🧠 BEFORE THE FIRST BELL RINGS: INSIDE D99 STAFF'S SUMMER OF LEARNING 🤝

The classrooms may have been quieter this summer, but learning never stopped in Cicero District 99.

Throughout the summer, hundreds of District 99 staff members voluntarily participated in professional learning opportunities, investing their time in becoming even better prepared for the students returning to our schools. The District offered paid professional development opportunities all led by our own District 99 educators, specialists, coaches, and administrators.

Behind every session was a simple purpose: what our staff learn today can make a difference for our students tomorrow.

One major focus this summer was the Science of Learning and planning for effortful thinking.

Administrators and instructional coaches began by examining how lessons can be intentionally designed so that students — not just teachers — do the important thinking. Staff then explored learning science principles involving attention, memory, retrieval, prior knowledge, cognitive load, scaffolding, and other factors that influence how students learn.

Most importantly, educators were given time to immediately apply that learning to their own planning. The goal wasn't simply to learn about research. It was to turn that research into stronger questions, lessons, and learning experiences for students.

District 99 also hosted PLT Smart Start Training for Professional Learning Team leads and staff members who participate in PLTs.

Effective PLTs allow educators to move beyond simply "meeting" as a team. Teachers collaboratively plan instruction, examine evidence of student learning, share successful practices, identify students who may need additional support or enrichment, and determine their next instructional steps. Professional learning communities built around collaboration and continuous improvement can strengthen both educator practice and student results.

As District 99 continues strengthening PLTs throughout the 2026-27 school year, this summer's training helped develop the leadership and collaboration needed to make that time meaningful.

Summer learning also included several opportunities focused on meeting the individual needs of students.

Our Special Education Bootcamp supported new and second-year Learning Behavior Specialists (LBS1s) as they worked through the IEP process, procedures, present levels, goal writing, and data collection. The work went beyond paperwork — it focused on using those processes to understand where students are, determine where they need to go, and measure whether the supports being provided are helping them make meaningful progress. 

During Program Assistant Bootcamp, PAs explored practical strategies for supporting classroom management, attention, independence, and academic engagement. Grounded in the Science of Learning, staff considered how appropriate prompts, scaffolds, routines, and other supports can reduce unnecessary cognitive load while keeping students actively involved in learning.

District 99 staff also learned how to create communication-rich classrooms with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in mind. Teachers, specialists, Program Assistants, and other staff practiced ways to make communication more accessible throughout the school day and became more familiar with AAC language systems. Research and professional guidance emphasize the importance of providing students who use AAC with frequent opportunities to practice and use communication systems within their classrooms — not only during isolated services.

Because every student deserves opportunities to participate, communicate, and be heard.

Initial and refresher CPI training sessions were also filled throughout the summer.

The focus was prevention: helping staff recognize signs of anxiety or escalation early and respond with calm, effective de-escalation strategies. Staff strengthened their ability to support students through challenging moments while maintaining safety and dignity for everyone involved.

District 99 concluded its summer professional development with our Multilingual Learner Academy, bringing educators together for breakout sessions focused on multilingual and dual-language curriculum, instruction, and strategies for helping students develop language while engaging in meaningful academic learning.

It was a fitting conclusion to a summer centered on improving how we reach, challenge, support, and engage every learner.

The real impact of this summer's professional development won't be measured by how many sessions were offered.

It will be measured by what happens in our classrooms.

It will appear in a lesson designed to make students think more deeply. In a team of teaches using student evidence to decide what comes next. In a stronger IEP goal. In a Program Assistant knowing when to provide a scaffold and when to encourage independence. In a student using AAC having another opportunity to communicate. In an educator better prepared to support a multilingual learner.

Hundreds of District 99 staff members chose to spend part of their summer learning, collaborating, practicing, and preparing — and District 99 chose to invest in making those opportunities possible. 

Because when we invest in the people who serve our students, that investment ultimately reaches every classroom.

Our schools may have been quieter this summer, but District 99 never stopped learning.

And now, it's time to put that learning to work for the students of Cicero!