Dear Parents and Community Members,
We are just over one month into the 2018-2019 school year. Our daily routines have begun to become established and everyone is settling in.
One of our challenges is finding substitutes for both teaching and paraprofessional positions. I would encourage anyone who would like to become a substitute to please contact the district office.
Each year the Illinois State Board of Education requires third through eighth grade students to take the state assessment PARCC and high school juniors to take the SAT. Over the past four years the tests results of Pecatonica students on the PARCC and SAT has placed Pecatonica Schools as either the highest or one of the two highest performing unit school districts in the region.
Over the summer, Mr. King provided leadership in review of our Crisis Planning document. A committee was formed which involved parents who are members of the Illinois State Police, Winnebago County Sheriff’s department, Pecatonica Police Chief, Pecatonica Fire Chief, teachers from each building, and our administration. The completed Crisis Planning document was then reviewed with our staff during the teacher institute days at the start of the school year. On October 5, 2018, our next School Improvement Planning Day, the staff will receive ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training. Our staff will communicate the necessary information related to different crisis situations to our students. Each year the schools are required to conduct annual fire drills, tornado and now active shooter drills.
On Friday, September 28, members of our band, poms, cheerleaders and football team had the honor of meeting Governor Rauner, State Representative Stewart, and Candidate Andrew Chesney. Governor Rauner posed for pictures with our students which have posted on our website and Facebook account.
If you have not downloaded our Pecatonica Schools App, I would encourage you to do so. We update the website daily, and the App will enable you to access the most current information.
As much has we have now become dependent on technology, it is essential to spend some daily time “offline.” Direct face to face social interactions and physical activity are necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Some of the big issues facing schools are the amount of time students spend on social media and the resultant cyber bullying. On August 20, 2018, during our second teacher in-service day, our staff attended a workshop on Trauma Informed Care and Practices. The presenters spoke to the dangers of young impressionable students having unfettered access to harmful information on the internet. As a school district, we are able only to control the information students access on their chromebooks and on our network. Parental supervision in children’s social media is essential.
I hope everyone is able to enjoy the upcoming weekend. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Bill Faller
Superintendent
Pecatonica CUSD 321