News

District 86 is partnering with Panorama Education again this year to administer feedback surveys to our students, faculty, staff and families that will help advance the work of our strategic plan. The one we are asking parents/guardians to complete between now and Nov. 16 is the District 86 Family-School Relationships Survey.

This survey, which features 59 questions and is estimated to take no longer than 20 minutes to complete, will cover several topics about your family’s needs and preferences, including:

• Barriers to engagement
• Communication
• Family efficacy
• Family support
• Learning behaviors
• Readiness for learning
• School safety

Below are a few things to keep in mind about the survey and the process for completing it.

• When answering questions, please focus your responses on the school as a whole instead of individual teachers/classes or the district.
• If you have multiple students enrolled in the district, you can take the survey more than once by visiting https://surveys.panoramaed.com/hinsdale86 and using the access code that is specific to your child’s school (8599133854 for Hinsdale Central, 1633771611 for Hinsdale South and 2335790920 for the Transition Center). Please note, however, that you are not required to fill out a survey for each child.
• You must complete the survey in one sitting. You cannot save your responses and finish it at another time. If you accidentally close the survey or get logged out before you complete it, you will need to start over.
• Participation in this process is completely confidential. Panorama will not share your individual responses with the school or district. 

In addition to sharing these tips, we want to provide a brief overview of how Panorama calculates the favorability percentages for questions and topics as a whole. These percentages reflect the total number of people who select answers to a question or for a topic that are viewed as positive or “favorable.” Below is a question from this survey that we will use to illustrate what we mean.

How confident are you in your ability to support your child’s learning at home?

• Not confident at all
• Slightly confident
• Somewhat confident
• Quite confident
• Extremely confident

In this case, the favorability percentage would be based on the number of people who select the answers Quite Confident or Extremely Confident.

While the answer Somewhat Confident could be viewed as favorable or not favorable, Panorama does not factor it into the calculation. This type of answer, which you will see throughout the survey, is intended to avoid forced choice in the survey-taking process – i.e., when a respondent is required/forced to provide a specific answer (yes or no; I like it or don’t like it; etc.).

In closing, we want to thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and feedback with us. We also want to let you know that we will be using a variety of tools and resources (e.g., email, text messages and social media) to send you reminders about filling out the survey before it closes on Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. 

To complete your survey, please look for your unique access link on the email from Panorama Education OR via the survey link and codes above.  

If you have trouble accessing the online survey, please contact us at support+hinsdale86@panoramaed.com.

Warmly,
The Panorama Education Team

Hinsdale Central PTO Online Directory is updated for the 2022-2023 school year.  The information was provided by D86.  Parents can access the online directory HERE.

Parents will be able to edit their own information on the website.  It is easier to edit information on the computer rather than using the phone app.  You can choose to have your information hidden in the directory.

The username is the email used to register the student with the district.  If you are new to the site, please press RESET PASSWORD to create the password for your account.

If you have questions, please email directory@hcpto.org.

The PTO provides the online directory access as a benefit to PTO members.  Only members of the PTO will be able to access the directory in late fall.

Join the PTO:

https://hcpto.org/join-the-pto/

Commitment to Safety: Special PTO Meeting on 10/24

Principal Walsh; Kurt Bluder, Director of Security; Mike Coughlin, Lead Security Officer, and Kevin Berland, Student Resource Officer are presenting a Safety & Public Confidence Report at a special meeting hosted by the Hinsdale Central PTO. The in-person meeting is on Monday, October 24th at 7pm in the Hinsdale Central Auditorium.

The Hinsdale Central PTO recognizes that having a safe learning environment is of deep concern during our current times.  As a parent-led organization, our goal is to create strong and collaborative partnerships between the school, the district, and the community.

We have included additional resources that may be useful:

• D86 launched a new Tip Line. Any information shared is anonymous. Access the Tip Line HERE.
• Central’s social workers are available for all students. For parents/guardians, the updated D86 has social-emotional learning resources, including a toolkit, located HERE.
• The D86 Board offers the opportunity for community comments during meetings which can be found HERE. They are also available by email to hear and respond to concerns. All of the D86 Board of Education members along with the superintendent and director of communications receive correspondence sent to boe@hinsdale86.org

On behalf of the HCPTO we thank all involved in the Safety & Public Confidence Report. We respect and appreciate the collaboration between Hinsdale Central, the District and the Community as we vigilantly work together to keep our students and staff safe.

Sincerely,

The Hinsdale Central PTO Executive Board
Kristin McDaniel, President 
Cat Greenspon, Vice President
Lynn Mayer, Secretary
Sujit Menon, Treasurer

At Hinsdale Central, many teachers and staff members go above and beyond to engage students or provide extra support to others in our Red Devil community. They teach classes, advise clubs, coach teams, and provide services that “make a difference” at our school. If you know of a teacher or staff member whose dedication or kindness has had a positive and lasting impact on you or your student, please nominate them for a Make A Difference Award by completing the form found HERE.

