Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 will host its annual District Wide Black History Celebration next month, as part of its observance of Black History Month. The theme of this year’s event is “Black Resistance.”

Our District is teaming up with the Family Resource Center on Disabilities to host a virtual presentation this week to help our Diverse Learner families in their secondary transition planning.

Recently our District hosted a series of Strategic Planning Town Hall Meetings as part of our efforts to expand our Strategic Plan. We’d like to thank all of our families and staff who came out to share their thoughts during these events, as we received a lot of useful feedback that will help guide our future work.

Our Board of Education this week approved calendar recommendations for school years 2023-2024, 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. These recommendations were made by our District's Calendar Committee, which consists of more than a dozen staff members representing our bargaining units, as well as administration.

The Waukegan Community Unit School District # 60 Board of Education appointed Waukegan High School Sophomore Victor Hinojosa as its newest Student Board Member during its January 24 meeting.

​A regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at 7 p.m. for Open Session, 6 p.m. for Closed Session. The meeting will be conducted in-person in the Lincoln Center Board Room, 1201 N. Sheridan Road. Closed Session will occur in Room 120.

Waukegan Public Schools’ Black Parent Network (BPN) will host its next workshop at 6:15 p.m. next Wednesday, January 25 at Clearview Elementary. The subject of this January’s workshop is: “Motivating My Child for Higher Learning.”

All Waukegan families are invited to attend the Ribbon Cutting of the new College and Career Center located at AOEC 1020 Glen Rock Ave in Waukegan on January 26. If you are not able to attend the Ribbon Cutting, please come to Open House on January 24 or 25

Tickets are now on sale for the Waukegan High School JROTC Drill Team’s annual spaghetti and taco dinner. Proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the award-winning drill team, and help offset costs of travel to competitions.

On January 17, 2023 the regularly-scheduled Student Achievement and Operation Services Committee meetings will be held beginning at 6 p.m in the Lincoln Center Board Room. No formal Board action will be taken during the meetings.

The Board of Education voted to ratify the Administration's payment of the renewal of the contract with the Suburban School Cooperative Insurance Program (SSCIP) for the District's general liability, property, excess property, school board liability, and boiler and machinery insurance for calendar year 2023 at a rate not to exceed $890,515.

Waukegan Public Schools’ is seeking parents to join its Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee (PTAC). PTAC works with teachers, administrators, community members and the Board of Education to support the understanding and use of the Parent/Student Handbook on Rights and Responsibilities.

Waukegan Community Unit School District #60 is teaming up with the Family Resource Center on Disabilities to host an informational presentation for Diverse Learners (DL) families covering Behavior Intervention Plans and Individualized Education Programs.

A Special Session Board Meeting to conduct individual interviews with the finalists for the Student Board Member position will be held on Monday, January 9, 2023. The following day a regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 7 p.m. for Open Session, 6 p.m. for Closed Session.

This month Waukegan Community Unit School District #60 will be joining school districts and organizations across the country in observance of the National Day of Racial Healing,

Happy New Year, and welcome back to the start of the second semester. I hope you each were able to enjoy the holidays with your family and loved ones.

As required by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, we are again seeking input from our community stakeholders and we are requesting that they provide their input by completing a brief survey that we will review and, as appropriate, make revisions to the existing School Continuity Plan. SURVEY LINK. The deadline to complete the survey is Saturday, January 21, 2023.

District 60’s Winter Break will begin on Wednesday, December 21. January 4 is a District Records Day and will be a non-attendance day for students.

With Winter Break officially underway I’d like to wish everyone a safe, relaxing and enjoyable holiday season and vacation. The holidays are a time for family and friends, and I hope everyone has the chance to spend quality time with those closest to them, and create new and priceless memories.

The Board of Education for Waukegan Community Unit School District # 60 will not meet this week. There is no Student Achievement and Operations Services meetings in December as a result of Winter Break. Additionally, there will be no Board Meeting the week of December 26, as the District is closed. The Board's next regularly-scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, January 10.

Waukegan Community Unit School District # 60’s preschool program was recently recognized with a Gold Circle of Quality for achievement and commitment to quality in early learning from ExceleRate Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education.

