Reminder- Next Meeting is Wed, April 23! And other important announcements...

Just a reminder that our next monthly Hyde Park/Kenwood CAC meeting is Wednesday, April 23.  An invitation will follow.

Also, here are some important dates/announcements:

1.   CPS will be hosting Student-Based Budgeting info sessions starting April 22nd.  Although they are targeting LSC members, ALL folks are encouraged to attend!   Please see schedule below.

2.  National Volunteer Week is this week (April 6-13). During National Volunteer Week, it's an opportunity to celebrate volunteers and their work (according to a recent study, the value of volunteer time is $22.14 per hour).   

3.  This is the last week to sign-up children in the CPS school-based preschool program for the 2014-15 school year (details below)

4.   CPS conducts a quarterly School Food Parent Advisory Committee.  If you would like to be a part of this, please see below and the attached application.

1. The budgeting process for School Year 2014-15 officially commenced this week by distributing draft school budgets to principals. This year’s budget reaffirms CPS’ commitment to empowering principals as the instructional leaders of their schools by continuing the Student Based Budgeting model. SBB affords principals the flexibility to allocate core instructional dollars, while also creating a fair and equitable funding process where funds directly follow the students. Likewise, as members of the Local School Council, the SBB model offers unprecedented autonomy to make decisions and approve individual school budgets that will drive learning and tailor resources based on the unique needs of your school community.

 As a part of the District’s commitment to ensuring transparency and enhanced understanding of the budget process, the following LSC Informational sessions will be held:

Area	Location	Date	Time
South Side	Simeon HS, 8147 S.  Vincennes	April 22	6 – 7:30pm
Southwest Side	Back of the Yards HS, 2111 W. 47thStreet	April 23	6 – 7:30pm
West Side	Westinghouse HS, 3223 W. Franklin	April 24	6 – 7:30pm
Northwest Side	Schurz HS, 3601 N. Milwaukee	April 24	6 – 7:30pm

Members of the CPS Budget Department will be on-hand to provide an overview of the budgets and answer questions. We have also encouraged principals to attend these sessions in an effort to strengthen cohesion and positive outcomes for our students. 

__________________________________________________________________

3.  Week of April 7th – 11th

READY, SET, ENROLL!!!

--ONE WEEK LEFT--

Round 1 Application Period Ends April 11th!

The Chicago: Ready to Learn! process will be ending April 11th. Families interested in applying should visit one of our 17 centralized application sites open Monday-Friday throughout the city. Attached is the list of each site name, address and hours.

Please help us ensure that all children who are preschool age apply by the deadline.  If your school is in need of marketing materials, please visit the Knowledge Center. For questions or concerns, please email oece@cps.edu or call the Chicago: Ready to Learn! hotline at 312-229-1690.  

Please remember the following:

• Parents can list between 1-3 school choices.
• Parents can only submit their application at designated application intake sites.
• Returning Pre-K students (Children who will be age cycle 4) do not need to submit an application, unless they would like to change schools for next year.
• Families must bring proof of child’s age, residency, and income with them to an application site, unless they are in a temporary living situation. If they are in a temporary living situation, they do not have to provide any of this documentation.

Thank you for your continued support for the Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE) and our Chicago: Ready to Learn! initiative.

Office of Early Childhood Education

_______________________________________________________________

4. Leslie Fowler, Executive Director of Nutrition Support Services convenes a School Food Parent Advisory Committee on a quarterly basis. The goal of the group is to share updates about the CPS meal program and to also gain valuable feedback from parents. We are looking for between 10-15 additional parents to join this group and would appreciate your assistance in promoting our application (attached). Please let me know if you have any questions.

In order to become Healthy Schools Certified as indicated by the green apple on your CPS School Progress Report, schools must be HealthierUS SchoolChallenge (HUSSC) certified by the USDA. Submit your application to studentwellness@cps.edu. The spring application period runs from April 1 - April 30. Becoming certified is a step in becoming LearnWELL. 

Please contact studentwellness@cps.edu if you would like to apply.

Tarrah K. DeClemente, MPH, RD, LDN

Nutrition Education Specialist

Office of Student Health and Wellness / Chicago Public Schools / 125 South Clark Street, 9th Floor / Chicago, IL 60603 / Phone: 773-553-2839 / Fax: 773-553-1883/ www.cps.edu / tkdeclemente@cps.edu

“You can't educate a child who isn't healthy, and you can't keep a child healthy who isn't educated.” — Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General