2015-2016 Trimester III Report Card Timelines
April 22, 2016
Tags: Power Standards, PowerSchool, PowerTeacher, Report Cards
As typically takes place each year, the Board of Education approved the official last day of school at the April Board Meeting. The last day of classes will be on June 1, 2016. As a result, we can now communicate the end of trimester timeframe for academic grades, Learner Qualities, Power Standards, and comments. For […]
Posting student videos on the web
November 1, 2015
Tags: Instruction, Internet, Policy, Students, Video, YouTube
Over the past eight years, School District 21, like many companies and institutions around the world, has relied on its own media streaming server to share video and audio files with others via the Internet. Information Literacy Coaches and principals in each school have access to upload video and audio files then to link to […]
End-of-Trimester Timelines 2015-2016
September 16, 2015
Tags: Gradebook, Grades, Report Cards
For 2015-2016, we will continue using the same process that we have been using for a number of years to close out the trimester for grades K-8, verifying grades, and publishing report cards. Please note that Kindergarten teachers are now included in this process for second and third trimester. There is no longer a paper-based […]
Name change? School change? 2015 version
June 2, 2015
Tags: Name Change, School Change
Changing schools for 2015-2016? Changing your name? If either of these pertain to you, there are a variety of computer-related implications, particularly for certified staff members with a staff laptop. School changes With our current use of Google Apps for Education and our new Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e computers, staff members who are changing schools […]
Google+ Photos: Now in Drive
May 7, 2015
Tags: Google, Google Apps, Google Drive, Google Photos, Google Plus, Photos, Pictures
This week, Google is rolling out a new feature to Google Apps for Education domains. Google+ Photos will now appear in Google Drive on the left side titled as “Google Photos” as pictured below. There are some great benefit to this feature, and staff members also need to understand the distinction between the storage of […]
Google Hangouts: Getting Things Done
May 7, 2015
Tags: Chat, Google, Google Apps, Google Hangouts, Hangouts
Beginning today, Google Hangouts is enabled for all CCSD21.org users, students and staff. (Hangouts was originally opened as an option to staff only when it became mostly compliant with Google Vault.) Google has recently made Hangouts fully compliant with Google Vault, the service that School District 21 uses to necessarily archive email and chat messages. […]
End of Tri 3 Report Cards Timeline
May 7, 2015
Tags: Gradebook, Grades, Power Standards, PowerSchool, PowerTeacher, Report Cards
At the Board of Education Meeting on April 16, 2015, the final day of school for the 2014-2015 school year was officially announced. As a result of the cold days this winter, the last day of classes will be June 9, 2015. As we’ve been doing for a couple of years, there will be no […]
Printing your W2 from Skyward
January 22, 2015
Tags: Skyward
To access your W2 Form, first login to Skyward. After you’ve logged in to Skyward, click on Employee Information as pictured below. Then, under the “Payroll” section, click on the “W2 Information” link as pictured below. To generate a PDF of your W2, click the “View W2” button on the right side of the screen. […]
Taking Screenshots in Windows 8.1
November 20, 2014
Tags: Lenovo, Screenshot, SnagIt, Staff Laptop, Windows
There are a variety of reasons why staff members need to take “pictures” of all or part of the screen on their laptop computers. Important on-screen items that staff members might take screenshots of include: a graph in Inform to be included in a year-end team summary or a student’s IEP a screenshot to illustrate […]
HDMI-VGA Adapters
November 19, 2014
Tags: Chromebook, Lenovo, Projector, Staff Laptop
Both student Chromebooks and staff members’ Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e laptops are equipped with full-size HDMI ports for displaying video on other displays. While HDMI has become a standard for high definition video, classroom projectors in School District 21 are set-up for more traditional VGA connections. As a result, students and staff members do need […]

Each District 21 school is named after an American author, and learning and literacy is at the center of our Professional Learning Community. The Modern Pen provides a collaborative location in which District 21 teachers can come together to learn the skills that will enable their students to learn new skills and to understand concepts at an even different level than before.