District 99 counselors outline four-year plan, report School Links onboarding at 92% for freshmen

The Downers Grove District 99 Board of Education heard an update on the district’s four‑year postsecondary planning strategy and related measures from counseling staff, who reported high initial use of the district’s new college-and-career platform and plans to improve senior feedback. "We wanted to dig deeper," said Stephanie Andrews, department chair of Counseling and Student Support Services, introducing the presentation on the district's PACE framework and measures. "Onboarding is the key to really understanding School Links, the PACE framework and the way we're going to process from ninth grade to twelfth grade."

Nut graf: The presentation focused on the district’s goal of broadening postsecondary planning beyond a single college pathway and on use of School Links (the district’s replacement for Naviance). Staff said the district is measuring onboarding for freshmen and senior completion of an exit survey so the board can track not only whether students have four‑year plans but how effectively those plans and supports are being delivered.

Staff described the PACE framework (an Illinois State Board of Education template districts personalize) as the organizing structure for three sequential elements: postsecondary education exploration, career exploration/development and financial-aid/college-readiness in upper grades. "The framework that PACE provides really does a beautiful job of bringing all of the things together so that we can support our students," said Kristen Borman, department chair at Downers Grove South.

Dan Mastari, a college-and-career counselor at Downers Grove South, described how counselors work with students and families across four years and highlighted data points the district will track. "Last year as a district, ninth grade, we had 92 percent of our freshmen onboarded onto School Links," Mastari said. He added that 73 percent of seniors completed the year‑end exit survey and that the counseling team plans to shorten and re-time the senior survey to improve completion.

Counseling staff described routine practices: individual meetings with each student at least once yearly (typically between November and January), grade‑level access presentations during school “access” periods, and one‑on‑one senior counseling for transcript transmission and application support. Staff also said the district is using School Links for research on careers and colleges, for career-cluster guidance starting in sophomore year, and for transmitting transcripts and recommendations in the college application process. "It works in conjunction with Common App for regular applications where we send that data onto the colleges," Mastari said.

Board members asked about frequency of counselor contact and program outreach to local employers for career days. Staff said every student meets with a counselor at least once a year and that the district coordinates career-day efforts with CTE departments and local partners. Board President Don Renner praised the collaborative work across the two high schools.

Ending: Staff asked the board to keep the district’s current strategic indicator in place for another year while the counseling team focuses on the onboarding and senior survey measures, with a recommendation to bring refinements back to the board in future meetings. "We've demonstrated this is happening with fidelity," Scott said, adding the team would propose next-step metrics after another year of data.