Superintendent's Office

The 2025-2026 school year brings us to Burbank School District 111’s 150th Anniversary!  In honor of achieving this major milestone, we are celebrating with a new look.  Check out our new school mascots on page 2 of this newsletter! 

As usual, it’s been another busy summer full of renovation and building projects.  Summer kicked off with a KaBoom!  Volunteers from KaBoom, The CarMax Foundation, and the District 111 community, built a new playground for our Tobin School students.  It was an exciting day, with plenty of work, but even more reward.  Check out the story on page 4; or better yet, stop by and enjoy it!  

Now we’re prepping for the start of school.  We kick things off with a professional development day for teachers and staff on Monday, August 11, followed by our Back to School Night from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at all elementary schools.  The first day of school will be Wednesday, August 13 for all students in Kindergarten through 8th grade.  Liberty will host their Back to School Night that evening from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. 

McCord Early Learning Center had an amazing first year and the staff is ready to welcome our newest little learners to the program.  Our McCord families are invited to attend an orientation and open house on Wednesday, August 13, with three sessions to choose from:  9:00 - 10:30 am / 12:30 - 2:00 pm / 5:00 - 6:30 pm.  The first day of school for McCord Early Learning Center is Thursday, August 14.  If you have a child that will be turning three this year, sign up for a Pre-School Screening on the district website.  This year’s screenings will be held September 17, January 21, and May 6.   

Liberty Junior High will see updates to curriculum in English Language Arts beginning this year.  The new curriculum selected is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Into Literature, a comprehensive resource including digital platform access, Writeable platform, Waggle ELA individualized supports, teacher editions, student consumable workbooks, and teacher training for successful implementation.  Writeable is a digital platform that allows teachers to draw from over 1,000 prompts, assignments, and rubrics that they can customize for specific subjects and skill levels for multilingual learners.  This platform includes prompts that mimic those students will see on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and Access tests.  Waggle is a personalized practice and instruction platform for ELA. This platform will replace the Edmentum Exact Path product.

The junior high science team also selected new curriculum entitled Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Science Dimensions.  Science Dimensions is a comprehensive resource including the digital platform, teacher editions, student consumable workbooks, and teacher training for successful implementation.  The hallmark of Science Dimensions is that it is designed to address the Next Generation Science Standards, empowering students to learn science through exploration, analysis, application, and explanation.  

The start of school is quickly approaching and I am looking forward to another productive year for District 111.  In closing, I would like to invite our families to join us at the Back to School Rally on Saturday, August 23 at Burbank School.  It’s a family friendly event and a great way to celebrate the new school year.  Also, please note that our annual Multicultural Night has moved to the fall and will be held Thursday, September 18 at Liberty Junior High School.  Sign up forms will be sent out after school begins.  As always, great things are happening in District 111!