Teachers, staff, and administrators are busy preparing for the new school year! Thank you to our custodial teams for ensuring our buildings are clean, safe, and ready to go for opening day.

Principals will send a welcome email with school-specific information on Tuesday, August 11. Teachers will reach out after assignments have been sent on August 21. If you are a new district family and have not yet received a school placement email, reach out to the registrar.

A great way to be involved with your child’s school is through its parent/teacher group. There may be additional meet and greet opportunities, school supply ordering options, or membership information through them. Visit our PTA Guide to connect with your school’s organization.

Our District Leadership Team met last week for their annual retreat at Brookfield Zoo. With some new faces and several familiar ones stepping into new roles, it was a great opportunity for the whole team to connect, build trust, and develop strategic coherence and value in district work.

School Leaders:
Pete Gatz — Central
Chris Reid — Blythe
Katie Kayastha — Hauser
Chris Harvalis — Hauser
Nikki Mazza — Ames
Erin Dwyer — Hollywood
Jenn DeBruin — Elementary Schools

District Administrators:
Steve Wilder — Finance
Martha Ryan-Toye — Superintendent
Nora Geraghty — Special Education & Student Services
Zach Pros — Facilities
Molly Marquardt — Technology
Casimira Gorman — Teaching & Learning

A huge congratulations to these amazing teachers for recently completing Lexia LETRS training! For nearly two years, they have been working on becoming literacy and language experts in the science of reading. We are so proud of their dedication to our students and community.
Blythe kindergarten teachers: Mrs. Bassing and Mrs. Kamego
Ames first grade and kindergarten teachers: Ms. Workman, Mrs. Aiyash, and Ms. McPherson
Central first grade teacher: Ms. Sula

Kindergarten teachers are in the building this week meeting with our newest incoming class! These assessments are a way to learn more about our soon-to-be kindergarten students and their classroom readiness. Congratulations and welcome to our newest D96 “recruits!”

Summer school is underway! Thanks to the many, many teachers who are in the classroom for animal adventures, skill building, transition to kindergarten, and more! We are also grateful for our summer school principal, Dr. Dwyer, for making it all run smoothly, and our summer school secretary, nurse, and custodians for keeping everyone happy, healthy, and safe.  

And of course, a shout out to the students who are getting up early and getting their brains back in school mode over break! Classes run through August 6 at Ames.

Thank you to the Riverside Junior Woman’s Charity for generously donating funds to help reduce remaining lunch balances for students in need. We appreciate this heartfelt community gesture and its positive impact on D96 students.
📸 A representative from RJWC dropped off the check for our Director of Finance and Superintendent.

There may be 77 more days of summer, but some of us are already thinking about the school year! Several of our district first grade teachers got together this week to go through the upcoming CKLA (language arts) curriculum. They are working to keep units aligned across all of our schools and finding ways to bring creativity into the classroom. ☀️👏✏️

A last look at Blythe's playground as we know it! Fencing will go up by early next week and construction will begin shortly after that. We are looking forward to seeing students and the community enjoying the new playground at the end of the summer.

Please note: both Blythe's and Central's playgrounds will be closed for summer construction projects.

Congratulations to Hauser’s Class of 2026! We are so proud of your hard work and know you are ready for the next chapter. 🎓 Thank you to all of our D96 teachers, staff, and families for your support along the way. (How special that two of our board members got to hand diplomas to their own children!) 👏

We are so excited to welcome Nikki Mazza as our new Ames Principal following Mr. Gierman’s (well-deserved) retirement. Thank you so much to the Ames families who came out to meet Mrs. Mazza. And, of course, thank you to our administrative assistants and custodians for coordinating the event.

📸 Pictured: Principal Mazza, Custodian Vasko, Superintendent Ryan-Toye

Reminder: registration for the upcoming school year is open!
Be sure to complete your student’s registration soon—and a special reminder for incoming kindergarten families: register by TODAY to receive your 40% early registration discount! We can’t wait to welcome our newest learners next year! 📚✨
Visit District96.org and click Registration to get started.

Yesterday, the District Leadership Team met with Riverside, Brookfield, and North Riverside police and fire representatives along with village officials to review our shared goals for student safety.

In this annual meeting, we discussed our updated school security systems, coordinating safety drills, assessing student threats, and other ways we can partner to support our students.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend this important meeting!

D96 students have a HALF DAY on Friday, April 24 while staff attend a district-wide professional development session in the afternoon. Hauser and elementary students will be dismissed at 11:20am.

Students can pick up a bagged lunch immediately following dismissal. Sign up is required: https://store.district96.org/#!/products/RDXXNZABSG

Lunch pick up:
Ames - Early Learner Hub
Blythe Park - Main Office
Central - Small Multipurpose Room
Hollywood - Main Office
Hauser - Hauser Cafeteria

Over the last two months, a group of 43 parents, residents, teachers, administrators, and board members, plus 4 brave Hauser students, worked together to begin developing our next strategic plan.

Through thoughtful discussions facilitated by Educational Leadership Solutions, we reviewed our current mission and vision and discussed how we’d like the district to be seen in the future.

Building on the success of the current plan, we will continue to focus on student learning, school culture, and community while investing in our talented staff and facilities. The next step will be sharing these goals with the full Board of Education and developing attainable and measurable strategies to support them. We hope to have a draft of our new strategic plan approved this school year.

Thank you again to everyone who took our strategic plan survey in February. Your feedback helped shape these conversations and will continue to impact our district’s goals.

We wish all of our D96 families a safe and relaxing spring break! The district office will be open during the week; school offices are closed.

See you back on Tuesday, April 7!

It’s been a busy and exciting March at our schools! Here’s a look at what’s been happening across the district.

📚 Students had fun with Flash while shopping the Central PTO Book Fair!
🥳 Fifth graders celebrated their 1,000th day of school at Blythe Park!
🤪 Teachers went wild with their outfits for Ames’ first ever mismatch day!
🏀 The 8th grade boys’ and girls’ basketballs teams beat Hauser staff 27-24 in the annual student vs staff game!
💙 Hollywood celebrated community and culture at its first ever cultural night!

Congratulations to all of our talented D96 student artists who showcased talented women in Riverside Historical Society’s Women's History Month poster contest! The winning posters are on display at the Riverside Public Library through March. Stop by to be inspired!

We know our children are struggling emotionally in unprecedented ways. Why? Simply put, an overemphasis on achievement along with adult over involvement.

On Monday, April 13, Dr. Doug Bolton will identify myths that create unnecessary pressure for parents, educators, and children. Dr. Bolton, clinical psychologist and consultant, will also share strategies to help children feel more connected and ways to refocus energy on the things that are most essential for wellness and success.

This parent information session will be recorded and available for later viewing. Five in-person attendees will win a copy of Dr. Bolton’s book, Untethered: Creating Connected Families, Schools, and Communities to Raise a Resilient Generation.

Monday, April 13
6:30pm
Hauser Junior High

📣 Hey! The kids have a question! Have you taken our survey yet? It takes 5 minutes and helps guide the district for the years ahead. As we review our mission, vision, and values, your feedback tells us what our goals should be for the: 👩‍💻 superintendent 🏫 principals 🧑🏻‍🏫 teachers 🧑‍🎓and students 🗓️ Your voice matters in this process! Please take 5 minutes to complete the survey at district96.org by Wednesday, March 4.