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District reports monthly site visits, new phonics curriculum tied to end‑of‑unit gains in K–5
Summary
District instructional staff reported monthly Tier 1 site visits across K–8 schools and shared end‑of‑unit assessment trends showing increases in students meeting/exceeding and decreases in lowest‑performing bands after phonics and math curriculum implementation.
District academic staff told the board on April 8 that monthly site visits tied to the district’s Destination 2028 goals and the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan have produced actionable classroom‑level data and trends that administration says show steady improvement in Tier 1 instruction.
Assistant directors and instructional staff described a protocol of monthly visits to every school, classroom walkthroughs, and a common tool for K–5 literacy observations designed in collaboration with the teachers’ union. The team said each month has a focus (for example, opening of schools in August, Tier 1 implementation September–January, School Improvement Plan and site‑based budgeting feedback in February, and Tier 1 wrap‑up in March–April). Schools prepare data in advance and leaders meet with district teams to compare trends and identify supports.
District presenters said end‑of‑unit assessment data across literacy and mathematics show “continual improvement” from beginning‑of‑year to middle‑ and end‑of‑year visits, and that the number of students in the lowest performing band on end‑of‑unit measures has declined. When board member Miss Lindsay asked whether “end of unit” was a test, district staff clarified the measure is the curriculum‑aligned unit assessment (not MAP or state IAR), given at the end of a unit of instruction.
The presenters also noted the district has rolled out a phonics approach and that K–5 results show more students are reading better and fewer are reading worse; they said the district implemented a phonics curriculum for grades 3–5 last year and built K–5 common observation tools this year. The district is comparing a program called Emera in seven schools against a similar Tier 1 program and plans to report comparative results at year end.
Ending: District staff characterized the site‑visit process as a leadership‑level intervention that supports aligned Tier 1 instruction, produces consistent data across schools and informs professional development and budget choices for the coming year. The board was briefed that the district will continue to analyze end‑of‑unit and other assessment data and report progress to the board.
