As the school year begins, the district would like to remind parents and students about its Acceptable Use Guidelines for Electronic Networks. You can read the guidelines in the document below.
All use of electronic networks shall be consistent with the District’s goal of promoting educational excellence by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, and communication. The procedures below do not attempt to state all required or proscribed behavior by users. However, some specific examples are provided. The failure of any user to follow these procedures will result in the loss of privileges, disciplinary action, and/or legal action.
Per Board Policy 6:235, students and staff members have no expectation of privacy in any material that is stored, transmitted, or received via the District’s electronic networks or District computers.
A district-wide committee has formed in order to address concerns regarding the current heat plan. This plan was used during the excessively warm days at the start and end of the school year in our schools without air-conditioning. The committee will focus on investigating options, finding solutions, and making a recommendation to the board of education. Assistant Superintendents Kathy Pease and Linda Rakestraw will serve as facilitators to bring together this group in September. The district will provide further information to our community once the committee concludes its work and a recommendation is made to the board of education.
Elementary School Air-Conditioning FAQ
In looking at the weather forecast for tonight and the continued high temperatures expected for tomorrow, district administrators have decided to cancel classes at the 20 schools without air-conditioning on Wednesday, September 11. The temperatures experienced today, with little relief expected tonight, will not allow our buildings to sufficiently cool down in time to handle tomorrow’s anticipated high temperatures. Staff members will report to work in all district buildings. Curriculum Night events that were scheduled in schools without air-conditioning are being rescheduled.
The YMCA's Safe n' Sound program in schools without air-conditioning has also been canceled for Wednesday. Classes are only being canceled in the district's 20 schools that do not have air-conditioning. All other schools in the district will operate as normal on Wednesday.
The elementary schools where classes will be canceled on Wednesday, September 11, include: Brookdale, Brooks, Builta, Clow, Cowlishaw, Fry, Georgetown, Gombert, Graham, Kendall, Longwood, McCarty, Patterson, Spring Brook, Steck, Watts, Welch, White Eagle, and Young. Classes have also been canceled at Indian Plains, the district’s alternative high school.
The YMCA is offering a special program to assist parents who might need childcare on Wednesday, September 11. It is offering a supervised childcare program for elementary students from 7 am to 5 pm at the Y Sports Complex, 31W290 Shoeger Road, Naperville. The fee is $40 for the day. There is no need to pre-register your child. For more information, contact the YMCA at 630-585-2207.
For more information on schools and air-conditioning, visit Air-Conditioning FAQ.
With school starting soon, we want to remind you about the variety of ways you can find district information. In addition to receiving 204 e-News, you can stay in touch through the following:
See what the district has Tweeted, then follow @ipsd204 to receive the latest news.
Last year, community members watched more than 8,000 videos at 204tv.org. It's a convenient way to stay informed on topics being discussed in the district. You can also watch student videos from special events, such as the Mock DUI at Metea Valley.
The district's website, www.ipsd.org, is a comprehensive resource for parents. Information available includes the latest news, calendars, school lunch menus, transportation information, links to schools, and budget information. The website also features a "translate this site" button that provides translations into 59 languages.
The Board of Education uses BoardDocs software to make all meeting agendas, minutes, and supporting documents available to the public. You can access the documents at the District 204 BoardDocs website. Documents are available 48 hours before each meeting.
Dear District 204 Community,
With Dr. Birkett’s announcement to retire at the end of this school year, the Board of Education is faced with the task of hiring a new superintendent and is moving forward with that process.
The board recognizes that selecting a superintendent is one of its most important functions. Therefore, the board is interested in gaining input from district stakeholders to identify the characteristics we will look for in our new superintendent. We invite you to participate in the identification of these qualities by attending one of two Public Forums.
The Public Forums, facilitated by representatives from the search firm Ray and Associates, will be held at 7 pm on Thursday, October 10 and at 8:30 am on Friday, October 11. Both forums will be at the Crouse Education Center, 780 Shoreline Drive, Aurora.
If you are unable to attend, we invite you to complete the Superintendent Qualities Survey before October 14.
Thank you in advance for your assistance with this most important task.
Dear District 204 Community,
As I shared with you last February, the state determined that the proficiency expectations in the Illinois Standardized Achievement Test (ISAT) for students in grades 3 - 8 were too low and did not give an accurate picture of a student’s ability to succeed in college and the workforce. In January, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approved raising the bar on the ISAT performance expectations in reading and math for elementary and middle school students. Specifically, the state raised the scores needed to "meet" or "exceed" the ISAT standards to better align with the more rigorous Common Core State Standards.
At the October 21 Board of Education meeting, we reviewed student performance on state mandated tests. I'm pleased to share with the community that our students continue to have solid and consistent achievement, even with the state's new scoring on the ISAT.
District 204 is 20 to 22 percent higher than state averages in the number of students meeting or exceeding state standards. Globally, we saw minimal change from last year, even when you consider the content of the test changed to include 20 percent of questions aligned with the new Common Core State Standards. Next year, 100 percent of the ISAT will be aligned with Common Core to prepare students for the 2014-15 school year, when ISBE will replace the ISAT with a new assessment that is fully aligned with the Common Core State Standards.
We continue to have a district goal of narrowing the achievement gap experienced by state identified student groups. We saw growth in the majority of groups, including an increase in scores for Hispanic, Limited English Proficiency, and Special Education students.
The district's 2013 ACT composite score of 24.1 remains significantly higher than the state average of 20.6 and the national average of 20.9. ACT changed the way it reports the results of its standardized test. For the first time, composite scores for school districts include results for students who were allowed extended time to complete the test. Had the scores for students who required extended time been excluded again, this year’s composite score would be 24.6, an impressive increase from last year’s 24.2.
I invite you to review the achievement presentation materials from the board meeting. You can find the presentation slides online, and on Tuesday, October 22, you will be able to view a video of the presentation at www.204tv.org.
Kathy Birkett
Superintendent
Do you know a volunteer in your school who deserves special recognition? District 204's Volunteer of the Month program honors a deserving volunteer each month and BMO Harris Bank donates $1,000 to his or her school.
Anyone can nominate a volunteer by using the online form. Each nomination submitted will be kept on file for consideration during the 2013-14 school year.
For more information, Volunteer of the Month.
