News and information from our district and schools
Scroll to view District updates and news from Meyer, Middleton, and McCracken!
February 21, 2025
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PROPOSED CHANGES TO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
There has been some discussion in the media about possible changes to the U.S. Department of Education. While abolishing the department would require action from Congress, some significant shifts could still happen. Recent news has focused on three potential changes:
- Restructuring the U.S. Department of Education for the purpose of making it more efficient. The potential change could include moving Title I administration to the Department of Health and Human Services and moving the Office for Civil Rights into the Department of Justice.
- Providing for less federal oversight and regulation of education, and for more state and local control.
- Increasing options for school choice. For example, by providing families with vouchers for private education and services funded by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
These are only ideas, and no changes have been made. If anything moves forward that affects our students and families, we will keep you informed.
There is also an ongoing legal debate regarding Section 504 and disability protections. A group of states (not including Illinois) sued the federal government over proposed changes that would recognize gender dysphoria as a protected disability under federal law. However, this case is currently on hold due to a recent executive order.
We know these discussions may raise questions. The following resources (not associated with Skokie School District 73.5) provide information about how proposed changes might impact children and families:
- How do executive orders work? A TED-Ed video that defines and explains the history of executive orders.
- What happens to my child’s IEP if the U.S. Department of Education closes? Answers to commonly asked questions about what’s currently happening.
Authored by Understood, a nonprofit dedicated to shaping the world for difference. Understood provides resources and support so people who learn and think differently can thrive. - What is School Choice? Information about what school choice is, types of school choice, and how it is funded.
Authored by EdChoice, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to understanding and pursuing a K–12 education system that empowers every family to choose the schooling environment that fits their children’s needs best.
We will continue to monitor any developments that could impact our school community. As always, Skokie School District 73.5 remains committed to supporting every student and every family.
FACILITIES & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMUNITY MEETING
Skokie73.5 parents/guardians, neighbors, and staff are invited to attend the next Community Meeting to explore our school improvement planning process. Learn firsthand about the current state of our facilities and infrastructure and the exciting steps ahead.
WHEN: Monday, February 24 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Middleton Elementary School Media Center
RSVP is requested: Please complete this short Google Form
We’ll also introduce information about a Facilitating Team of community members who will play a key role in guiding our next steps. Attending the community meeting doesn’t commit you to joining the Facilitating Team, but we hope you’ll attend the Community Meeting and be inspired to join the Facilitating Team.
We hope you can join us on February 24 for this very important meeting! Find additional meeting date and time information HERE.
BOARD OF EDUCATION WORKSHOP
Parents, guardians, and the public are invited to learn about our instructional programs in a series of Board of Education workshops.
The next workshop is on Monday, March 3, 2025, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at McCracken Middle School on the topic of MTSS/Responsive Instruction. This workshop will focus on the elements of MTSS (Multi-tiered Systems of Supports) and how it affects learning for our students. Learn how this general education program benefits the whole-child approach to educating students by gathering data in both academics and behavior to inform decisions for properly implementing intervention to address student needs.
Please complete this short Google Form to register for any or all of these informative sessions.
GET TO KNOW THE PTO!
Thank you to the wonderful Middleton Book Fair volunteers: Wendy McGuigan, Emily Mathews, Michelle Gad, Nafisah Bank-Olemoh, Katherine Van Der Vliet, Vicki Wolfinger, and Eva Winckler!
The PTO welcomes the community to TASTE OF 73.5 on Sunday, April 6 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at McCracken Middle School. Cultural groups are invited to fill out this Google Form to register for a booth to showcase displays and/or food samples that represent their cultural backgrounds.
Email [email protected] if you would like to help plan the event. Meetings will be held on Zoom.
Click or tap the flyer for more information on the PTO website!
Visit district735pto.org and get to know your PTO!
Questions about this calendar or events? Please email [email protected].
AROUND TOWN
DISTRICT DATES
Please save the date for Meyer's WE READ TOGETHER NIGHT at the Skokie Public Library!
Thursday, March 6, 2025
6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Storytime Room
All are welcome as Meyer staff members read stories. Students in grades K-5 may drop in with an adult. We hope to see you there!
PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE FOR NEW FAMILIES
Meyer School will host a PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE for new families interested in the 2025-2026 school year on Sunday, February 23 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Teacher presentations about our preschool program are scheduiled in the classrooms on the half-hour, at 10:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m,, 11:00 a.m., and 11:30 am.
