Daily Announcements

Good morning Country Trails Elementary School families and staff.  Due to the large number of staff absences in the building today, and the inability to adequately fill substitutes, I am forced to close Country Trails Elementary School for both in-person and remote instruction today, Friday, March 12th. 

Please note that schools are being closed on a case-by-case basis. If you have students in another building, that school should be presumed open unless you receive a separate school closure notification. You may also visit the district website for full closure information.

We look forward to welcoming you back to school on Monday, March 15th.

The Central 301 Early Childhood Blended Program will be offered again at Howard B. Thomas Grade School, Prairie View Grade School, and Country Trails Elementary School. Lily Lake students attend the program at Howard B. Thomas.

The process for securing a tuition spot in the Early Childhood Blended Program will be changing this year. To secure a tuition spot, families must complete the following steps:

1. Submit a request for a tuition spot via the links below. 
   • Howard B. Thomas Grade School/Lily Lake Grade School
   • Country Trails Elementary School
   • Prairie View Grade School
   • You will be notified by Michelle Vaughn or Nicki Coulter to move onto step 2.
2. Complete the new student or returning student registration at your serving school.
3. Submit the $250 deposit (applied to the first month’s tuition fee and non-refundable).
4. Pay $60 registration fee.

Securing a tuition spot is on a first come, first served basis and once the allotted spots are filled, a waitlist system will be implemented by building. In order to secure a tuition spot, all steps must be completed within 3 weeks. If the steps are not completed, the family will lose that spot and the next person on the waitlist will be notified.

Visit https://central301.net/early-childhood/ for more information about our Early Childhood programs.

Registration is now open for the 2020-2021 school year! Parents/Guardians will need to log into their Skyward Parent Portal to complete the online registration process. If you do not know your login information, please contact a building secretary.

New families who have not yet submitted preliminary registration materials should visit our Registration Information page to download registration forms. Completed paperwork should be emailed to registration@central301.net. Once all required paperwork is received, you will be notified of your Skyward login information so you can complete the online registration process.

As a reminder, all new families must provide verification of residency before students may be enrolled. Additionally, returning families who rent or are hosted must provide verification of residency each school year. Students who do not have completed online registration or verification of residency (as required) will not be permitted to attend school for the 2020-2021 school year until these steps are completed.

Due to the stay-at-home order, we are limiting in-person visits to school offices. If you need to submit hard copies of paperwork, please drop it off in the registration dropbox at the District Office, located at 275 South Street, Burlington, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The State of Illinois has physical exam, dental, vision and/or immunization requirements for students entering early childhood, Kindergarten, 2nd, 6th, 9th and 12th grades. While we recognize that medical, vision, and dental appointments may not be readily available at this time, Illinois has not issued any information regarding changes in the school health requirements or their due dates for the 2020-2021 school year. We will continue to monitor and share with you any changes as they become available from the Illinois Department of Public Health or the State of Illinois.

At this time, we encourage you to share the most recent examination report with CT school nurse Sue Dossey for preliminary review at susan.dossey@central301.net. Please visit our Health Requirements page on the District website for more information about the State requirements for each grade level.

If you have questions about or need help with online registration or residency, you can email questions to registration@central301.net. Once we receive these requests we will have someone within the district communicate with you.

Online Registration for the 2020-2021 school year has been delayed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Families will be notified when registration is open. Thank you for your understanding!

The Transportation Department is busy preparing for the start of another school year! We are excited to see familiar faces and make new friends on our routes.

Bus route information is now available to families in their Skyward Parent Portal. Once you’ve logged in, select “Busing” from the menu on the left side to view the bus number, stop location, and arrival and drop off times for your students. Please keep in mind that adjustments can continue to be made, so we ask that you log in to check for changes the night before school starts.

If you need to make a change to your transportation arrangements, please submit a completed Student Transportation Information form (STI) and return it to your school building or via email to beth.doty@central301.net. All changes do require 2 business days to take effect. This form is linked here for your convenience.

