Community Unit School District 200

The CUSD 200 Board of Education held its Regular Board Meeting on Wednesday, March 12, at Wheaton North High School. To read a recap of the meeting, visit https://bit.ly/3DJm0Mz. #YourCommunitySchools

This week's #TBT takes us back to Wheaton Community High School in 1922. The class of 1922 was the first graduating class of the high school. #YourCommunitySchools

Engage Emerson is a committee of Emerson staff members committed to strengthening communication and collaboration between teachers and families. After seeking feedback from teachers and families, Engage Emerson has put together a 3-part book study of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. During the first session on March 4, more than 45 parents and teachers came together to support the well-being of our children. The hour was packed with open, honest and respectful dialogue, and attendees left feeling hopeful about the positive changes that will come from these important discussions.

Monroe Dance Marathon Raises $7K Monroe Middle School hosted its first Dance Marathon that raised money to support Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. The Dance Marathon was meaningful, empowering, impactful, and most of all, fun! By the end of the event, the school surpassed its $5,000 goal and raised over $7,000 to benefit Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Thank you to the Castino family for their vision and advocacy, student council members and sponsors Ms. Aghazadeh and Ms. Granbom for their commitment and passion, staff and parent volunteers, and Monroe community for supporting the event. Thank you to the guest speakers and survivors for sharing their powerful stories and inspiring hope. Thank you to the Wheaton Police Department for coming and showing support, and to the Hadley community for joining in and showing incredible sportsmanship.

Spring Testing: Information and Tips for Families Each spring, students in Community Unit School District 200 participate in standardized assessments. These tests are administered for the following reasons: - Monitor Student Progress: They help us track your child's academic growth and identify areas where they may need additional support. - Guide School Improvement: Test results provide valuable data that our schools use to set goals for improvement and evaluate the effectiveness of our curriculum. - Inform the Illinois State Report Card: Results from some assessments (IAR, ISA, and ACT) are included in the Illinois State Report Card, which provides information about school performance, including proficiency and growth data. Below is a list of assessments your student may take this spring: Grades 3-8 Illinois Assessment for Readiness ELA (IAR): March 12-20 Illinois Assessment for Readiness Math (IAR): April 9-15 Results available upon state-wide release at the end of October Grades 5 & 8 Illinois Science Assessment (ISA): March 20-26 OR April 22-April 25 Results available upon state-wide release at the end of October Grades 9,10,11 PreACT 9 Secure: April 16 PreACT Secure for Grade 10: April 16 ACT (Grade 11): April 16 Reports are available 5–8 weeks after testing through ACT's Online Reporting system, which is accessible by logging in to success.act.org. Select Students in Grades 3-11 Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment (DLM): March 12-May 7 The Dynamic Learning Maps-Alternate Assessment is the required state assessment for students, in grades 3-11, with the most significant cognitive disabilities. As determined by the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), students with the most significant cognitive disabilities may take the DLM if participation in the state’s regular assessments is not appropriate, even with accommodations. ​ Results available upon state-wide release at the end of October K-8 FastBridge Universal Screener Spring Window: April 30-May 14 Spring results will be posted in ParentVue on May 29 CUSD 200 recognizes assessments can cause extra stress or anxiety for some students. To help support your student during the spring testing, we recommend the following tips: Ensure your child gets adequate sleep, especially the night before the test. Eat a nutritious breakfast Stay active outside of school as exercise is proven to reduce stress and improves focus Ask teachers for recommendations on how to support your child's preparation. Remind your student to focus on doing their best and avoid unnecessary worry.

Recently, Pleasant Hill Elementary School had a special visit from a mime! The mime helped students write a story, and then acted out their stories in front of the school during an assembly. The Pleasant Hill PTA supported this full-day event.

Gary Avenue Road Closure begins Week of March 16 The City of Wheaton has notified us that starting the week of March 16, Gary Avenue will be closed between Prairie and Harrison Avenues as crews begin the next phase of the Gary Avenue Reconstruction Project. This section of Gary Avenue is expected to be closed until mid-summer, once the south half of the road reconstruction is complete. At this time, the City of Wheaton will be utilizing the detour route pictured below. The detour route can also be found on the City’s website (https://www.wheaton.il.us/1341/Gary-Avenue-Detour-Map). We anticipate this road closure may cause transportation delays for students who attend the following schools: - Wheaton North High School - Franklin Middle School - Monroe Middle School - Sandburg Elementary School - Pleasant Hill Elementary School - Whittier Elementary School - Emerson Elementary School - Jefferson Early Childhood Center We are working with our bus company to make adjustments for any routes that use Gary Avenue. Our building principals will communicate detour information and potential bus route delays with impacted families in the coming days. We encourage you to visit www.wheaton.il.us/GaryAvenue for more information about the Gary Avenue Reconstruction Project and to stay updated as it progresses.

In this week’s CUSD 200 Newsletter, we highlight the following: - Spring Testing: Information and Tips for Families - Gary Avenue Road Closure begins Week of March 16 - Classroom Close-Up at Hawthorne Elementary School - Mental Health & Wellness Symposium - 5Essentials Parent Survey - Online Registration for the 2025-26 School Year - Citizens' Advisory Committee Now Accepting Applications for 2025-26 School Year - Monroe Dance Marathon Raises $7K - Pleasant Hill One School, One Book Program Creates Engaging Activities for Students, Gives Back to the Community - Wheaton North Student Composes Large Symphony - Emerson Parent Book Study - Washington Family Fun Night Read more by visiting, https://bit.ly/41sEA3i. #YourCommunitySchools

Join CUSD 200 and neighboring districts for the 3rd Annual Mental Health & Wellness Symposium this Saturday, March 8, at Metea Valley High School!  Choose from a variety of breakout sessions designed for adults and teens, covering topics from practical strategies for managing anxiety, supporting children's needs, navigating college readiness, and much more. Keynote speaker Doug Bolton will address the challenges of "Overscheduled and Overwhelmed: Navigating a Culture of High Achievement."  Plus, enjoy free childcare (ages 3-10), a resource fair, and a book fair!  For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/3QgHgMn.

