While Winter Break winds down for our families, hundreds of Cicero District 99 educators spent the entire day together — learning, thinking, challenging themselves, and preparing for what comes next.

At Unity Junior High School, staff from every school gathered with one shared purpose: to make the second half of the 2025-2026 school year even stronger than the first.

This wasn't routine professional development. This was deep work.

Guided by Dr. Jim Heal and Meg Lee from Learning Science Partners, our educators dove into the science of learning, focusing on effortful thinking — the kind of thinking that leads to true understanding, lasting growth, and real academic success. That kind of thinking that pushes students beyond memorization and into mastery.

We believe student outcomes don't improve by accident. They improve because adults commit to learning first.

That's why, before a single student walks back through our doors tomorrow, our staff invested a full day strengthening their practice — so classrooms are ready, instruction is intentional, and every student is met with high expectations and even higher support.

The second half of the year starts now. And we are ready.

Cicero District 99 is coming back energized, aligned, and laser-focused on what matters most: our students, their learning, and their future.

Welcome back. Let's make it count. 💙