Newsletter - DeKalb County

THE REGIONAL REPORTER
February 2015
The Newsletter of the DeKalb County
Regional Office of Education
Amanda Christensen,
Regional Superintendent
Letter from the Regional Superintendent
First, you may notice that our newsletter has a different look! Thanks to Luanne
Kaspar, our new administrative assistant, we are working on a new format. Items
may have moved pages, but we still have upcoming events, updates from our programs, and a section devoted to the many student successes across DeKalb
County. You may notice some new additions like our quotations about education
to keep you inspired.
I also want to WELCOME Ashley Davis and Jessica Fogelsanger to our staff as
office assistants whose primary roles will be as fingerprint technicians. Due to
these staffing changes, we will now be able to offer fingerprinting for criminal
background checks during some morning hours. Hopefully this greater accessibility will increase convenience and timeliness for our clients and hiring organizations.
Please save the date and join us for the Regional Spelling Bee! It is scheduled for Saturday March 7, 2015, at
Kishwaukee College Theatre. It starts at 9:30 am, but judges and participants are asked to arrive by 9:00 am. If
you remember, we had quite a marathon of it last year: after 3 hours and running out of words, we had to call
it quits and schedule a “spell-off” between the last two standing! We are looking forward to some excellent
spellers competing again this year. We are adding a few Vocabulary Rounds this year to better prepare the winner as he or she proceeds to the national competition. As always, a huge thanks goes to our sponsor, Shaw Media.
FROM THE DESK OF Assistant Superintendent JEFF SMITH...
The Early Risk Assessment Program is up and running for DeKalb County truants ages twelve and older. As
of January 2015, sixteen students have been pre-screened using the Youth Assessment Screening Instrument
(YASI). DeKalb County Truancy Intervention Program will continue to pre-screen all new referrals and carryover cases twelve and older in an effort to identify risks and address with appropriate services.
The Attendance Committee has finished working on excused absence language that districts are welcome to
use for any handbook edits for the 2015-2016 school year. The next committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2015, from 2:30 - 3:30 pm at the ROE.
Truancy Outreach Workers have submitted 2014-2015 Mid-year reports, which will be submitted to the State
Board along with the TAOEP continuing application in April, 2015.
Education is the key to success
Founders & Malta News
Founders Elementary and Malta Elementary won the state Blue Ribbon Physical Education award for excellence. We are so proud of our students and staff, especially Kelly Zerby, Steve Bell, and Brandon Daub, our PE
teachers.
Students have been learning about anger management and how to cope with their feelings in their classes. Founders uses the Strong Kids and Smart Kids research based curriculum.
Our bilingual staff recently attended a professional development session given by our very own third grade bilingual teacher, Diana Tapp! She talked about using the Dictado to improve students' spelling, grammar, and writing
skills.
Education is the
ability to think
clearly, act well in the
world of work and to
appreciate life.
Somonauk News
Somonauk students enjoy new treadmills in
the "blue room" otherwise known as the
workout room. Students improve their
strength and conditioning during both their PE
class, as well as before
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and after school.
Superintendent Dawn
Green and instructional
coach Mandy Taxis will
be presenting at the
Illinois P-20 council regarding school improvement strategies
the district has imple-
mented this year. Pictured here is Dr. Dawn
Green (superintendent),
Mandy Taxis
(instructional coach),
Fran Kenyon (math specialist for 3rd and 4th
grades), and Christy
Pruski (JRW principal).
THE REGIONAL REPORTER
SANDWICH CUSD #430
Next year (2015-16) at Sandwich High School we will be offering a new
course through Project Lead the Way (PLTW). PLTW is a leader in providing curriculum in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
through activity-, project-, and problem-based learning.
The first course we are offering is Introduction to Engineering Design. In this course, students dig deep into the engineering design process, applying math, science and engineering standards to hands-on projects. They work both individually and in teams to design solutions to a
variety of problems using 3D modeling software, and use an engineering
notebook to document their work.
During the 2016-17 school year, we will be offering the second
course in the sequence called Principles of Engineering. In this
course, students explore a broad range of engineering topics, including
mechanisms, the strength of structures and materials and automation.
Students develop skills in problem solving, research and design while
learning strategies for design process documentation, collaboration and
presentation.
The things taught in
schools are not an
education but the
means of an
education.
CLINTON ROSETTE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Charlie Parker, an 8th grade student at Clinton Rosette Middle School, won the 1st annual school National
Geographic Bee and a chance to move on to the state competition. The school Bee, at which qualifying students answered questions on geography, was held on Monday, January 12. Other students who competed
were Megan LeBlanc (runner-up), Marcella Garcia, Andrew Tatum, and Khadija Nagi. As school champion,
Charlie will take a written test that will determine his eligibility to move on to the state round of competition. The state winner will compete in Washington, D.C. in the final round of the National Geographic Bee.
