Winfield School District 34

Given the unique nature of our current public health situation, the March 26, 2020 meeting of the Board of Education is going online. 

The agendas for the meetings are as follows:

Public Hearing on Board Policy 6:235 (6:55pm)

Regular Board of Education Meeting (7pm)

Here is a recording of the Live Stream from the March 26, 2020 Public Hearing and Regular Board of Education Meeting.

District 34 E- Learning Framework  can be found here.

Dear Winfield School District 34 Parents and Guardians,

We have truly experienced a unique week in all of our lives. While we move forward into this unknown journey of working to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 virus together, there are naturally many questions out there. Some of which we can answer and some that we will need to discover answers to during the upcoming weeks. During this time, expect communication from our offices, our teachers, and our support team. Please know that all of us will be available either via email or phone if anyone needs support. On Monday, our staff is having a professional development day to prepare for the implementation of E-Learning. On the school calendar, this will be our first Emergency Day and as we have done in the past, it will not be added to the school calendar. Beginning on Tuesday, we will begin E-Learning. Our E-Learning program meets the state standard for “continuity of learning.” Since these are being declared “Act of God” days by the State and we are providing this program, no additional days will need to be added to the school calendar at this time. 

Yesterday’s decision to cancel school for the next several weeks came together very quickly. We have been operating with guidance from the DuPage County Regional Office of Education and the experts at the DuPage County Health Department (their information related to COVID-19 can be found here). They have been explaining to us the CDC guidelines for COVID-19, and how they work to keep us safe. As there had not been any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in DuPage County as of Friday, we have been operating for the past week within the strategies recommended by the CDC in the first two columns of the CDC guidelines on pages 3-7 of the chart. Based on this information, we had fully expected to have school in session until spring break based on this approach.

However, yesterday the strategy across our community and the State began to change towards an approach of social distancing. As a result, we are responding to this crisis as if our community already has a substantial outbreak, even before there was a reported case in DuPage County. As such we have put into place personal protective measures to close down our schools for students while most of our staff will continue to work to support our community. 

This is a very drastic measure, and for it to be effective and not anxiety producing for our students, we ask that you take the following actions with your students and families based on recommendations by the CDC:

●      Avoid gathering in public places - especially in close proximity to others. 

●      Avoid close contact with those that are sick.

●      Try to keep 6-10 feet between yourself and others - give yourself space.

●      Be at home as much as possible.

●      Try to limit who you and your children interact with to the same people you typically are around. 

●      Kids and families should not:

○      Be gathering in large groups - this is a time to be close with those that are closest to you. 

○      Be visiting each other’s homes or having sleepovers.

○      Sharing food or drink.

○      Competing in team sporting activities - use this time to train individually or with someone in the home.

●      Kids and families should:

○      Avoid excessive media coverage of COVID-19

○      Take care of their body. Take deep breaths, stretch or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep.

○      Make time to unwind and remind yourself that strong feelings will fade. Try to do some other activities you enjoy to return to your normal life.

○      Spend time outside - fresh air and exercise is one of the best things you can do over the next few weeks. 

○      Connect with others. Share your concerns and how you are feeling with friends or family members. Maintain healthy relationships. 

○      Use your technology and social media for good purposes - support one another and show that you care for one another.

○      Maintain a sense of hope and positive thinking.

Keep following the practice of washing your hands regularly and covering your cough or sneeze.

We will be following up on Monday or Tuesday with more information from our teachers related to the implementation of E-Learning for each of our classes as learning opportunities are distributed. We are focused on demonstrating to our students that we care about them and want to help keep moving their learning forward during these unprecedented times.

We ask that you partner with us in “flattening the curve”, and helping to stop the outbreak even before it gets into our school community.

Thank you for supporting our students, school, families, staff, and community.

Matt

Dear Winfield School District 34 Parents and Guardians,

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work with DuPage County school districts, Regional Office of Education and Department of Public Health to identify ways to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Schools will be closed to students beginning March 16th through at least the end of our spring break on April 3rd. Our Winfield 34 faculty and staff will utilize Monday, March 16th as professional learning and workday to prepare for E-Learning. Students will begin E-Learning on Tuesday, March 17th. We will have E-Learning days during the school week from the 17th through March 27th. There will be no E-Learning during our spring break (March 30-April 3rd). 

