State of the School - June 5, 2025

Well friends, we've done it! Another school year is in the books. It's been a great year and has been my pleasure serving our IJP families this year. I appreciate your support, kindness, and generosity of time, talent, and treasures. Know that you will always be in my prayers!

I wanted to take a few minutes to give you some updates on next school year!

We recently received the results of our 5Essentials survey. While there’s still a lot of data to decimate, I can tell you that we were rated Very Strong in Involved Families, and Strong in both Effective Leaders and Collaborative Teachers. I’m excited to spend some more time with the data so that we can see where we are doing well and where we need to improve. Thank you to those of you who took the time to take the survey!

We are in the process of hiring our new kindergarten teacher. I have two interviews next week, and am excited to help find a great fit for some of our youngest friends. We are also looking for help in our extended day program. We have a wonderful soul who will likely work mornings for us, but still need to figure out the afternoon coverage. 

As you know, we have some changes to our programming for next year. We are finalizing the details for our Spanish program so students will work with the teacher once or twice a week. Our Preschool program is growing rapidly. We have many waitlisted students and are changing and improving our program to accommodate the larger group. Hopefully we’ll need to hire an additional aide to help out. We will continue our Catholic Cool program with Deacon John McNichols so students (and staff) will continue to grow in their understanding of our faith. We will also continue our house program with some tweaks. 

Good news on our final diagnostic testing with iReady! Over the year, we grew 116% in reading and 111% in math. 69% of our students scored at or above grade level in reading and 58% in math. Even though we use different types of testing, a local school district reported 46.3% of their students met or exceeded expectations in reading and 23.8% in math for 2024. In our state, 41.2% of students met or exceeded expectations in reading and 28.4% in math for 2024. We are proud of the progress we made and continue to seek ways to improve our teaching and learning.

Staff will continue our mission of improved academics with opportunities for professional development and collaboration. We will focus on improvement in math with a focus on differentiation and better meeting the needs of individual students. Science and social studies teachers will be working on better articulation through the years and incorporating writing and projects that will help prepare them for the seventh grade science fair. Teachers will continue use of our Social Emotional Learning curriculum and will participate in updated training before school starts helping us to develop better relationships with each other. iReady will also continue to help us understand what students know and need to know so that we can plan according to our data and students’ needs. 

Many plans are being made to improve our extracurricular activities. Perhaps you saw the post on dojo about the sports programs for next school year. Your help will definitely be needed in getting those up and running. We will continue our Kingsmen Clubs, and teachers are already talking about the fun classes they’d like to offer. Perhaps you will find something you’d like to sponsor/teach. Our band and choir programs will continue. The directors hope more students will join their programs. Mr. Francis, our new principal, is very excited to get our drama program going again, and all of us are collaborating on offering more field trips next year.

We are super excited to welcome 37 new students enrolled for next year already! We are getting multiple calls and website inquiries each day. Please spread the word to your friends, family, and neighbors. We’d be happy to chat with them to see if we are the right fit. With another Blue Ribbon award in our sights, the future sure looks bright! 

Summer beckons fun for sure, but please plan to have your child(ren) work on academics, too. iReady lessons will stay open through July 31. Two lessons a week in math and reading each week would help reduce summer slide! Also, it is incredibly important that students memorize their math facts. Doing so will make complicated math problems easier, for sure. Reading for pleasure is also a great way to spend time. Perhaps you read a book together as a family, read to learn about a place you will visit, or discover a new genre of interest. 

Have a wonderful and safe summer! Perhaps we’ll see you at church or somewhere in the neighborhood! Watch Class Dojo for events happening over the summer including a Meet the Teacher evening when families can stop in to meet the teacher and drop off supplies. 

Many blessings! Have a wonderful summer!

Dr. Kelly

Special Announcement from Fr. Kris

Dear Families and Friends of IJP School,

I have some exciting news to share with you. As you know our current Interim Principal, Dr. Kelly, was with us only during this time of transition while we were looking for a new principal. Our Search Committee was working hard studying different applications to find the best candidate for this important position. After all the interviews we decided that the best candidate is Mr. Joseph Francis. 

