March 2025 District Newsletter

News

2025-2026 Registration
Registration for the 2025-2026 school year is now open for all students in grades PreK - 8th! Please plan to register early as this helps with school planning.  Register today at www.district31.net/registration. 

Along with registering, please plan ahead to ensure that you have all medical forms ready for the 2025-2026 school year. The required forms are listed below.

Summary of Medical Form Requirements

• Pre-K: Physical
• Kindergarten: Physical, Dental, and Eye
• 1st grade: No forms required
• 2nd grade: Dental
• 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade: No forms required
• 6th grade: Physical (exam also covers interscholastic sports physical) and Dental
• 7th & 8th grade: No forms required
   

Physical Exam and Immunization Record
A physical exam, with an updated immunization record on the “State of Illinois Certificate of Child Health Examination” form, must be completed and signed by a licensed healthcare provider and parent/guardian. Proof of the exam must be submitted upon entering Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 6th grade and/or when transferring from out of state.

If you have any questions about medical forms, please reach out to Field/ District School Nurse Eva Sahyouni at esahyouni@district31.net or 847-832-2205.

Field Spring Musical: Shrek Jr.
Field Middle School is proud to present Shrek Jr., directed by Mr. Case Carvell and Ms. Molly Principi, with Art Direction by Ms. Becca Weisz and Ms. Maddie Fagin. Ms. Heather Stodola serves as Sound Director, and Mr. Jon Damon serves as Lighting Director. There is no cost to attend, but donations will be accepted.

Dates and Times:
Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m.*
Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m.*
*The door will open 30 minutes before each performance.

If you have any questions regarding the production, please contact the Field front office at 847-272-6884.

February Board of Education Recap
Board Meeting Highlights: 

• Presentations and Discussion Items:
  • District 31 sincerely thanks our social workers and the local Crisis Response Team for their incredible support following the passing of Shaton Wolverton. Their immediate response, including weekend and after-school availability, provided vital care to our staff and students during this difficult time.  Special appreciation to Crisis Response Network leaders Nancy Vaccaro and Lauren Bonner, as well as on-site team members Ally Bremer (Cutting Edge Counseling) and Julie Fleckenstein (Glenview PD Social Worker). Additional gratitude to:
    • Kim Hassenfeld (Counseling Center for North Shore)
    • Debby Padzensky (Family Service Center)
    • Michelle Koso (Northbrook Police)
    • Alison Frye (Youth Services)
    • Tiffany Myers (New Trier High School)
    • Renee Dominguez (Family Services Center)
    • Alyssa Jacquelyn (Family Service Center)
    • Susan Antonini (New Trier High School)
    • Lilly Small (Cutting Edge)
    • Kathryn Moreno (Josselyn)
    • Tommy Nimrod (Counseling Center for North Shore)

We are also deeply grateful to our dedicated school social workers—Sandi Newman, Quincy Jenkins, Amy Sack, Maria Skabardonis, and Ari Spector—for their unwavering support. Despite their own grief, they remained pillars of strength for our school community. A special thank you to Sandi Newman for coordinating with the Crisis Response Team to ensure her Winkelman colleagues could focus on supporting students and staff. Their compassion and commitment have made a lasting impact.