Yesterday evening our Board of Education approved revisions to Policy 5301 - Graduation Requirements. The changes come as a result of our equity review of select policies and after nearly a year of work by various stakeholders. This policy work is aimed at ensuring that our District has a graduation policy that is equitable for all students, that increases the academic opportunities for students, and also assists us with closing the academic social/emotional and behavioral gaps.

The Board of Education voted to approve the payment to FastSigns for the purchase and installation of ADA compliant signage at eleven schools in the amount of $49,596. The Operations department started the initiative to update interior signage in school buildings to be ADA compliant.

Our District's Black Parent Network (BPN) will host its next workshop at 6:15 p.m. this Wednesday, December 14 at Clearview Elementary. The subject of this month’s workshop is: “Helping my Child with Bullying.” The workshop will be led by Licensed Mental Health Counselor Norma Venable, LCPC. During the workshop, Ms. Venable will discuss several strategies parents can utilize to support a child who is experiencing bullying.

A meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at 7 p.m. for Open Session, 5:30 p.m. for Closed Session. The meeting will be conducted in-person in the Lincoln Center Board Room, 1201 N. Sheridan Road. Closed Session will occur in Room 120.

With December now upon us, and extreme winter weather soon to follow, we wish to remind everyone of cold weather policies in Waukegan Community Unit School District # 60, as well as changes that can be expected this year.

Waukegan Public Schools’ is seeking parents to join its Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee (PTAC). PTAC works with teachers, administrators, community members and the Board of Education to support the understanding and use of the Parent/Student Handbook on Rights and Responsibilities.

The deadline to submit applications for Waukegan Public Schools’ Student Board Member position is being extended to Sunday, December 11. This is to allow students an extra weekend to complete required materials.

A meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. for Open Session, 5 p.m. for Closed Session. The meeting will be conducted in-person in the Lincoln Center Board Room, 1201 N. Sheridan Road. Closed Session will occur in Room 120.

Waukegan Public Schools summer family field trips are returning! Our District’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department has three trips planned for this summer for a variety of adventures. The Family Field Trip program is open to all WPS families. All three field trips will include free bus transportation to and from to the destination.

It is with great sadness that I write to you all today, on the heels of another senseless and tragic school shooting.

The Board of Education voted to approve the purchase of a 66-passenger yellow bus and two (2) 14-passenger activity buses. The buses will be used to shuttle between high school campuses, athletics, field trips and other transportation services as needed, at a cost of $147,500.

During the week of March 14, students in grades 5, 8, and 11 will participate in the Spring 2022 Illinois Science Assessment administration. The Illinois Science Assessment is given yearly to measure student proficiency in general science. The results of this assessment will provide information that district staff can use to inform appropriate curricular decisions.

As COVID-19 metrics continue to improve in Waukegan, Lake County and beyond, our school District will eventually begin to transition some of its COVID mitigation strategies. One potential change is our current requirement, which mandates that masks be worn inside all District 60 buildings. In advance of any change, we are seeking parent, student and staff feedback through a short survey.

A Special Closed Session Board Meeting to conduct individual interviews with the finalists for the Student Board Member position on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually in closed session.

The Board of Education voted to approve the Emergency Contract Amendment request from Preferred Meals effective January 1, 2022, and ending on June 30, 2022. The amendment's estimated value is $330,877 based on projected meals counts for the Spring 2022 semester. The request is necessitated by industry cost increases for food, packaging, labor and transportation for delivery of goods.

A Meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2021, at 7 p.m. for Open Session, 6 p.m. for Closed Session. The meeting will be conducted in-person in the Lincoln Center Board Room, 1201 N. Sheridan Road. Closed Session will occur in Room 120.

A Special Equity Workshop for the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. for Open Session. The meeting will be conducted in-person in the gymnasium of Whittier Elementary School, 901 N. Lewis Avenue.

We are inviting you to attend a virtual Finance Information Session where our District’s finance team will present an overview of the District’s strong financial condition, and answer questions that you might present on the subject. These remote meetings will take place on the following dates and times: