D75 Superintendent’s Message
March 2024
As we reach Spring Break and head into the final two months of our school year, it’s a good opportunity to review our progress and look ahead to finishing our year strong.
There have been so many successes between winter break and spring break. Much of the credit for those successes goes to our students, staff and parents as well as our collaborative efforts among area school districts and community organizations.
In February, our staff shined as leaders during the first-ever county-wide Institute Day hosted by the Lake County Regional Office of Education. While most of our teachers participated, a number of them made presentations on topics such as Dual Language, Developing an Adaptive Health Curriculum and Empowering Multilingual Leaders. They shared the secrets behind our success to more than 2,000 educators from across Lake County.
Our students had a chance to shine early this year as Mechanics Grove fifth-graders joined Carl Sandburg to perform the musical, “Descendants.” The show was the culmination of a lot of work by our students, staff and our supportive parents. With all that effort, it was no surprise that the show itself was a big hit.
The D75 staff has been both creative and resourceful this year, coming up with programs for our students that keep them engaged in learning in new and interesting ways.
At Carl Sandburg, our seventh-graders read an amazing book called “A Long Walk to Water,” about the 17,000 African boys who were forced to leave their families and their homes in the 1980s and ‘90s and walk for months to seek refuge. Our staff then invited two of the Lost Boys to Carl Sandburg to speak with our students and answer their questions. It was a wonderful opportunity to see a fact-based novel come to life with an in-person visit.
The staff creativity continued in the last week of February during our “Read Across Mundelein” Week. We planned theme days such as “Reading Makes You Bright,” “Hats Off to Reading,” and “Reading is Relaxing.” Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz read to our Washington students while Carl Sandburg competed in a door decorating contest. Things got real exciting at Washington School when Chicago Wolves hockey mascot “Skates” made a surprise visit to read with students.
Students even got excited about the Illinois Assessment of Readiness testing when Mechanics Grove worked with Mundelein High School to bring the Mustang Drumline in to perform with students. It certainly got their attention and kicked off testing week in a positive way.
We’re very proud to be able to provide such wonderful educational opportunities for your children and pleased that our collaboration among our schools, districts and community has worked out to the benefit of the students.
As a community update, I wanted to let you know that District 120 continues to look at areas of Mundelein High School in need of updates including mechanical, cafeteria and classrooms. As future (or current) MHS parents, these building improvement plans will have an impact on your students. I encourage you to watch for updates in the months ahead. The Mundelein High School website will be the primary source of information on the improvement plans.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kevin Myers
Superintendent, District 75