District Information

100 S Brainard Ave

La Grange, IL 60525

708-579-6300

Superintendent – Brian Waterman, Ed.D.
Principal – Jennifer Tyrrell, Ed.D.
Director of Human Resources - Ed Piotrowski
Director of Business Services – Brian Stachacz
Director of Curriculum and Instruction – Patrice Payne, Ed.D.
Director of Equity and Belonging – Jennifer Rowe, Ed.D.
Director of Student Services – Leslie Owens, Ph.D.
Director of Technology – Alicia Duell
Coordinator of Assessment and Research – Kristine Zieman
Coordinator of Community Relations – Mary Lin Muscolino

Regular Meetings of the Board of Education will be held monthly following the Board’s Schedule of Regular Meetings. View meeting dates. Meeting notices and agendas will be posted according to Open Meetings Act requirements confirming meeting date, location, start time, and the agenda and will be posted in BoardBook. All board policies referenced within this handbook can be found here.

For more information visit the Board of Education webpage or contact the District 204 Administrative Office at 708-579-6300

Tim Albores – Board President
Jill Beda Daniels – Board Vice President
Gioia Giannotti Frye – Board Secretary
Kari Dillon – Member
Shawn Kennedy – Member
Christine Kozelka Campbell - Member
Elias Lopez - Member

Should any member of the LT Community require special assistance, accommodations, interpretation or other services in order to participate in school-sponsored services, programs, and/or activities, please contact the Associate Principal’s Office at either campus to provide information about what services are required and for which event. Please provide this notification as far in advance as possible of the school-sponsored function. For student conferences including Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings,
Section 504 meetings, and Parent/Guardian/Teacher Conferences, information regarding language interpretation will be provided in the conference notification.
NC Associate Principal, Mrs. Sarah Smith: 708-579-6300
SC Associate Principal, Mr. Greg Gardner: 708-579-6500

Professional and Appropriate Conduct
All district employees are expected to maintain high standards in their school relationships to demonstrate integrity and honesty to be considerate and cooperative and to maintain professional and appropriate relationships with students, parents, staff members and others. In addition, the Code of Ethics for Illinois Educators adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education is incorporated by reference into this policy. Any employee who sexually harasses a student, willfully or negligently fails to report an instance of suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act (325 ILCS 5.), engages in grooming as defined in 720 ILCS 5/11-25, engages in grooming behaviors, violates boundaries for appropriate school employee-student conduct, or otherwise violates an employee conduct standard or this policy will be subject to discipline up to and including dismissal.

Professional and appropriate employee conduct are important Board goals that impact the quality of a safe learning environment and the school community, increasing students’ ability to learn and the District’s ability to educate. To protect students from sexual misconduct by employees, and employees from the appearance of impropriety, State law also recognizes the importance for District employees to constantly maintain professional and appropriate relationships with students by following
established expectations and guidelines for employee-student boundaries.

The Superintendent or designee shall identify appropriate employee conduct standards and communicate them to all District’s employees. The employee conduct standards will require that, at a minimum:
1. Employees complete required training on educator ethics, child abuse, grooming behaviors, and employee-student boundary violations as required by law and policies 2:265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure; 4:165, Awareness and Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse and Grooming Behaviors; 5:90, Abused and Neglected Child Reporting; and 5:100, Staff Development Program.
2. Employees maintain professional relationships with students, including maintaining
employee-student boundaries based upon students’ age and developmental levels and following District established guidelines for specific situations, including but not limited to:
a. Transporting a student;
b. Taking or possessing a photo or video of a student; and
c. Meeting with a student or contacting a student outside the employee’s professional role.
3. Employees comply with reporting requirements of Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (325ILCS 5/), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C.§ 1681 et seq.) and report prohibited behaviors and/or boundary violations pursuant to Board Policies 2:260, Uniform Grievance Procedure; 2:265, Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure; and 5:90, Abused and Neglected Child Reporting.
4. Employees be subject to discipline up to and including dismissal will occur for any employee who violates an employee conduct standard or engages in any of the following:
a. Violates boundaries for appropriate school employee-student conduct or expectations and guidelines for employee-student boundaries.
b. Sexually harasses a student.
c. Willfully or negligently fails to follow reporting requirements of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (325 ILCS 5/), or Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20U.S.C. §1681 et seq.).
d. Engages in grooming as defined in 720 ILCS 5/11-25.
e. Engages in grooming behaviors. Prohibited grooming behaviors include, at a minimum, sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct is any act, including but not limited to, any verbal, nonverbal, written, or electronic communication or physical activity, by an employee with direct contact with a student, that is directed toward or with a student to establish a romantic or sexual relationship with the student. Examples include, but are not limited to:
i. A sexual or romantic invitation.
ii. Dating or soliciting a date.
iii. Engaging in sexualized or romantic dialog.
iv. Making sexually suggestive comments that are directed toward or with a student.
v. Self-disclosure or physical exposure of a sexual, romantic, or erotic nature.
vi. A sexual, indecent, romantic, or erotic contact with the student.

