The school year is underway at Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401.
At Elmwood Elementary School, parents were given a tour on the first day, Aug. 15.
“We had a good turnout for our parent meeting,” Assistant Principal Kimberly Martini said. “Usually we do a curriculum night, but this year we decide to do a meeting with parents in the cafeteria as they dropped off their children. It actually increased our parent turnout.”
She said the meeting with parents on Monday was a way for parents to meet school staff while also giving them an overview of some new initiatives the district is doing this year.
“Our big initiative this year is a focus on visible learning,” she said. “Essentially, the kinds of learning where students can both see and describe what they’re learning. We’re also putting a focus on the next generation of science standards. … These are more hands-on laboratory directed curriculums. And we’re also focusing [on] bringing more new technologies, like more computers, to the district.”
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.