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School Students

Dear FPMS Families, 

On behalf of the faculty and staff, we welcome you to Forest Park Middle School! Home of the Panthers!  At F.P.M.S. we are committed to the co-creation of a school experience that is academically challenging, emotionally fulfilling, joyful, and meaningful for both students and staff.  We want each of our students to feel seen and heard. We want our students to question the world with a critical eye, compassionate heart, and inquisitive mind. We believe that every breath and every human interaction matters. We will provide opportunities for growth and exploration for our students to each meet their full human potential.  We urge each of you to join and work with us hand in hand to create an equitable and more just world for our students. 

We encourage you to get involved as parental engagement is a crucial part of student success. There are a number of ways to do so:

  • Ensure that your child is at school on time each day. 

  • Join our FPMS parent organization.

  • Communicate often with your child’s teachers

  • Volunteer!!! 

  • Attend school events (ie. assemblies, parent-teacher conferences, etc.)

Thank you for entrusting your child(ren’s) education and well-being to us. School and home can work together to build skills and knowledge, reinforce values, and develop a strong sense of self-worth.  We must invest our time and energy in our nation’s most valuable resource, our children to ensure they are ready to live happy and fulfilling lives. 

Darla Kass

I am humbled to be a leader in this dynamic community. I look forward to building a positive, transparent, and trusting relationship with all members. 

I am dedicated and very passionate about education, especially in the middle school years. I have been an educator for 22 years with 15 of those years spent teaching middle school math. In addition, for the past 7 years, as an Instructional Support Leader with Chicago Public Schools, I have supported administrators at 3 middle schools. I understand the unique needs of adolescents not only academically, but socially as well. The middle school years are a critical time of transition, moving from an elementary experience and preparing for the bigger challenges of high school, college, and career. I strive to work collaboratively to meet our students’ needs in order to shape their learning, curiosity and drive. 

As we open our doors to in-person learning this year, I want to assure you that I will follow all district guidelines to keep our students and staff safe. I know this will be an adjustment for students, as many will be entering the building for the first time. I will ensure their return is to a welcoming, supportive, and positive environment. 

My commitment to all stakeholders is to listen, learn, and reflect. It is my intention to build strong relationships within the school and with parents and community members so that we can work together to advance the achievement of all students at Forest Park Middle School. 

Respectfully, 

Darla Kass

Darla Kass, Principal

dkass@fpsd91.org  (708) 366-5742