A Message from the Superintendent
October 27, 2022
Dear Winnetka Families and Staff,
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has publicly released the annual Illinois Report Card today, October 27, at www.illinoisreportcard.com. The Illinois Report Card shows how well our schools are progressing on a wide range of educational goals. A portion of the Illinois Report Card is based on performance on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), which is only given to students in grades 3-8 each spring. The District’s assessment results from last spring show an incremental rebound following a decline post-pandemic and no testing that spring. Although we continue to outpace other districts, this performance trend is consistent with what is being observed across the state. We do want to celebrate particularly strong performance in grades 4-7 in the area of English/Language Arts (ELA) and grades 5 & 7 in the area of Math, despite the past three very challenging years for our students, educators, and families. The IAR is one of many data measures, both quantitative and qualitative, that we use as a district to assess the growth and achievement of our students.
While we are proud of the educational experiences we were able to afford our students through the pandemic, we also recognize the very real impact that the pandemic has had on our students, both academically and socially/emotionally. As such, we have engaged in several targeted initiatives in order to continue to be responsive and adaptive as educators. Even knowing this, we are proud to report that our students’ growth last school year continues to rebound as we separate ourselves further from the onset of the pandemic and a necessary shift in instructional delivery. Below is a summary of the District’s longitudinal IAR performance since 2019 (note that the IAR was not delivered in Spring 2020 due to the pandemic). The top portion refers to the District’s overall performance, whereas the bottom portion refers to the state’s overall performance.
The District is currently in its second year of a five year Strategic Plan. This year’s Annual Plan reflects goals tied to the Strategic Plan, and was presented to the Board at the September Board meeting, as a part of the Superintendent Entry Plan. The Entry Plan includes two initial recommendations:
Identify and partner with a research organization that can aid in the synthesis of student data in order to provide the following (ECRA Group was approved as this partner at the October Board Meeting):
Data synthesis and historical analysis of trends that will allow for a deeper look at pandemic impact and can guide selection of new resources to allow for a responsive instructional approach.
Staff professional development opportunities that allow for the use of data to make informed decisions on the behalf of students.
Development of reliable local norms that allow for relevant application of MAP, IAR, AimsWeb and Panorama data.
Data synthesis that allows for reliable analysis of curricular resource impact on student growth and achievement:
This will be of particular significance as the District works to identify updated literacy resources and instructional practices that align with The Science of Reading.
Complete staff professional learning with The Science of Reading:
A portion of K-4 Instructional Staff participated in this summer’s initial offering.
Utilize partnership with EAB (Education Advisory Board) to gather vetted research on literacy resources that align with The Science of Reading.
Begin parallel mapping of a literacy curriculum review with the intent of selecting updated literacy resources and instructional practices that are complementary to the best practices outlined in The Science of Reading.
Shift in timing of ELA review vs. Math Review.
Additionally, the Superintendent Entry Plan indicates a need to establish an official research-based definition of Progressive Education and connect it to the work of developing a Portrait of an Educator in alignment with the Portrait of a Graduate.
The District and School Improvement Plans were also reviewed and presented to the Board at the October Board meeting.
Ultimately, our schools can be proud of the work that has been done with and for our students while still remaining committed to continuous growth and improvement. We remain in the top performing tier of districts in the state, and look forward to the work ahead that will only help our students to grow and achieve their greatest potential.
Most Sincerely,
Dr. Kelly Tess
Superintendent