River Forest District 90 kids will be packing up the play clothes in favor of back-to-school gear earlier this year, since next summer’s construction plans have pushed up the first day of school to mid-August.
Students start classes on Friday, Aug. 19 with a half day. The first full day of school will be Monday, Aug. 22. Kindergarten students meet for the first time on Monday.
Along with the new earlier start date, the kids will have a new earlier start time as well. Last school year, the district decided to extend school hours, with Willard and Lincoln Elementary Schools beginning at 8:20 a.m. and dismissing at 3:10 p.m., and Roosevelt Middle School beginning at 8:30 a.m. and dismissing at 3:20 p.m. Elementary school students started the day last year at 9 a.m. and ended it at 3:15 p.m. Middle school students started at 8:29 a.m. and ended at 3:15 p.m.
In keeping with the newness trend, D90 students will also begin the school year with a new superintendent. Edward Condon started in July, after school let out for the summer, making Friday his first official work day with the kids.
He said one of the more exciting things this year is the Apple iPad pilot program for eighth-graders.
“It’s a very exciting initiative,” Condon said. “It’s really an extraordinary piece of technology and it can do so much to further the instructional experiences the children have in the classroom.”
iPads for eighth-graders
Each eighth-grade student will be given an iPad to be used for classroom assignments, homework assignments, interactive learning activities, class presentations, and more. The pilot program is scheduled to kick off sometime at the end of September.
Condon said the eighth-grade teachers have been training over the course of the summer on how to incorporate the technology into their lessons. “They’re excited to utilize them in the classroom,” Condon said. “I’m sure the kids are enthusiastic as well.”
According to Roosevelt Principal Larry Garstki, a parent meeting will be held toward the end of September to discuss policies and procedures regarding the iPads, which will be distributed to each of the roughly 150 eighth-grade students.
Garstki said the new technology will include textbooks and novels already loaded in and allow for collaborative learning and easy communication with teachers. He said he’s not worried about an adjustment period because most of the children have been exposed to similar technology for years.
“I think it will be an easy transition,” he said. “Most students already have iPads and are familiar with the technology.”
The iPads should also help prepare students for the tools they’ll need to master moving forward.
“It’s important that we’re not only educating students for the needs of today but for the future,” said Condon. “And certainly it’s very apparent that the changes that are taking place in the world of technology and the world generally are going to require that the learners of today be adept in enough different skills in the future that were not necessary in the past.”
Renovations at Willard
The elementary schools won’t have fancy electronic tablets to work with, but Willard students can look forward to a newly renovated building after a summer construction project that tackled a number of life safety projects mandated by the state.
At Willard, those projects included the addition of a secured entrance for students, replacement of floor tiles throughout the first floor, and a revamping of the main office area.
The early school start date will allow for similar work to be done at Roosevelt next summer. Lincoln School life construction was completed last summer.
School could end June 1
“The 2011-2012 school calendar concludes technically on June 8; however, if there are unused emergency days — which there could be up to a maximum of five — we will be able to advance the closing date of the school year to as early as June 1,” said Condon. The following school year will begin in early September, as is standard for the district.
Condon said he hasn’t gotten any negative feedback about the earlier start date this year, and he appreciates the flexibility of D90 families.
“Summertime is valuable family time, of course, and any time we have to make decisions that affect the ways families use their time together, then that can certainly be difficult, and it’s important that we acknowledge that,” he said.
“But I do think the community’s aware that these construction and renovation projects are a really important objective and they’ll improve the learning environment for all of our students, not only this year but for years to come. And as such, I think they really value the work that’s going to be done.”