🍎 THE FIRST LESSON? GETTING TO KNOW CICERO: D99 WELCOMES ITS NEWEST EDUCATORS AND STAFF! 👋

What an incredible week together! Cicero District 99 has officially wrapped up another successful New Staff Orientation! 

This year, we are excited to welcome nearly two dozen new members to the District 99 family — talented professionals bringing the specialized knowledge and qualifications needed to help our students learn, grow, and succeed.

Joining D99 isn't supposed to feel like simply starting a new job. We want our people to feel supported from the very beginning. That's why New Staff Orientation Week is about so much more than paperwork, policies, and picking up a laptop.

We kicked things off with our annual Welcome Breakfast, bringing together our new employees with administrators from every school across the district. Superintendent Dr. Aldo Calderin welcomed the group and helped set the tone for what it means to become part of District 99: we are here for our students, we support one another, and We Move Forward Together.

Throughout the week, our newest staff members received their devices, IDs, parking materials, and everything else they'll need — but, more importantly, they began building the relationships they'll rely on throughout the school year.

They learned about our Human Resources benefits, Special Education services, Multilingual Programs, district technology, expectations, and they many systems working behind the scenes to support our classrooms.

They participated in professional learning. They spent time with District and building coaches. They met administrators who will be there to support them.

And our new teachers met someone who will become especially important during their first years in District 99: their teacher mentors. Each new teacher is paired with a veteran District 99 educator who will walk alongside them — not for a few weeks, not simply until they learn where everything is, but for two years. Because great educators deserve support, too.

We don't expect someone to walk through our doors on Day One knowing everything. We surround them with experienced people who can answer questions, offer guidance, celebrate victories, work through challenges, and remind them that they never have to figure it all out alone.

🚌 Then came today. And today was something special. 

Our new staff climbed aboard a school bus for an experience you probably won't find in many employee orientation programs: a tour of Cicero and a visit to every District 99 school.

Led by retired District 99 administrator Marybeth King and Human Resources Director Candy Kramer, our newest employees traveled through the community they'll soon serve, seeing each of our schools while learning about the history of Cicero and the district. 

Because knowing the name of your school is one thing. Understanding the community behind the children who walk through its doors every morning is something much greater.

Our students don't arrive at school as names on a roster. They come from families, neighborhoods, traditions, experiences, and a community with a story. And we want the people entrusted with educating and supporting them to understand that story.

There were conversations. There were laughs. There were new friendships forming. And somewhere along the way, a group of new employees started looking a little less like "new hires" and a lot more like District 99. 

🍕 Of course, there was only one appropriate way to finish their introduction to Cicero. Freddy's Pizza! Because can you really say you've been properly welcomed to Cicero until you've had Freddy's? A huge thank-you goes to the Cicero Council Teachers Union for treating our new staff to a delicious lunch from one of Cicero's most famous and beloved local institutions. It was the perfect ending to a week centered on learning, relationships, community, and belonging.

Soon, orientation will be over. The buses will roll again. Classrooms will fill. Hallways will become noisy. And thousands of District 99 students will walk through our doors ready for another year. When they do, these educators and specialists will be waiting for them. Ready to teach. Ready to listen. Ready to support. Ready to make a difference.

So to every new employee joining Cicero District 99 this year: Welcome to our schools. Welcome to our community. Welcome to our family. We're excited about what you're going to bring to our students—and we're even more excited that you'll never have to do it alone.

Because whether you've served District 99 for 25 years or you're preparing for your very first day... WE MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER 💙