Anyone can make a nomination. Students will also receive this information directly via their school email. The PTO presents six Make A Difference Awards each quarter. The awards include our thanks with a personalized certificate and a $50 gift card.

Nominations received by Friday, October 28^th, 2022 will be considered for the first quarter awards. You can view a list of recent Make A Difference Award recipients HERE. If you have any questions, please contact Patty Pappas or Alice Waverley at makeadifference@hcpto.org

Hinsdale Central PTO Online Directory is updated for the 2022-2023 school year.  The information was provided by D86.  Parents can access the online directory HERE.

Parents will be able to edit their own information on the website.  It is easier to edit information on the computer rather than using the phone app.  You can choose to have your information hidden in the directory.

The username is the email used to register the student with the district.  If you are new to the site, please press RESET PASSWORD to create the password for your account.

If you have questions, please email directory@hcpto.org.

The PTO provides the online directory access as a benefit to PTO members.  Only members of the PTO will be able to access the directory in late fall.

Join the PTO:

https://hcpto.org/join-the-pto/

District 86 is partnering with Panorama Education again this year to administer feedback surveys to our students, faculty, staff and families that will help advance the work of our strategic plan. The one we are asking parents/guardians to complete between now and Nov. 16 is the District 86 Family-School Relationships Survey.

This survey, which features 59 questions and is estimated to take no longer than 20 minutes to complete, will cover several topics about your family’s needs and preferences, including:

• Barriers to engagement
• Communication
• Family efficacy
• Family support
• Learning behaviors
• Readiness for learning
• School safety

Below are a few things to keep in mind about the survey and the process for completing it.

• When answering questions, please focus your responses on the school as a whole instead of individual teachers/classes or the district.
• If you have multiple students enrolled in the district, you can take the survey more than once by visiting https://surveys.panoramaed.com/hinsdale86 and using the access code that is specific to your child’s school (8599133854 for Hinsdale Central, 1633771611 for Hinsdale South and 2335790920 for the Transition Center). Please note, however, that you are not required to fill out a survey for each child.
• You must complete the survey in one sitting. You cannot save your responses and finish it at another time. If you accidentally close the survey or get logged out before you complete it, you will need to start over.
• Participation in this process is completely confidential. Panorama will not share your individual responses with the school or district. 

In addition to sharing these tips, we want to provide a brief overview of how Panorama calculates the favorability percentages for questions and topics as a whole. These percentages reflect the total number of people who select answers to a question or for a topic that are viewed as positive or “favorable.” Below is a question from this survey that we will use to illustrate what we mean.

How confident are you in your ability to support your child’s learning at home?

• Not confident at all
• Slightly confident
• Somewhat confident
• Quite confident
• Extremely confident

In this case, the favorability percentage would be based on the number of people who select the answers Quite Confident or Extremely Confident.

While the answer Somewhat Confident could be viewed as favorable or not favorable, Panorama does not factor it into the calculation. This type of answer, which you will see throughout the survey, is intended to avoid forced choice in the survey-taking process – i.e., when a respondent is required/forced to provide a specific answer (yes or no; I like it or don’t like it; etc.).

In closing, we want to thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and feedback with us. We also want to let you know that we will be using a variety of tools and resources (e.g., email, text messages and social media) to send you reminders about filling out the survey before it closes on Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. 

To complete your survey, please look for your unique access link on the email from Panorama Education OR via the survey link and codes above.  

If you have trouble accessing the online survey, please contact us at support+hinsdale86@panoramaed.com.

Warmly,
The Panorama Education Team

Hinsdale Library’s Junior Advisory Board invites high schoolers to a super spooky after-hours event. Follow the clues, solve the puzzles, and try to escape the murderer! Prize awarded to the first team to escape.

Friday, October 28, 7:00pm – 9:00 pm

This is for high school students only; come prepared for fright. We will be working in teams. Each team member must register now!

Hinsdale Public Library

20 E Maple St, Hinsdale 

Hinsdale Library’s Junior Advisory Board invites high schoolers to a super spooky after-hours event. Follow the clues, solve the puzzles, and try to escape the murderer! Prize awarded to the first team to escape.

Friday, October 28, 7:00pm – 9:00 pm

This is for high school students only; come prepared for fright. We will be working in teams. Each team member must register now!

Hinsdale Public Library: After Dark Escape Room
10/28/2022: 07:00 pm-09:00 pm

Hinsdale Central Social Workers and the Community House have reestablished their partnership post-COVID to provide mental health services to Central students who have the need but not the means to afford the cost of counseling.

This program, the Insight Collaboration, was established years ago by a Central parent. The PTO is grateful for the generosity of our members to provide a grant to support this initiative. In order to continue to help as many in-need Central students, please consider donating to Insight Collaboration. The link can be found HERE; designate Insight Collaboration.

To learn more, contact insight@hcpto.org

We are excited to enhance our communications through Instagram! You can now follow us on Instagram @HinsdaleCentralPTO. 

And don’t forget to connect with us on our Facebook page at Hinsdale Central PTO.

Now you can get school and community-based news and events delivered to you in short and sweet fashion.