Fremont Focus

Dear Fremont Community,

Nothing is more important than the safety of our students and staff. As part of our commitment to a safe, healthy & connected culture, we proactively partner with local law enforcement and first responders to ensure our schools are secure. This includes continually strengthening our security measures and refining our crisis response plans with the most current best practices.

This school year, we will continue training students and staff in ALICE and the Standard Response Protocol (SRP). These two approaches complement one another to provide a comprehensive emergency response framework. Together, they give our students and staff practical tools—what we call a “safety toolbox”—to help them respond appropriately and confidently in a variety of emergency situations.

At Fremont, we use ALICE to prepare for rare but serious situations, such as an intruder on campus. ALICE empowers staff and students to make the safest decisions possible in the moment:

A = Alert: Staff are notified that a threat may be present, and defensive action is to be taken.
L = Lockdown: As a first defense, students are guided out of sight and secured behind locked doors.
I = Inform: Staff receive ongoing information about the nature and location of the threat to build awareness.
C = Counter: As a last resort, staff and students may take steps to distract or avoid the threat.
E = Evacuate: Whenever safe to do so, students and staff quickly move away from danger.

We conduct several safety drills throughout the year in partnership with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Countryside Fire Protection District. During these drills, we take great care to use developmentally appropriate practices so that students feel supported and secure.

To help families better understand how we prepare students for emergencies, we invite you to join us for our first Parent University session of the school year. During this session, we will provide additional information about ALICE and SRP and address any questions you may have.

Parent U. Title: Parent Guide to School Safety ALICE Drills

When? Thursday, September 25

Time? 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Where? Fremont Middle School

If you have specific concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s principal or join us on Thursday. Our shared goal is to strengthen preparedness while ensuring students feel cared for and protected every day. Thank you for your continued partnership in maintaining a culture of safety at Fremont.

Sincerely,

Trisha Kocanda, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Lt. Sara Balmes-Flores

Lake County Sheriff’s Office

📅 Important Dates

Please read the following newsletter for detailed information, but here is a summary of key dates for quick access:

Wed., September 24 - Early Release Schedule (MS dismissed at 2:13 p.m.; ES/IS dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
Thu. September 25 - Parent University: Parents' Guide to School Safety ALICE Drills, 6:30 p.m. (Middle School Media Center)
Wed., October 1 - Early Release Schedule (MS dismissed at 2:13 p.m.; ES/IS dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
Thu., October 2 - No School (Students Not In Attendance)
Wed., October 8 - Early Release Schedule (MS dismissed at 2:13 p.m.; ES/IS dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
Thu., October 9 - Multilingual Family Night, 5:30 p.m. (Fremont Public Library)
Fri., October 10 - Parent Involvement Day (Students Not In Attendance; Lincoln only)

2025-26 FSD79 School Calendars

https://www.fsd79.org/families/student-absences/report-an-absence

If your child will be absent from school because of illness, doctor's appointments, or for any other reason, please report it to the school office by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence by completing the form linked within the above graphic or by calling the attendance line for the appropriate school.

Fremont School District 79, in collaboration with the Fremont PTO, is excited to once again offer Parent University programming to our families throughout the 2025-2026 school year. Together, we are offering programming on a variety of topics related to the District's goals that might interest our parent community.

Please make plans to join us for our first in-person presentation of the year this Thursday, September 25. It is not required to RSVP for in-person events, however, we ask that you please do so if you plan to take advantage of childcare, which will be provided by Fremont Middle School students for individuals ages 3+. To RSVP, please click here.

RSVP Form

FSD79 is seeking input from our community as we plan our 2026-2027 K-8 school calendar. If you have not already done so, please complete this survey by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 26.

For more information, please click here.

In collaboration with local first-responders, we are excited to share a brand-new initiative called “High-Five Fridays.” Beginning this Friday, September 26, representatives from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Mundelein Police Department, Countryside Fire Protection District, Wauconda Police Department, and more will be on hand on a rotating basis to greet our students at morning arrival. We’re thrilled to collaborate with these organizations to help our students develop relationships with these trusted partners.

In an effort to connect the FSD79 Board of Education and the community, the District offers a summary of monthly, regular Board meetings. To view a recap of the September 24 meeting, please click here.

This month's recognition was held for members of the District's Technology Department. The evening's Pledge of Allegiance was led by members of the Jr. Hope Squad.

Español

Русский

українська

Download our brand new mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Get all the latest news, events, and resources at your fingertips!

Click the graphic above for the latest information from Fremont PTO.

FSD79 offers local groups and organizations the opportunity to advertise their upcoming events in the Virtual Backpack. To submit your group's event for consideration, please submit a PDF flyer to publicrelations@fsd79.org. Check back regularly for upcoming offerings.

The next edition of the Fremont Focus will be distributed on Wednesday, October 8. This will be in addition to the weekly e-newsletters sent on Fridays from principals at the school level.