As was stated in our communication earlier today, students will be taking home devices, cords, and chargers this afternoon. Any family with absent students may pick up their child’s device after school today or on Monday.

This is new to all of us. Thank you for working with us as we develop solutions to support our students, staff, and community. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

Thank you, 

Matt Rich, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Winfield School District 34

Dear Winfield 34 Parents and Guardians,

   In working with our Winfield 34 staff, we have developed our District 34 E-Learning Framework. While most of us think of E-Learning as electronic, the true definition is extended learning. In Winfield 34, we do not believe students should solely be on electronic devices, rather utilizing a blend of traditional and digital materials to support learning. Given the unique public health situation we are experiencing, we wanted to share our E-Learning plan with families. We have not made a decision to implement E-Learning as of this point. 

   Starting at the end of school today, we will be sending home all student devices grades k-8. We encourage devices to be utilized for school purposes. Please charge them each night. We are short a few chargers and cords, so some of these components may not go home until Monday or Tuesday. We are trying to share chargers/cords amongst families to ensure that all kids can charge. IPads for students in grades k-4 will be limited to the school day settings. Our Digital Learning Student/Parent Handbook explains how to connect the device to your home/mobile internet. If you are a family without internet access, please contact either Shona Dave (630-909-4917 or sdave@winfield34.org), Matt Rich (630-909-4989 or mrich@winfield34.org), or Melissa Doucet (630-909-4955 or mdoucet@winfield34.org). We will support you in developing a solution.

   We do not believe E-Learning is a replacement for our students’ experience in the classroom, however, we do believe we need to develop solutions to support and maintain student’s academic and social-emotional growth. If we start E-Learning, this is a general plan of what will happen:

Preschool

• Students are encouraged to practice social, imaginative and creative play around the home.

K-5 School Student E-Learning

• Assignment Distribution - Information will be sent to students and families using an age-appropriate Learning Management System, Seesaw (K-2) or Google Classroom (3-5)

• Reading - Students will spend 90-120 minutes on a variety of activities that change daily. This will include Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Grammar. Some activities will be digital and some will be with traditional books and writing materials.

• Math - Students will spend 45 - 60 minutes per day. Some of these may include watching a video of a new skill, practicing concepts, or making journals.

• Social Studies - 45 minutes - Reading articles and reacting to current events. Exploring grade level themed readings. Activities learning about our community.

• Science - 45 minutes  - Exploring Mystery Science activities/ learning ideas. Potential at-home explorations or experiments with parents.

• Special Area Learning - 30 minutes - Potential activities/explorations from Music, Art, PE, Spanish, or Social-Emotional Learning. Lessons may include movement activities, responding to questions or prompts, or creating projects. 

Middle School Student E-Learning

• Assignment Distribution - Information will be sent to students through Google Classroom.

• Language Arts - 90-120 minutes- Independent reading and responses, grammar skill practice or flipped learning opportunities. 

• Math- 45-60 minutes - Skill practice (worksheet or online format), problem-solving (extended response or Desmos activities), flipped learning opportunities.

• Social Studies - 45 minutes - Read and write about related current events and review Social Studies content through varied resources and activities

• Science - 45 minutes - Read about science-related current events and keep up with science content through a variety of resources. 

• Spanish - 45 minutes - Review vocabulary from current studies or previous units. Reinforce skills learned through a variety of choice activities.   

• Special Area Learning - 30-40 minutes-Potential activities/explorations from Music, Art, PE  or Social-Emotional Learning. Lessons may include movement activities, responding to questions or prompts, or creating projects. 

Students will be expected to check in each day by submitting assignments through either Google Classroom or Seesaw. Our Student Support Team will provide more individualized support for at-risk, 504, and IEP students. For more specific information, please read our District 34 E-Learning Framework. 

Thank you for your flexibility and support as we work to help our students learn and grow during this unique public health situation.