Mr. Francis is a lifelong student of Catholic education. He attended Saint Joseph School in Holbrook, MA from preschool through eighth grade and Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton, MA. After high school, he continued his Catholic education and received his bachelor's degree in elementary education from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. During this time, he also served as class president for three years. Mr. Francis received his master’s degree in educational leadership and policy from Boston College as a member of the Catholic Leadership Cohort, a program designed to transition Catholic teachers into leadership roles.

Mr. Francis has been at St. John School in Canton, Massachusetts for four years. He started as a grades 4/5 Social Studies teacher and then moved into the grade 2 classroom, where he has been for the past three years. Before his time at Saint John, Mr. Francis served as a classroom aide in various early childhood and elementary classrooms at the school he attended. Besides teaching, Mr. Francis is a big supporter of the Drama Program, has run numerous clubs, coached soccer, and currently serves as the Faculty Sunshine Coordinator.  Beyond his professional role, Mr. Francis enjoys traveling, and is looking forward to exploring the Chicago area! 

We are happy and excited to welcome Mr. Francis to our IJP family. At the same time we are grateful to Dr. Kelly for her dedication and help, especially during this time of transition. Not a long time ago, as you know, she earned her doctorate and spent a lot of time analyzing different avenues and programs that can benefit Catholic schools. I was hoping that after her departure there would be a way to benefit from her expertise in this field. And there is! Even though Dr. Kelly is busy with new projects, she is still willing to help us as our Development and Outreach Coordinator. She will focus on gaining exposure in the Southland for our school to gain support, funding, and increase enrollment as well as pursue grants to benefit our students’ educational experiences. Dr. Kelly will also work with stakeholders to help develop a long term strategic plan. Together we can implement and take advantage of different programs that will strengthen our great school with its long and rich history.

Special thank you to our Principal Search Committee for their time and effort in helping us find the right fit for our school. Mr. Francis comes to us highly recommended from all aspects of his educational journey. Thank you to the following parents: Mr. Ed Briscoe, kindergarten parent, Mrs. Rosio Copeland, parent of first, third, and eighth grade students, and Mrs. Barlow, alumni parent and parent of an eighth grader. Also, great thanks to our teachers, Dr. Brewer and Mrs. Ladner for their perspective and insights as staff members. Thanks to Mrs. Dull, Mrs. Klupchak, and Dr. Kelly, as well, for their thoughts on the principal search as long time stakeholders at IJP.

Welcome Mr. Francis and thank you all!

Father Kris

A note from Mr. Francis:

​My educational philosophy is rooted in the Catholic tradition, while also greatly valuing the need for innovative educational practices. My philosophy also holds the unique gifts and talents of every student at the forefront, and gives each student the chance to shine; both in and out of the classroom. I intend to build and expand on existing academic and extracurricular programs that IJP currently offers, while also creating new opportunities for students. I also intend to work collaboratively with staff, students, and families to introduce wide ranging programs to best serve the academic, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of our students. I am excited to join the IJP family and look forward to working with students, staff and families to build a strong and dynamic school community.

September's IJP Alumni Reunion: A Nostalgic Night on Campus

This September, we welcomed back alumni for a fun and memorable All School reunion night. Graduates from different classes came together to reconnect, catch up, and share stories from their days here at IJP. Alumni enjoyed a great atmosphere of cocktails, snacks, old memorabilia, yearbooks and photos, school tours, and more. It was a wonderful evening, and everyone was excited to be back where it all started here in Flossmoor, IL.

Alumni were so happy to be back and expressed to our community just how much they enjoyed the evening. One attendee shared, "It was a great group, and really brought back many memories from my class." Another alum expressed gratitude to our staff, who "did a great job organizing such a nice evening." As they toured the school, we couldn't help but smile and laugh at all those swapping stories from their time at IJP, showing that the bond they formed back then is still alive and well.

As the night wrapped up, the good vibes were clear. "I felt years younger being here tonight," one Class of '63 member joked. The Kingsmen spirit was palpable, and everyone left feeling grateful for the memories, both old and new.

 For all alumni interested in learning more about future reunions or being highlighted in our school’s news, we encourage you to head to our website's alumni page and stay connected with the IJP community!