Frankfort 157-C eNews

Dear Frankfort 157-C Community,

Across the entire district, it is imperative that we promote an academic and social environment where students can learn and grow. Through the sense of community built in each classroom, to the opportunities to feel connected to their school through participation in before and after school clubs and extracurriculars, it is always our focus to ensure students feel seen, heard, and valued in their school space. One essential component of this is explicit instruction centered around positive connections and peer relationships in school. October is Bullying Prevention Month, culminating with Red Ribbon Week Wednesday, October 23 through Thursday, October 31. This year’s topic is “Life is a movie. Film drug free." Each school will hold spirit days and teachers will plan activities for their classrooms around topics such as making healthy, positive choices, emphasizing kindness, and standing up to bullying. More information about Red Ribbon Week is forthcoming from each school, and we hope our students will report to you their commitment to these positive values.

On October 1, I will send out a notice to all families that will provide specific details of our student trainings that will teach them how to respond if there is ever a threat against safety in our schools. This essential learning is part of our continued emphasis on ensuring our students and staff both are safe, and feel safe, in our buildings on a daily basis. The attachment linked here outlines our commitment to preventative safety measures of our school systems, physical safety of our facilities, and our plans to respond in the event of an emergency. The document will also be included in the October 1 message. Please review this information with your child, and connect with a building administrator, or me, if you have any questions.

Thank you for your continued support of FSD 157-C.

Doug Wernet, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

This month’s Board of Education meeting was held on Tuesday, September 17. At the meeting, the Board approved the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget and Vice President of Investment Services at PMA Financial, Thomas Lanzara, gave an overview of the District's investment portfolio. A full recap may be found here.

• Friday, October 11: Teacher Institute Day, No School

• Monday, October 14: Holiday, No School

• Tuesday, October 15: Board of Education Meeting | 7:00 pm at the District Office

• Tuesday, October 29: Pink Out Game for Breast Cancer Awareness | 4:00 & 5:00 pm at HCMS

• Friday, October 25: Last Day of Quarter

• Thursday, October 31: School Improvement Day, Early Release | HCMS: 10:45 am, GP: 11:25 am, CH: 12:05 pm

• Friday, November 1: Report Cards Distributed

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced on Monday, September 23, that Hickory Creek Middle School has been named a 2024 National Blue Ribbon School.

The U.S. Department of Education identified the middle school as an exemplary high-performing school in Illinois, as measured by Illinois state assessments. Hickory Creek Middle School is one of 356 schools nationwide, and one of just 18 schools in Illinois to receive the National Blue Ribbon honor in 2024. This marks the second time the school has earned this distinction in the past decade, last achieving this award in 2018. The full article may be viewed here.

Grand Prairie's Preschool for All program has recently achieved a Gold Circle of Quality in ExceleRate Illinois, the state’s quality recognition and improvement system for early learning and development programs. ExceleRate unifies all of the state’s early learning programs under a common set of standards across multiple settings to provide families with important information about quality early learning programs in their community.

To learn more about ExceleRate Illinois, including the specific requirements for each Circle of Quality, visit www.excelerateillinoisproviders.com. A website that provides parents and families with information to assist them in making early care and education decisions can be found at www.excelerateillinois.com.

Grand Prairie

Chelsea

Hickory Creek