The LearningCONNECTION

Fall 2018Frankfort School District 157-C

Hickory Creek Middle School named 2018 National Blue Ribbon SchoolHickory Creek Middle

School has been named a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

On October 1, U.S. Secre-tary of Education Betsy DeVos recognized 349 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2018. The recognition is based on a school’s overall aca-demic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

The coveted National Blue Ribbon Schools award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.

“I could not be more proud of the teachers, students, staff, Principal Will Seidelmann, and Assistant Principals Lexi Oreluk and Tricia Dotson for receiving this distinguished national award of educational excellence,” said District 157-C Superintendent Dr. Maura Zinni. “I have witnessed first-hand the hard work and dedi-cation our staff display each and every day as they support, inspire, coach and challenge our students to strive to be the very best, both in the classroom and in their daily lives.”

“The Board of Education is thrilled to have one of our schools recognized with such a prestigious award,” District 157-C School Board President Gina Briese said. “It truly reflects the efforts from our hardworking teachers, princi-pals and superintendent. We are very proud of their accomplishment. The recognition of their

commitment to our student’s success is well-de-served.”

Hickory Creek serves nearly 900 students in grades 6-8 and prides itself on focusing on edu-cating the whole child — academically, socially and physically — and encouraging students to have growth mindsets. Its mission, which is part of the broader District 157-C mission, is to pre-pare all students to be confident, life-long learn-ers and productive citizens by challenging them to reach their fullest potential and by providing a quality educational environment in partnership with family and community.

On November 7 and 8, the Secretary and the Department of Education will celebrate with 300 public and 49 private school honorees at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Sev-enth-grade teacher Susan Niendorf, Seidelmann and Zinni will travel to the nation’s capital to receive the award.

Grand Prairie Elementary School Chelsea Intermediate School Hickory Creek Middle Schoolw w

A Message toDistrict Families fromYour Superintendent

What an incredible start to the 2018-2019 school year! Hickory Creek Middle School received the presitigous honor of being named a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School. We welcomed many tal-ented, skilled new staff members to our schools. We maintain a balanced budget. And, we’ve had great involvement in all of our activities — for students, parents, and staff members.

Thank you to all of the members of the 157-C family and all of our community supporters who made the good news of this quarter possible.

On the last page of this publi-cation, please review the official notices regarding prohibited cell phone use in school zones and integrated pest management.

If you have a question or concern, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (815) 469-5922.

Dr. Maura J. Zinni

Teachers and administrators energetically welcomed students and col-leagues to school October 2 to celebrate the Blue Ribbon recognition.

The Learning Connection Fall 2018

A group of three dozen new staff members were officially welcomed to the district prior to the September 19 School Board meeting.

Administrators, School Board Members Officially Welcome New Staff to DistrictAdministrators and

members of the Frank-fort School District 157-C Board of Education wel-comed a group of roughly three dozen new teachers and staff members prior to the regular September 19 School Board meeting at Grand Prairie Elementary School.

Superintendent Dr. Maura Zinni said she was grateful to the staff for joining the district and for all of their work during the first month of the 2018-2019 school year.

All three of the district’s principals intro-duced new staff from their buildings who were

in attendance, and provided some background about their careers and their positions in the district.

Many new staff members said they were grateful to be part of the district, citing the close culture and team environment, as well

as the enthusiasm students have for learning.

Cassidy Smith, fifth grade teacher at Chelsea Interme-diate School, said that staff in the district have been very helpful, and she always knows where to go for help.

Adam Tourlakes, a para-professional and reading interventionist at Hickory

Creek Middle School, said he is amazed at how energized

the students are to learn and how positive they are.

School Board President Gina Briese thanked all of the staff for joining the district and said that she was proud to have them on board.

District Exceeds Goals of 21st Century Continuous Learning Plan, Advances Technology Use in ClassroomThrough willingness to embrace the

use of technology in the classroom, careful spending and efficient allocation of resources, Frankfort School District 157-C has advanced its 21st Century Continuous Learning Plan in the area of technology by two years.

Initially planning to implement one-to-one (1:1) laptops for fifth- through eighth-grade students in the 2020-2021 school year, the district was able to accomplish this goal this year.

Last year, the district launched a 1:1 laptop program for fifth-graders, and the experience provided the district’s Technology Depart-ment with valuable insights into what types of support would be needed in the classroom.

