School Services

Students may consult with the guidance counselors on individual problems concerning school courses and curriculum selection, failures, extra-curricular activities, interpretation of test results, remedial work, vocational selection, home and school adjustment, personal issues, college selection, job opportunities, scholarships and financial aid, information about the armed services, necessary schedule changes, and/or similar issues. The services of the guidance office are available to both students and parents.  Parents are encouraged to avail themselves of these services through the scheduling of appointments.

The high school has the services of social workers to work with students and their families to help both through difficulties that may affect the students’ academic performance or socialization at school.  They can also provide assistance in connecting families to outside counseling or social service organizations.

The district psychologist serves both the high school and middle school and is the facilitator for special education testing.  The psychologist also attends, IEP, 504, and parent meetings as needed.

Several support groups for students are facilitated by the school social workers.

The RtI Team is a Sycamore High School program that empowers students to deal constructively with life situations of stress and crisis.  RtI has the dual purpose of keeping healthy students healthy and providing opportunities for growth for students with, or who are at risk for developing, problems of an academic, behavioral, or social nature.  In the case of substance abuse, the team attempts to provide assistance and intervention to both student and family. The team, which is comprised of a school administrator, guidance counselors, social workers, nurse, and two classroom teachers, meets weekly to discuss referred students.  The students are generally referred to RtI by a teacher, although parent or student referrals are also welcome.  It is hoped that the collective expertise in RtI meetings will generate strategies that can then be used to successfully assist at-risk students.

1. When a staff member witnesses behaviors of concern in a student, he or she completes the referral form and submits it to a counselor or administrator.
2. The counselor immediately sends out similar referral form to all of the student’s teachers for the purpose of data collection.
3. Referrals are returned as soon as possible.
4. The counselor brings the case to the RtI Team to discuss concerns.
5. Teachers are encouraged to attend this meeting to provide information regarding this student.
6. The RtI Team determines a plan of action for the students.  Some options include:
   • Interviewing/conferencing with the student
   • Notifying parents
   • Referring for assessment
   • Implementing interventions
   • Placing on watch list to monitor
   • Offering other support services
   • Referring to case study 

The referral is kept strictly confidential.  The referral or any subsequent actions are not placed in the student’s records.
 

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tiered approach to help struggling learners.  Students’ progress is closely monitored at each stage of intervention to determine the need for further research-based instruction and/or intervention in general education, in special education, or both.  Students earning a D or F in any course may be assigned to intervention during Spartan Stretch.  Any student that fails to report to Spartan Stretch is subject to disciplinary consequences associated with the school attendance policy.

Tier 1 of RTI would include all students within any given classroom being provided with scientifically-based interventions within that classroom.  A systematic method of data collection is conducted by the teacher of other educator to determine which students are responding to those interventions.  Students who are not responding to those interventions are then provided with more intense instruction at Tier 2.  

Tier 2 interventions should be conducted by a specialist who has experience in working with students.  Tier 2 interventions should be more intense for those students who did not respond to Tier 1.  Students who still do not respond to Tier 2 interventions for a specific period of time would then move to Tier 3,  which could include a referral for special education.

Any system of Response to Intervention should include appropriate academic and behavioral interventions as needed by the student and should include reading, writing, and mathematics.  If the student is suspected of having a disability at any time during the tiers, the student should be referred for a case study evaluation.
 

The Sycamore School District supports and is in compliance with Title IX of the Federal Educational Amendments of 1972, which is designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity.  Title IX requires that sex discrimination not be practiced in the employment of or admission to any education program or activity operated by the District.  Every employee and student is protected against sex discrimination by Title IX, and any person wishing to inquire about the District’s application of the law should contact Mark Ekstrom.

Any person who then has a complaint regarding sex discrimination should follow this due process procedure:

1. Building Principal
2. Superintendent
3. Board of Education

The Board of Education Policy on Title IX can be found in the Board’s Policy Manual.
 

If your child receives special education services and is also Medicaid eligible, the Sycamore School District can seek partial reimbursement from Medicaid for health services documented in your student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Medicaid reimbursement is a source of federal funds approved by Congress to help school districts maintain and improve diagnostic and therapeutic services for students.

The reimbursement process requires the school district to provide Medicaid with your student’s name, date of birth, and Medicaid number. Federal law requires annual notification of our intent to pursue this reimbursement opportunity.  If you approve of the release of information to Medicaid, do nothing.  If you object to the release of information to Medicaid, now, or at any time in the future, please state your objection in writing and forward it to:
    Director of Special Education
    Sycamore School District #427
    245 W. Exchange St.
    Sycamore, IL 60178

Regardless of your decision, the Sycamore School District must provide the services listed in your student’s IEP at no cost to you.  This program has no impact on your student’s or your family’s current or future Medicaid benefits.  Under federal law, participation in this program CANNOT:

• decrease lifetime coverage or any other public insurance benefit
• result in the family paying for services that would otherwise be covered by Medicaid
• increase your premiums or lead to discontinuation of benefits or insurance
• result in the loss of eligibility for home and community-based waivers

Your continued consent allows the district to recover a portion of the costs associated with providing health services to your student.  
 

