Quincy Reporter

Community Consolidated School District 181 Board of Education Academic Success Committee met Feb. 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 at noon by Grace Shin, Board Member, and Committee Chair at noon on February 13, 2025.

On roll call, the following members were present: Asim Aleem and Grace Shin.

Dr. Kathy Robinson, Kristin Reingruber, Erica Ekstrom, Sara Clary, Jake Wertz, and Chaidan Leshinski.

Pledge of Allegiance

Grace Shin led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes

Grace Shin made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 16, 2025, Academic Success Committee meeting. Asim Aleem seconded the motion. All in favor, the motion carried.

Public Comment

No public comment.

Discussion Topics

Special Education Mid-Year Report

Erica Ekstrom, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, presented a mid-year report on Special Education and the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).

Ms. Ekstrom shared information about the results of the special education student cohort NWEA MAP data, an update on the work of the Literacy Pilot for specialized programs, and an update on the work of the Multi Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Committee.

Ms. Ekstrom explained that District-wide data is utilized to observe trends or identify areas of need. This data is divided into deciles, grade levels, and school groups.

Ms. Ekstrom noted the following:

● The percentage of students with disabilities has remained stable (2024: 11.6 %)

● The most prevalent eligibility categories remain stable with the top three being Speech and Language Impairment (23.5%), Developmental Delay (23%), and Other Health Impairment (22.1%)

MAP Performance Data:

The grade-appropriate MAP assessments were administered to all grades 1-7 students based on the District 181 Assessment Calendar. The fall administration provides a data point for where to begin instruction, provide support, and enrich the curriculum for students.

Special Education student cohort data was presented. Additionally, this information was used to understand student growth throughout the school year and to adjust support as necessary.

Specialized Programs-Literacy Pilot Update:

Ms. Ekstrom shared that the D181 target for a curriculum renewal cycle is 5 years. K-5 ELA curriculum resources in alignment with structured literacy and the Illinois Literacy plan are being reviewed. As part of this work, Early Childhood and RISE/Foundations curriculum committees have also been reviewing curriculum resources. Early Childhood will pilot Benchmark Ready to Advance and Creative Curriculum with Kickstart Literacy. Intensive interventions will be piloted within special education programming, including RISE and Foundations. Lexia (Core 5 and Power Up), Language Live, and Read 180 are being considered. All of these resources are in alignment with the science of reading research, as well as district literacy efforts.

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Update:

Ms. Ekstrom shared that feedback was collected from the MTSS committee regarding last year’s Satchel Pulse pilot. The feedback detailed that Satchel Pulse continues to be a valuable resource for assessing students’ social-emotional skills and providing lessons targeted to individual student needs. The goal of the MTSS committee is to have an evidence-based social-emotional curricular resource that supports SEL skill development and academic/school success and incorporates a developmental scope and sequence.

She noted that this year, the committee will review research, programs, product samples, and feedback from districts currently using these resources to narrow the curricular resource selection that will be piloted. She said that Second Step has been identified as a curricular resource to pilot during the 2025-26 School Year. Throughout the pilot, staff will assess the effectiveness of Second Step utilizing an established rubric, and these results will be compared with the current curricular resource, Satchel Pulse. She said that continued updates regarding this curricular work will be brought to ASC and the Board of Education during the 2024- 2025 school year.

Social Studies Resource Recommendation

Kristin Reingruber, Director of Assessment, Instruction, and Evaluation, shared information on the recommendation for a Social Studies Resource. In D181, the target for a curriculum renewal cycle is five years. The last social studies resource pilot and purchase was for the 2018-2019 school year.

First and second grade uses Benchmark and CustomEd supplements, third grade uses TCI, and fourth through eighth grade uses Pearson. The Social Studies Subject Area Committee researched and planned during the 2023-2024 school year for a 2024-2025 pilot.

The resources considered and selected to pilot are as follows:

● Cengage National Geographic (MS) - selected to pilot

● Imagine Learning Traverse (MS)

● InquirED Inquiry Journeys (ES) - selected to pilot

● McGraw Hills Impact (ES)

● Nystrom Young Citizens (ES)

● TCI Social Studies Alive (MS and ES) - selected to pilot

Ms. Reingruber shared that the Administration and Subject Area Committee solicited information regarding Social Studies curricular resources from suburban districts. Publishers provided our Subject Area Committee with samples at the District’s request.

The Subject Area Committee reviewed all resources, prioritizing inquiry opportunities, a cohesively organized resource, alignment with the Illinois Learning Standards for Social Science, a robust online component, physical student resources, assessments, and differentiated materials to meet the needs of all students (above, at, below grade level). The publishers presented to the Subject Area Committee and selected two resources to pilot at each level.

All pilot teachers completed a comprehensive rubric that included alignment to standards and grade appropriate elements, consistent and coherent content, instructional supports, assessment, indicators of quality, and digital components. Pilot teachers provided a rating and narrative feedback on each rubric component.

The SAC recommendation and TCI feedback was as follows:

● Intuitive, highly engaging standards-aligned resource

● Highly customizable to meet student needs

● Combination of physical and digital resources

● Efficient teacher resources that assist with grading and planning

● Engaging games that reinforce social studies vocabulary and content

● Various opportunities to engage students in inquiry

● Student and teacher both receive physical text and digital resources

● Activity Cards and Placards (maps, game boards, manipulatives, primary sources, etc).

The TCI Implementation and the K-8 Student Bundle with 5-year access cost $343.752.00. The Student Bundle combines the best of both worlds with a multi-year subscription to TCI’s print Student Journals and an Elementary or Middle School Social Studies Student License, giving students two ways to access the content they need to learn and master state Social Studies and ELA standards.

The K-5 Activity Card cost $23,691.00. The Activity Cards are laminated, reusable cards with vibrant, interactive content for students. The cards include large maps, game boards, and manipulatives that can be cut out and reused year after year.

The Virtual Product Orientation costs $4,000. This will be held with all K-8 social studies staff at the June Institute Day 2025.

The total cost is $389,097.55.

District-level Committee Updates

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

Adjournment

Grace Shin made a motion to adjourn at 1:10 p.m. Asim Aleem seconded the motion. All in favor. The motion carried.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/hccsdil/Board.nsf/files/DEEJHK4D4629/$file/2025_02_13_ASC_Minutes.pdf