Online Resources for Families
District 97 understands that this is a diffucult time for familes and we hope to make remote learning easier by providing educational and fun online resources for students. You will find a list of different resources below.
Illinois State Board of Education FAQ
Oak Park Public Library Resources
While the buildings are closed, your public library is here for you! Check out "Virtual Learning and Fun for Young Kids and Families" on the library's website for information about connecting with your favorite librarians, exploring your digital library, and so much more. They will be updating the page daily, so check back often!
Resources for Teens, Tweens and Their Families
Teenagers who need extra support or someone to talk to have access to resources by phone and online. The library has compiled some resources for mental health and learning—along with some ideas for ways to connect, have fun, and stay active while practicing safe physical distancing. Click here for more information >
Virtual Tutoring and Academic Support for All Ages
Oak Park cardholders now have access to on-demand virtual learning with a new library resource called Brainfuse HelpNow, which offers real-time help in skill building and test preparation. Learners of all ages can connect directly online with live, vetted tutors every day from 2 to 11 pm. Click here to learn more >
Digital Access and FAQ
The library also has new ways for people to get digital-only access (so immediately access the service above), and instantly access their library card account # and PIN. More information is available at "Building Closure FAQs"
What if I do not have an Oak Park card yet? Can I get one? Yes! All Oak Park residents can get instant digital access >
What if I can’t find or forgot my library card account number (barcode)? Click on this SWAN link, then enter your last name and birthdate. You should receive an email (at the email address associated with your account) with your barcode. If you do not have an email associated with your account, contact us and we can help remotely.
Can you help me reset my PIN? Yes! You can reset your PIN from anywhere, anytime. Enter your library card number and click “Forgot My PIN” on this page. You can also contact us.
Spring Break Resources
Katie Noonan, the teacher librarian at Irvining Elementary School, created a wonderful Spring Break Resources List for families. Please view the list of activities below:
Resources for Parents
We are in this remote learning process together! Parents, check out Learning Heroes' website for education tools.
Reading Resources
Brightly Storyime brings you full-length picturebooks read out loud by our storyteller, Ms. Linda. Drop by for a new video every week!
Author Kate Messner created a blog page that includes various authors reading their own books. Her page also contains other resources for reading and learning.
Scholastic's website has list of resources and day-by-day projects for families to learn at home. The company has seperated their resources by grade level and it is free!
Internet Access Resources
Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is currently aware of the following program offering free internet access to Illinois families to support learning during the school closures.
Spectrum is offering free internet to students in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Starting March 16, 2020 the company will offer free broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription. Installation fees will be waived for new student households. To enroll, call 1-844-488-8395.
Comcast is taking steps to implement the following new policies for the next 60 days, and other important initiatives:
- Comcast has opened their Home Hotspot network for all non-Comcast customers. If you rent router/WiFi equipment from Comcast, you can enable it to help out those around you in this unprecedented time of need. Comcast promotes it as secure and will not impact your own network experience. Plus, they have removed any network caps for the next two months. Considering all Illinois schools will be closing for the next few weeks, sharing your resources with your neighbors could help students out (regardless if they are our specific students). Please consider turning this option on at the following: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/disable-xfinity-wifi-home-hotspot
- Xfinity WiFi Free For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots, and then launch a browser.
- Pausing Our Data Plan: With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. While the vast majority of our customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, we are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.
- No Disconnects or Late Fees: We will not disconnect a customer’s internet service or assess late fees if they contact us and let us know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Our care teams will be available to offer flexible payment options and can help find other solutions.
- News, Information and Educational Content on X1 and Flex: For those with school-age students at home, we’ve created new educational collections for all grade levels in partnership with Common Sense Media. Just say “education” into your X1 or Flex voice remote. To help keep customers informed, we also have created a collection of the most current news and information on Coronavirus. Just say “Coronavirus” into your X1 or Flex voice remote.
- 24x7 Network Monitoring: Underpinning all of these efforts, Comcast’s technology and engineering teams will continue to work tirelessly to support our network operations. We engineer our network capacity to handle spikes and shifts in usage patterns, and continuously test, monitor and enhance our systems and network to ensure they are ready to support customer usage. Our engineers and technicians staff our network operations centers 24/7 to ensure network performance and reliability. We are monitoring network usage and watching the load on the network both nationally and locally, and to date it is performing well.
Resources for English Language Learners
Fun English Games for Kids is an online resource targeted to elementary students.
This online resource focuses on international music and culture.
Social Science Resources
The Newseum offers hundreds of different online sources for teachers and students alike for social sciences classes. Visitors just have to sign-up to gain free access to lessons, archives, and videos.
Google Arts & Culture teamed up with over 500 museums and galleries around the world to bring anyone and everyone virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world.
You can find a list of museums to visit by clicking here.
Science Resources
PBS Learning has a variety of topics students and families can explore. You can explore the site by subject.
National Geographic has a slew of activities and resources for families and students. You can filter the resources by grade-level and the type of resource you would like to use
The Brookfield Zoo has started daily Facebook live chats, introducing visitors to the animals at their zoo. The live chats will take place on the zoo’s Facebook page on weekdays at 11 a.m. and the videos will be posted to the zoo's youtube page.