If you have neighbors and friends with children turning 3 or 4 years old on or before September 1, 2025, please help us spread the word! See the FLYER for details.
PRESCHOOL REGISTRATION for the 2025-2026 school year opens on Monday, February 24 for District 73.5 residents and on Thursday, February 27 for non-residents. Returning students who will be in PreK 4 for the 2025-2026 school year should have received an email from Bethany Mullins regarding your plans for the 2025-2026 school year. Please feel free to contact Ms. Mullins with questions at [email protected].
MS. NAHHAS' PreK FAIRY TALES WRITING CENTER
PBIS FAMILY CONNECTION: SHARE & TAKE TURNS
This week we are working on “sharing and taking turns.” At school we take turns to share our ideas or show what we know throughout the day. We show how we can share during play with our friends. When we share and take turns at school, it helps everyone feel comfortable and cared for.
At home, you can practice sharing when playing with family members or siblings. Having your child give a favorite toy to your family member and asking them to play is a great way to share, or you may model taking turns playing with favorite toys. Sometimes, using a timer is helpful when sharing. For example, one person plays with the toy for 2 minutes, then we share it with someone else for 2 minutes.
To help your child learn about “sharing and taking turns,” you can watch the videos below together: Sam and Julia’s Playdate, Two Headed Monster, We Can Take Turns, and Fox and Penguin Take Turns.
MEYER DATES
MEYER SUPERSTARS
Ms. Lancioni's Kindergarten Superstars
Ms. Saibert's Preschool Superstars
MIDDLETON'S WINTER/SPRING ENRICHMENT SESSION will begin MONDAY, February 24! We look forward to another round of engaging sessions. Please reach out to Sarah Hampton, Enrichment Coordinator, with any questions at [email protected].
MIDDLETON SPACE 2025-2026
Please see the attached flyer for information about the Middleton SPACE before- and after-school care program for the 2025-2026 school year.
WE READ TOGETHER AT SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Please save the date for Meyer's WE READ TOGETHER NIGHT at the Skokie Public Library!
Thursday, March 6, 2025
6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Storytime Room
All are welcome as Meyer staff members read stories. Students in grades K-5 may drop in with an adult. We hope to see you there!
PBIS FAMILY CONNECTIONS
KINDNESS CAN LOOK LIKE PATIENCE AND TAKING TURNS. Another way students can show kindness to others is by being patient and taking turns. In the classroom, students take turns all day long, sharing ideas, materials, spots in the room to work and more. At recess, students take turns and exercise patience when waiting their turn to use equipment, playing games with peers, and interacting with friends. When we exercise patience and take turns at school, it helps everyone feel comfortable and cared for.
As our middle school students continue to work toward academic and behavioral goals for the 2024-2025 school year, please see a few resources below to support your child with independent reading, executive functioning, and homework.
- 20 Ways to Keep Your Middle Schooler Interested in Reading from Scholastic
- Helping Kids Who Struggle with Executive Functions from Child Mind Institute
- Executive Function Activities for Adolescents from Harvard University
- 10 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Middle School from KidsHealth
McCRACKEN 2024-2025 YEARBOOK
The 2024-2025 McCracken yearbook is on sale NOW! The yearbook staff has been working hard to create a fun and unique yearbook for our students and families. The cost of the yearbook is $20.00 and orders can be placed online using the information below. Get your copy today!
Website: ybpay.lifetouch.com
Yearbook ID Code: 13556325
Orders are due by March 21, 2025
7th GRADE HISTORY FAIR
Thank you to our talented and dedicated 7th graders who participated in the History Fair at McCracken on Thursday, February 20! Students were able to showcase their hard work and effort with selected topics for the History Fair projects this week. Niles North High School students supported this event by judging student projects, which was followed by a parent/guardian viewing session. Special thanks to Ms. Bethany Fagan, Ms. Cindy Grossman, Mr. Reed Gettleman, Ms. Maggie Price, Ms. Kate Magnuson, Mr. John Wash, Ms. Atour Shmoeil, families, and Niles North students for their assistance with planning and preparation.
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY
Thank you to students and families for cookie donations last week. We collected more than 13 dozen homemade cookies!
Social Justice Club sponsored a “Cookie Drop” for the Niles Township Respite Center on February 18. Students could bake and package cookies to benefit a local shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Thank you to the McCracken Social Justice Club, Ms. Gammeri, and student bakers!
