Lombard Elementary School District 44

The Mission of Lombard Elementary School District 44, working in partnership with students, families, and community members, is to educate the "whole child" in order to achieve personal excellence.

Kindergarten
District 44 believes that kindergarten is an important part of a child's education and provides the foundation for academic success.

The full day kindergarten program helps a child grow physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually through individual and group experiences.

Elementary School
The elementary school program in District 44 is organized with an emphasis on the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Major emphasis at the primary level is given to the development of reading and math skills. In addition to instruction in reading and math, time is devoted to writing, phonics, spelling, social studies, science and health.

Elementary school students receive art, music and physical education instruction from specialists. Students meet with these specialists one period every week for art, two periods per week for music and five days a week for physical education.

Middle School
At the middle school level, the emphasis upon skill development is continued. In addition to reading, language arts, social studies, math and science, middle school students have an opportunity for a more extensive program in art, vocal music, instrumental music, health and physical education. In addition, consumer and family science and industrial technology classes are available to middle school students. Co-curricular opportunities are also offered. To better address individual student needs, middle school teachers are organized into grade level teams.

District 44, as part of the Cooperative Association for Special Education (CASE), offers a wide range of assistance for students with special needs. These include: Early Childhood Education and programs for children with learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, mental and physical handicaps and speech and language disorders.

Support Personnel
The district employs nurses, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, adaptive physical education teachers, speech pathologists and guidance counselors to support the efforts of the classroom teacher.

Gifted and Talented
Project Expand, a program for gifted and talented youngsters, is offered in grades 3-5. It is designed to enhance and stimulate creative thinking and challenge the academically and creatively gifted child. At the middle school level, students have the opportunity to enroll in accelerated math courses in grades 6-7 based on their academic performance in math. Additionally, a Differentiation Coach works collaboratively with Language Arts and Science teachers to provide challenging learning opportunities based on student’s performance on unit pre-tests.

Band and Orchestra
Students in grades 4-8 are offered the opportunity to take part in instrumental music instruction. Each participating student is scheduled for both one lesson and one band or orchestra rehearsal weekly.

Literacy Support Program
The District 44 Literacy Support Program is designed to provide a comprehensive reading model that supports components of the district's balanced literacy curriculum through staff development and direct student support. A qualified Literacy Support Specialist (LSS) provides multiple levels of support at each building site. Direct student support is available to all students, K-8, who are identified as struggling in the acquisition of literacy skills. Specific criteria are used, based on local assessments, to determine the level of support required. Ongoing collaboration with the classroom teacher is an essential component in an effort to transfer literacy strategies to the classroom level.