• • Dr. Erin K. Murphy and the administrative team presented the 2025-2026 staffing and programming plans, guided by the strategic vision and current realities such as increasing enrollment, space constraints, and financial responsibility. Next year, no additional certified staff are expected, with Winkelman set for 32 sections, including two primary English Language Development  classrooms. The team also discussed space challenges and upcoming facility projects, including parking lot and playground maintenance, brick painting at Field, new signage at both buildings and a small library renovation at Winkelman to create more workspaces.
  • Director of Finance and Operations Nicole Schramm, reviewed the January Financials.  As of January 31, 2025, the district has received 47.5% of its budgeted revenue and spent 53.6% of its budgeted expenditures. The fund balance decreased by $1,591,459 from the previous month, reflecting normal operating activities. The district’s investment portfolio is $12,616,597, with scheduled maturities ensuring sufficient cash flow for operations.
  • The District 31 Board discussed a proposed resolution to withdraw from the Northfield Township Treasurer’s Office (TTO), with formal action expected at the March 2025 Board of Education meeting. Following the passage of Illinois Public Act 103-144, several local districts have already withdrawn, and by June 30, 2025, District 31 would be the only remaining district served by the TTO, making it solely responsible for operating costs.  To ensure a smooth transition, the district must approve a withdrawal resolution and hold harmless agreement, allowing for transferring funds, investments, and property deeds from the TTO. 
• The Board of Education reviewed the Superintendent Report. 
  • The Board of Education made the following approvals:
  • The Board of Education approved the IASB Vision 2030 Resolution.
  • The Board of Education approved the consent agenda, which included the updating the following policies:
    • Approve Policy - Uniform Grievance
    • Approve Policy - Title IX Grievance Procedure
    • Approve Policy - Staff Development Program
    • Approve Policy - Harassment of Students Prohibited
    • Approve Policy - Staff Development Program
    • Approve Policy - Harassment of Students Prohibited
    • Approve Policy - Qualifications, Terms, and Duties of Board Officers
    • Approve Policy - Board Member Development
    • Approve Policy - Equal Employment Opportunity and Minority Recruitment
    • Approve Policy - Workplace Harassment Prohibited
    • Approve Policy - Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
    • Approve Policy - Maintaining Student Discipline
    • Approve Policy - Health, Eye, and Dental Examinations and Exclusion of Students
    • Approve Policy - Prevention of and Response to Bullying, Intimidation and Harassment
    • Approve Policy - School Admissions and Student Transfers To and From Non-District Schools
    • Approve Policy - Safety
    • Approve Policy - Identity Protection
    • Approve Policy - Incurring Debt
    • Approve Policy - Accounting and Audits
    • Approve Policy - Pandemic Preparedness
    • Approve Policy - Revenues and Investments
    • Approve Policy - Resource Conservation
    • Approve Policy - Policies and Procedures for Preparing and Updating Disclosures
    • Approve Policy - Facility Management and Building
    • ELIMINATE Policy - Use of Automated External Defibrillators
    • ELIMINATE Policy - Annual Budget
    • ELIMINATE Policy - After School Club Fee/Interscholastic Athletics Fee
    • ELIMINATE Policy - Capitalization
    • ELIMINATE Policy - Transportation Fee
  • The Board of Education approved a 3-year contract for Nicole Schramm, Director of Finance and Operations. 

The Board of Education meets monthly, usually on the last Thursday of the month, at 7 p.m. in the Field Middle School Learning Center. We welcome any member of our community to attend in person or virtually via our live stream. Agendas, minutes, and the link to the live stream can be found here. The District 31 Board of Education is composed of seven elected representatives from the District 31 attendance area. Each is elected for a four-year term. Meet the members of the District 31 Board of Education here.

March Board of Education Meeting 
The next regular Board of Education meeting is Thursday, March 20, 20245, in the Field Learning Center at 7 p.m. The agenda is posted two days before the meeting here. The Building and Grounds Committee Meeting will take place before the Board of Education Meeting at 6 p.m., also in the Field Learning Center.

Family Engagement Committee 
The Family Engagement Committee held its latest meeting on February 24. During the meeting, the committee reviewed the first draft of the Family Engagement Handbook, which includes a catalog of available volunteer opportunities throughout the year. The Committee also discussed the results of the Humanex Survey, sharing feedback on areas in which District 31 could continue to grow regarding family engagement. If you are interested in joining the Family Engagement Committee, please contact Hayley Garard at hgarard@district31.net. 

Upcoming Parent Engagement Committee Meeting Dates

• Monday, April 28 at 7:15 p.m.

March District 31 Parent CIRCLE Meeting
(Community for Inclusion, Resources, Collaboration, and Learning for Everyone)

The next Parent CIRCLE Meeting is Tuesday, March 18 from 5 - 6:30 p.m. in the Winkelman Library Conference Room or via Zoom. March topics include parent-to-parent connections. Dinner will be served. Interpreters are available (please RSVP)

Meetings are open to any caregivers with a student in District 31 with an IEP or 504 Plan.
The Zoom link is listed on the RSVP form.

