Dear District 65 Community -

At tonight’s Committee of the Whole School Board meeting, our team shared an update on student academic progress aligned to our strategic plan goals. Much of this data is also included in the annual Illinois Report Card which was released last week.

Today’s message is a celebration of our students’ accomplishments in the last year. I’ve worn many hats during my career but have always felt I’m an educator at heart. As an educator there’s no better feeling than knowing that your students are making strides in their learning and feeling supported while doing so!

The positive growth we are seeing is a direct result of high quality teaching and learning within our classrooms and the care our educators, support staff, and administrators provide to their students on a daily basis. We are so grateful for all of these individuals and the joyful learning environment they work so hard to create for our students.

Over the past several years, District 65 has focused heavily on adopting new curricular materials across content areas that are both rigorous and standards aligned. This is part of an intentional commitment to standards based learning and grading and I believe this is one of the key areas in which we can attribute this success.

It’s no secret that the district is facing challenges. I want to assure you that as we work together toward solutions to our financial challenges, our primary focus will remain our students. Helping all students grow academically and socially remains our north star. 

As in years past, I’m sharing some high level highlights and areas for improvement — “glows” and “grows,” you could say!

• Once again, all D65 schools received “Commendable” and “Exemplary” designations from the Illinois State Board of Education! Summative Designations are intended to show progress in overall academic performance and student success.
• Shoutout to the Orrington Elementary School community for maintaining their “Exemplary” designation.
• Ten schools improved their overall index score from 2023, with Chute Middle School and Dawes Elementary School increasing by over 10 points.

• D65 continues to outperform state averages in English Language Arts, Math, and Science, as measured on Illinois Readiness Assessment (IAR) and Illinois Science Assessment (ISA).

• We’ve seen particular growth in English Language Arts; this year 54% of students are meeting/exceeding the standards, which is the highest we’ve seen since at least 2019. Also worth noting is that we saw improved literacy outcomes across ALL races and demographics. Way to go, District 65!

• Our youngest elementary schoolers are increasingly coming to school ready for kindergarten, according to the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS), which is an observation focused on social and emotional development, language and literacy development, and math cognition. In particular, our English Learners saw a growth of 14 percentage points in 2024 compared to last year. Shoutout to our Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center!

• As a District, D65 is rated “Neutral” in 5Essentials categories, except for “Involved Families,” which was rated “Strong”.

• D65 continues to see significant gaps in ELA and Math scores by race, income status, and IEP status. The lower proficiency rates for these students focuses on maintaining targeted interventions and support to close the learning gaps.

This is only a snapshot of the robust data presented at this week’s meeting. I encourage you to take some time to review the meeting presentation (or watch online) for additional context and data on a variety of areas critical for student learning.

There is always room to grow, of course, but I am extremely proud of the progress our students have made in the past year. Thank you to our staff, families, and community partners for their continued collaboration in support of our students!