District lays out 2025–26 strategic goals; expands MTSS, SEL, mentoring and equity coaching

Evergreen Park Elementary School District 124 staff presented the district's strategic goals for the 2025–26 school year at the Aug. 13 board meeting, citing continuity of a tier‑1 instructional framework, renewed focus on social‑emotional learning and steps to make multi‑tiered systems of support (MTSS) consistent across buildings.

The district said the tier‑1 instructional framework — now in its fifth year — will continue to emphasize small‑group instruction and ongoing review of common assessments. The student services team will review academic and behavioral interventions with an emphasis on trauma‑informed practices and reducing exclusionary discipline. "Amanda Hatar will lead out that work tied to SEL and equity," the presenter said.

On mentoring, staff said the district is resuming a mentoring program at the middle school through the Power Resilience program. The program will run two mentoring groups — up to 15 girls and up to 15 boys — with Dr. Don Parker mentoring the boys and Sabrina Padine mentoring the girls; sessions will begin after Labor Day with weekly meetings and additional support from school deans.

The district also described a year‑long professional development series for administrative staff focused on equity coaching. The program will include self‑paced work and six live 75‑minute virtual sessions beginning in September that cover planning equity‑focused conversations, interrupting inequities compassionately and historical context for educational inequities.

Separately, staff described a committee's work to standardize the district's MTSS practices. The committee reviewed systems, interventions and data‑driven decision rules; staff said they have consolidated interventions and purchased up‑to‑date materials this summer to ensure interventionists across all schools use the same tools with fidelity. "We are going to do less of them better," a presenter said when describing the decision to minimize and standardize tier‑3 interventions.

Enrollment and communication updates: staff reported returning student registration of 1,490 and new student registrations of about 257, with 110 registrations pending residency verification. Total current enrollment was reported as about 1,680 students. The district also launched a redesigned website to centralize family, staff and community resources and invited feedback via communications@d124.org.

Why it matters: the combined curriculum, SEL, mentoring and MTSS work shapes classroom practice and targeted supports for students who need additional academic or behavioral services. The equity coaching aims to provide administrators with specific practices and language to address disparities.

Next steps: staff will implement the MTSS manual this fall, begin mentoring after Labor Day, roll out administrator equity coaching in September and continue to solicit parent advisory input on communications and district initiatives.