District 25 launches citywide ELA Sprint for grades 3–8; 3,922 students targeted

District 25’s district leadership team opened a district-wide ELA Sprint on March 10, starting a supplemental program that will run through April 22 and target 3,922 students in grades 3–8.

The Sprint is designed to provide short-term, additional ELA practice ahead of state testing. The district asked schools to schedule 30-plus minutes per week of I‑Ready/MyPath work for students identified as one grade level below standard or early on standard and to aim for a 70% or higher accuracy on assigned tasks, district staff said.

The Sprint is explicitly supplemental and not intended to replace core instruction. District staff told the DLT that sessions may be scheduled during existing “win,” focus or flex periods, before or after school, or during center activities. Schools were asked to prioritize work tied to three priority standards: determining central ideas and details, interpreting meaning of unfamiliar words and figurative language, and how text supports character development.

The district will monitor two metrics: minutes of student engagement on the platform and the percent-correct rate on assigned tasks. A progress update is scheduled for the DLT’s April meeting.

District staff emphasized the Sprint is a short-term, targeted nudge ahead of state assessment windows and that the work should be used alongside classroom instruction rather than instead of it.

Next steps: the DLT will receive a data update at the April meeting and will review minutes-tracking and percent-correct targets to evaluate the Sprint’s effect before state testing begins on April 22.