District 25 superintendent gives midyear academic update, cites modest gains and ongoing attendance concerns

Superintendent Dr. D'Antona told the District 25 Parent Engagement PAC on March 5 that the district’s midyear assessments show modest improvement for some student groups but that overall performance and chronic absenteeism require continued attention.

"We are about 57% of our kids by midyear that are currently on or above grade level," Dr. D'Antona said, summarizing results from the district's midyear diagnostic assessments. He said the district had aimed for a 5% improvement for all students and a 10% improvement for targeted subgroups but that most subgroups are close to last year’s midyear results.

The superintendent walked parents through subgroup data he said the district tracks: Hispanic learners were "relatively close" to last year, Black learners were up about 3 percentage points year‑over‑year, and students with individual education plans (IEPs) improved by about 7.5 percentage points compared with the same point last year. He said English‑language learners were also near last year’s levels.

Dr. D'Antona reviewed the district’s four priorities. For reading and explicit instruction (grades 3–8), he said year‑over‑year gains were small: about 2% for all students, roughly 3.67% for Hispanic learners, just over 3% for Black learners, about 1% for English‑language learners, and about 3.25% for students with disabilities. For mathematics, he reported roughly a 2% gain for all students, nearly 3.5% for Hispanic learners, 2.4% for Black learners and about 3.37% for students with IEPs. He noted many eighth graders were taking algebra Regents exams instead of the district’s I‑Ready assessment and that more than 1,300 students took those Regents this year.

The superintendent said social‑emotional learning survey work is underway and that a fall survey found about 20% of middle school students reported insufficient mutual respect among peers; he described ongoing student action projects to address relationships.

On attendance, Dr. D'Antona said District 25’s attendance in November exceeded 95% and was the city’s second highest that month, but chronic absenteeism had returned to earlier levels and remains a concern. The district has a goal to reduce chronic absenteeism by 4 percentage points and will continue outreach, he said.

Dr. D'Antona also summarized family and district events: a District 25 Family Civics comic‑book night on March 12 at JHS 194 (6–7:30 p.m.); a district Wellness Day on March 15 with community vendors and mental‑health resources; a Math Family Night on March 27 at JHS 189 (5:45–7:45 p.m.); and the Summer Rising application window opening March 4 and closing March 28, with Summer Rising sessions running Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m., and the K–5 session ending Aug. 15, he said.

The superintendent closed by urging parents to check the district events page and to contact schools if they have not received their child’s I‑Ready reports. He said the district will continue to ask schools to share regular progress updates with families and to connect with families who need additional supports.

There were no formal motions or votes on these topics during the meeting; the presentation was delivered as an informational report and followed by questions and administrative items.