USD116 BOE Update: Nov. 7, 2023

An overview of the 2023 Illinois State Report Card was given to the Board. This is an annual report that offers a picture of student and school performance. The annual summative designation uses multiple measures of academic achievement and student success. The rating is based on the prior year's performance and is designed to identify schools for support by placing them in a school improvement status.

Current and Next Steps

• Illustrative Mathematics has been adopted for the 2023-2024 school year in K-12 Grades.

• Ongoing PD is being provided in math with consultant Janet Moore at all levels.
• Restructuring has occurred and will continue to be evaluated, with positions such as instructional coaches, for intentional support in more classrooms at all levels.
• An ELA/SLA Committee was established Spring 2023 and a recommendation will be made in Spring 2024 for future aligned resources to be implemented in Fall 2024.
• A Student Engagement Advocate is at each elementary, middle school, and high school to monitor attendance and provide student interventions. Quarterly professional development is provided.

View the Illinois School Report Card Presentation

Q: Do we have any metrics on reasons for absenteeism?

A: We have Panorama data, if we see there are consistent days absent, we are checking to see that calls are being made home, every two weeks there are letters that go home, we do home visits, we make sure there are supports in place.

Q: Are there still state regulations around absenteeism when it comes to parent responsibility?

A: Unfortunately, there is not as much support in that area as there was in years past.

Q: How does the data feed into measurable goals for each of the building's improvement plans?

A: We are breaking things down by student groups and taking a close look at that. ISBE does provide some other guidance when you look at proficiency target scores. For example, the proficiency targets are divided into several grade level bands. There are proficiency targets for each subgroup; this is a moving target that will change from year to year. We will continue to work with our ISBE consultant. We will also utilize our MAP scores (the state report card does not include MAP) but MAP is a good predictor. We will use our MAP data to continually monitor progress and intervene when needed.

Q: How are you able to separate the data between excused and unexcused absences?

A: For the state reporting, it does not matter if it is excused or unexcused when we look at chronically absent students. If a student misses 10 percent of more, that is part of our chronic absenteeism.

Q: What are our plans to achieve student growth, above the state averages?

A: There are a lot of variables. Some things we need to focus on, recruitment and retention...how to retain the people we have. We also have to really look at the resources that we have in place for our students, and ensure we have tangible resources that our teachers can rely on. In addition to curriculum, we are working with our principals and having sessions on attendance. We are also talking about student behavior and discipline (day to day discipline) and the time out of class.

It is time to renew our E-Learning plan. The biggest change with this plan is that it is asynchronous (students can work at their own pace).

• Grades 6-12 have their own device and would receive instruction through Google Classroom.
• PreK-5: students will have packets already at home.

View the three year E-Learning Plan

The Board approved the USD116 E-Learning Plan

A moment of silence was held for Quarran Hopkins, a student at Adult Ed who lost his life over the weekend. He was previously a student at Dr. Williams Elementary, UMS, and UHS.

Highlights:

• ILMEA Students from UHS/UMS
• UECS 50th anniversary is Thursday at 5 p.m.
• UHS Musical is this weekend

The BOE Student Ambassador report is available here: November 7, 2023

Highlights:

• College Financial Aid Workshop: November 9 from 6-7:30 p.m.
• Movie night at UHS: The African American Club is sponsoring “Movie Night @ the U” Friday, November 10 after school.