A Message from Dr. Angel Turner
1/23 - E-Learning/D65 Schools Closed
Dear District 65 Community,
Due to the extreme cold, Friday, January 23, will be an E-Learning Day and all District 65 schools and centers will be closed for in-person learning. Additionally, all before and after school programming is cancelled tomorrow. An Extreme Cold Warning is in effect through noon on Friday with wind chills expected to be between -30 to -40 degrees around arrival time. The safety of our children and staff is of the utmost importance to me and given the very dangerous temperatures, I believe this decision is in the best interest of all members of our community.
E-Learning Information
The District will follow its E-Learning schedule. The E-Learning Plan is currently available on our website. As a reminder, E-Learning Days do not need to be made up. Some highlights include:
- All students will have access to five clock hours of instruction which will be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous work based on the age/grade level of the student. At least 2.5 hours will be synchronous or live instruction.
- Pre-K (JEH): Class starts at 8:35am for AM session; 12:30pm for PM session
- K-5: Class starts at 9:05am.
- Middle school students (including magnets): Class starts at 8am with a condensed period schedule.
- Park and Rice: Class starts at 9am.
- Educators will utilize our current online platforms to deliver instruction, directions, and assignments (Seesaw, Google Classroom). Please note that the district has shifted from Zoom to Google Meets; this change is in our E-Learning Plan.
- Learning assignments and student expectations will be posted no later than 8am for middle school and 9am for K-5
- Plans are in place to support students with IEPs, 504, or Language Support Plans to ensure full access with attention to meeting necessary mandates.
- All students should have brought home their technology device.
- Technology Hotline - 847-859-8145 (7:30am - 3:30pm)
Device Pickup
If your child does not have access to a device, parents/caregivers can pick one up from your school 30 minutes before the start of the school day and 60 minutes past arrival time.
How Decisions are Made
As superintendent, my guiding priority is always the safety and well-being of our students and staff. That commitment includes providing as much advance notice as possible and making decisions carefully to avoid placing anyone in harm’s way. Extreme weather decisions require consideration of multiple factors and are never made lightly. Additional information about the considerations used in this decision-making process is available on our website.
Additional information will be forthcoming from your child’s school. Thank you for your understanding. Please stay safe and warm!
With safety in mind,
