CICS Wrightwood was among five charter schools in the city to receive recognition from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) for innovative approaches to education this year. At a ceremony held this past spring at Garfield Park Conservatory, CICS Wrightwood was presented with one of the Charter Up! awards for its Parent Professional Development Nights. While schools often provide professional development opportunities for their staff and faculty, this program got what INCS calls its “seal of approval” because it offers parents a series of interactive seminars to provide them with additional teaching methods and resources to use at home. INCS chose the five winners out of 15 nominations submitted by school administrators. The seminars are held roughly once a month, and cover various subjects that the students will be studying in the near future. And rather than just listening to seminars, the parents also participate in “hands-on” activities, completing examples of lessons their kids will be required to master. For instance, prior to the students taking the Illinois Standards Achievement Test earlier this year, parents were given example questions to answer so they would have an idea of what their children could expect. Other seminars were also held before students embarked on the Young Authors project, in which children at each grade level are encouraged to write small books. At that seminar, parents had to write their own books. And when a Parent Professional Night was held prior to the school-wide science fair, parents actually did a science experiment. The Parent Professional Development Nights greatly increased student participation in projects during the school year.
Charter Up!
- Nov 22
CICS Ralph Ellison Open House, 1-4 p.m. - Nov 26
Noon Dismissal for Students - Nov 27
Thanksgiving Holidays (27-28) - Dec 02
School-wide Science Fair - Dec 09
Holiday Concert (9 &11) - Dec 15
2nd Quarter Progress Reports