5Essentials Survey
Parents, teachers, and students across Illinois have an opportunity to participate in the statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. Our District needs your participation! This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of our schools. As a parent, this opportunity allows you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness. Please complete the survey at http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/* by March 28, 2025.

*Search “Field School” and “Henry Winkelman Elem School”

As an extra incentive, take a screenshot or photo of your completed survey and send it to tblankenheim@district31.net for a chance to win a gift card. Winners will be announced weekly!

Learn more about the survey here. 

National School Social Work Week
March 2 - 8, 2025
Thank you to our incredible District 31 team Quincy Jenkins, MSW, LCSW; Sandi Newman, MSW, LSW; Amy Sack, MSW, LSW; Maria Skabardonis, MSW, LSW; and Ari Spector, MSW, LCSW for the impactful work they do to support students, families, and their communities.

Under the leadership of the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA), this celebration emphasizes School Social Work contributions of focusing on the “whole child”, linking families to community resources, a valuable voice as part of the school’s multidisciplinary team, and advocating for the profession of School Social Work. Learn more.

Curriculum Review Cycle Updates: Mathematics Curriculum Review
Our K–8 math curriculum review committee remains deeply engaged in professional learning, exploring best practices in mathematics instruction at each meeting. As we continue to evaluate potential resources, we anchor all conversations in our vision for mathematics teaching and learning.

District 31 Math Vision Statement
In District 31, we believe in providing equal opportunities for all students in math through collaborative and engaging activities that reflect their interests. We are committed to delivering high quality math instruction that is responsive to data, allows for differentiation, and utilizes hands-on, inquiry-based tasks. We believe that balancing teacher and student voices fosters high expectations and builds essential critical thinking and collaboration skills. By encouraging creativity and productive struggle, we support growth and help students discover the joy of math.

We have reviewed vendor presentations to understand available options better. We are now narrowing our focus to two top-rated resources for piloting. Each committee member will implement five to eight lessons from both resources, which were selected based on the highest ratings from our Math Resource Evaluation Tool.

Grades K - 5 Resources Pilot:

• iReady Classroom Mathematics
• Imagine Learning: Illustrative Mathematics

Grades 6 - 8 Resources Pilot:

• Amplify Desmos Math
• Math & You (previously Big Ideas)

Each of these resources received a “green” rating as meeting EdReports.org's standards for high-quality resources. EdReports is an independent nonprofit curriculum review collaborative that offers evidence-rich, comprehensive information about a program's alignment with the standards and other indicators of quality. 

We will review teacher feedback from the pilot lessons and make our final recommendation to the Board of Education at the April Board meeting.

Curriculum Review Cycle Updates: Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Our SEL Curriculum Review Committee has completed crafting our vision for social-emotional learning in District 31, which will anchor all our conversations and decision-making processes.

District 31 Social-Emotional Learning Vision Statement
In District 31, Social-Emotional Learning empowers our diverse community to thrive both in school and in life. Through a culturally responsive SEL framework, we cultivate competencies that encourage safe self-expression, meaningful connections, and collaborative relationships, fostering lifelong personal growth and collective well-being.

To help us hone in on priority areas, we completed a CASEL 10 Indicators: Strengths & Needs Reflection and analyzed several district data sources: DESSA SEL-screener data, HumanEx data, and 5Essentials Data. 

The top priority areas identified include supporting explicit adult SEL for our staff, which we will embed into the 2025 - 2026 professional development calendar, and fleshing out a more comprehensive continuum of SEL support through our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). We also unpacked the ISBE SEL Standards and drew connections to the CASEL Core Competencies.

