December 6, 2023

Dear Thornton Fractional School District 215 Family,

Time flies when we are having fun!  As we approach the end of a productive 1st semester, I would like to reiterate how District 215 staff and students are moving towards achieving successful outcomes. New and existing programming have paved the way to ensure that students are engaged in career preparation and development, attaining hands-on training in high skilled, high demand areas of our labor market, and obtaining employability in their preferred career pathways. 

When we began the new school year, new resources, initiatives, and programming were just getting started or in the works. I am proud to say with the intentional practices of our equity initiatives, we have expanded opportunities for students with new programs and enhanced existing ones. At the Center for Academics and Technology, we launched the new Junior Academic Scholars Institute (JASI). The Center for Academics and Technology and Center for Alternative Learning are proudly recognized as “Two schools, One campus.” As of this Fall, TF Center is now an upper-level campus that services third and fourth-year students. JASI and Virtual Success Academy (VSA) will continue to help students get back on track for senior year or complete credits and obtain their high school diploma. 

What else is new? We are proud and excited to complete construction of new restrooms throughout the building at TF North and move forward with the grand opening of the newly renovated A.C. Jaack’s Auditorium. We are also excited about reviving the childcare program and adding a new childcare lab as part of a new career pathway at TF North. We will be moving forward this Spring with a Memorandum of Understanding with Chicago State University that will afford students the opportunity to enroll in college courses held at one of the campuses within the district. This is one of many opportunities that we offer to students to prepare for college and attain college credits while in high school. 

At TF South, we launched a new TV Production career pathway program and are in the finishing stages of completing a new, modern TV Production lab. TF South’s Henry L. Hertz’s Auditorium also received a beautiful facelift during the summer. We also celebrate the beautiful new football field turf and completed eight-lane track at TFS. These are just a few examples of the many great initiatives, events, activities, and programming that are consistently happening at all our schools, and I am so proud of the many efforts of our staff, students, parents, and community members.  

With the semester ending soon, I continue to stress the importance for parents/guardians to continually monitor their students’ academic progress via our PowerSchool Parent portal. We also encourage students to continue to regulate their own progress daily and prepare diligently to be successful on their upcoming final exams. As always, I encourage parent/guardians to feel free to contact their students’ teachers with any questions and/or concerns.

I wish all the TFD 215 Family a pleasant and safe holiday season!   #No Stopping 215!

Yours in Education,

John M. Robinzine

Interim Superintendent