“We were extremely pleased with the pos-itive response we recieved from our teachers as they incorporated technology to further enhance their daily lessons,” said Janet McClarence, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. “Our teachers worked with 157-C instructional coaches to plan and design meaningful instruction in a 1:1 environment. Because of the teachers’ willingness to learn and students’ excitement to utilize technol-ogy, we were able to surpass our initial goal and move more quickly through our technol-ogy integration plan.”

Chelsea Intermedi-ate School Principal Doug Wer-net said 1:1 laptops are effective tools for students of all learning styles.

“Our teachers have noticed that the use of tech-nology in their classrooms helps our young learners stay engaged for longer periods of time,” he said. “It also has been clear that the use of instructional technology easily trans-forms the experience in the classroom by providing opportunities that simply cannot be present without the device.”

Students use cloud-based OneNote to share, blog, collaborate and communicate. They read and research through online programs Common Lit and NewsELA. They use Zearn for individualized math lessons, and they partake in Digital Citizen Lessons to learn about being respectful and mindful on the internet.

This school year, Director of Technolo-

gy Jacob Nelson and his staff worked with Hickory Creek Middle School Principal Will Seidelmann to develop a plan for seventh- and eighth-graders to have their own devices in the classroom. Incoming sixth-graders brought their devices with them from fifth grade, freeing up devices previously used in sixth grade.

This plan was officially approved by the School Board in March 2018.

“Over the last couple of years, Hickory Creek has made tremendous strides with incorporating authentic use of technology into classroom instruction,” Seidelmann said. “The students, staff and families were beyond excited that we were able to expedite the technology plan and thrilled that each student has a device this year.”

One-to-one technology provides students opportunities to collaborate, work inde-pendently and enjoy different types of learning environments.

Frankfort School District 157-C A Tradition of Excellence

School Board Approves Balanced Fiscal Year 2019 BudgetThe Frankfort School District 157-C

Board of Education unanimously approved a balanced budget for fiscal year 2018-2019 at its regular meeting September 19.

With the approval of this budget, the district maintains its strong finan-cial standing and refrains from deficit spending.

The budget shows a minimal project-ed decrease in fund balance reserves of about $500,000, or 1.4 percent of revenues. When compared to the 2017-2018 budget, revenues reflect a slight increase, up about 2.2 percent, and moderately increasing expenditures, up about 4.8 percent, while continu-ing on with cost-cutting measures to help ensure that the district approves a balanced budget and remains financially solvent.

Despite the sluggish Illinois economy, uncertain State funding for public edu-cation, and minimally increasing Equal-ized Assessed Valuations, District 157-C is proud to be placed in the “Financial Recognition” category by the Illinois State Board of Education and to receive

an AAA bond rating again this year.The District’s goal is to keep fund

balance reserves at reasonable, but not excessive, levels while minimizing the current tax levy for our existing res-idents. As the budget is balanced, no deficit reduction plan is required by the State, and this shows that the district is continuing to operate within its means and maintain adequate fund balance reserves.

The Board of Education and School District Administration are continu-ing to undertake proactive measures throughout the district, wherever possible. These include going out to bid for gas and electric usage, working with Constellation Energy during designated “heat emergency” days to lower electric consumption and earn utility credits, installing energy-efficient mechanical systems in all schools, completing a thorough examination of the employee insurance programs and vendor service agreements to save on premiums and fees where possible, and extending cap-ital and equipment rotation cycles, and looking for every opportunity possible

to streamline operations and reduce spending without negatively impacting instruction, services to students, or the educational environment.

In addition, this past year, the District has engaged in an active cash manage-ment and investment program to maxi-mize interest income wherever possible, while also abating debt service funds with existing reserves to help keep the overall tax levy essentially flat at just over $30 million and minimize property tax increases residents would bear.

The District and the Board’s ongoing goal is to work towards maintaining a balanced budget year after year that also allows for supplemental debt service fund abatements and inter-fund trans-fers from reserves that can help the res-idents and taxpayers without negatively impacting instruction or the school environment.

Additional information regarding the District 157-C budget is available at the District Office by contacting Superin-tendent Dr. Maura Zinni or Director of Business and Operational Services Kate Ambrosini, at (815) 469-5922.

Congratulations, Golfers!Hickory Creek Middle School had two boys golfers participate at State in September for the first time in the school’s history. The boys did great for their first season.