The committee's next steps include gathering teacher feedback on our current SEL resource, Second Step, and having staff complete a CASEL Personal SEL Reflection. The committee has also begun reading The Schools We Need Now by Tim Dohrer and Thomas Golebiewski. We were grateful to have author Tim Dohrer join our SEL Committee meeting on February 27 to discuss the book with us. This ongoing learning will support the committee as we plan to further develop our continuum of social-emotional learning support for our District 31 learners.

Media Mentor Month
March is Media Mentor Month! Media Mentor Month is a global education initiative designed to help parents and teachers develop a supportive relationship around digital technologies with their children and students. It provides prompts to celebrate positive uses of technology, explore creative pursuits, and encourage us to take time for important conversations about how we best use our devices (Korean, Russian, Spanish). Our Innovation & Instructional Technology Coach, Kelli Lane continues to support ongoing lessons in classrooms related to digital citizenship. Common Sense Media also has a wealth of resources for parents and guardians related to various topics like cyberbullying, safe social media usage, and supporting a positive sense of identity.

Advanced Google Translate 
Did you know students can access Google Translate on their District 31 Chromebooks? This is an excellent tool for our students who are new to the country and learning English, as well as for English speakers to better communicate with others who may speak a different language. Google Translate enables real-time translation of spoken words, text, documents, and even photos, making it easier for students to understand and engage with the content in the classroom. Our students who are new to our country and are learning English have been taught how to leverage this tool and are encouraged to use it in their classrooms. Watch this short video to see how to use some of the advanced features in Google translate. We hope this tool will enable us to feel more connected to everyone in our District 31 community.

Social Emotional Learning Day
March 3rd is Social Emotional Learning Day. This year's theme is “Skills for Success ➡ Ready for the Future.” This week, our district celebrates our social-emotional learning achievements, including the recently adopted DESSA Aperture System, a suite of research-based screening tools and assessments. Dessa is research-based and aligned to CASEL. It focuses on 8 essential skills: self-awareness, self-management, personal responsibility, decision-making, goal-directed behavior, social awareness, relationship skills, and optimistic thinking. For student and parent resources, click here.   If you or someone in your family needs extra help and emotional support, call CareSolace 24/7/365 at 888-515-0595 to find a mental health provider. For parent tips on social emotional learning click here. 

Extended School Year (ESY) - Register by March 21st
Please register your child for the Extended School Year (ESY) program by March 21st. Students eligible for ESY must meet specific individualized needs and have an active IEP. Eligibility is typically determined based on data regarding regression and recoupment. The primary goal of ESY is to help students maintain the skills and progress they’ve made during the school year. If you have any questions, please contact Anabel Santiago at asantiago@district31.net.

Events

Early Choices presents Inclusion for Young Children and their Families
Tuesday, March 4 at 6 p.m. via Zoom
More Information

4th/5th Spring Family Engagement Night 
Thursday, March 6 from 6 - 7:45 p.m.
Learn more

GPS Parent Series: Better Days: Supporting Kids' Mental Wellness When Things Aren't OK
Thursday, March 6 at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. via Zoom
Register

PTO Meeting (Elections)
Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Winkelman Commons

CATCH Lunch and Learn: My Kid's Been Ghosted! How Do I Help Them?
Tuesday, March 11 at 12 p.m. via Zoom
More Information

Parent CIRCLE (Community for Inclusion, Resources, Collaboration, and Learning for Everyone) Meeting
Tuesday, March 18 from 5 - 6:30 p.m. in the Winkelman Library Conference Room
RSVP

Field Open House/ Student Showcase
Tuesday, March 18 from 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Learn more

Building and Grounds Committee Meeting
Thursday, March 20 at 6 p.m. at Field

Board of Education Meeting
Thursday, March 20 at 7 p.m. at Field

Spring Break
Monday, March 24 - Friday, March 28

No School in Recognition of Eid al Fitr
Monday, March 31

Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students
Tuesday, April 1

5k for CATCH*
Saturday, April 5 *Fee
More Information 

PTO Around the World Fun in D31
Friday, April 11

No School for Little Wildcats Preschool
Monday, April 14

No School in Recognition of Good Friday/ Orthodox Good Friday
Friday, April 18

Resources