English Language Learners

Filomena Manna-DeChiara Concord Elementary School	Kristie Miller Concord Elementary School	Elizabeth Saucedo Cass Junior High School

English Language Learner Services

At Cass School District 63, English Language Learners participate in a Transitional Program of Instruction. Students in grades Kindergarten through Fourth Grade receive direct services from teachers who are specialized in English as a Second Language. In the English Language Learners Program, students engage in lessons that are aligned with both the Illinois Common Core Learning Standards and English Language Development standards.

Please open the following link for further information regarding 
Cass School District 63's Transitional Program of Instruction.

Philosophy of Multicultural Education

• Embraces all cultures
• Provides a foundational education for all students
• Is pervasive
• Promotes social justice
• Delivers critical pedagogy

Enrichment (M.A.P.)

Audrey Vaci Concord Elementary School/Cass Junior High School

Cass School District 63's Enrichment Program

Welcome to the Cass School District 63 Gifted Education Page. The District is committed to an educational program that recognizes the unique needs, values, and talents of the individual student. The Mind Adventure Program (MAP) serves students in Grades Three through Eight who have been formally identified for the gifted program.

Placement in the gifted program is contingent upon an overall analysis of test scores, academic achievements, and classroom performance. The identification process uses multiple criteria, including the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Test, the Otis-Lennon Ability Test, and Teacher Recommendation, to rank students on the Cass School District 63 Gifted Identification Matrix. Final placement is based on the student's matrix score. Parents and guardians are made aware of this process and criteria by referencing the information on the district's website as well as the district's yearly calendar that is distributed to parents and guardians.

MAP is designed to meet the specialized needs of the highly academically able student. This student may or may not have high performance on daily work, but exhibits advanced thinking skills that require an accelerated pace or more challenging material.

The Cass School District Gifted Program allows time for students to work with peers of similar ability as well as time to work with all peers through a pull-out program consisting of 90 minutes per week, in addition to differentiated instruction in the regular classroom.

Accelerated Placement Program 

The District provides an Accelerated Placement Program (APP), which advances the District’s goal of providing educational programs with opportunities for each student to develop his or her maximum potential. APP options include, but are not limited to, a) accelerating a student in a single subject, b) other grade level acceleration; and c) early entrance to Kindergarten or First Grade. This program involves a fair and equitable decision-making process, a parent notification process and assessment processes that include multiple valid, reliable indicators.

Please feel free to contact Audrey Vaci, Gifted Teacher, by email at AVaci@CassD63.org or by calling 331/481-4020 with any questions or comments regarding MAP.

"The Possible's slow fuse is lit by the Imagination"

~Emily Dickinson

Math Interventionist

Karen Mosquera Concord Elementary School

Occupational Therapist

Sarah Leganski Concord Elementary School and Cass Junior High School

Psychologist

Sarah Zimmerman

Concord Elementary School and Cass Junior High School

As explained by the Illinois School Psychologists Association (www.ilispa.org/about-us/learn-about-sp/), “a School Psychologist makes important contributions to the social, emotional and academic development of students by serving as advocates for good mental health and safe and supportive learning environments. Working as partners with parents, educators and fellow mental health professionals, School Psychologists help students reach optimal levels of achievement and well-being.”Cass School District 63's Psychology Program

The broad variety of services provided by the School Psychologist includes: 

• Prevention – by collecting and analyzing data, the School Psychologist helps determine the students that require supplemental and intense intervention.

• Intervention – the School Psychologist helps implement, maintain and monitor student interventions.

• Consultation – by consulting with the staff and parents, School Psychologists help support appropriate instruction for students.

• Collaboration – the School Psychologist works closely with teachers, other specialists, parents, and other mental health professionals to support student learning and success.

• Assessment – School Psychologists use a variety of screening and diagnostic assessment in order to help identify student strengths and weaknesses.

Reading Specialist

Courtney Cozzolino Concord Elementary School		Christy Sells Concord Elementary School

Cass School District 63's Literacy Intervention Program

Learning to read is one of the essential tasks of childhood. As Reading Specialists at Concord Elementary School our primary goal is to support our students as they develop into successful readers and writers.

Research studies show that a structured approach to Literacy Instruction is necessary to enable children to become proficient readers and writers. Reading is a complex, problem-solving activity. Children must simultaneously integrate many different sources of information in order to read text successfully. Writing is also integral to children's development as readers. Reading and writing are reciprocal activities and serve to strengthen each other.