Information on registered sex offenders is available on the State of Illinois web site at www.isp.state.il.us/sor. This information is being provided in accordance with the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act (Public Act 94-0994).

•     Police Department - (815) 895-3435
•     Fire Department - (815) 895-5414
•     DCFS - (800) 252-2873
•     Sexual Assault Abuse Services - (815) 758-7922
•     Runaway Hotline - (800) 231-6946
•     Safe Passage, Emergency - (815) 756-2228
•     Safe Passage, Non-Emergency - (815) 756-5228
•     Health Department - (815) 758-6673
•     Ben Gordon Center - (815) 756-4875
•     BGC Response (Ben Gordon Center) - (866) 242-0111
•     DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau - (815) 748-2010

The Sycamore School District has an ELL program for students with limited proficiency in the English language.  The ELL instructor is in charge of this program and, in that capacity, provides part-time services to the high school.  The instructor not only provides academic assistance to students of limited English language ability, but also serves as a liaison between the families of these students and the school.

Administration of medication to students is the responsibility of the parents and should be given at home whenever possible. Only in cases where failure to take prescribed medication could jeopardize the child’s health and/or education should medication be given at school.
A child does not need most medications to be administered at school. If they need to take medication 3 times a day or less, it should not be sent to school; it can be given before school, right after school and at bedtime. If your child takes daily medications, they should be taken at home with very few exceptions.
 

All medications (with the exception of asthma inhalers and Epi-pens) are to be taken in the nurse’s office. Students are not to have over-the-counter or other types of medication in their possession during the school day.

When school personnel are required to administer over-the-counter or prescription medication, the following procedure must be followed:

1. A written order for prescription and non-prescription medication must be obtained from the child’s physician.
2. A written request from the parent/guardian requesting the medication be given must accompany the above order.
3. Medication must be brought to school in a pharmacy labeled container that displays:
   • Child’s Name
   • Prescription Number
   • Medication Name/Dosage
   • Administration Route
   • Date and Refill
   • Physician’s Name
   • Pharmacy address and phone number
4. The School Nurse, School Administrator or the student (via Self Administration- Guidelines below) will administer the medication to the student
5. All medications designated “controlled substance” (including, but not limited to, Ritalin, Concerta, Dexedrine, and Adderall) must be delivered to school by a parent or another adult.
6. Each dose of medication administered shall be recorded with date and initials of the person administering it and placed in the student’s health record.
7. Medication must be kept in a locked drawer or cabinet in a supervised area.
8. The school nurse assigned to the school should be notified of all medication requests, including those that are to be self-administered such as bronchial inhalers. He/she will then monitor and counsel the students as needed.

The school may refuse to administer prescription or non-prescription medication unless the above procedure is followed.
 

Self-administration means the student will be responsible for opening the envelope or bottle/container and recognizing their medication prior to taking it in front of the staff member.

The school nurse will dispense medication into individual student envelopes. Designated school personnel (not necessarily the School Nurse) will carry the medication and supervise the student in self-administration. 

Illinois School Code requires that all schools permit students to carry and self-administer prescribed asthma and Epipen medication at school. In order for a student to carry asthma and/or Epipen medication at school, written permission from the parent and physician must be on file in the nurse’s office. The permission for self-administration of medication is effective for the school year and needs to be renewed each subsequent school year. The school district and its employees are to incur no liability, except for willful and wanton misconduct, as a result of any injury arising from the self-administration of medication to the student.

The emergency administration of epinephrine using an Epipen auto-injector is now approved in Sycamore Schools. The standing orders and protocol for school nurses and other trained personnel are reviewed and signed by a designated physician. An Epipen will be used when a student exhibits signs or symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction. In the event that an Epipen is administered, there will be immediate activation of the EMS system and transport to Kishwaukee Hospital. Students already diagnosed with bee sting allergies or other conditions that could lead to anaphylaxis will provide their own Epipen with physician and parent authorization.

A new Illinois mandate requires school districts to have an EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTOCOL for asthma. Along with providing medication permission forms for inhalers or other asthma medication needed at school the district is requesting that parents also provide a written “Asthma Action Plan” signed by the student’s physician or provider.
 

