Communication Guidelines

Today's message contains the following topics:

• Communication Guidelines for Parents and Guardians
  
  
• Use “Let’s Talk” to Communicate with District 300
  
  
• Contact Information for District 300 and our Schools
  
  
• RCS Message Information
  
  
• Tips to Optimize Communication with District 300 and our Schools
  
  
• How to Remain Informed of District and School Information
  
  
• Submit a Note of Appreciation for a District 300 Staff Member
  

For issues that occur inside the classroom, a parent’s first point of contact should be their child’s teacher. If the matter cannot be resolved, a parent can move through the subsequent steps outlined in the Parent Communication Guidelines for Issues Inside the Classroom document. That document is available by clicking here.

For issues that occur outside the classroom, a parent’s first point of contact should be their school’s front office staff. If the matter cannot be resolved, a parent can move through the subsequent steps outlined in the Parent Communication Guidelines for Issues Outside the Classroom document. That document is available by clicking here.

Both documents can be accessed by visiting www.d300.org/CommunicationGuidelines.

If a parent is unsure who to contact after reviewing the communication guidelines referenced above, they are encouraged to submit questions or feedback via the new “Let’s Talk” communication tool available on the District 300 website.

Let’s Talk allows parents to submit questions or feedback and have their inquiries addressed in a timely manner.

To use Let’s Talk, simply open the “Contact Us via Let's Talk" pop-out tab on the far right side of the District 300 website at www.d300.org. Then:

• Select the topic that most closely matches your inquiry
• Select the group (student, employee, parent/guardian, or community member) that most closely matches your relationship to the district
• Type your question or concern
• Provide your contact information
• Click the “Send” button

Once submitted, an inquiry will be routed to the appropriate staff member, who will provide a response as soon as possible. In most circumstances, responses are provided within 24 hours. If a response cannot be provided within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays), a message will be sent providing the expected timeline for a complete response.

Contacting the District 300 Central Office

The District 300 Central Office can be reached via phone each school day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by calling 847-551-8300.

An email directory for all staff members is available at www.d300.org/FacultyStaffDirectory.

Contacting District 300 Schools

Parents can contact District 300 schools by phone on school days during building hours. To find a school’s building hours, please visit their respective website and look for the “Building Hours” link under the “About” menu.

Phone numbers for all District 300 schools, including the main office, attendance, and RCS (Rapid Communication System) numbers, are available in the District 300 Phone Directory. You can view the District 300 Phone Directory by clicking here.

For reference:

• Attendance Office numbers should be called to report a student absence

• Main Office numbers should be called for all other (non-attendance related) inquiries

District 300 and our schools use a Rapid Communication System (RCS) to send emails, phone calls, and text messages to parent groups. These types of communications are typically referred to as “RCS Messages.” Parents and guardians who provided their phone numbers during the online registration process will receive RCS messages throughout the school year.

RCS messages are sent when the district or a school would like to communicate with a large group. For example, District 300 uses the RCS system to send weather-related closure communications to all families. Similarly, schools use the RCS system to send to large groups within their communities, such as all parents of students in a specific grade level or the entire school community. Conversely, the district and our schools use staff emails and phones for individual parent communication.

The RCS system sends three types of RCS Messages:

• RCS Emails - From the district-level, RCS emails are sent to communicate emergency alerts, important information, messages from the superintendent, Late Start reminders, news updates, weather-related closures, and more.
  
  
• RCS Phone Calls - From the district-level, RCS phone calls will be sent less frequently than emails. Phone calls are typically reserved for high-level communications, including emergency information, important news updates, and weather-related school closure updates.
  
  
• RCS Text Messages - From the district-level, RCS text messages will be sent less frequently than phone calls and emails. RCS text messages will be used to communicate critical information, including school emergencies or important news updates.

District 300 delivers the majority of our district-level RCS messages at 7:30 p.m. on any given day, except for emergency and weather-related RCS messages.

Emergency and weather-related RCS messages are sent on an as-needed basis.

Parents and guardians can unsubscribe from RCS communications. However, it is crucial to understand the implications of unsubscribing or opting-out of RCS communications, as indicated below:

• RCS Email - Each time a parent receives an RCS email, an “unsubscribe” link will be featured at the end of the message. Should a parent click on this link, it will prompt them to follow instructions to unsubscribe from the District 300 RCS email system. If a parent unsubscribes through the email link, this will block all emails from the school and district, not just the type of message that was sent – this includes emergency and weather-related RCS emails.