On December 8, Clinton Rosette Middle School held its annual spelling bee. Out of the 18 students in grades
6-8 that competed,7th grader Tate Mangum was the top speller. He will join Abby Jamison, Asia McCaskel,
Emilie Schramer, and Dasjha Equasa as the CRMS spelling bee team at the DeKalb school district bee in
January. Our winners received some special prizes donated by Barnes and Noble DeKalb. Congratulations
to Tate and all of our spelling bee participants!
Page 3
Testing Center Info
DeKalb County
Bus Driving Training
DeKalb County Regional Office of Education
has begun offering the Constitution Test for
those individuals needing to meet the Illinois
high school equivalency requirements. The test
is computer-based only and appointments can
be made by calling the office at 815-217-0460.
The ROE testing center is open on Tuesdays
from 9am to 4pm, but Constitution Tests must
begin no later than 2 pm. There is no fee for
the Constitution Test. Please have valid photo
ID available, confirm identification in main
office, then proceed to check-in office and finally be escorted to the lab for testing.
Registration forms are available on our
website.
We are also still offering all Pearson VUE tests
(schedule online with Pearson) and the ETS
Paraprofessional Assessment (schedule by calling the ROE).
Forms may be returned by mail, fax, or email.
The cost is $8.00 per registrant. Enrollment
forms are due one week before the class is scheduled. Effective July 1, 2015 all registration
fees for refresher and initial courses increase
from $8 to $10.
Initial Class Schedule
All Initial classes are held from 8:00 am—4:30 pm at the Regional Office of Education, 2500 N. Anne Glidden Road in
DeKalb in the Five Seasons Room.
DATE February 28, 2015
TRUANCY/OUTREACH
Truancy Workers for DeKalb County
Christine Underwood
[email protected]
Kirstie Ruckoldt
[email protected]
Denise Curran
[email protected]
Mary Curran
[email protected]
You can reach them by calling the ROE @ 815-217-0460
Denise Curran—Credit Recovery & Homeless Coordinator for DeKalb County
Cathey Stoddard-DeKalb County Truancy Interventionist 815-217-0466 [email protected]
DATE
2/16
2/18
2/20
2/24
2/24
2/25
2/25
2/26
3/5
UPCOMING ROE EVENTS
EVENT
OFFICE CLOSED
ELA Foundational Informational Texts
Foundational Evaluation Module 4
(Measurement Model)
Attendance Committee
Institute Planning Com
KEC Governing Board
Superintendents
PARCC Accessibility and Accommodations
Youth Service Providers
TIME
LOCATION
4 pm
10 am
Five Seasons
Five Seasons
2:30 pm
4 pm
7:30 am
8:30 am
4 pm
Conf Room West
Conf Room West
Five Seasons
Five Seasons
Five Seasons
9 am
Conf Room West
Page 4
Happenings Around Town...
What’s Going
On!!
Bowl for Kids’ Sake
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of DeKalb is appealing to the community to support Bowl
for Kids’ Sake, the mentoring organization’s biggest annual fundraiser. Family Service
Agency’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program has been providing the youth of DeKalb
County with positive adult role-models for over forty years. Big Brothers Big Sisters has
a large part in helping children of DeKalb County stay positive with their everyday lives
and out of trouble, which has a huge impact on the youth in the community.
Bowl For Kids’ Sake is an excellent way to give back to the community and it’s a lot of fun! Community
members are asked to put together a team of four to six people and each team member raises individual
pledges. The minimum to participate, which gets you a Big Brothers Big Sisters t-shirt and one free game of
bowling, including shoe rental, is $75 per team member. The team is able to choose the time and bowling alley location which best suits their schedule.
The dates for Bowl For Kids’ Sake are March 6th, 7th and 8th at Mardi Gras Lanes in DeKalb and March 15th
at Idle Hour Lanes in Sandwich. For more information or to register a team, visit www.fsadekalbcounty.org or
call Family Service Agency at 815-758-8616.
Family Service Agency is one of the oldest social service agencies in DeKalb County and exists to strengthen
people and communities through healing, mentoring, and social engagement. FSA has four distinct departments: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Center for Counseling, Children’s Advocacy Center and Senior Services. For
more information on any department, please call 815-758-8616.
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DeKalb County ROE
ROE CONTACT INFORMATION:
2500 N. Anne Glidden Rd.
Suite C
DeKalb, IL 60115
Amanda Christensen, Regional Superintendent ..... [email protected]
Jeff Smith, Assistant Superintendent. ..................... ……[email protected]
Barb Clark, Educator Licensure ………………….……[email protected]
Deb Petrie, Bookkeeper………………………...….…[email protected]
Jasmine Hollins, Administrative Assistant……….……[email protected]
Luanne Kaspar, Secretary………………...……..……[email protected]
Phone: 815-217-0460
We Are on the Web!
www.dekalbcounty.
org/ROE/roe.html
THE REGIONAL REPORTER
The newsletter of the
DEKALB COUNTY REGIONAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Amanda Christensen, Regional Superintendent
2500 N. Annie Glidden Road, Suite C, DeKalb, IL 60115
Fax: 815-217-0467