The 21 Ledger
August 2025
⏩ Sign up for the Back-to-School Family Fun 5K!
Get ready to kick off the school year with energy and community spirit at our Back-to-School Family Fun 5K on Saturday, August 9 at 8 a.m., behind London Middle School! Walk, jog, or run—everyone's welcome! It only costs $30 to sign up, and proceeds will benefit the District 21 Health Center. Sign up here.
⏩ A small change in ParentSquare texts
Starting in August, school texts will come from regular 10-digit phone numbers instead of short codes. This makes it easier to see who’s messaging you, like your child’s teacher or the school office. This change is required by mobile carriers and helps prevent messages from being marked as spam. App and email notifications will not be affected. Here is more information about the switch.
⏩ Meet our School Resource Officers for 2025-2026!
As we begin the new school year, we’re proud to reintroduce our School Resource Officers (SROs), dedicated members of our local police departments who support the safety, well-being and success of our students and staff. Get to know them here:
Officer Michael Essig of the Buffalo Grove Police Department – Cooper Strand
Officer Devin Ladesic of the Wheeling Police Department – Holmes Strand
Officer Lukasz Czapla of the Wheeling Police Department – London Strand
We’re thrilled to welcome our new Kindergarten families and begin this exciting journey together! To support a smooth and positive transition, we’ve designed a staggered start to help our youngest learners adjust in a smaller group setting.
Each class will be split into two groups:
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Group A will attend on August 21 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
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Group B will attend on August 22 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
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All Kindergarteners will begin their regular full-day schedule (9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) on August 25.
Families will receive a ParentSquare message with their child’s assigned group. We look forward to a great start to the school year!
Construction across CCSD21 is progressing well and remains on track for the start of the school year. Flooring projects at Field, Frost, Holmes, and Whitman are nearly complete, with furniture move-ins scheduled in early August. HVAC upgrades, lounge renovations, and locker installations are advancing at several sites, including Cooper, London, and Poe. Exterior work—such as asphalt, playgrounds, and turf fields—is wrapping up at Twain, Tarkington, and Whitman. Life safety inspections are underway, and classroom moves continue throughout the district. While the schedule has been tight, we’re on pace to welcome students and staff back on time!
We're currently hiring Teaching Assistants to support our classrooms—a rewarding role with a competitive starting wage of $22.69 per hour, plus benefits including paid holidays and health and dental coverage. We're also seeking friendly, dependable individuals to serve as part-time Lunch/Recess Supervisors, typically working one hour per day at $17.75 per hour. If you're interested in making a difference in our schools, visit the employment section of our website to learn more and apply.
