Community Unit District 300 notes

Book drive: The Jacobs High School French Club asks the Community Unit District 300 community to turn its sights overseas.

Each year, the Jacobs French Club chooses a service project. Last year, the club collected care packages for American soldiers. This year, the students' efforts are focused on the Minnesota-based Books for Africa program.

Through Tuesday, community members are asked to bring new or gently used books to the school's Student Services Office.

The French Club also seeks donations toward the $2,000 in postage needed to ship the club's goal of 50 boxes of books at 50 pounds per box.

According to Bethany Biallis, a French teacher at Jacobs, they have been fundraising all year for postage to send the boxes of books to a clearinghouse in Minnesota, which sends the books to communities in need in Africa.

Books for both children and adults are needed. The clearinghouse will accept most items, except those which are in Spanish, German, are religious in nature or focus on American history.

Drop off items at the school, 2601 Bunker Hill Drive near Randall Road in Algonquin. Or, if more convenient, donors may drop off their books at the District 300 Central Office, 300 Cleveland Ave. in Carpentersville, and the Communication Services Department will deliver the books to Jacobs High School.

Parent Portal starts Feb. 5: Community Unit District 300 parents and guardians will soon be able to review their family's educational records anywhere, anytime by the click of a button.

On Feb. 5, the district plans to launch the Parent Portal of the district's online information system, called Infinite Campus. The date for the launch is tentative; it could occur as late as March or April.

Its primary goal is to support teachers, administrators, parents, legal guardians and students in improving communication between all parties. Research has long shown that increased parental engagement in a child's education is a major factor in that child's academic success and future prospects.

IC registration information is now available both through the Web site, www.d300.org, and on the Web site for each school. Just click on the "Parents" drop-down menu and choose "Parent Portal Infinite Campus." The site also can be linked directly: www.d300.org/web/parents/parentportal.

When parents or guardians sign up to participate in this free service, they will be able to privately view a bounty of useful information on their own students, such as: class grades, class schedules, homework assignments, attendance and tardies, immunization history, performance on standardized tests such as ISAT, fees (paid and outstanding), teacher contact information and family contact information (e-mail, phone, address).

Access to IC is made available by a secure Internet site. When parents or guardians sign up, they must review and agree to follow district policy on its use, which includes not giving their password to anyone -- not even their own children. The parent/guardian's access to the student's account will be automatically disabled when the student withdraws or graduates from District 300 or turns 18 years old.

The policy also states, "Information accuracy is a joint responsibility between schools, parents/guardians and students. Each school will make every attempt to ensure information is accurate and complete. If a parent/guardian or student discovers any inaccurate information, they should notify their school immediately and provide proof of the (accurate) information."

District 300 teachers, secretaries, and other staff members have been training with and using IC for more than a year in anticipation of the Parent Portal launch planned for early next month.

Also, nearly 30 families from schools across District 300 participated in a pilot phase this fall to help ensure as smooth a public debut as possible.

The Parent Portal specifications include:

• An Internet connection with a minimum dial-up modem speed of 56Kbs. (A slower connection will work, but not as well.)

• A computer with a minimum processor speed of 500 Mhz or better. Either MAC or PC.

• The Web browser Internet Explorer 6.0 for the PC or the latest version of FireFox or Camino for the MAC.

• Software with Adobe Acrobat Reader, available at www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.