DeVry Advantage A DeVry Advantage Academy High School

DeVry Advantage Academy High School

3300 N. Campbell Ave.

Chicago, IL 60618

Phone-(773) 697-2016 • Fax-(773) 327-4262

Carolyn Eggert, Principal

August 30, 2013

Hello, DeVry parents! Based on your feedback, I will be sending out e-mails every other Friday

with reminders, updates, and important dates. If you have suggestions of material to include,

please contact me at cmeggert@cps.edu

or 773-697-2211. Thank you!

In this letter, you will find:

1) Important reminders

2) An announcement about the high school grade scale in GradeBook

3) If you get a tuition bill from DeVry, ignore it!

4) A new college schedule begins Tuesday

5) Seniors with the Most Improved ACT scores get free White Sox tickets!

6) Update on the Ventra Cards

7) Service Learning Opportunities

8) First Parent Meeting Saturday, September 21, at 10:00 am in Room 108

9) College Timeline and activities for Seniors

10) September – October Scholarship Bulletin

11) Important Dates

Best,

Carolyn Eggert

#1: Important Reminders for All Parents

• Please remember to check your students’ high school grades and attendance on the Parent

Portal. You can find the link under “Parents” at devry.cps.k12.il.us. Grades are updated

weekly. Remember to set triggers so the program automatically alerts you about

attendance and grades!

• The new college cycle begins Tuesday, September 3! All parents should have their

child’s D# and log-in for the course shell. Please check the course shell weekly! If you

have questions or concerns, contact Dean Jannsen at 773-697-2209

• Monday, September 2, is a holiday for high school and college. Please not the campus

will be closed.

Devryhs.suggestionbox@gmail.com



Chicago, IL 60618

Phone-(773) 697-2016 • Fax-(773) 327-4262


#2: High School Grading Scale

• The grading scale for high school classes has been changed for the 2013-2014 school

year. The new scale is as follows: A = 90 – 100, B = 80 – 89, C = 70 – 79, D = 60 – 69, F

is 59 and below.

• The reasons for changing the grading scale are:

o It is aligned to the university grade scale, making it easier for parents and students

to know the expectations for performance

o It is aligned to the grade scale used by other selective enrollment schools, and

ensures that our students are on a level playing field when it comes to GPA

o Many of our teachers were “curving” their grading to adjust to the former narrow

scale. A- work received a 95% when mathematically it may have only been a

91%. We were concerned that students were forming an unrealistic expectation

for grades and would be disadvantaged when they went on to college.

• Please note that due to a technical error the grade scale has NOT been updated on the

Student and Parent Portal. For example, an 85%, which is actually a B, will display as a

C from the former grading scale. We have escalated the ticket with downtown, and are

hopeful the error is corrected by next week. If confused, please look at the numeric

average, not the letter grade. We apologize for the inconvenience!

#3: Ignore any Tuition Bills from DeVry

Please note that sometimes the DeVry University system automatically generates tuition bills for

our students. They generally come mid-September, mid-November, mid-January, mid-March,

and mid-May. This is an error. There are no tuition costs at DUAA, unless a student is re-taking

a failed class! Please ignore the tuition bills. If you have concerns, please contact Dean Jannsen

at rjannsen@devry.edu or 773-697-2209.

#4: A New College Schedule Begins Tuesday, September 3!

A new college cycle begins Tuesday, September 3. Please access your student’s online schedule

and print it out so you know what time they are expected to arrive to class and leave from class.

Any questions, please contact Dean Jannsen at rjannsen@devry.edu or 773-697-2209. Please

note: if your student has Speech this cycle, the start time has been updated to 9:00 am.

#5: Seniors with the Most Improved ACT Win Free White Sox Tickets!

We are proud to announce that 20 students from the class of 2014 increased their composite ACT

score two or more points between the March practice and April exam will receive two free White




Chicago, IL 60618

Phone-(773) 697-2016 • Fax-(773) 327-4262


Sox tickets to the 1:10 pm game versus Cleveland on Sunday, September 15. One ticket for the

parent, one for the student! Congratulations!