Education Foundation funds upgrades at Grand Prairie elementary Library

Students, parents, faculty and School Board members walked through

the newly renovated library at Grand Prairie Elementary School on August 15, following a ribbon cutting for the space.

The library was renovated over the summer, and the work was made possible by a grant from the Frank-fort School District 157-C Education Foundation.

Grand Prairie Principal Kirsten Frankovich and staff worked together with the Frank Cooney Company to create the vision and decide on neces-sities for the updated space.

Updates include new furniture; story murals painted by Susie Corkery, retired Grand Prairie art clerk; bulletin boards; rugs and more.

“My goal was to create a space that

would be inviting and foster a love of reading in our young learners,” Fran-kovich said.

Renovations cost roughly $20,000. The Education Foundation raises these funds through hot lunches during the school year and an annual Casino Night fundraiser.

Education Foundation President Al-lison Marketti also credited volunteers’ countless hours of time and sponsors’ generosity with making the Education Foundation’s grants possible.

“I want to give a huge thank you to Past President Carrie Nagle and the outgoing board for everything they’ve done,” she said.

For more information about the Education Foundation, visit www.ef157c.org, or follow the foundation on Facebook.

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Permit #17Frankfort, IL 60423-2235

Frankfort C.C. School District 157-CAdministrative Office10482 Nebraska StreetFrankfort, Illinois 60423

Telephone (815) 469-5922www.fsd157c.orgwww.facebook.com/frankfort157c

Printed on Recycled Paper

Award-winning newsletter

SuperintendentDr. Maura J. Zinni

Board of EducationGina Briese, PresidentTom Reidy, Vice PresidentEdie Adamski, SecretaryBrett Cosich, MemberDr. Larry Kociolek, MemberEdith Lutz, MemberKevin Regas, Member

EditorMeredith Dobes

POSTAL CUSTOMERFRANKFORT, ILLINOIS 60423

Inside This Issue...

Hickory Creek Middle School named a National Blue Ribbon SchoolDistrict welcomes new staffDistrict exceeds expectations of 21st Century Continuous Learning PlanGrand Prairie receives library renovations through Foundation grant

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District 157-C Legal Notice — Integrated Pest Management

Frankfort School District 157-C complies with the Illinois Structural Pest Control Act, the Illinois Pesticide Act, the Illinois Lawn Care Products Application and Notification

Act, and the Pesticide Application at Schools Act through the active involvement in an Integrated Pest Management Program and an Outdoor Spraying and Fertilizer Application Program.

As part of this program, the District relies to the greatest extent possible on non-toxic, biological, cultural and mechanical pest management practices as well as the use of natural pest control agents. Chemical and airborne pesticides will be used only when necessary, and as a last resort, with a preference given for products that are the least harmful to human health and the environment. This practice applies to indoor and outdoor pesticide, fertiliz-er, turf management or other similar applications or sprayings.

Such chemical and airborne applications will, if at all possible, be made only after normal business hours or on weekends to minimize the exposure to any individuals who normally access our buildings. As part of these programs, any individual(s) wishing to be placed on a notification list for indoor sprayings, outdoor sprayings, or both, can contact the Frankfort School District Business Office at 815-469-5922, ask for Sandy Pechtold, and let her know you would like to be put on the IPM and/or Outdoor Spraying Notification list for airborne spraying. By providing your name, address, phone number, and the school district build-ings and/or sites you would like to be notified about, the Maintenance Department will attempt to contact you 96 hours in advance whenever possible, and no less than 48 hours in advance when necessary, of any scheduled airborne or chemical applications being under-taken inside or outside our buildings, or as soon as possible in the event any emergency spraying applications are needed.

If you have any questions or need additional information please contact Kate Ambrosini in the District Office at 815-469-5922.

Mission StatementThe mission of District 157-C is to prepare all students to be confident, life-long learners and productive citizens by challenging them to reach their fullest potential and by providing a quality educational environment in partnership with family and community.

Dates to RememberNovember 12-16American Education Week

November 14Board of Education Meeting, 7 PM

November 19-20Parent/Teacher ConferencesNo School

November 21-23Thanksgiving Break, No School

December 19Board of Education Meeting, 7 PM

December 21 Early Release, 1 hourWinter Break through January 7

January 7Institute Day, No School