Chester School District strives for consistency with school improvement schedule

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[CHESTER - Chester School District # 139 Superintendent Chris Diddlebock has announced that for the 2012-2013 school year there will be more consistency pertaining to the schedule for School Improvement days.

Diddlebock stated that last year he spoke to many parents who requested that School Improvement Days be more consistent in regards to being scheduled on a regular basis on regularly scheduled days and times. School administrators met and discussed the issue and came up with a plan to satisfy the wishes of parents.

For the 2012-2013 school year most School Improvement days will be held on Fridays throughout the year. Chester Grade School will dismiss at 1:40 P.M. while Chester High School will dismiss at 1:50 P.M. most Fridays this year.

Terri Franklin, Chester High School Assistant Principal, noted, "We wanted to listen to parents and try to keep the schedule fairly consistent so that it was easier for them to plan their days, arrange for student pick up and know exactly when the School Improvement days were being held."

Diddlebock added, "In recent years it was difficult for parents to keep track of the schedule of "early out" days because some were at 12:30 P.M. on certain days, some were 1:50 P.M. on other days and there were still days when dismissal times were even different.

With the new plan and schedule, all School Improvement activities will be held on Fridays with a 1:40 P.M. dismissal for Chester Grade School and a 1:50 P.M. dismissal at Chester High School."

Diddlebock noted, "We really tried to work with the parents' recommendations. At first we wanted to hold the School Improvement days on Wednesday afternoons. That seemed to work best for teachers and staff, but parents asked if we could keep Wednesdays free, so we changed to Fridays. Now we have a consistent day and time for School Improvement Days so parents will have an easier time keeping track of dismissal days and times."

School Improvement Days are used for teachers and staff to work on various training activities that are needed to keep District # 139 teachers and staff up-to-date with current trends, mandates and requirements.

Tim Lochhead, Chester Grade School Principal, stated that it has always been difficult to find time to schedule training time for his teachers, especially the junior high teachers. The new School Improvement schedule will help him be able to meet with all of his teachers and staff on a regular basis so that teachers receive all of the necessary advantages and training required.

Diddlebock noted that parents should keep in touch with the new school website because he will be posting detailed lists of School Improvement dates and detailed descriptions of what training will be addressed at each of those trainings.

"Most School Improvement activities will be taking place on Fridays throughout the year, however, there will be an occasional variation due to special training that needs to be held on a different time due to the inclusion of all District # 139 staff or because special outside trainers will be involved."

All staff, for example, will receive Suicide Prevention Training and Anti-Bullying Training as mandated by the State of Illinois. From time-to-time other training will require all teachers and staff to be involved.

Teachers are currently involved in transitioning to the Core Curriculum or Best Practices initiative which helps provide a better education for all students. Staff has been involved in Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) for the past several years. In the PLC's, teachers and staff work hard to learn how to adapt their teaching styles to reach every student.

Diddlebock stated, "We attempt to reach each child at his or her level and develop individualized teaching plans to adapt to the particular students in a particular classroom. Our staff is always striving to offer the best education possible for our student body. We do this through continuing education, professional collaboration and ongoing training. We are always learning and trying to approach our students in a professional manner."

To accomplish these goals it is necessary for teachers and staff to be involved on an ongoing basis in School Improvement activities. In doing so, District # 139 will be able to continue to offer the best education and practices to the students in the District.