District Announcements

View the NSD80 Board of Education Meeting for 8-17-21 on YouTube at https://youtu.be/0zmFAVq0YJc

See the NSD80 Board of Education Meeting on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ZyPkWIZnf4Y

 

Dear Parents and Families,

I am Ralph Grimm, the interim Superintendent of  Norridge School District 80. I have been serving in this role since April 12, 2021 and will continue to serve in this role for the 2021-2022 school year.  I am a retired school district Superintendent, having served in that role for 21 years in four school districts in Western Illinois. I am truly excited to be serving this school district and am really looking forward to the upcoming school year. 

I want to let you know about our plans for the upcoming school year, particularly as they relate to Covid 19. Thank you to each of you for all of your hard work during the 2020-2021 school year. It was a challenging year on so many levels but by working together, you and the District 80 staff got through it together. We can’t thank you enough for all of your hard work and sacrifice to help your student(s) find success this past school year. We value our parents as partners and cannot do it alone. 

I want to share a couple of important updates with you about the upcoming 2021-2022 school year:

• School will start in August with Teacher Institute days on August 23rd and 24th.
• The first day of student attendance will be Wednesday, August 25th.
• Residency and registration for all 2021-2022 students will be conducted online again this year through the PowerSchool.  It will open on June 28th, the link will be sent out and posted on the District website.  
• It will remain a parent choice to have your student vaccinated. Vaccinations are available for all children 12 years of age and older. Please keep in mind that a fully vaccinated student will not have to quarantine this fall should they become exposed and not showing symptoms.
• We are placing our focus on having both Leigh and Giles open this fall for five days per week and full school length days. Our expectation is that all students will return to school all day every day.
• Extracurricular activities and athletics will take place in accordance with state health and safety rules.
• We will place much attention on academic growth, learning recovery, and the social-emotional needs of our students.
• Daily schedules for both schools are as follows:
  • Giles: 5th-8th grade: 8:00am - 2:55pm
  • Leigh: 
    • Preschool: 8:30-11:00am & 12:00-2:30pm, 
    • Half Day Kindergarten 8:10-10:45am & 12:30-3:05pm, 
    • Full Day Kindergarten and 1st-4th: 8:10am-3:05pm
• At this point in time, current guidance is that students and staff at school will be required to wear a mask while at school. Social distancing guidelines will be enforced to the extent possible. 
• We plan on serving lunch to our students as we did this year when students were present. 

Remote Learning will be available only under certain conditions:

• Full-time remote learning at home will be available only for those students that qualify.
• To qualify, a student must apply and verify that either the student is medically at-risk or a member of the student’s household is medically at risk. A licensed physician must complete the verification letter.  A copy of the required letter verifying the need for remote learning is available on the district website. 
• Full-time remote learners will be required to meet minimum requirements for online attendance and academic engagement to be able to maintain the remote learning option for the second semester. 
• In-person classroom teachers will not be simultaneously teaching full-time remote learners at home. 

We are awaiting further guidance from the Governor’s Office, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Cook County Department of Health regarding what actual health and safety rules will be in place by the time school starts in August. I assure you we will keep you up to date as to any changes in the current rules and requirements that may come out later. 

Finally, we are very much looking forward to the start of the 2021-2022 school year. We are busy making plans for the academic recovery process and meeting our student’s social-emotional needs. We want the 2021-2022 school year to be as “normal” as possible and the absolute best year for your student(s) that it can possibly be. 

Please feel free to reach out to me should you have any questions about our plans at this time. Stay safe everyone.

Respectfully,

Ralph Grimm

Interim Superintendent