EARLY EDITION
BACK TO SCHOOL 2025-2026
AUGUST 20, 2025
SUPERINTENDENT'S WELCOME
This year marks my 30th year in education, during which I have served as a 6th Grade Teacher, Assistant Principal, Middle School Principal, High School Principal, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services and, most recently, Superintendent of Burr Ridge Community Consolidated School District 180. Words cannot capture how honored I am to lead a district with such a strong tradition of excellence.
Much of my July and August has been spent meeting with staff, administrators, parents, and Skokie civic leaders to learn about Skokie 73.5's successes and the opportunities ahead. To continue these conversations, I hope you will join me at one of these upcoming events:
Meet the Superintendent
- Wednesday, September 10th at 7:00 p.m. at Elizabeth Meyer School
Coffee with the Superintendent
- Wednesday, September 3rd at 8:45 a.m. at McCracken Middle School
- Friday, September 19th at 8:45 a.m. at Elizabeth Meyer School
- Tuesday, September 30th at 8:45 a.m. at Middleton Elementary School
A major focus this year will be Building 73.5. Our next two planning meetings will be held on October 16th and November 10th, both at 7:00 p.m. at Middleton Elementary School. I have been collaborating with Skokie leaders, FGMA, Gilbane, building leaders, and staff to review last spring’s progress and plan the next phases of work for this fall.
Let’s work together to make 2025–2026 an extraordinary year for Skokie School District 73.5!
Dr. Charlie Kyle
Superintendent
BUILDING 73.5
SAVE THE DATE! Skokie School District 73.5 invites families, staff, and community members to Meet the Superintendent on Wednesday, September 10th at 7:00 p.m. at Elizabeth Meyer School. This special evening is an opportunity to meet our new superintendent, Dr. Charles Kyle, connect with neighbors, and share what matters most to you about our schools.
The evening will begin with a short social period with light refreshments, followed by a Q&A session. Participants can ask questions in two ways—either at the microphone so everyone can hear, or by submitting them to be drawn during the discussion. We want to hear from as many people as possible, so we’ll limited it to one question per person until everyone has had a turn.
Whether you ask questions or just listen in, we hope to see you there.
WHILE YOU WERE OUT...
The BUSINESS OFFICE has been working diligently with our fee payment service provider, RevTrak, to resolve some display issues in the Skokie 73.5 RevTrak web store. Parents who are not able to pay required fees online can pay in person at the Business Office by cash, check, or credit card. A representative will also be available to accept payments at the Back to School Bash and Middleton Supply Drop-off.
Our BUILDINGS & GROUNDS and PureBrite teams completed a long list of projects to prepare for the new school year.
- Classrooms, hallways, carpets, walls, rugs, bathrooms, and student learning areas were deep cleaned
- Foors have been scrubbed and waxed all windows cleaned inside and out
- HVAC equipment preventive maintenance included replacement of motors, couplers, and bearings; chiller maintenance, and filter changes
- Hallways, classrooms, and offices throughout the District are freshly painted
- McCracken Fitness Room equipment preventive maintenance
- Asphalt playground games at Middleton were repainted and the Gaga pit now has artificial grass
- The McCracken paving project was completed, including replacement of asphalt in the parking lot and outdoor play area, re-striping of the parking lot, and upgrading of the accessible parking spaces
TEACHERS engaged in a total of 30 staff-created and staff-led summer workshops focused on subjects ranging from literacy programming, to building thinking classrooms in mathematics, to STEAM learning.
Grades K-5 teachers, multilingual learner teachers, special education teachers, and Instructional Coaches gathered this summer for professional learning and planning as we prepare to implement our new K-5 literacy program, Collaborative Literacy. Many thanks to these 47 dedicated teachers for their hard work this summer!
Our Student Services and Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment teams hosted additional professional development and training. Teachers gathered with Angela DeMay, Lyla Nissan, Dr. Perry Finch, and Kevin Poduska for New Educator and Leadership Academies. A specialized training to support our multilingual students and those with diverse learning needs was held on August 14th-15th.
