A very smart and clever staff member stopped me last week and mused that February is both the shortest and the longest month of the school year.  As a parent and school administrator, I couldn't agree more with this assessment.  I want to thank all of our parents and staff for the ongoing support and dedication to student safety and learning, to collaboration and communication, and mostly to regular injections of joy and fun in these gloomiest months of the year.  As part of communicating RenewD102 referendum plans, I have enjoyed meeting new families, speaking with new community groups and generally experiencing the hope that families share for the future of our schools, their children, and the community as a whole.  

It is also true that we have families that are struggling right now. As I mentioned to our School Board at the last meeting, the District continues to seek out families and students in need of support and provide comfort and help as best we can.  In the end, our District meets the needs of all students regardless of background, immigration status, gender identity, or physical abilities - kids are kids and we are proud to serve all of them. If you know of any family in need of support from the District please encourage them to reach out, or communicate with our D102 Family Liaison team. 

This newsletter is filled with information and links to all of the great work and events that are happening in District 102.  I am hopeful that we are now past the arctic freeze and the snowstorms of a Chicagoland winter and soon we will start to see the early signs of spring.

Starting next week, each school in D102 will start sending new informational letters to families who have students accumulating excessive absences or tardies to school.  These letters are intended to open lines of communication with families to make sure that the school and the family are working together to ensure continuity of instruction for every student.  The District is NOT looking for perfect attendance and we completely trust families to make decisions about the health and well being of their children, but we do want to be partners with families to help students get to school, feel comfortable and safe at school, and generally get everything they can from as many full school days as possible.  Let me be clear, we are not hoping that students come to school with an illness, but we do want to extend our support if students or families are struggling getting students to school.

District and Building communications about attendance and/or tardiness will be delivered via email to parents or guardians around the 15th of each month until the end of school.  Families will only receive a message if their child has missed more than 10% of the total school days this year, which is the State definition for excessive absences. We hope these new communications will help form a partnership with families and create a better environment for all students to be in school as often as possible. 

Student Climate Survey Administration - Spring 2024

In D102, we know that a strong school climate has positive impacts on student achievement, attendance rates, and school safety, as well as creating conditions for developing healthy social and emotional skills.  We also feel it is critical to hear the voices of our students. To help facilitate that communication we provide a Student Climate Survey twice annually, once in September/October and again in February/March.

D102 will gather student perceptions of their school climate in the following ways:

• K-2nd grade students will orally provide their input during a classroom meeting conversation with their teacher.

• 3rd-8th grade students will individually complete an online survey in Google Forms. 

Results of the 3rd-8th grade survey are confidential and will not be used to identify individual students.  Rather, the data will be used to gather an overarching sense of students’ perceptions.  Each building’s leadership team will use the survey results to inform school-wide planning while grade level teachers will use the data to help plan proactive classroom-based morning circles.  

Themes identified during the K-2nd grade classroom conversations will be collected by the teacher and used to plan proactive classroom-based morning circles.  Individual student information will not be collected during these classroom conversations.

For more information see:

• Student Climate Class Meeting - grades K-2

• Student Survey questions - grades 3-5

• Student Survey questions - grades 6-8 

• Survey FAQ

Families that wish to opt out of the survey should either contact their elementary child’s classroom teacher or their junior high child’s advisory teacher. 

District 102 students in grades 3-8 will participate in the annual, mandated state assessments beginning the second week of March. The testing schedules will vary by school and will occur over multiple days.

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and the  Illinois Science  Assessment (ISA) are the state accountability measures for Illinois students enrolled in a public school district. The IAR assesses the Illinois Learning Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, and is administered in grades 3-8.  The Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) measures the Illinois Science Standards and is administered in grades 5 and 8 only.

Welcome, parents and family members of the D102 community! This is your dedicated space to discover the sports and activities available for your young scholars within the community of La Grange, La Grange Park, and Brookfield.

Here, you'll find an array of flyers highlighting engaging programs tailored to every age and interest. Whether your child is a sports enthusiast, an aspiring artist, or simply eager to explore new adventures, there's something here to captivate their curiosity and nurture their passions.

From youth sports leagues to creative arts workshops, from educational clubs to community events, we're committed to providing enriching opportunities for your child to learn, grow, and connect with their peers. Our aim is to foster a sense of belonging and camaraderie within our diverse community while promoting physical activity, creativity, and personal development.

• CPR Project Heart Ready 2025

• League of Women Voters

  • Candidate Forum

• Firestars Basketball Tryouts (English)

  • Firestars Pruebas de baloncesto (Español)

• Brookfield Park & Recreation Foundation - 2025 Fundraiser

In LaGrange School District 102, we are committed to engaging families and the community by eliminating barriers to access, in particularly those related to culture, socioeconomic status, and language. We commit to identifying equitable practices to improve engagement with all families and diverse community stakeholders.

In support of our vocalized commitment, the district has a new initiative in Cheri’s Caring Closet located at Congress Park Elementary School. It is a physical closet that accepts clothing donations from our communities; with the purpose of providing needed clothing items to D102 students.

Referral GPS - Connecting People to Treatment:  We are committed to creating a culture of well-being for students, staff,  parents, and the community. In an effort to continuously support this commitment, the district has entered an agreement with ReferralGPS. 

ReferralGPS is a web-based service focused on assisting our students,  staff, and community in finding local mental-health and substance use-related treatment. The service compliments the districts existing systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment options, ReferralGPS provides Care Navigation to assist families in triage, appointment setting, and follow-up care. 

School families may access ReferralGPS in two ways: 

1) Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/dist102 to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care  Navigator anonymously. 

2) Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists,  counselors) to seek out treatment options. 

ReferralGPS takes into account all types of private and public insurance including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, Medicare, and families who are uninsured or underinsured. The platform also filters by age, gender, zip code, and special requests. 

ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely confidential and securely stored. 

If you are interested in seeking counseling-related services at this time,  please consider visiting https://referralgps.com/find-help/dist102 or reaching out to the Student Services team.