When a parent/guardian requests completion of diagnostic rating scales by the school district, there is a procedure that we follow:

1. The parent/guardian must complete and sign a Release of Information form. This can be from the provider or on the school district’s form.  The school district must have a copy of this release to file in the nurse’s office.
2. The completed rating scales must be returned directly to the provider.  The rating scales cannot be given back to the parents/guardian to be given to the provider.
3. The district will not provide parents/guardians a copy of the rating scale, nor will we be keeping a copy for our records.  The rating scales will not be copied in violation of copyright protections.

Please contact your school nurse for the current procedure and paperwork required for Medical Cannabis to be administered at school.

Should you send your child to school?
If your child is not feeling well on a school day, a decision must be made whether or not to send them to school or keep them home.  The following is not intended as medical advice, but merely to provide guidelines until your doctor can be consulted.

Cold, Sore Throat, Cough
A child with a “heavy” cold and hacking cough belongs at home and in bed even if they do not have a fever.  Children with sore throat complaints may attend school unless you see white spots, pronounced red streaks, or the sore throat is persistent.  In those cases, call your doctor. 

Diarrhea and Vomiting
Keep your child home.  Call your doctor if no improvement is seen after a day.  The child should have NO SYMPTOMS FOR 24 HOURS before returning to school.

Earache
Consult your doctor.

Fever
This is a warning that all is not right in the body.  No child with a fever of 100 degrees should be sent to school.  Students may be sent home for a temperature lower than 100 degrees if symptoms indicate and based on the school nurse’s assessment. Students must be fever free a minimum of  24 hours without the aid of fever reducers before returning to school.

Headache
Your child may come to school, but remember, Aspirin, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen are NOT dispensed at school.

Stomachache
This is a very common complaint!  Call your doctor if no improvement is seen after a day.

Toothache
See your dentist.
 

Your child will be sent home if they:

1. have a fever of 100 degrees or more
2. Students may be sent home for a temperature lower than 100 degrees if symptoms indicate and based on the school nurse’s assessment
3. have vomited or have diarrhea
4. feel too miserable with cold or flu symptoms
5. have live lice
6. have been injured seriously enough to impair functioning at school

If you are called at home or work and asked to pick your child up, it is your responsibility to come or arrange for someone else to come for your child immediately.  It is imperative that you supply the nurse with names and phone numbers of two (2) other people who can transport your child if you can’t be reached. 

Students must be fever, vomit, and diarrhea free for 24 hours before returning to school.  At the parent’s request, a child may stay indoors from recess for one day following an illness, after that a doctor’s note will be required.

If we feel that emergency medical services (EMS) are necessary, EMS will be activated and your child will be transported to the nearest hospital for emergency medical attention.  The closest hospital for the Sycamore School District is Kishwaukee Hospital.

The School District will follow the local health department’s guidance and recommendations.

Anyone can get head lice.  It is a popular belief that head lice only thrive in an unclean environment, but having head lice in no way implies poor housekeeping or a lack of personal cleanliness.  Head lice come from direct contact with another person or indirect contact through use of lice-infested clothing, bedding (staying overnight), hairbrushes, or combs, hats, theatre seats, or any number of ways. Sycamore Schools have a “No Live Lice” protocol to address the issue of head lice.  Report any lice outbreak to the school nurse for specific suggestions and follow up. 

Parents should check their child’s head for lice nits regularly.  The tiny, white/clear oval eggs of head lice, called nits, are attached to the hair shafts near the scalp, especially at the nape of the neck and in back of and above the ears. The lice themselves are often not seen because they are usually present in very small numbers and move very quickly. Bites by lice and the accompanying scratch marks can often be seen. If scratch marks become infected, one may experience swollen lymph nodes in the neck. The nits resemble dandruff, but dandruff is flat and is easily removed for the hair. Nits are not. They are attached to the hair shaft with a glue-like substance and cannot be removed easily even by pulling them. Also, contrary to popular belief, intense itching is NOT always present when a person is infested with head lice. One might have head lice and not feel discomfort at all. Please check your child’s head closely! Parents should look for lice/nits every week on their child.

What to do if you find head lice on your child:

1. Keep your child home until the first until the first application of lice shampoo or lice crème rinse has been applied and all nits removed. A “NO Live Lice” policy has been implemented in our school district, and therefore a child returning to school with any live lice will be sent home again.
2. Report any lice outbreak to the school nurse. She provides you with further specific suggestions for getting rid of lice.
    

Wearing a cloth mask helps prevent the person wearing the mask from spreading a virus to others.  The cloth mask does not protect the person wearing the mask from being exposed to the virus.  A student who has a known exposure to COVID-19 or is ill should remain at home.  If one feels that a mask is required during school hours due to a compromised immune system, it is encouraged to provide the district with a doctor note. Ultimately, it is up to the individual’s discretion whether a mask should be worn.  If a mask is worn, proper mask etiquette is expected: masks should remain on unless eating, masks should not be shared, if the mask is removed it should be stored with your personal belongings or in the locker and not left on shared surfaces. 