Recently, we stopped by Allison Kresal's fifth grade math lesson at Bower Elementary School, who was also joined by Math Coach Melissa Lamkin, for a Classroom Close-Up. During the lesson, students were working with partners on vertical writing surfaces to explain why a pair of decimal expressions are equivalent. This activity challenged students by testing their understanding of multiplying decimal expressions and utilizing math vocabulary to explain their reasoning. After working with their partners, students got together in small groups to share their written explanations of why the decimal expressions are equivalent, and provided feedback to each other. Students gave feedback on the math vocabulary they heard, if anything needed clarification, and suggestions for things to add or change to make their explanations stronger and clearer. #YourCommunitySchools

This week's #TBT takes us to Monroe Middle School in 2011. The Monroe eagle was soaring high and the yearbook challenged everyone to "Envision New Horizons". #YourCommunitySchools

Theatre students from both Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools recently attended the Illinois High School Theatre Festival, the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the nation. Throughout the event, students participated in a variety of workshops led by industry professionals, exploring everything from acting techniques and stage combat to set design, directing, and musical theatre. Students had the opportunity to collaborate with peers from across the state, gaining new perspectives on performance, technical theatre, and storytelling. Students also attended inspiring performances, sparking fresh ideas and creative energy to bring back to our own stage. A highlight of the festival was the All-State Production, a showcase featuring the top high school theatre talent from across Illinois. We’re proud to share that a Wheaton North student was part of the costume crew for this prestigious production, contributing her skills to a high-caliber show celebrated by festival attendees. This experience not only strengthened our students' theatrical skills but also helped build strong crosstown relationships within our Performing Arts departments. The collaboration between Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South students reflects our shared passion for the arts, and we’re excited to see how these connections will inspire future productions.

Edison Celebrates National Periodic Table Day Every year on February 7, the seventh-grade science students at Edison Middle School celebrate National Periodic Table Day! Each seventh grader designs and presents a t-shirt representing one of the elements, and then they all wear their shirt for the big day!

The CUSD 200 Board of Education held its Committee of the Whole Meeting on Wednesday, February 26, at the School Service Center. To read a recap of the meeting, visit https://bit.ly/3XkMsCW. #YourCommunitySchools

Wheaton North High School student Finn Wall spent this past summer researching atrial fibrillation and pulsed field ablation, guided by a fourth-year NYU medical student mentor. Finn gained foundational knowledge in cardiology, scientific writing, analyzing clinical trials, and understanding complex texts. With the support of his mentor, Finn independently authored a paper titled "Breaking the Rhythm: Atrial Fibrillation and the Potential of Pulsed Field Ablation," (https://shorturl.at/7yFir) which was uploaded to the Research Archive of Rising Scholars on atrial fibrillation. Finn is currently pursuing publication in a peer-reviewed journal! This experience solidified Finn's interest in pursuing a medical career, likely in cardiology, and sparked a passion for research and scientific writing.

Do you remember Seraph Warren Holmes Elementary School? #TBT to this school that was on Warren Avenue in Warrenville from 1913-1991, and was named after the town's first teacher! After the school closed its doors in 1991, it was later torn down to make way for Warrenville's police station. #YourCommunitySchools

Online registration is now open for the 2025-26 school year for new students, kindergarteners, and new and returning Jefferson Early Childhood Center tuition students. For more information and to begin the online registration process, please visit https://shorturl.at/rR3i9 Registration for all returning students for the 2025-26 school year is scheduled to open in the spring. More information will be forthcoming.

Parents of current students are invited to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey! The information you provide will help guide improvement as we strive to inspire each student to excel through the education and opportunities we provide in CUSD 200. Your participation in this survey is invaluable, voluntary, and anonymous. To take the survey, please follow the directions below: Go to https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ to take the survey. Select the parent survey You may enter your email address if you would like to receive confirmation of your submission, but it is not required. Then enter “[DuPage]” into the county field and “NAME OF SCHOOL” to find our school. You will then be asked a series of questions to provide input regarding your family’s experience at your student's school. Please remember to click “submit” once you are done so your responses can be counted. Please know that your identity and responses will be kept confidential and will not be connected with your child. If you have multiple children who attend a school, you may complete one survey for each child. Our goal is to complete the survey on March 6, so please submit your responses soon! Thank you in advance for your valuable time and input.

The Community Unit School District 200 Board of Education Committee of the Whole Meeting is this Wednesday, February 26, at 7 p.m. at the School Service Center, 130 W. Park Ave. in Wheaton. To view the agenda, visit https://bit.ly/3Jw8prm, and click on February 26, on the calendar in the top right hand corner. The meeting will also be livestreamed and posted on our YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/4fL931R. #YourCommunitySchools

Summer Internship Opportunities for High School Students Calling all rising juniors and seniors! Are you interested in exploring a new career and learning valuable job skills while being paid? CUSD 200 has a variety of Summer 2025 Internship opportunities for rising juniors and seniors. Please visit this link (https://shorturl.at/ASdKp) for more information. Registration ends February 28.