Use this section of our site to download documents and forms for Crow Island School, to keep up to date about guidelines and practices, and to find information about our PTO. Use the navigation links at the left, or the links in the Parents tab in the main navigation above.

Articles for Parents

More information about the Winnetka Public Schools and Crow Island School can be found in the following documents which can be accessed on the Principal's welcome page.

Winnetka: A Community of Learners Document- A short document containing Winnetka Public School’s vision, beliefs, expectations, philosophy and practice statements.

An article from the Beckley Cardy Quarterly (April, 1990)- A one-page article explaining the history of the development and architecture of Crow Island school.

Lessons learned About Student Portfolios (Beth Hebert, Phi Delta Kappan, April, 1998)- An article written by one of the past principals of Crow Island School that explains portfolio assessment and the important role it plays at Crow Island School. Portfolio assessment began as a “way to go beyond test scores to collect more substantive evidence of a school’s curriculum and teaching initiatives”. Through this process, the faculty learned that the meta-cognitive “process of selecting samples of work and assembling them into a portfolio is profoundly important to children”.

Letter Grades (Donald Monroe, March 1987)- A document prepared by a past Winnetka Public Schools Superintendent that explains the philosophy behind the reality that our students do not receive letter grades until the middle of 7th grade.

Design Matters: How School Environment Affects Children (Beth Hebert, Educational Leadership, 1998)- An article that explains the role that school design plays in creating a supportive, respectful environment for learning. It looks in detail at why Crow Island School has won the American Institute of Architects’ prestigious 25 Year Award in 1971 and in 1990 was named a National Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Science ‘Facilitators’ Boost Curriculum (Pioneer Press article)- A brief article that explains the role our Science Facilitators play in bringing this curricular area to life for our students.

Department of Pupil Services Overview- A district created document that provides information about our Pupil Services Department.