Sincerely,

Matt Rich, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Winfield School District 34

Dear Winfield School District 34 Parents and Guardians:

Thank you for supporting our students and community during this unique public health situation. I wanted to make you aware that currently, there have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases in Winfield School District 34. 

Even so, with the number of cases across the state and region increasing and as a result of our communications and coordination with theDuPage County Health Department (DCHD), Winfield 34 is taking proactive measures to help to reduce the spread of illness throughout our community.

Although we are not closing school at this time, Winfield School District 34 is implementing the following measures until further notice:

•   Large gatherings that include visitors, from outside the school who are not our students, are postponed or canceled. This includes:

• • The Drama Play will be postponed. Mr. Wdowiarz, Mr. S, and Mrs. McDermott will send out specifics on what we are doing for the drama program this evening.
  • Kindergarten Registration Night is postponed.
  • 8th Grade Leadership Summit at the High School will either be rescheduled or canceled.
  • The Chess Tournament on March 24th will be students only. There will be no audience for this competition.
  • The 8th grade Museum of Science and Industry field trip is postponed and tentatively rescheduled for May 15th.
  • The 6th grade Field Museum field trip is postponed. We hope to reschedule this also.
  • Athletics - Competitions are to be determined. Mrs. Honaker will be working with the other athletic directors to determine the status of Boys Volleyball games and will inform families as soon as we know. 

In addition, we are reminding all students, staff and faculty, that if traveling to any area listed on the CDC Travel Advisories with a Level 2 or above Travel Notice that those individuals are asked to stay home and self-quarantine for 14 days following their return.

If we do have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in Winfield School District 34, we will close school for at least 24 hours. At that point, the DCHD would help us assess the situation, evaluate our cleaning and disinfection practices, and reduce the risk and vulnerability to students. We would then work on a plan to move forward. Until then, school will remain open and we will continue our cleaning and disinfection practices as directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We will revisit these protocols as necessary.

Over the past week, the Illinois State Board of Education has requested that all school districts explore e-learning plans and consider implementing these if necessary. Based upon this request, our teams have been working diligently to develop these plans and we are in the process of submitting our plan to the DuPage Regional Office of Education. As we prepare for this possibility please know over the next few days, students kindergarten and older will be bringing home their device, charger, and cord. We are not encouraging the devices to be used at home except if an E-learning day were to occur. Please have your child charge the device each night. Students in grades k-4 will be limited to the same settings and tools they have during the school day. Here is our Parent/Student Digital Learning Handbook. We hope to be able to send out our E-Learning plan to families over the next couple of days. As always we do not see this as a substitute for the interactions we have each day in the classroom, but rather a bridge for learning during this unique public health situation. 

As we receive new information, we will send it to you as soon as we can. Check our website winfield34.org, where we will post all messages that we issue and other resources.  

These are unprecedented times. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this situation together.

Thank you,

Matt Rich, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Winfield School District 34

Welcome to the 2019-2020 School Year!

2019-2020 District Welcome Letter

2019-2020 PTO/WEF Welcome Letter

Kindergarten Registration has been postponed. We hope to set a new date soon. Parents/Guardians of potential Kindergarten students should contact Brittany Wozniak for more information at bwozniak@winfield34.org or 630-909-4901.

Winfield School District 34 will receive proposals for technology and cybersecurity services for the three fiscal years beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2023 according to the specifications contained herein.

Proposals shall be submitted electronically to mrich@winfield34.org with the following subject line:

RFP: 2020 TECHNOLOGY AND CYBERSECURITY SERVICES

Proposals will be accepted until 11:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

Proposals will be publicly opened and reviewed in the District 34 Administration Center at 0S150 Winfield Road, Winfield, IL 60190.

For additional information or clarification, please contact Dr. Matt Rich, Superintendent, at (630)909-4900 or mrich@winfield34.org.

Link to specifications here.

Date Issued: Monday, March 2, 20202

Join the Winfield Education Foundation  as we work towards the amazing Winfield Studios project. Check out more information on the Winfield Education Foundation webpage. 

Donations to the Winfield Education Foundation can be made here.

This week in Winfield Studios, learn more about the Winfield Studios Project!!!

Click here for a list of people who you would contact for common questions.