Dear River Grove School Community,

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! I hope you had a wonderful summer and spent time having fun with family and friends.

We are happy to see many of our familiar staff members back at RGS, and I know you join me in welcoming new faces. Please take a look at the carousel pictures at the top of our website to meet our new staff additions. They are all so happy and excited to join the RGS family!

The River Grove School District 85.5 Board of Education is committed to continuous improvement. River Grove School District is always striving to improve the building and opportunities for students. Here are some accomplishments:

• Building and Grounds- We completed the second phase of the large interior construction project this summer. The entire school has now received new ceilings and lights. The lighting is LED, bright and energy efficient. We have new clocks, along with updated PA and fire alarm systems. The Commons/Cafeteria looks updated and fresh with new paint. The sidewalk along River Grove Avenue was replaced so it does not pool water and the entire property has new mulch and additional landscaping. The school and property look fresh for our Royals!

• Teaching and Learning- This year teachers will be implementing a new Reading and Writing program with students. They will be working together to learn the new program during Institute Days. And, we will pilot new math programs to make a selection to begin using during the 2025-26 school year. We will continue our focus on standards based instruction and elevating our work together in teams to analyze student performance data. And, you will continue to see a focus on building students’ writing skills in every subject this year at RGS.

• Technology-We continue to support a 1:1 environment where every student has an iPad or Chromebook to use at school and at home. And, many classrooms have Promethean Boards, large interactive boards that students and teachers can write on and manipulate content on, similar to a room sized iPad.

• Safety-The Board, Administration and Staff are committed to the safety of our students. All spaces have door handles that lock from the inside. In a crisis situation, it is no longer necessary to exit the class and lock the door with a key. The doors can be locked from the inside saving time. And, we have a new fire alarm, public announcement system and clocks, all for safety and efficiency. We have created an Evacuation Plan in case we need to evacuate the building and we work with our Police and Fire responders to conduct safety drills, so our staff and students are prepared in a variety of situations.

The Board of Education accomplished these improvements and updates without overspending and ending the fiscal year in the black.  Because we are a small district receiving limited state and local resources, a balanced budget is not an easy accomplishment. I congratulate the Board on their fiscal responsibility and dedication to the students, families and tax payers of River Grove.

Finally, communication with families and our community is very important to us. The school calendar, school updates, student and staff celebrations, lunch menus and a warehouse of all of our important documents are found on our website. It is regularly updated, so please bookmark www.rivergroveschool.org and visit it often! Please follow us on instagram with the handle rgs.855 and on facebook by searching “River Grove School District 85.5”. Our twitter/X feed is easily viewed from the main page of the website. Please follow us @rivergrove85_5, #rgroyals, #WeAreRG. The Royal Revolution newspaper, written by students and staff, is delivered to all River Grove addresses each December and May. It is also linked on our website, so please take a look! Finally, ParentSquare, our communication app, as well as Teacherease are used by staff and families to message, call or email each other. As you can see there are many ways to communicate and keep up with RGS.

River Grove is a wonderful place to live and work because of the kindness and respect we show each other and model for our children. I look forward to seeing you at one of our fall family, fine arts or sporting events!! I am looking forward to a wonderful 2024-25 school year!

All my best,

Dr. Rashid

#WeAreRG!