****URGENT INFORMATION****

One vital task of the Transportation Department is establishing bus routes that provide for the safest and most efficient way to and from school. As you most likely know, the main east/west route into and out of central campus at Route 47 and Plato Road is closed due to the construction of a roundabout. Buses arriving to and leaving central campus for the east side of the school district will travel on the posted detour route which will increase travel time. The construction project is projected to be completed by the end of November; however, until then we know that the travel time of some afternoon buses will be increased. The Transportation Department is working with the affected schools to make staging arrangements so that students can be loaded safely and efficiently for their bus ride home. Following the first full week of busing, our department will analyze the continued impact of the road closure and adjust routes accordingly. We look forward to a great year, and safe travels.

We are pleased to share that Central District 301 is partnering with Toys for Tots and is now an official donation location!

Now through December 7th, families and staff can drop off new and unwrapped toys in the donation bins at any of our school buildings. The District Leadership Team is joining efforts with student organizations and clubs to sponsor a “We are Central – Fill the Bus!” event, during which a festive holiday bus will visit every school site during the school day to collect the donations. A special thank you goes to our Central High School students and teacher Zandra McGuire for organizing the event.

We are excited to have this opportunity to support needy children in our area and hope that you will join us in helping to brighten a Kane County child’s holiday.

Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the Central 301 Early Childhood Program will be offered at Howard B. Thomas Grade School, Prairie View Grade School, and Country Trails Elementary School. We are currently accepting applications for enrollment and openings are filling up fast. Please note, enrollment will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. If needed, a wait list system will be implemented. If your child is eligible to enter kindergarten, they will not be eligible to enter this program.

The 18-19 Early Childhood Program begins on August 27th and ends in May, similar to the district calendar. An Early Childhood calendar for the 18-19 school year will be available soon. The morning session is for 3-year-olds and is from 8:30 – 11:00 a.m. The afternoon session is for 4-year-olds and is from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. Classes are held 5 days per week, Monday through Friday.  Each blended classroom will be composed of up to 15 students: 5 students with IEP’s (Individual Education Plans) and 10 non-IEP students. Non-IEP students must be toilet trained by the start of school in order to participate in the program.

There is an annual tuition fee of $2,000.00 per student, which will be spread out over 8 monthly payments of $250.00. There is also an annual registration fee of $60.00. Families will need to provide transportation as bus transportation is not available.

Federal law requires us to screen all early childhood students prior to enrollment. Children will be screened in the following areas:

• pre-academic skill development
• motor development
• language development
• social emotional development

If the screening indicates there may be a developmental delay, we may ask for parent permission to do a full evaluation. Regardless of the screening findings, you will be able to register your child for our early childhood program once the screening is complete if space is available.

If you are interested in enrolling your child in the Central 301 early childhood program or have additional questions, please contact Mike Potsic, Director of Student Services, at mike.potsic@central301.net or 847-464-6005, or you can visit https://central301.net/early-childhood/ to print an application.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2018-2019

August 23 – Early Childhood Parent Night (6:00 pm)

August 24 – Early Childhood Meet and Greet (2:00 – 2:30 pm)

August 27 – First Day of Early Childhood Classes (AM: 8:30 am – 11:00 am) (PM: 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm)

We are currently accepting registration paperwork for new students enrolling in District 301 for the 2018-2019 school year. Please visit the registration information page on the district website for forms and general information.

Returning families and new families who have already submitted completed paperwork will need to complete online registration to finalize their students’ enrollment. Online registration is now open. Please complete online registration by Friday, April 13th.

If you have any questions about registration, please contact the Country Trails office at 847-717-8000.

We had a great first day at Country Trails Elementary School! Here are a few photos from the day. We are looking forward to a great year!

Here are a few reminders for elementary families for the start of the new school year:

• Teacher assignments will be posted in your Skyward Parent Portal on August 16th.
• You can find bus route information on the Transportation page of the website beginning on August 16th. Routes may change, so please check again closer to the first day!
• Elementary schools will host Meet ‘n Greet on Tuesday, August 22nd, from 2:00 – 3:00pm in each building.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and we will see you soon!