The Valley View Educational Enrichment Foundation and The Promenade Bolingbrook are co-sponsoring a Back-2-School Block Party from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 12.
The event, to be held on The Row at The Promenade on Boughton Road near Interstate 355, will feature 15 fun fair game booths, a video gaming truck, face painters, balloon artists, a DJ dance party and social media fun.
Gordon Biersch will provide free hot dogs and potato chips to all children under 12 years old and will sell a hamburger and chips for $5 from 4 to 6 p.m. Twenty percent of all the proceeds will help fund VVEEF activities.
Attendees are also urged to help “Stuff the Bus” with school supplies for VVSD children. Those who donate supplies totaling more than $5 will receive a “Gordon Biersch Buck.”
Sponsorship opportunities are available for the event by contacting Kris Kuchler at Kkuchler@starwoodretail.com or Mike Lawler at MTLawler@comcast.net.
Registration underway for ESL classes for VVSD parents
Valley View School District 365U will again offer English as a Second Language classes for parents and guardians of VVSD students.
The classes will meet from 5 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday from Sept. 6 to Nov. 22 at Bolingbrook High School.
Three different levels (basic, intermediate and advanced) will be offered. Participants will be placed based on how they perform on an exam that is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23 in Room D235 of Bolingbrook High School.
Registration forms are available through the VVSD ELL Department, 755 Dalhart Ave., Romeoville. Forms must be returned by Aug. 19. Space is limited to 200 participants.
More information is available by calling 815-886-2700.
VVSD administration, teachers union strengthening collaborative partnership
Valley View School District 365U is celebrating what Superintendent Dr. James Mitchem Jr. called the development of a “true partnership” with the union that represents VVSD educators and support personnel.
“We’re all in this together,” Mitchem told VVSD administrators this week during the annual back-to-school administration meeting. “We have a shared commitment to get away from us vs. them. Our goals are the same.”
“It’s all about shared problem solving and shared decision making,” added Rachel Dellamorte, Vice President of the Valley View Council, Illinois Federation of Teachers. “We are all working toward the same goal which is positive student learning outcomes.”
Mitchem lauded the “collaborative” atmosphere that is developing in Valley View with assistance from the Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN), a group that is working with school districts around the country “to create a different paradigm between unions and administrators.”
“Not that we haven’t had a partnership with our union in the past, but I think as a result of our professional and personal relationship with the union this year, we have a great opportunity to develop a true collaborative partnership that supports the needs of the rank and file without having an impact on our expectations as they relate to supporting our kids’ growth and achievement,” Mitchem said.