Due to drifting snow on roads around the northern parts of our school district, uncleared sidewalks which would force kids to walk to school in the streets, and some inaccessible busses, Charleston schools will utilize a remote learning day on Wednesday, February 17. Again, recognizing that many need advanced notice prior to determining such an opening status, we wanted to send this notice as soon as possible.
Please await additional information by 9:00a.m. tomorrow from teachers about learning activities for the day. Stay warm and safe, Charleston school community!
Making such an early announcement is unusual, but we are receiving an usual amount of snowfall that is expected to continue into the evening, and we wanted to give everyone advanced notice. We have confidence in our road crews but little confidence that the weather will allow for the safest of travels tomorrow morning during school commutes. Accordingly, Charleston schools will utilize a remote learning day on Tuesday, February 16. Please await additional information by 9:00a.m. tomorrow from teachers about learning activities for the day. Stay warm and safe, Charleston school community!
As a reminder, Charleston CUSD #1 schools are closed in recognition of Monday's President's Day. Considering forecasts of heavy snowfall and extreme wind chill temperatures, our school community should be prepared in the event that a remote learning day is declared for Tuesday. If a remote learning day is declared, an announcement will be made prior to 8pm on Monday. Use of a remote learning day in lieu of an emergency day keeps our school calendar from moving past our last student attendance day of June 4.
Students at Mark Twain, Ashmore, and Carl Sandburg Elementary Schools celebrated their 100th Day of School this week! Check out some fun pictures from their day: https://www.charleston.k12.il.us/o/cusd-1/page/100th-day-of-school--4
Charleston CUSD #1 expresses its appreciation to the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System staff for providing an organized, efficient vaccine clinic for our county's residents. In our district alone, over 266 school staff received the vaccination. We recognize that a team effort
and cooperation across the health care's systems likely made this possible. Matched with an orderly environment, the friendly and courteous staff are indicative of the effective leadership and trusted compassionate care of SBLHS. Thank you for making a positive difference in our school communities!
EIU is recruiting candidates for the 2021-22 Accelerated Post Baccalaureate Teacher Licensure Program. This enables qualified candidates to complete all requirements for teacher licensure in just one calendar year. See attached flyer for more details: https://5il.co/pe82
CHS students and teachers are joining together this month in celebration of Black History Month. We recognize the contributions of Black Americans to our nation not only this month, but all year long. Some examples can be found in Mr. and Mrs. Drone's classrooms.
Mrs. Drone's English 3 class studied the poetry, music, and art of the Harlem Renaissance as well as the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. They are currently reading Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, which follows the challenges, experiences, and discrimination faced by an African American family in Chicago during the Civil Rights Movement, who refused to abandon their dreams in the midst of adversity.
During this unit, Mrs. Drone collaborated to align curriculum with Mr. Drone's American History classes. Mr. Drone's classes studied Reconstruction, focusing on experiences of freed African Americans after the Civil War. They discussed the right to vote and the policies that were put in place to deter African Americans from being able to vote in and around the South as well as the discrimination across the country, which eventually spurred the Civil Rights Movement.
Our district values the input of our school community, and we encourage all of our parents and guardians to make their voices heard by taking the 5Essentials survey. Parents can access the survey from our district’s website today through April 2, 2021 or you can follow the link to take the survey: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/
Thank you for helping to make a difference at Charleston CUSD #1.
Since the Charleston Rec. Dept. will not be offering their annual Daddy Daughter Dance or Mother Son Date Night this year, they are offering several "You & Me" art kits for families to sign up for instead: https://5il.co/otly
Have you purchased your tickets for the January 29 Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Night? It’s virtual this year and there’s a raffle for prizes ($1,200 grand prize!) Tickets can be purchased at www.charlestonchamber.com and ANYONE is welcome to attend the event and eligible to win amazing prizes!
District employees and those who serve our students AND are over the age of 65: if you signed up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on our district survey, you can either wait to be vaccinated with the rest of the district or go ahead and call to schedule your appointment. If you are under the age of 65, we will send more information about the vaccination timeline when it becomes available to us. Thank you!
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Classes have been restored in Empower. Thank you for your patience!
At this time several classes are missing from the Empower dashboard. We are working with the company to resolve the issue and will post when we learn more. Thank you for your patience.
Charleston High School students created DNA models for a project in Mrs. Swim's Biology classes.
EIU has partnered with the Illinois Department of Public Health to offer free COVID testing next Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. For more information, please visit their website:
https://www.eiu.edu/covid/testing.php
Students may experience issues connecting to WiFi on their school devices. Please follow these instructions to disable Global Protect: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/902793/Global_Protect_and_Content_Keeper_Issues.pdf.
Contact the E-Learning Help Line if you need further assistance: 217-639-1035
An important message to our School Community from Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Vilardo: https://5il.co/nv34
Dear Charleston CUSD #1 School Community,
As a child, I was intrigued by the cornucopia’s association with Thanksgiving. I recall my mother telling me that the “horn of plenty” was a reminder of the harvest time and for people to be thankful for being provided with food. I later learned that the large, horn-shaped wicker basket overflowing with produce is a symbol of abundance. Aside from its mythological origins, the cornucopia serves today as a reminder to be thankful – in abundance. Recognizing the broad cast of the COVID-19 shadow, I want to pause and shed some light on the good we have in our lives as we approach our Thanksgiving holiday break.
To our teachers and support staff, thank you for adapting to new instructional practices and new school routines, thank you for your courage, creativity and collaboration, and thank you for caring for kids, regardless of the circumstances.
To our parents, thank you for learning new technologies with us, for your perseverance and sacrifices made to support your children, and for putting your trust in our staff, regardless of where children learn.
To our School Board members and administrators, thank you for listening with empathy to our community, for deliberating diligently and for keeping a focus on student learning and safety for all.
To our students, thank you for showing patience, grace and grit through challenging times for which you never asked.
I am thankful for everyone who is striving to do their best under incredibly difficult circumstances. None of this has been easy, and none of it has been or will go perfectly, but we have learned much together over the past several months that will make us stronger for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year and beyond.
I hope you’ll likewise acknowledge the people and things you find most fulfilling and find ways to express your gratitude. Please be safe and stay healthy over our Thanksgiving break, and we will return to learn on Monday, November 30.
With abundant gratitude,
Todd J. Vilardo
Superintendent of Schools