Dupage Policy Journal

The Dupage High School District 88 Board of Education held a meeting on Sept. 12 that outlined its goals for the upcoming year.

“So again, trying to connect our students to the different opportunities and exposure to all the different career pathways that are out there,” Superintendent Jean Barbanente said in the meeting, which was posted on YouTube. “And this will be, again, a focus across the curriculum for us throughout this year.”

The district is comprised of two high schools: Willowbrook High School and Addison Trail High School.

The superintendent and the district are doing outreaches to the local communities. There will be a luncheon at Willowbrook High School for all area business chambers of commerce at noon on Oct. 5, with invitations having already been sent. The administration also made a presentation to Lombard on Sept. 15 because many students from that village make their way to District 88.

Barbanente took on her current role after working for the district for 25 years, teaching Italian and Spanish at Addison Trail; a report from Fra Noi said.

The superintendent reminded parents that while during COVID-19 the district was able to participate in the federal program that provided lunches for all students, after Sept. 29 that program will be ending and the district will go back to pre-pandemic policies. They are urging and helping families that qualify for benefits to apply by using an online application.

The board will meet again at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 at 2 Friendship Plaza in Addison.

The district has been improving and upgrading safety protocols across all schools. Along with traditional hard copy IDs, they have been phasing in digital IDs on students’ phones. As this continues, they plan to require students to scan into the building using these IDs, as students more often forget their IDs than their phones.