Quincy Reporter

Community Consolidated School District 181 Board of Education Academic Success Committee met April 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Call to Order

The Academic Success Committee meeting of the Board of Education of Community Consolidated School District 181, DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois, was called to order by William Cotter, Board Member, and Committee Chair, at 12:01 p.m. on April 13, 2023.

On roll call, the following members were present: William Cotter and Grace Shin.

Also present: Dr. Kathy Robinson, Dr. Dana Bergthold, Dr. Tracey Miller, Dr. Ryan Trombly, Lois Mejdrich, Virginia Malinas, and Recording Secretary Jean Duggan.

Pledge of Allegiance

William Cotter led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes

William Cotter made a motion to approve the minutes from the March 9, 2023, Academic Success Committee meeting. Grace Shin seconded the motion. All in favor, the motion carried.

Public Comment

No public comment.

Discussion Topics

2023-2024 Assessment Calendar

Dr. Tracey Miller, Director of Assessment, Instruction, and Evaluation, presented the 2023-2024 Assessment Calendar for discussion. She indicated that the Department of Learning creates an assessment schedule/calendar for the following school year. The testing windows include a fall, winter, and spring testing schedule. She said that several assessments are recurring to determine students' successful growth over the course of a school year. Additionally, several assessments on the calendar are only completed by students once during the school year.

The list of current assessments as well as the timing of the assessment window was reviewed with school administrators, CIAAC, and ASC. The feedback from stakeholders is solicited, and amendments have been made to minimize the number of assessments delivered to students.

For the 2023-24 school year, the Department of Learning recommended the removal of winter and spring BAS for 5th graders who are reading at grade-level expectations and winter MAP for 8th-grade students, as high school schedules are finalized before the administration window.

Per a question, Dr. Miller confirmed that she could share an assessment letter with families with information on iReady.

Dr. Robinson confirmed that students in 8th grade that are in interventions will be closely monitored. They are also progress monitoring for these students.

Mr. Cotter asked the average amount of time dedicated to taking assessments. Dr. Miller said she could provide this information.

2023 CSCI Results

Dr. Miller shared the results of the 2023 administration of the CSCI to students, staff, and D181 families.

The Illinois State Board of Education believes that test scores alone do not provide a full picture of teaching and learning in any one school. Under recent legislation, the State Board is mandated, on an annual basis, to implement a learning conditions survey that will help paint that fuller picture. She noted that the survey may help inform state policy and improvement initiatives; it is primarily intended to help local administrators, such as teachers, principals, and superintendents, identify strengths and weaknesses at the District and school level and better target resources and interventions.

Dr. Miller shared that the response rates are very high for students and staff. During the 2023 administration, 99% of students in grades 4-8 participated in the survey. 100% of D181 certified staff members completed the school personnel survey. Family participation ranged between 29-57%, with more than 100 families (44%) sharing their perspectives.

Dimensions whose average median score is below 2.5 are considered negative, meaning there is a high level of negative judgment. Scores above 3.5 are considered to be positive meaning that there is a high level of positive judgment regarding this dimension. Scores between 2.5 and 3.5 are viewed as neutral. Results for all three respondent groups in D181 have generally averaged at/above a 4.0. The 3-year average (20SY-22SY) for students is 4.15, for staff is 4.55, for families is 4.13, and overall is 4.27. During the 2023 administration,

the median score was higher for staff (4.63), families (4.14), and overall (4.28). The average score for students was still above 4.0 at 4.08 but slightly below the 3-year average.

Dr. Miller shared that an area of focus will be the social/emotional piece of the puzzle.

Summary and Next Steps

● The success and data have been shared with principals and district administration.

● Building-specific results will be shared with staff at a building meeting.

● Individual schools will determine what, if any, shifts need to be implemented for the remainder of 2022-2023 and/or during the 2023-2024 school year.

● Continue to promote the Community Speaker series (Katie Hurley -- Child & Adolescent Mental Health & Development).

Ms. Shin suggested that the next time CSCI is administered, the District promotes information regarding leaving questions blank.

Dr. Trombley commented on data collection and the ability to control results.

Dr. Garcia commented that the District has attempted with CSCI to change the survey but noted that they will not.

Science Pilot

Dr. Miller presented the K-8 Science Pilot.

Curriculum Renewal Cycle - Science

● D181 Target - 5-year curriculum renewal cycle

● The last science resource pilot and purchase was in the spring of 2017 for the 2017-2018 school year 

○ K-3: McGraw Hill

○ 4-8: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)

● The impact of COVID delayed the renewal cycle by 1-year.

● The Science Subject Area Committee researched resources during the spring of 2022 and fall/winter of 2022/2023.

Science Committee Priorities

● Hands-on activities

● Organized resource/units

● Aligned to NGSS and prioritizes the standards that we have identified in our pacing guides

● Assessments and labs included

● If an online component is offered - review the current state of that resource.

● Differentiated materials to meet the needs of all students (above, at, and below grade level

● Cohesive K-8

Dr. Miller shared that the Science SAC members reviewed all sample resources:

● EdReports review of resources

○ Focus

○ Coherence

○ Rigor

○ Alignment to NGSS

○ Alignment to D181 priorities

● Publishers provided samples of current science resources at our request

● Connection with local school districts regarding science curriculum resources

● The Science SAC members reviewed all sample resources

● Narrowed to those resources for which a representative was scheduled to present 

● Full day of presentations for both elementary and middle school SAC members

● Finalized the top two resources for pilot

Pilot Process & Procedures:

● All SAC members and their grade-level team in elementary will pilot

● All middle school science teachers at middle school will pilot

● Each teacher will pilot one unit of instruction from each resource

● Units from the first resource (Mystery Science & Elevate) were selected and paced by the SAC in March. The unit from the second resource (Amplify and OpenSciEd) will be selected and paced by the SAC in May.

● The pilot will begin in September 2023 and end in February 2024

● Parents will receive a letter in the fall if their child’s teacher will be piloting the science resources and specifics of the pilots.

Dr. Miller shared how excited the staff is to begin the science pilot.

District-level Committee Updates:

The Department of Learning updated the committee on the District-level Committee meetings.

Adjournment

William Cotter made a motion to adjourn at 1:13 p.m. Grace Shin seconded the motion. All in favor. The motion carried.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/hccsdil/Board.nsf/files/CRNK8K5064C1/$file/2023_04_13_ASC_Minutes.pdf