FSD 157-C Superintendent Update

Dear FSD 157-C Community,

Welcome to the 2025–2026 school year! Over the summer, we've been thoughtfully preparing to welcome students back for what promises to be an exciting and enriching year in Frankfort School District 157-C. In just a few short weeks, your children will be welcomed by a passionate team of educators ready to create meaningful, engaging learning experiences across all three of our schools.

This year, our district theme is “Small Moments. Big Impact.” Our staff knows that it’s often the small, everyday actions—an encouraging word, a thoughtful lesson, a quiet check-in—that leave the most lasting impressions on students. These seemingly simple moments are what shape lifelong memories, build trust, and make school feel like a place of belonging. As a community, we’re proud to celebrate the powerful role our teachers and staff play in making each day meaningful for every student.

With the start of school just around the corner, we want to ensure you have all the key information to help your family prepare.

Our three principals, Mrs. Szudy, Ms. Newcomb, and Mrs. Dotson have put considerable thought and care into creating student schedules. On Friday, August 8 at 4 PM, all three principals will send a welcome letter to families via email detailing information about the year. Then, on Monday, August 11 at 8 AM, families will learn their child’s class placement. Here’s how you will receive this information:

• Grand Prairie Families: Check your email at 8 AM for a notice that includes your child’s teacher. It may take up to 30 minutes to receive your email; please refresh your inbox periodically if you do not receive the message.

• Chelsea and Hickory Creek Families: PowerSchool is open at 8 AM for you to review your child’s class placement.

• Newly Registered Families (Kindergarten and New Students): Ahead of the schedule release date, you will receive a communication that will provide instructions on how to create your PowerSchool account when it opens at 8 AM on August 11.

Please join us for our annual “Meet and Greet” events on Wednesday, August 20. This is a perfect opportunity for students to meet their teacher and drop off materials ahead of the first day of school.

Here are the times for those meetings:

• Grand Prairie - 8:30 AM- 10:00 AM

• Hickory Creek – 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

• Chelsea – 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

• Preschool *Thursday, August 21* - AM Class: 9:30 - 10:30, PM Class 12:30 - 1:30

• Kindergarten–8th Grade: Thursday, August 21 (Full Day – Bring lunch and water bottle)
• Preschool: Friday, August 22

• School Hours:

  
  

  • Hickory Creek: 7:45 AM – 2:10 PM

  • Grand Prairie: 8:25 AM – 2:50 PM

  • Chelsea: 9:05 AM – 3:30 PM

  
  

  • Preschool:

  • AM: 8:20 – 10:50

  • PM: 12:00 – 2:30

  
  

Bus service starts on the first day of school. Bus stop details will be available:

• Grand Prairie: Included in your August 11 email

• Chelsea & Hickory Creek: Viewable in PowerSchool starting August 11 at 8:00 AM

Questions? Contact Brooke Hardt, Transportation
📞 (815) 469-5922 | ✉️ bhardt@fsd157c.org

Each school will host a Curriculum Night onsite for staff to meet their students’ families and outline learning objectives for the school year. This year, the dates of Curriculum Night are as follows:

Grand Prairie: Thursday, August 28, 5:30 – 7 PM

Hickory Creek: Wednesday, September 3, 5:30 - 7 PM

Chelsea: Thursday, Thursday, September 4, 5:30 - 7 PM

We will continue with VIP Photography this year for all student pictures.

All three schools will host their student picture day on Monday, September 8. Ordering information will be sent to you via a separate email on August 25. All families will be able to order their children’s school photos directly online through VIP Photography and purchased photos will be sent directly to your home.

As our partners in education, it is incredibly important that you are informed of all that is happening in the District.

At the August 12 regular Board of Education meeting, district and building administrators will present the 2025-2026 Annual Plan. This plan will outline the key work happening across all three of our schools in the upcoming school year. The goals defined in the Annual Plan are directly tied to the FSD 157-C Strategic Plan, which was created in partnership with various community stakeholders to identify current and long-range focus for our district. If you cannot attend our August 12 Board of Education meeting or tune in remotely, we'll be sure to include the 2025-2026 Annual Plan document and summarizing points from the administrative presentation in the August E-news that will be sent to you at the end of the month.

New this year, I will host a live presentation to the school community in both evening and day-time formats to discuss the district's goals and key initiatives. The Superintendent Report for all FSD 157-C stakeholders will be held in the fall and spring starting this year.

The fall Superintendent Report date is Wednesday, September 24.

• The daytime event is at 10 AM at District Office.
• The evening event is at 6 PM at Chelsea Intermediate School.

Please stay tuned for more details and RSVP information for this upcoming event in our August newsletter later this month.

We are excited to see you all soon and look forward to a another great year in Frankfort School District 157-C!

Sincerely,

Doug Wernet, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Frankfort School District 157-C

We are thrilled Grand Prairie students will enjoy two new playgrounds at the school, beginning this year!

Both the front and back playgrounds have been completely replaced with new equipment and flooring to both ensure the students love playing on it and can do so as safe as possible! We extend our gratitude to the FSD 157-C Education Foundation, who graciously raised funds for a portion of the project!

Come join us for the annual Tiger Trot 5k walk/run hosted by the Health & Wellness Committee at Frankfort School District 157c. Registration is now open on MySchoolBucks – visit MySchoolBucks - Product Detail to register. T-shirts are for sale during registration!

Utilize the monthly-by-month and key "at-a-glance" calendar to assist with your scheduling needs!

Click the this link for a direct link to our student calendar! 📲