Talk D93 - CCSD93's Official Podcast

CCSD93's Early Childhood Center (ECC) provides a unique and engaging preschool experience in a space thoughtfully designed just for our community's littlest learners. Join Dr. Hill and ECC Principal Heather Santiemmo for a discussion about what sets the ECC apart as it guides students to grow and develop, and how you can enroll your child to start building a strong foundation for kindergarten and beyond.

Listen as Dr. Hill is joined by CCSD93 Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Dr. Crysta Morrissey and Carol Stream Elementary School Principal Corinne McCabe to discuss CCSD93's discipline strategies for the final episode of our Talk D93 safety suite. Find out more about how CCSD93 uses a tiered strategy of providing preventative, supportive and corrective discipline to teach students to employ positive behaviors, and discover its benefits over traditional discipline methods that focus exclusively on punitive measures.

The wellbeing of students, staff, and everyone within the CCSD93 community is our highest priority. Join Dr. Hill, along with CCSD93 Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Julie Tobin, as they continue Talk D93's safety suite by discussing the threat assessment process in CCSD93. You'll find out more about the systematic procedures the district has in place to prevent physical harm from occurring after a threat has been made and how the district uses such situations to help students learn and grow.

The wellbeing of students, staff, and everyone in our buildings is CCSD93's highest priority. Join Dr. Hill, along with CCSD93 Human Resources Generalist and former Western Trails Principal Joy Sebastian, as they discuss building safety in CCSD93. You'll find out more about the district's collaborative relationships with our community's first responders, the security procedures and protocols that we have in place, and how the district's schools have been designed specifically for safety.

Restorative practices are a systematic way CCSD93's schools and classrooms build community so that each student feels included and accountable to their peers. This creates more productive learning environments and reduces the amount of time classrooms spend devoted to discipline. Join Dr. Hill, along with CCSD93 Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Dr. Crysta Morrissey, Elsie Johnson Principal Maria Weber, and School Resource Officer Pablo Caster of the Carol Stream Police Department, as they discuss restorative practices in CCSD93.

Join Superintendent Hill and Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning & Innovation Jonathan Zimmermann for a discussion on standards-based grading. You'll find out more about this measurement of student progress and achievement, why it is an improvement over the standard letter grade system, and how you can stay updated on your student's academic experience.

Dr. Hill is joined by Jessie, a 6th grader at Jay Stream, and Gianna, an 8th grader at Stratford, who share perspectives on their remote learning experiences and the pandemic. Listen to hear Jessie and Gianna identify challenges they’ve faced, positive engagements strategies their teachers use, ideas for improvement and more.

Listen to the latest Talk D93 podcast episode featuring CCSD93’s 4th full-time Superintendent Dr. Bill Shields! Find out more about how his visionary leadership helped push CCSD93 to new heights through fully harnessing the power of technology as an educational tool and transforming learning spaces to be more flexible and aligned with modern teaching and learning!

As CCSD93 continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Dr. Hill sits down with CCSD93’s third full-time Superintendent of Schools Dr. Hank Gmitro. The two discuss Dr. Gmitro’s tenure from 1996 to 2009, a time when CCSD93 significantly expanded student programming, when the district began to embrace technology as a learning tool in its nascent stages, and when the district brought on process management and a stakeholder driven strategic plan to make the leap from a good school district to a great one.

As CCSD93 continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Dr. Hill sits down with CCSD93’s second full-time Superintendent of Schools John DiBuono. The two discuss Mr. DiBuono’s tenure, a time of great expansion and much construction, during which CCSD93 became the fastest-growing school district in the state.

As CCSD93 celebrates its 100th anniversary as a school district, Dr. Hill sits down with Carol Stream historian and former CCSD93 staff member Carole Ellermeier to talk about the history of CCSD93 from prior to its organization in 1920 through the tenure of its first full-time Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Elsie Johnson ending in 1982. Listen to learn how CCSD93 developed from a rural farmhouse with 18 students to a thriving suburban school district.

Dr. Hill sits down with CCSD93 Director of English Language Services Mireya Sanchez to talk about CCSD93's Dual Language program, which teaches students to learn both English and Spanish starting in kindergarten. Listen to learn how students can join the program, methods for instruction, what students can expect when they join and more!

In the first ever Talk D93, Dr. Hill sits down with Instructional Coaches Amber Reedy from Elsie Johnson School and Jill Kirby from Stratford Middle School to discuss how the role of Instructional Coach helps teachers at all of CCSD93’s elementary and middle schools innovate and collaborate better to improve teaching and student learning opportunities.