Continuing to close the achievement gap to ensure all students are successful
  • Expanding measurement and assessment practices to monitor and promote student growth
  • Continuing to look at best practices with regard to technology to ensure the district remains on the cutting edge and provides students with 21st-century skills
  • Maintaining a comprehensive curriculum and school environment to build futures for all students, while remaining fiscally responsible
  • Partnering with post-secondary institutions to expand dual-credit and certification opportunities for all students
  • Partnering with parents/guardians and community members to maintain support systems that reinforce high student performance
  • Engaging the community in Strategic Planning
  • Continuing our open, honest and transparent communication with all stakeholders

We thank all of our stakeholders for their continued support of District 88. We know our students succeed inside the classroom and beyond because of a knowledgeable Board of Education, dedicated and passionate staff, engaged students and involved parents/guardians and community members. It truly takes a team to build futures for the students of District 88, and it’s through these partnerships we’re able to accomplish our mission of working for the continuous improvement of student achievement.