All Literacy support instruction provided at Concord Elementary School focuses on fostering reading and writing strategies as delineated in the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Selection of students to participate in Literacy Support is based upon consultation with the Classroom Teacher and careful assessment of the students’ needs. Lesson components include extensive daily practice in the following skills and strategies: phonemic awareness, phonics, word analysis, vocabulary, fluency and developing comprehension skills, while reading text at the appropriate level.

School Counselor 

Helen Park Concord Elementary School		Lia Lamb Cass Junior High School

Cass School District 63's Counseling Program

Our dedicated school counselors provide education, prevention, and intervention services. This aids students in their academic, personal, and social needs by removing learning barriers and promoting success and achievement. A School Counselor works as an integral part of the education team, and both Ms. Park and Ms. Lamb  work in collaboration to make it the best year for your children.

In working with students in any counseling situations, confidentiality is central in developing trust. Confidentiality is maintained with the exception of three conditions; cases of suspected abuse, a child posing danger to self or others, and a child giving permission to share the information discussed.

Concord Elementary Skills for Learning

At Concord Elementary School, one of the responsibilities of the School Counselor is teaching Skills for Learning. The students enjoy these lessons and gain skills important for becoming contributing citizens of our world. Included is a description of this research-based program. Classrooms are fortunate to be utilizing the Second Step Curriculum. This is a comprehensive positive youth development program for children in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. The program teaches empathy, emotion management and problem solving skills. It also adds self-regulation skills to all grades and executive-function skills which prepare our students to learn.

Concord Elementary School students participate in the Skills for Learning once a week throughout the school year. The curriculum revolves multiple unit themes. The units and main themes are listed below.

• Unit One: Skills for Learning
• Unit Two: Empathy
• Unit Three: Emotion Management
• Unit Four: Problem Solving

Cass Junior High School Choices

Choices is a Fifth and Sixth Grade Class that each student in these grades takes during some point in the school year. The curriculum is age appropriate and targets social emotional needs and skills for students of this age group. It is a discussion based class with much interaction and fun. Our class curriculum changes based on the needs of the individual classes.

Social Worker

Cass School District 63's Social Work Services

Social Workers are an important part of the educational team, understanding and interpreting the influences of school, home and community on children.

Social Workers identify factors to help students maximize their school success. They use the Illinois State Social-Emotional Standards to guide their goal-directed activities with students.

The National Association of Social Workers describes the School Social Worker as follows: 

"School social workers pick up where teachers leave off. They are perhaps the professionals best equipped to address the social and psychological issues that can block academic progress. Through counseling, crisis intervention and prevention programs, they help young people overcome the difficulties in their lives, and as a result, give them a better chance at succeeding in school."

• Provides individual and group counseling to students in need, including those in crisis
• Meets with parents for assessment and/or intervention
• Provides support to students in Response to Intervention (R.T.I.) classes
• Helps link families to needed resources
• Completes social-emotional components of case study evaluations
• Assists with planning and implementing whole school character education activities
• Multidisciplinary team member at Pupil Personnel Services (P.P.S) team meetings
• Consults with staff in order to help students  

Anike Olaitan's and Dana Flutman's services to students are based on the following Illinois State Social-Emotional Standards:

• Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success. 
• Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships.
• Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school and community contexts.

Special Education

Cathy Fisher Cass School District 63	Katy Modglin Concord Elementary School	Lisa Daly Concord Elementary School	Julia Holbert Concord Elementary School	Jenny Kirkpatrick Concord Elementary School	Scott Kondraschow Cass Junior High School	Jaclyn Stachorek Cass Junior High School	Djola Jemin Cass Junior High School

Cass School District 63 Special Education Program

Cass School District 63 Special Education & Resource Staff work with students with Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. The goal of our program is to help students develop skills and strategies that will enable them to become independent, successful learners. Instruction, materials, assessments and the learning environment are individualized to meet the needs of students with an IEP. Services are coordinated and delivered with the shared input of Therapists, Grade-Level Teachers, Teaching Assistants, and Parents. 

Speech & Language Pathology

Jane York Concord Elementary School	Sharon Chacko Cass Junior High School	Jessica Andujar Concord Elementary School

Speech & Language Pathology Services

Students may be referred for services by a parent and/or a member of the teaching staff who has concerns about their communication abilities which adversely affect their educational performance. If warranted, a Speech-Language assessment will be conducted. If Speech-Language therapy is recommended, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be developed by the educational team with parent input.

Children in Prekindergarten through Fourth Grade who receive Speech-Language services often need to develop skills in one or more of the following areas:

Helpful links for Speech-Language Pathology Information

American Speech - Language-Hearing Association

Illinois Speech - Language-Hearing Association

National Stuttering Foundation