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D65 Students Demonstrate Academic Growth

Dear District 65 Community -

I hope your week is off to a terrific start! At last night’s Curriculum and Policy Committee Meeting, our team shared an update on student academic progress aligned to our strategic plan goals. It’s time to turn up the J-Factor (Joy Factor); we have quite a bit to celebrate!

And, that starts with our incredible team! Our educators, support staff, and administrators give it their all every day with the goal of filling our students’ brains with knowledge and hearts with love. They are the ones truly making a difference and I’m deeply grateful.

Our team overall has done an incredible job of implementing new rigorous, standards-aligned curriculum which has rolled out across subject areas over the past few years. I truly believe this has been a catalyst for the growth you will see below and is having a positive impact on student outcomes.

Now midway through the year, I believe it's important to celebrate the journey while pausing and reflecting on areas where we need more focus and attention.
 

Glows - Promising Trends

  • Students meeting College Readiness Benchmarks (SAT) increased in Language Arts (72.34% to 75.2%) and in Math (43.53% to 50.52%) compared to last year.
  • Students at/below the 25th percentile in Language Arts (14.45%) and Math (15.96%) are the lowest they have been in three years.
  • Students Meeting/Exceeding growth targets increased in Language Arts (56.45% to 61.86%) compared to last year - also the highest in three years! And, the percentage of students Meeting/Exceeding growth targets in Math increased significantly from 48.33% to 68.68% over the past two years.
  • In kindergarten, first, and second grade, we are seeing significant increases for our Spanish-speaking English Language Learners meeting or exceeding benchmarks in a number of foundational skills measures.
  • In our Fall Panorama Student Survey, ‘Sense of Belonging’ in 3rd through 8th grades have increased to the highest levels we have seen in District 65.

Grows - Areas for Focus and Attention

  • District 65 has been identified as being in the top 20 percent for the exclusionary discipline metric of Racial Disproportionality. And yet, we are learning from our Rice Children’s Center team whose focus on trauma-informed care and de-escalation has made the school a District-wide leader in reducing this disproportionality.
  • Improving overall K-2 Foundational Skills and Fluency where student outcomes have remained fairly stagnant the past several years.
  • A continued need for increasing and sustaining diversity, equity, and inclusion training and professional growth opportunities with an intentional focus on unconscious bias.

 While I am energized by the growth we are seeing, we’re not there yet. And, until every child is achieving at the high levels we know they are capable of, we will not let off the gas. It is my strongest desire that our schools are where the best, brightest, and most caring want to work; where every parent and caregiver feels confident that their child will receive the highest quality education; and that every student feels safe, welcome, and valued for who they are.

I just know we will get there if we continue to work together. I am grateful for your continued support and partnership. Thank you for all that you do for the children of our community.

 

Yours in education,

Dr. Angel Turner (she/her)
Interim Superintendent