The McCracken Summer Garden Club wrapped up this season with a trip to Maggie Daley and Millennium Park last week. We celebrated 7 weeks of growing, cooking and making art. Incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th graders joined Ms. Eccleston from June to August to tend the plants. We have had a great first summer in the new garden! We will continue to harvest peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, beans, potatoes, soy beans, strawberries, camomile, kale and Swiss chard. Not to mention countless herbs and flowers! Garden Club will continue into the fall as an after school activity for McCracken students. Come by and take a peek!
WHAT'S NEW...
The Student/Family Handbook is now available in a fully online format with options for language translation and print-on-demand at home. Look for the PRINT THE HANDBOOK button in the Handbook to open a PDF and print to paper on a connected device. A print copy of the Handbook will not be distributed in school.
Our Attendance Monitor system, introduced at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, allows parents to report student absences online from the convenience of a computer, tablet, or mobile phone through the PowerSchool Parent Portal website. If it's new to you this year, please print or save this guide for reference!
WHAT'S NEXT...
Join us for an afternoon of fun at the BACK TO SCHOOL BASH on Sunday, August 24th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Middleton! Enjoy games, inflatables, shaved ice, and more! This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to meet our new superintendent, new board members, and connect with friends and classmates before the school year begins. We can’t wait to see you there!
SAVE THE DATE for Dr. Kyle's first COFFEE WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT on Wednesday, September 3rd at 8:45 a.m. at McCracken Middle School. RSVP is requested to help us plan for seating and refreshments. Additional coffee dates are scheduled in September... watch your inbox and our website for information!
STAY IN THE KNOW...
Check our District Calendar to keep up with school and district events and our Food Service Calendar to see what’s on the menu for lunch and breakfast.
Watch our website and your inbox for The Weekly newsletter. Each issue includes news and information from our district, schools, PTO, and around town. The Weekly is published on Friday at 5:00 p.m. when school is in session.
Sign up and opt in to receive text messages from the district on your mobile device. We use text messages to notify parents, guardians, and Skokie73.5 staff about special announcements, website news, and in the event of a school closure or emergency.
Follow Skokie735 and our schools on Facebook and Skokie735 on Instagram.
We look forward to greeting our K-8 students next week and Preschool students on September 2nd!
BREAKFAST: Pancakes OR Cereal Bowl, Fresh Fruit, Milk
BREAKFAST: Egg & Cheese Sandwich OR Whole Grain Muffin, Fresh Fruit, Milk
BREAKFAST: Waffles OR Bagel & Cream Cheese, Fresh Fruit, Milk
BREAKFAST: Turkey Sausage Biscuit OR Breakfast Bar, Fresh Fruit, Milk
BREAKFAST: Bagel & Cream Cheese, Fresh Fruit, Milk
District Priorities
WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT. We will welcome and engage staff, students, families and community members in our schools.
HIRING & RETENTION. We will recruit, hire, and retain a diverse workforce and improve our human resource processes, procedures, and materials.
INFRASTRUCTURE & FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. All financial decisions and investments will meet the needs of our diverse learners and staff and promote academic and social growth. We will provide a safe, inclusive, flexible, and innovative space for teaching, learning, and growing.
TEACHING & LEARNING. All students will engage in learning experiences that are cohesive and articulated across PreK-8, flexibly designed to engage all learners and leading to rigorous outcomes for all. We will be a future-focused, real-world learning environment that is responsive, accessible, and meaningful for all. We will become a model district on the use of data for making instructional, curriculum, and programmatic decisions.
Equity Mission Statement
WE BELIEVE that inclusivity and belonging is the foundation for equity.
ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN, at high achievement levels, when equity is infused into every aspect of education.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE the systemic inequities present in school systems and recognize the impact they continue to have on marginalized communities.
WE COMMIT to teaching, learning, and growing in order to identify and dismantle inequitable systems and to create a community where barriers are removed so that everyone can reach their full potential.
WE BELIEVE that students succeed when they can see themselves represented in our staff, curriculum, opportunities, and our shared environment. We accomplish this through professional development, curriculum revision, community engagement, and systems evaluations.
WE RECOGNIZE the need to teach our students to identify the origins of unjust systems and empower them to use their critical thinking skills and agency to responsibly disrupt the policies and practices that perpetuate inequalities.
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