Family Resources

Welcome to our Family Resources page! At North Shore School District 112, we recognize the pivotal role that parents and guardians play in the educational journey of their children. It's a partnership we deeply cherish and are committed to strengthening at every step. We are immensely proud of the collaboration we've built with families throughout our community.

You are also ALWAYS free to reach out to your school or the district office with any questions or feedback.

Resources for Parents/Guardians

Before/After-School Care

Curriculum

Visit our Teaching and Learning department page to learn more about our curricular approach and philosophy. You can also find details about the curriculum for each grade in the district.

Otus

Otus is an online platform that serves as a learning management system, data analytic engine, and gradebook. Complete with a parent/guardian portal and report card feature, Otus serves as a solution that makes the collection, analysis, and reporting of data more efficient and usable for teachers, students, and parents/guardians.

Learn more about Otus, create an account or access your account.

Varsity Tutors

North Shore School District 112 partners with Varsity Tutors for Schools, which offers private and group tutoring for students. Students in the district, kindergarten through 8th grade, can take advantage of learning resources at no cost. Access includes On Demand 24/7 Chat Tutoring, essay Editing, live online classes, and self-study resources like recorded content, practice problems, and adaptive diagnostic tests.

Parent-Teacher Organization

Registration and Enrollment

Whether you are new to the district or returning, all students must be registered on a yearly basis. Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is open. Visit our registration page to learn more. If you have any questions, please contact parentportal@nssd112.org or call 224-765-3052.

Infinite Campus

You can find a lot of information in Infinite Campus, the district's student database. If you have any questions about Infinite Campus, please contact your school's office.

Safety and Security

Student Fees

North Shore School District 112 charges a "Registration Fee" to cover the cost of consumable instructional materials such as workbooks, paper and classroom supplies. These fees, comparable to those in nearby districts, generate approximately $500,000 annually, contributing to a $2.7 million budget for curriculum materials and general supplies. Illinois law allows public schools to charge for textbooks and supplies, with courts consistently upholding the practice, while tuition cannot be charged to district residents attending public schools. The district does not charge extra fees for sports, music or clubs.

Learn more about students fees

Student Health (Including Mental Health)

The health and well-being of our students are our top priorities, encompassing both their physical and mental health. The resources listed below are here to guide you to the appropriate support. Additionally, please do not hesitate to contact your school or the district office with any specific questions or concerns.

Check out our health services page for more information or to find contact information for our school nurses.

You can find mental health resources listed below and also in our Student Services department.

Cartwheel Care

Cartwheel is a national mental health provider for students/adolescents. They provide rapid access to care for students by providing them access to a licensed clinician within seven days of referral (virtually). Clinicians are available during school hours, after school, nights, weekends, and breaks. Additionally, Cartwheel offers the ability for psychiatric evaluations and medicine management.

To learn more about Cartwheel, please reach out to your child's school or to Dr. Holly Colin, assistant superintendent for student services, at hcolin@nssd112.org.

Cook Center for Human Connection

The Cook Center for Human Connection is an organization that provides resources to support mental health. Throughout the year, the Cook Center and ParentGuidance.org offer presentations developed by licensed therapists. These events are virtual, interactive and designed to help parents/guardians support students. Registration, attendance and interactions are kept completely anonymous from other viewers.

Lake County Health Department

The Lake County Health Department collaborates with Edgewood and Northwood to implement comprehensive underage drinking prevention campaigns for both students and parents/guardians. These campaigns focus on distributing educational materials such as posters, info cards, and newsletters designed to engage and inform the community. This is part of a strategic effort by the schools to reinforce prevention messaging. Additionally, parents and guardians can access valuable resources and relationship-building tips through the monthly parent newsletter and the department's dedicated website.

For more information, visit the Lake County Health Department's website.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Help is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Visit the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline website or call 988 for immediate help.

ParentGuidance.org

ParentGuidance.org is a resource available to all District 112 parents and guardians for free. It offers education and therapeutic support for you or your child.

ReferralGPS

ReferralGPS is a web-based service focused on assisting students, staff and the community in finding local mental-health and substance use-related treatment. The service compliments the district's existing systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment options, ReferralGPS provides Care Navigation to assist families in triage, appointment setting and follow up care.

If you are interested in seeking counseling-related services at this time, please consider visiting https://referralgps.com/find-help/NSSD112 or reaching out to the Student Services team.

Safe2Help Illinois

Safe2Help offers students a safe, confidential way in which to share information that might help prevent suicides, bullying, school violence or other threats to school safety. It is available 24/7 and offers students a safe outlet to share information on school safety issues in a confidential environment. It can be accessed via a free app, text/phone, and website (Safe2HelpIllinois.com).

Call: 844-4-SAFEIL
Text: SAFE2 (72332)
Email: help@safe2helpil.com

Supply Lists

Technology

If your student is experiencing a technology issue with their device, you can submit a ticket to our technology support team. A member of our team will respond quickly to help you resolve the issue.

Be Internet Awesome by Google

Be Internet Awesome provides families with the tools and resources needed to learn about online safety and digital citizenship at home. Their family guide simplifies the process of incorporating and practicing good digital habits in daily life. Filled with valuable information, the free resource guide will help you and your children discuss, learn, and reflect on online safety together.

Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. They offer the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music. The "Parenting, Media, and Everything in Between" resource also helps families understand and navigate through some of the thinking necessary of raising children in the digital age.

Visit www.commonsensemedia.org for their free resources.

ConnectSafely

Parent and guardian guides from ConnectSafely are a growing collection of clearly written guidebooks that demystify apps, services and platforms popular with kids and teens.

Department of Education Digital Learning Guide

The U.S. Department of Education offers a free resource guide that aims to help all parents and caregivers, including those who have limited experience with digital tools, those who are expert with these tools, and anywhere in between.

Low -Cost Home Internet Service

Comcast and AT&T offer low-cost home Internet service to qualifying households. You can get started by choosing one of the providers below.

Securly

District 112 currently utilizes a platform called Securly to provide 24/7 content filtering for student devices.

This platform both use artificial intelligence to classify and block content as needed on student devices, regardless of if the device is at school or at home. Please keep in mind that no filter can block every inappropriate site.

Parent/Guardian Access

Securly also offers an app for parents and guardians so you can monitor student web browsing while outside of school hours. Visit Securly Home to learn more. If you are interested in setting up an account with Securly, please submit a ticket to the technology team and make sure to select "Sign up for Securly Home."

Additional Technology Resources

Article: A Parents Guide to Understanding the Harms of the Phone-Based Childhood, Along With Ten Tips for Rolling It Back

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