New ‘State of District 88’ video segment online now
At District 88, maintaining open, honest and transparent communication with stakeholders is a top priority.
Ensuring stakeholders are informed and aware of the happenings at our schools is a key aspect of helping to accomplish our mission of working for the continuous improvement of student achievement. As part of that focus, we partner with Addison Community Television (ACTV) to film “The State of District 88.” The show takes place several times throughout the school year and highlights student successes, as well as important information about the district.
On Feb. 13, we filmed our most recent show. The segment highlights three upcoming events in which the District 88 Foundation will host or participate to raise funds to benefit our students. The foundation will host a basketball tournament on March 2; a fundraiser on March 10 at Drury Lane that includes a performance of “Mamma Mia!,” dinner and an auction; and a Blackhawks Experience Package on April 1. To see all the details, go to https://www.dupage88.net/site/page/9727.
(From left) Donna Craft Cain, President of the Partnership for Inspired Education (PIE) Foundation and the District 88 Board of Education; Sharon Kucik, Chairperson of the District 88 Foundation and Secretary of the District 88 Board of Education; Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause; Addison Trail Principal Michael Bolden; and District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton discuss upcoming foundation events during a Feb. 13 filming of "The State of District 88."
Addison Police Department Director of Police Bill Hayden and Villa Park Police Department Chief of Police Mike Lay also joined us to discuss school safety/security initiatives and programs District 88 has implemented and how we’re always evaluating best practices for the safety and well-being of our students, staff and community members. Topics included:
- The School Safety Forum we hosted this past March at Willowbrook, where about 400 student leaders from 28 Chicago-area high schools came together for a day of conversation and planning regarding school safety.
- A Safety and Security Tabletop Exercise we hosted this past April with local first responders, staff members and students.
- The new procedures we adopted at the beginning of this school year to ensure our buildings follow best practices with regard to school safety. District 88 administrators, staff members and students received training in these new procedures, and we worked with the Addison and Villa Park police departments to implement ALICE Training, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.
- The Addison Police Department, District 88 and Addison School District 4 recently working together to receive a grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for the School Violence Prevention Program. With the funding from this grant, Addison Trail and Willowbrook high schools and District 4 will buy and install a rapid emergency response system in all school facilities through BluePoint Alert Systems. This system includes pull stations similar to fire alarms, strobe lights and mobile panic buttons that will be placed throughout the schools and outside the buildings.
- The DuPage Regional Office of Education recently receiving a three-year grant called the STOP – which stands for Students, Teachers, Officers Preventing – School Violence and Mental Health Training Program Grant from the Department of Justice. The program is a countywide process to train students and educators through a comprehensive trauma-informed care approach that focuses on prevention of school violence due to unmet mental health needs.
(From left) Addison Police Department Director of Police Bill Hayden, Villa Park Police Department Chief of Police Mike Lay, Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause, Addison Trail Principal Michael Bolden and District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton discuss school safety and security during a Feb. 13 filming of "The State of District 88."
To watch the show, click the image above. For more information about “The State of District 88,” go to www.dupage88.net/StateofDistrict88.