Morton CUSD 709 details preschool expansion, multilingual services and transition programs for students with disabilities

The Morton CUSD 709 Student Support Services director briefed the board Oct. 15 on preschool enrollment and quality monitoring, multilingual student screening and supports, and transition‑to‑work programs for students in the RISE and Life Academy programs.

“Currently we have 79 students enrolled in our program,” Student Support Services director Miss Scroggs told the board, describing the district’s PFA‑funded preschool classes and a separate intensive early‑childhood classroom that serves children with IEPs. She said the district holds IEP spots open for students coming through early intervention and that developmental screening has increased to about 100 students per year; two screenings had produced 45 screenings so far this year.

Why it matters: The preschool update highlighted how state grant seats and early intervention referrals affect capacity. Scroggs said the district was awarded 107 preschool seats from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and that about 80 preschool spots are currently funded through the Preschool For All (PFA) grant, with a total preschool capacity cited near 100.

Multilingual services: Scroggs said the district restructured services for English learners, screened 24 newly registering students who indicated a home language other than English, and currently serves 54 students across pre‑K through age 22; 12 are on a monitored status after meeting proficiency thresholds on annual ACCESS testing. The multilingual staff provide translation and interpretation for documents and meetings and have attended statewide professional development.

Transition and vocational work: The RISE and Life Academy programs serve about 48 students from kindergarten through age 22, with most enrolled at the high school. Scroggs described community‑based instruction, work opportunities (students placed at the Morton movie theater, a funeral home, school janitorial work, restaurants and volunteer roles), and a growing emphasis on prevocational and vocational training.

A new hands‑on PAESLab (Practical Assessment Exploration System) installed at the high school offers task boxes across five career areas — business/marketing, computer technology, construction/industrial, processing/production and consumer services — with adaptive task difficulty and an app to capture skills data. The district will partner with the Illinois Center for Transition and Work (University of Illinois) to build a scope and sequence to increase customized employment and independent‑living supports for students as they exit school.

District invitations and monitoring: Scroggs invited board members to tour programs spanning ages 3 to 22 and said staff will return to present progress during the year. She emphasized family satisfaction data from the preschool’s first year — with 90 percent of responding parents reporting “very good” or “exceptional” growth and 96 percent reporting “very good” or “excellent” overall satisfaction — and a requirement to maintain and update a preschool quality‑improvement plan.

Ending: Board members thanked staff for the multifaceted work across preschool, multilingual and transition programs and noted continued oversight as the district scales preschool seats and vocational pathways for students with disabilities.