“Notice every step forward and take advantage of each small success.”
– Deepak Chopra

Superintendent’s Welcome Back Message to All Staff:

The opening day of a school year is an exciting time for reuniting old friends, new friends, colleagues, thought partners, and more. All of our hopes and dreams are upbeat and positive on the first days of school — our challenge is to keep this positive vibe every day!

The superintendent of schools takes great pride in welcoming all staff in the back to school institute! I’m proud of our teachers, educational support staff, administrators, Board members, community, parents, and students. In my opening remarks today I shared our “why”, our “how”, and our “what”, please see slides linked here. (this link will open a new window and you’ll need to click to advance each slide if desired)

This school year we have many important initiatives on the horizon that present exciting opportunities and challenges. These big three areas of focus will represent our district’s “WHY” for the year ahead. Learn more about each at www.nssd112.org/BigThree.

The Big Three Focus areas for 2019-2020

Portrait of a Graduate – We “begin with the end in mind” and continue our The Modern Learning Committee’s work on a Portrait of a District 112 Graduate. The Vision for the Modern Learning Committee is to recommend actions for District 112 regarding the integration of technology, professional development, and the skills needed to ensure students are successful. The initiatives that result from the work of the committee are intended to serve as guideposts for all district operations. Developing the Profile of a District 112 Graduate was the major focus during the first four meetings of the committee. The profile characteristics for graduates in District 112 are – Mastery of Grade Level Performance Expectations, Self-directed Learner, Continuous Curiosity, Find and Evaluate Information, Learning and Innovation Skills, Open-minded to Other Perspectives, Positive and Active Citizens. See full descriptions of each of these characteristics.

Closing Achievement Gaps – Student Learning for ALL (special report to the Board on October 1). We are so proud of the impact and initial success of the teaching and learning reforms implemented over the past three years across the District. The department has also been very busy over the past summer working with teachers from across the District to develop curriculum and guides to prepare for the 2019-2020 school year. This included the development of vocabulary to accompany the units of study in middle school language arts; collaboration between Spanish and French teachers for implementation of the new world language resources; work to prioritize Illinois Learning Standards for implementation of the new social studies curriculum resources; Middle School math teachers worked on unit planning and attended the Math Learning Center Leadership Institute; teachers collaborated to develop Music curriculum for grades K-8 curriculum scope and sequence and pacing; and many other areas of professional development and curricular planning.

Facilities Upgrades & Modernization – Continuing the Northwood project and finalizing plans for the Edgewood Middle School modernization as well as ongoing upkeep of all school facilities. This also includes a transition of Northwood students and staff to Northwood Jr. High at Elm Place. Preliminary planning is also underway for a transition of Edgewood students in 2021. Visit www.nssd112.org/LRPConstruction for information regarding the Middle School Modernization Projects.