We believe in partnering with our parents and families in order to ensure our students’ success.  Please take a moment to download or browse through the Instructional Handbook for Parents.  It is designed to answer any question that a parent may have about their child’s education at Hawthorn.  If there is something that you cannot find in the book, please send me an email (leali@hawthorn73.org). We revise this handbook on a yearly basis and look forward to incorporating your feedback. Please refer to the Handbook for an Assessment map for this school year.

Sincerely,
Lisa Leali, Ed.D.
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction

• Parent/Student Powerschool Portal – The Parent/Student Powerschool Portal is a good resource for parents in K-5 in order to get basic information about their child at Hawthorn and a great way for parents of middle school students to check their child’s progress. Parents can access this site by utilizing the username and password that they set up when they registered their child.
• Alignment to Math Standards.  The IXL website provides information on Illinois standards where parents can find practice skills, and track performance.
• Early Childhood Development on Learning and Teaching
• Math, English Language Arts, Science & Social Studies Skill Building
• Teaching Math through use of a Calculator
• Science and Engineering Skills by PBS Kids
• A Guide to Simple Machines
• Wildlife and Nature Activities
• Astronomy for Children
• White House History

The Role of Parents

• Leonard Bernstein Artful Learning Model
• Understanding by Design
• Howard Gardner Theory of Multiple Intelligences
• Glasser Choice Theory
• Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE), formerly National Middle School Association

• Illinois’ Physical Fitness Assessment Letter
• Illinois Association of School Boards – http://www.iasb.com
• Illinois Association of School Business Officials – http://IASBO.org
• ED-RED – http://www.ed-red.org
• Illinois State Board of Education – http://www.isbe.state.il.us

• A Letter To Parents of Digital Age Children, by TeachThought Staff, February 12, 2013 (http://www.teachthought.com).
• Top Summer Learning Tips
• Tips to Keep Tweens and Teens Learning During the Summer from the National Summer Learning Association
• Keep Kids Active and Healthy During the Summer  from the National Summer Learning Association
• Homeroom: US Department of Education Parents & Family Blog, maintained by the US Department of Education, http://www.ed.gov.
• Stop Sports Injuries: Keeping Kids in the Game for Life website, in support of a campaign initiated by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.
• One Easy Way to Gain Your Child’s Cooperation, by Adina Soclof, August 26, 2012 posting to online Parenting Simply website, http://www.parentingsimply.com.
• STEAM: Experts Make Case for Adding Arts to STEM, by Erik W. Robelen, December 1, 2011 posting to online Education Week, http://www.edweek.org.
• How One School Beats the Odds Every Day, by David Markus, November 30, 2011 posting to online edutopia,http://www.edutopia.org.
• Decisions for Life, November 10, 2011 presentation to Hawthorn Middle North 6th grade students by School Resource Officer Andy Jones. (A similar presentation was provided to all students at Hawthorn Middle North and Hawthorn Middle South.)
• Education trends: The end of the weekly spelling test, by Samieh Shalash, November 14, 2011 posting on Dailypress.com.
• Out With Textbooks, in With Laptops for an Indiana School District, by Alan Schwarz, October 18, 2011 posting on The New York Times/Education (http://www.nytimes.com).
• And Now A Call From the School Nurse, Um Secretary, by Michelle Gerdes, Oct. 12, 2011 posting, The Wall Street Journal (blogs.wsj.com). Please note that Hawthorn schools are staffed with school nurses.
• Sending Kids the Bill for the Mess Left By Wall Street, by Robert L. Borosage, Oct. 13, 2011 posting, The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com). Overview of a report showing the impact of the economy on education.
• Academic Value of Non-Academics: The case for keeping extracurriculars, by June Kronholz, posted in the Winter 2012/Vol. 12, No. 1 issue of EducationNext (educationnext.org).
• An Equal Opportunity Educator: Science and math teacher Michelle Shearer, the 2011 National Teacher of the Year, stresses the importance of making rigorous STEM instruction available – and accessible – to all students,by Liana Heitin, Oct. 12, 2011 posting, Education Week Teacher PD Sourcebook (http://www.edweek.org).
• Three Brain-based Teaching Strategies to Build Executive Function in Students, by Judy Willis MD, Oct. 5, 2011 posting, Edutopia.org
• Overzealous parents can ruin kids’ sports, by UPI, Sept. 30, 2011 posting, UPI.com
• What teachers really want to tell parents, by Ron Clark – Sept. 6, 2011 posting, CNNLiving
• Galloway Township schools may ban homework over weekends, holidays – May 24, 2011; Press of Atlantic City
• Five myths about America’s schools – May 20, 2011; The Washington Post
• The Overpressured Student – by Richard Weissbourd; Educational Leadership; May 2011/Volume 68/Number 8
• A’s for Good Behavior – by Peg Tyre, November 27, 2010, New York Times – An article on standards based reporting

• Learn Spanish at Home Through the Library
• Language_Translators
• A Parent’s Guide to Supporting Your Child’s Health and Wellness
• Tutor List 2017-2018
• Translator List 2016-2017
• Student Resources (including book lists, study websites and report-a-bully form), and
• Middle School Parent Portal online gradebook.

For more information, please contact Dr. Lisa Leali, Director of Teaching and Learning, at 847-990-4251 orleali@hawthorn73.org.