Students will be screened according to state mandated vision and hearing laws and the results will be shared with school personnel. Hearing screenings will be for all students in grades kindergarten, first and second. Vision screenings will be for students in kindergarten, second & 8th grades. Additionally, any students in special education, new to district, teacher referrals and with known vision or hearing concerns will be screened.  Parents should notify the school if consent of screening is denied. Vision screening is NOT a substitute for a complete eye examination and vision evaluation by an eye doctor. Your child is not required to undergo this vision screening if an optometrist or ophthalmologist has completed and signed a report form, indicating that an examination has been administered within the previous 12 months.

State law requires our school district to annually inform parents of students with life-threatening allergies or life-threatening chronic illnesses of the applicable provisions of Section 504 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other applicable federal statutes, federal regulations, and state rules.  If your student has a life-threatening allergy or life-threatening chronic illness, please notify the building principal or school nurse.  Federal law protects students from discrimination due to a disability that substantially limits a major life activity.  If your student has a qualifying disability, an individualized Section 504 Plan can be developed and implemented to provide the needed supports so that your student can access their education as effectively as students without disabilities.  Not all students with life-threatening allergies and life-threatening chronic illnesses may be eligible under Section 504.  Our school district may be able to appropriately meet a student’s needs through other means.

If your child has diabetes and requires assistance with managing this condition while at school and school functions, a Diabetes Care Plan from the physician must be submitted to the school principal or school nurse.  Parents/Guardians are responsible for and must:

1.  Inform the school in a timely manner of any change which needs to be made to the Diabetes Care Plan on file with the school for their child.
2. Inform the school in a timely manner of any changes to their emergency contact numbers or contact numbers of health care providers.
3. Sign the Diabetes Care Plan
4. Grant consent for and authorize designated School District Representatives to communicate directly with the health care provider whose instructions are included in the Diabetes Care Plan.
5. Provide appropriate snacks and supplies for diabetic care.
6. For further information, please contact the building principal or school nurse.
    

Illinois law requires that all K, 6th, and 9th grade students have a completed physical exam each fall. 

The physical must be completed on the current Illinois Certificate of Child Health Examination form. In addition to the physical, the student must show evidence of protection against: Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Tetanus,  Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough), TDap, Poliomyelitis, Hepatitis B series and proof of having the Varicella vaccines or history of the chickenpox disease. Students in grade 6-12 also are required to have the appropriate Meningococcal vaccines. All students new to the district must also comply with these regulations within 30 days of enrollment. Students entering the District from out of the country must have the physical exam completed prior to attending classes. Transfer students, as well as students with no physical exam but verification of a doctor’s appointment, will be conditionally enrolled. Exceptions to the law are valid for medical contraindications or religious objections provided the exemption is on file and approved in the student’s health folder.
 

The required examinations, immunization dates and forms must be turned into the school office on or prior to Oct 1st or within 30 days of moving into the District or they will be excluded from school until the requirements are fulfilled. 

The State of Illinois has specific requirements for students entering school at different grade levels. Please visit our Student Health Webpage for more information. 
 

1. Certificate of Religious Exemption: parents or legal guardians who object on religious grounds to complete any required immunizations or examinations must complete a Certificate of Religious Exemption form, which must also be signed by the physician, advanced practice nurse or physician assistant responsible for performing the student examination. The healthcare provider signature on this new form attests to informing the parent or legal guardian of the benefits of immunization and the health risks of not vaccinating the student.  Per the State Of Illinois, the certificate requires the parent or guardian signature to attest to understanding that their child may be excluded from school in the case of a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak or exposure.
2. If there is an outbreak of disease (i.e. Measles), those students who have not had an immunization due to medical or religious reasons will be on the susceptible list and will be excluded until  a set number of school days after the last reported case of the disease (as determined by the IDPH).
   • Example of exclusion dates: Measles exclusion can last a minimum of 21 days. Mumps exclusion can last a minimum of 25 days. Pertussis exclusion varies depending upon the student’s symptoms and treatment options.    
3. Students with a Religious Exemption are not eligible for homebound tutoring services during an outbreak related exclusion.     
4. Each school keeps an up-to-date list of all children who have not presented evidence of immunity against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Poliomyelitis, Measles, Rubella, Mumps, Varicella, Hepatitis B and Meningitis.
    

The State of Illinois through Public Act 93-946 has mandated that all students in K, 2nd, 6th and 9th grade must have a dental exam completed prior to May 15 of the current school year.