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Naperville
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Video Voice – Back to school

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As I write this column, the school buses are back in action and rolling past my driveway. Groups of excited students – together with some nervous looking parents – gather at various points throughout the neighborhood waiting to hop on the bus and embark on the day’s educational journey.

Each new school year is like a new chapter in a book. It usually builds on the chapters that came before it, but there is always the possibility it will take the story in a completely new direction. That’s one of the reasons the NCTV17 staff look forward to the start of each new school year. While many of the characters and events are the same, there is always a new plotline developing and new characters entering the story.

Building off five team state championships among our local schools last year, our sports reporters are excited to see what this year will bring. Just last month they previewed our six local high school football teams on the season-opener of Naperville Sports Weekly. Will one of our local teams find themselves in Champaign playing for a state title on Thanksgiving weekend? We know six coaches who hope to write the ending to that chapter!

In news, the new school year has some plotlines we’ll be following. Naperville News 17 reported on the tentative 2018-19 budget for District 203 with personnel costs accounting for 77 percent of total expenditures and student enrollment predicted to remain flat or slightly decline over the next five years. Across town, District 204 revealed the changes/improvements the public said they wanted during the Engage 204 initiative. Among those changes: reducing class sizes, completing deferred maintenance projects, increasing teacher salaries, and improving school safety. Our news team will continue to see where these storylines go in the year ahead.

Our community events team is already planning which high school fine arts performances to broadcast on Channel 17 while I’m looking forward to introducing some new characters when I sit down with student-led nonprofit organizations like, “Chance for Sports” on Spotlight. Reprising his role as host of School Scene, Superintendent Dan Bridges will be back to update the community on what’s happening within District 203.

While I miss the excitement of getting my own kids ready for back-to-school, I still love this time of year and the promise it holds for another exciting chapter in our community’s collective story.

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Jane Wernette
Jane Wernettehttp://nctv17.com/
Jane Wernette is Community Development Director for Naperville Community Television, Channel 17. Contact her at jwernette@nctv17.com. Visit NCTV17.com for more information and the complete weekly schedule. NCTV17 is located at 127 Ambassador Drive, Suite 103 in Naperville.

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