The District 58 Board of Education held a special meeting/curriculum workshop on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. View the agenda and presentation links. Meeting audio will be posted here.
Building Bridges PTA Group
District 58 parents and employees Mia Churma and Peggy Delaney presented an overview of Building Bridges, a PTA group that connects families of children who have special needs with District 58, their school and the broader community. The group hosts parent education workshops and maintains a vibrant social media presence.
Churma noted that about 25% of District 58 students receive special education services or accommodations, and District 58 offers a wide range of special programs designed to support students with special needs. Building Bridges collaborates with District 58 and local organizations (such as the Downers Grove Public Library) to better educate parents about both in-district services and community supports.
Visit the Building Bridges Facebook page for news, resources and upcoming events.
View the Building Bridges presentation.
Curriculum Committee Updates
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Justin Sisul was joined by several teachers and administrators to present District 58 curriculum committee updates. Each committee reviewed their 2018-19 progress and 2019-20 goals. The District’s curriculum committees include: English-Language Arts, Math, Science (STEM), Social Studies, Biliteracy/Dual Language, Innovative Learning and Technology, Middle School Health, SEL Audit and Middle School Exploratory. The Strategic Plan’s Curriculum Council, Professional Learning Council and Instructional Model Review Council each support curriculum work as well.
As guided by the Strategic Plan, District 58’s curriculum is undergoing significant revisions to ensure it appropriately challenges all students and aligns with state standards.
Recent curriculum updates include:
- 2018-19 school year: English-Language Arts implementation, Science pilot
- 2019-20 school year: Science implementation, Math pilot
- 2020-21 school year: Math implementation (expected), Social Studies pilot (expected)
- 2021-22 school year: Social Studies implementation (expected)
While this timeline is aggressive, District 58’s Curriculum Council and the curriculum committees have worked hard to ensure each curriculum update is initiated in a thoughtful and collaborative manner. Committees consider the students’ best interests and staff professional learning needs.
“All of our committees are working very hard,” Sisul said. “About 12 months ago, the Math Committee shared the news with the Board that we wanted to potentially explore new Math resources. It’s one year later, and we’re already halfway through the pilot! This is just one example of the dedicated efforts of our teachers and administrators; we are incredibly proud of what our committees have already accomplished.”
All curriculum committees comprise teachers and administrators, and the Curriculum Council and the Instructional Model Review Council include teachers, administrators and parents.
View the Curriculum Committee updates.
ESSA Summative Designations
The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires each state to create an education accountability plan. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) created its ESSA plan in 2018. It evaluates Illinois elementary and middle schools based on eight indicators: English-language arts academic growth (25%), math academic growth (25%), English-language arts proficiency (7.5%), math proficiency (7.5%), science proficiency (5%), English learner progress to proficiency (5%), chronic absenteeism (20%), and climate survey participation (5%). All of the academic achievement and growth data are taken exclusively from the mandated state assessments – the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, the Illinois Science Assessment and the Dynamic Learning Map.
ISBE uses this evaluation to award each school a designation in one of four tiers:
- Tier 1 – Exemplary – Schools performing in the top 10% of school statewide, with no underperforming student groups
- Tier 2 – Commendable – A school that has no underperforming student groups, and whose performance is not in the top 10% of schools statewide
- Tier 3 – Underperforming – A school in which one or more student groups is performing at or below the level of the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5% of schools.
- Tier 4- Lowest Performing – A school that is in the lowest-performing 5% of schools in Illinois.
ISBE will publish this year’s school designations as part of the annual Illinois Report Card at www.illinoisreportcard.com on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 30. District 58 principals also will email their school’s designation to parents on Oct. 30.
View the ESSA Summative Designation presentation.
School Report Cards and School Improvement Planning
ISBE’s Illinois Report Card annually highlights how well Illinois schools have progressed on their educational goals. In addition to school designations, the report cards will include 2019 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) scores. The IAR is an assessment that all Illinois students in grades 3-8 take each spring. Before 2019, the IAR was called the PARCC exam.
In 2018, District 58 worked collaboratively with staff and parents to help students approach the state assessment with a positive “can-do” approach rather than a negative “must-endure” attitude. In addition, teachers introduced the exam’s online structure, format and questioning style in advance, so students could better prepare for the testing experience. After this effort, District 58’s 2018 state assessment scores showed tremendous growth, as compared to 2017.
While District 58’s 2019 IAR results are currently embargoed by the State, Sisul shared that he is proud that this year’s results continue to build upon last year’s improvements. However, he added that this year’s results will show a more typical year of student growth, unlike last year’s exceptional growth. This information will be made public on Oct. 30 after 12 p.m. at www.illinoisreportcard.com.
New this year, the Illinois Report Card will include science proficiency data, site-based expenditure reporting, student subgroup achievement and civil rights data collection.
District 58 analyzes data from the Illinois Report Card and its various assessment results at the district, school and grade levels. These analyses help administrators with district and school improvement planning, and teachers with instructional planning and improvements. Individual school improvement plans align with the key performance indicators included in the District 58 Strategic Action Steps.
Learn more about school report cards and school improvement planning.
Upcoming Events
- Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 a.m.: Financial Advisory Committee at the ASC
- Monday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.: Community Coffee with the Board at Downers Grove Village Hall
- Monday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.: Regular Board Meeting at Downers Grove Village Hall
District 58 Board of Education members are: Darren Hughes, president; Greg Harris, vice president; Kirat Doshi, Emily Hanus, Steven Olczyk, Jill Samonte and Tracy Weiner, with Dr. Kevin Russell, superintendent; and Melissa Jerves, board secretary.