8th GRADE INFORMATION
UPDATED FEBRUARY 21, 2025
McCracken shared a letter with 8th grade families in January regarding graduation plans for our Class of 2025! The link to the letter is here as well as due dates (below) for both the graduation gown orders and diploma names. Please see the following updates to the important dates to remember for our 8th grade families:
- 8th Grade Graduation Picture Retakes: Thursday, March 13 (Photo proofs for the pictures taken on January 30 will be distributed to students when delivered.)
- Diploma Names & Gown/Tassel Orders Due: Friday, February 7th (individual families were contacted for any missing items)
- 8th Grade End of Year Celebration: Friday, May 16, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
- 8th Grade Graduation: Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
McCRACKEN ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL SAFETY
Parents and guardians who drive their student(s) to or from school must use the Circle Drive off of East Prairie Road.
Parents and guardians must enter the Circle Drive near the south entrance on East Prairie Road staying on the right side of the drive for pick up or drop off (leave the outside lane open to exiting cars at all times). Do NOT drop off or pick up your student in the left lane.
The Drive-Thru is for right lane drop off and pick up only. Do not park in the Drive-Thru lane. Please help to keep our students and staff safe at all times!
Drivers should NOT enter the Circle Drive coming north off East Prairie. Please enter the drop off or pick up line driving south on East Prairie.
Drive SLOWLY and carefully, watching for both students and cars at ALL times!
Students may NOT walk through the back parking lot for any reason, due to traffic.
Students must exit school property immediately following dismissal and may not stay to congregate with peers outdoors unless involved in an extracurricular activity.
Crossing guards are available to assist students crossing Oakton Street and Crawford Avenue and also on East Prairie Road and Warren Street.
Students may NOT cross the street at East Prairie Road and Oakton Street unless accompanied by a parent/guardian. There is no crosswalk or crossing guards and there is a high volume of traffic.
ATTENDANCE REMINDERS
Did you know that missing two days of school a month, over the course of a school year, can affect a student's academic success? Please help us make school attendance a priority! This McCracken Attendance Reminders sheet provides information about the importance of consistent school attendance and keeping your child engaged in school. If you know that your child will be absent for the day, please call our school nurse, Ms. Warda, at 847-676-8235 by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Please review the McCracken Attendance Reminders for more information.
OUTDOOR RECESS REMINDERS
Students participate in outdoor recess throughout the school year unless there is a significant weather-related or other external factor that necessitates an indoor program. Please send your child to school with appropriate outerwear. For winter weather, students will need a warm coat, hat, gloves, and winter snow boots when necessary. Families in need of outerwear for their child should contact school administration for additional resources.
In general, students go outside for recess as long as it “feels” like 15 degrees or above and it is not raining or snowing. See the Child Care Weather Watch chart that we use to guide our decisions.
McCRACKEN DATES
McCRACKEN GAMES
District Priorities
WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT. We will welcome and engage staff, students, families and community members in our schools.
HIRING & RETENTION. We will recruit, hire, and retain a diverse workforce and improve our human resource processes, procedures, and materials.
INFRASTRUCTURE & FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. All financial decisions and investments will meet the needs of our diverse learners and staff and promote academic and social growth. We will provide a safe, inclusive, flexible, and innovative space for teaching, learning, and growing.
TEACHING & LEARNING. All students will engage in learning experiences that are cohesive and articulated across PreK-8, flexibly designed to engage all learners and leading to rigorous outcomes for all. We will be a future-focused, real-world learning environment that is responsive, accessible, and meaningful for all. We will become a model district on the use of data for making instructional, curriculum, and programmatic decisions.
Equity Mission Statement
WE BELIEVE that inclusivity and belonging is the foundation for equity.
ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN, at high achievement levels, when equity is infused into every aspect of education.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE the systemic inequities present in school systems and recognize the impact they continue to have on marginalized communities.
WE COMMIT to teaching, learning, and growing in order to identify and dismantle inequitable systems and to create a community where barriers are removed so that everyone can reach their full potential.
WE BELIEVE that students succeed when they can see themselves represented in our staff, curriculum, opportunities, and our shared environment. We accomplish this through professional development, curriculum revision, community engagement, and systems evaluations.
WE RECOGNIZE the need to teach our students to identify the origins of unjust systems and empower them to use their critical thinking skills and agency to responsibly disrupt the policies and practices that perpetuate inequalities.
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