STRATEGIC GOAL 4  

Building for Success: Implementing the New PK-5 and 6-8 grade Models

 

 

 

Team Leaders – Liz Ehrhart, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction; Jessica Stewart, Assistant Superintendent for Special Services

Building for Success Objectives

1. The district will work to ensure smooth transitions to a 6-8 middle school model for all stakeholders, especially in the first year of transition.

2. In order to ensure equitable access to curricular, programmatic, and instructional resources, the district should examine school boundaries based on building utilization.

3. The district will examine the use and implementation of resources that provide intervention and enrichment to the student experience (curricular and extra-curricular).

4. The pre-k/5 elementary structure will be examined in order to optimize opportunities and innovative experiences.

5. Middle school structure will be examined in order to optimize opportunities and innovative experiences.


Objective 4.1: District 58 will work to ensure smooth transitions to a 6-8 middle school model for all stakeholders, especially in the first year of transition.

Action Plan

  • Action 4.1a: Create a steering committee to review components of various middle school philosophies and determine course of action for the district middle schools
  • Action 4.1b: Create sub-committees from the steering committee focused on the following components:
    • Scheduling and needed staff
    • Student supports
    • Transition from 5th/6th to 6th/7th
    • Elementary School Liaisons
    • Middle School Liaisons
  • Action 4.1c: District 58 will identify areas of support and provide staff development for current and future middle school staff
  • Action 4.1d: District 58 will communicate early and often about processes and transition occurrences and involve school PTAs in the messaging

Implementation plan for the 2023-2024 school year

  • Formation of a Middle School Steering Committee to include staff and families to meet regularly throughout the 2023-24 school year
  • The Middle School Steering Committee will operate with detailed agendas that will include information needed to accomplish the above-identified steps
  • The Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and the Assistant Superintendent of Special Services will be responsible for overseeing this objective and implementation plan.

 

Objective 4.2: In order to ensure equitable access to curricular, programmatic, and instructional resources, District 58 should examine school boundaries based on building utilization.

Action Plans

  • Action 4.2a: District 58 will secure study of enrollment projections and demographics by building and analyze the direct effect of the 6th grade transition to the middle school on the elementary buildings
  • Action 4.2b: District 58 will employ a committee to study and discern elementary building utilization across the district, including current staffing numbers, enrollment, room assignments (both classroom and small spaces) and establish a model of equitable use
  • Action 4.2c: Based on the outcomes of action steps 1 and 2, District 58 will determine the need to examine the boundaries at the elementary level to ensure equity across the district.

Implementation plan for the 2023-2024 school year

  • The Superintendent and the CSBO will oversee the enrollment projections and demographics study and the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and Assistant Superintendent for Special Services will be responsible for successful use of the information to support implementation of the stated objective.
  • The Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Assistant Superintendent for Special Services and Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Staff Development will convene a building principal working group to review data from the enrollment projections and demographics study, while using current practices to determine next steps and ensuring equity of building usage.