#6: Ventra Card Information

Thank you for your patience as CPS has changed over to the Ventra cards. CPS has released the

following announcements about Ventra:

Issues Reported

• Registration: Some students are unable to complete online registration with CTA

o A student quick guide has been created to help navigate the registration process

o

Students can also register over the phone at (877) 669-8368

• Defaced Cards: Defaced or hole-punched cards may not function

o

Defacing can interfere with the embedded antenna

o

Schools should warn students not to bend or break their cards

• Equipment Failure: Ventra riders have identified equipment failures on buses and trains

o

Riders will need to notify CTA of all encountered issues at (877) 669-8368

o

CTA will need to know the location or bus route

Thank you,

CPS Ventra Project Team

Answers for parents http://ventra.cps.edu

General questions ventrafarecard@cps.edu

#7: Service Learning Opportunities

Remember, all students need 40 hours of service learning to graduate! Students can earn service

learning at a variety of locations. Here are some September events – students can earn up to 5

hours for each event! To sign up, or if you have questions, for about any of these events can be

directed to Dianne Patterson at Dianne@chicagoevents.com

• Firefly Run, Saturday, September 7, evening event

• Chicago Blackhawks Made Dash to Madison 5K Run / Walk and 10K Skate, Monday,

September 16, evening event

• Rosehill Cemetary Run / Walk, Saturday, September 28, evening event

• O’Hare 5K / 10K on the Runway, Sunday, September 29

#8: First Parent Meeting Saturday, September 21, 10:00 am

Please join us for our first Parent Advisory Council meeting on Saturday, September 21, at 10:00

am. We will be electing officers, setting the year meeting calendar, and previewing important




Chicago, IL 60618

Phone-(773) 697-2016 • Fax-(773) 327-4262


events for the upcoming school year. All are invited to attend, and refreshments will be served!

So we can be prepared, please RSVP to Tina Drake at 773-697-2020 or tdrake3@cps.edu

#9: College Timeline and activities

As your student is engaging in planning for life after high school, please remind them to attend

DUAA/Umoja's post-secondary secondary workshops where they can apply for colleges and scholarships.

Workshops will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school and Thursdays during lunch in

room 206. Questions See Liam Bird is room 115 or reach him at lbird@umojacorporation.org.

Senior College Timeline Steps for September

• Narrow your choices to the top three or so colleges in which you are most interested.

Remember, you can use your Naviance Account to help search!

• If not already begun, start your search for scholarships (see attached list)

• Contact admissions offices to schedule campus visits

Upcoming College Admission Rep Visits:

• Concordia University Wednesday, September 18th, 11:30-12:30 in Room 108

• Bradley University Monday, October 21st, 11:30-12:30 in Room 108

If you have any students who are interested in checking out Monmouth, they can do so on a

fun and FREE bus trip on Saturday, September 14.

Pickup locations:

• Harrison/State in the Loop (adjacent to Jones College Prep HS) departs 6:00am;

returns 9:15pm

• Brickyard Shopping Center (adjacent to the Target store) departs 7:00am;

returns 8:30pm

• Chicago Ridge Shopping Center (adjacent to the Sears Auto Center)

departs 8:00am; returns 7:45pm

• For details and to sign up for this bus trip, students can

click: https://ou.monmouthcollege.edu/admissions/visit/bus-trip.aspx

• Parents, high school age siblings, and college counselors welcome and encouraged to

attend as well!

Note: If students wish to apply for admission, we are already accepting online applications.

The link for this is:https://www.monmouthcollege.edu/application




Chicago, IL 60618

Phone-(773) 697-2016 • Fax-(773) 327-4262


#10: September / October Scholarship Bulletin

Please find a great list of scholarships attached to the Parent Newsletter email! Lots of great

opportunities! Contact Liam Bird at lbird@umojacorporation.org with questions!

#11: Important Dates

Holiday, no high school or college Monday, Sept 2

Lunch forms due

Friday, Sept 6

Parent Meeting, 10:00 am, Room 108 Saturday, Sept 21

HS progress reports go home

Wednesday, Sept 25

Medical Compliance forms Due

Friday, Sept 27

Junior field trip to College Fair

Wednesday, Oct 2

Columbus day; no high school, college only Monday, Oct 14

College Cycle ends, grades due

Friday, Oct 25

College Cycle begins, new college schedule Monday, Oct 28

HS 1 st quarter ends

Thursday, Oct 31

No high school, college only

Friday, Nov 1

Veteran’s Day, no high school, college only Monday, Nov 11

Report Card pick-up, no high school or pm college Tuesday, Nov 12

Thanksgiving break, no high school or college Nov 27 – 29


DeVry Advantage A DeVry Advantage Academy High School

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