• RCS Phone Calls - When a parent receives an RCS phone call, it will feature a recorded message from your school or the district. When the message ends, a prompt will provide an option to opt-out of "informational" messages. If a parent opts-out of receiving an RCS phone call, this will block all calls from the school and district, not just the type of phone call that was sent – this includes emergency and weather-related RCS phone calls.

• RCS Text Messages - Each time a parent receives an RCS text message, it will contain a brief addendum stating "Txt STOP to cancel." If a parent replies to any of these text messages with the word "STOP," this will block all texts from the school and district, not just the type of text message that was sent – this includes emergency and weather-related RCS text messaging.

District 300 advises parents NOT to unsubscribe from RCS messages but instead to delete any individual communications they find unnecessary. This method will keep email address(es) and phone number(s) active in the RCS system, ensuring parents receive all important messages.

District 300 recommends parents save the relevant phone numbers listed in the District 300 Phone Directory as contacts in their cell phones. Specifically, District 300 recommends:

• Saving your school’s main office number: (For example: “Algonquin Lakes ES - Main Office”)
  
  

• Saving your school’s attendance number*: (For example: “Algonquin Lakes ES - Attendance”)
  
  

• Saving your school’s RCS number: (For example: “Algonquin Lakes ES - RCS”)
  
  

• Saving the District 300 RCS number: (For example: “D300 - RCS”)

Parents can download an image of their school's logo to add to their phone contacts by clicking this link.

(*A note for parents of Jacobs High School and Westfield Community School: Both schools have two attendance numbers listed in the District 300 phone directory. For Jacobs, we advise saving both the regular attendance number and the Late Start attendance number. Westfield has separate attendance phone numbers for elementary and middle school. Please select the numbers that apply to your family.)

Parents are encouraged to create email contacts for relevant staff members to ensure emails are easily identifiable in their inboxes. An email directory for all school staff members is available at www.d300.org/FacultyStaffDirectory.

When District 300 delivers an RCS phone call message, the call can be directed to voicemail. However, when a voicemail box is full, new voicemail messages will not be delivered and stored in the phone.

Parents are encouraged to check the capacity of their voicemail system and, if necessary, delete past messages to ensure new RCS phone messages can be successfully delivered to voicemail.

District 300 is committed to ensuring parents and guardians remain informed about important district and school-related information. Below, are several ways the district will provide information throughout the school year.

Throughout the 2023-24 school year, Superintendent Dr. Susan Harkin will send regular RCS email messages that include notable dates and events, news and announcements, student recognitions, and school highlights.

To view the schedule for Superintendent Harkin's update messages, please click here.

The Communication Center webpage will host all RCS emails District 300 sends to families during the 2023-24 school year.

To access the Communication Center, please visit www.d300.org/CommunicationCenter.

District 300 and our schools operate social media accounts to disseminate school-related information and celebrate student success.

The main social media accounts for the district and our schools can be viewed by visiting www.d300.org/SocialMediaAccounts.

• To access the District 300 website, visit www.d300.org.
  
  
• Individual school websites can be accessed by visiting www.d300.org and clicking “Schools” near the top right corner.
  
  
• For convenience, website links that are frequently used by parents are available by visiting: www.d300.org/parents.

The District 300 mobile app has been deactivated for the 2023-24 school year. The decision to deactivate the app was based on a variety of factors, including multiple acquisitions of the vendor who hosted the app, low usage rates, and the amount of time and resources required to maintain it. Much of the information formerly available in the app is now available on the following webpage: www.d300.org/parents.

District 300 is proud to once again provide an opportunity for families to recognize staff members who have made a positive impact on their child’s educational experience.

Your specific words of appreciation can go a long way toward supporting our hardworking teachers and outstanding staff!

We kindly invite District 300 parents and guardians to take a moment to submit a Note of Appreciation for a District 300 staff member by completing a short form. The form can be accessed by clicking here.

Notes of Appreciation submissions will be printed out and hand delivered to respective staff members.

Thank you for adding to our culture of appreciation!

District 300 looks forward to having an impactful school year with our students, staff, parents, and guardians!

For additional information, please visit our Back to School Center at www.d300.org/BackToSchool.