Statement of Economic Interests
The following employees must file a Statement of Economic Interests as required by the Ill.
Governmental Ethics Act:
1. Superintendent;
2. Building Principal;
3. Head of any department;
4. Any employee who, as the District’s agent, is responsible for negotiating one or more contracts, including collective bargaining agreement(s), in the amount of $1,000 or greater;
5. Hearing officer;
6. Any employee having supervisory authority for 20 or more employees; and
7. Any employee in a position that requires an administrative or a chief school business official endorsement.

Prohibited Interests; Conflict of Interest; and Limitation of Authority

In accordance with 105 ILCS 5/22-5, “no school officer or teacher shall be interested in the sale, proceeds, or profits of any book, apparatus, or furniture used or to be used in any school with which such officer or teacher may be connected,” except when the employee is the author or developer of instructional materials listed with ISBE and adopted for use by the Board. An employee having an interest in instructional materials must file an annual statement with the Board Secretary.

For the purpose of acquiring profit or personal gain, no employee shall act as an agent of the District nor shall an employee act as an agent of any business in any transaction with the District. This includes participation in the selection, award, or administration of a contract supported by a federal award or State award governed by the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) (30 ILCS708/) when the employee has a real or apparent conflict of interest. A conflict of interest arises when an employee or any of the following individuals has a financial or other interest in or a tangible benefit from the entity selected for the contract:
1. Any person that has a close personal relationship with an employee that may compromise or impair the employee's fairness and impartiality, including a member of the employee's immediate family or household;

2. An employee’s business partner; or
3. An entity that employs or is about to employ the employee or one of the individuals listed in one or two above.
Employees shall neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value from contractors, potential contractors, or parties to agreements or subcontracts. Situations in which the interest is not substantial or the gift is an unsolicited item of nominal value must comply with State law and Board policy 2:105, Ethics and Gift Ban.

Outside Employment
Employees shall not engage in any other employment or in any private business during regular working hours or at such other times as are necessary to fulfill appropriate assigned duties.

School Calendar
Approved 2026-27 School Calendar

E-Learning Day
In the event of inclement weather and the decision has been made to close school and implement an e-learning day, teachers will engage students for five hours a day.
Teachers will provide an asynchronous lesson by 9am via Canvas. Asynchronous lessons will:
● Focus only on essential outcomes and skills.
● Demand no more than 45 minutes of student activity, including homework, for each asynchronous lesson for each e-learning day.
● Provide opportunities for students to process new information, request feedback and get help upon return from e-learning.
● Students can complete the work at any time throughout the day.
Students are expected to take their Chromebooks home each evening – every effort will be made to remind students to take their Chromebooks home prior to the declaration of an e-learning day.
● Teachers will create paper assignments equivalent to online assignments to the extent possible for those who experience technology access issues.
● Depending on the length of the e-learning event, paper assignments may not be made available until students return to school.
● Time will be provided to do work that could not be accessed during e-learning upon return to school.

Student Attendance and Participation
Students will need to complete the attendance survey each day, which will be sent to students via email.

Expectations
● Teachers will help ensure appropriate learning opportunities for students with special needs.
● All 504 and IEP meetings scheduled on e-learning day will be rescheduled.
● Faculty will be available between 9am and 3pm to provide timely, but not necessarily immediate, responses to student questions via email.
● Zoom will not be used for the asynchronous lessons. Should a school closure extend beyond a few days, additional guidance, schedules and expectations will be shared.

Emergency School Closing
Closures, e-learning days and delays will be communicated to D204 families through email, phone and text message. To ensure you receive all pertinent information this winter, we suggest doing the following:
1. Contact information is gathered from Infinite Campus. If your contact information has changed recently or if you are unsure whether we have contact information on file, you are encouraged to call your campus main office.
2. If you would like text message notifications about school delays, closures and e-learning days, text the word START to 91201 to enroll. After you receive a reply, text YES to confirm that you would like to receive text messages.
3. Follow D204 on Facebook, X, and Instagram. School delays and closures will be posted to these social media channels.

If you do not receive a phone message, email or text or find emergency closing information listed on the website, posted to the District's social media pages or in the media, then assume that school is in session.