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State trainer tells East St. Louis SD 189 board to treat improvement plans as living documents
Summary
A state supervisor told the East St. Louis SD 189 board that goals in school improvement plans remain fixed during the year while activities and monitoring may change, and pointed trustees to web resources, a helpline and learning partners.
Nick, supervisor for the School District Improvement Department, told the East St. Louis SD 189 board during a training session that school improvement plans should be treated as "living" documents and that boards should be comfortable approving plans that staff may adjust during the year.
"Reflect and adjust course," Nick said. He explained that the only element in a school improvement plan that stays static during the school year is the stated goal; key activities and monitoring strategies can and should change if they are not producing intended results. "The goal will stay the same. But the activities in the timeline inside may change and that's okay," he said.
The trainer framed the guidance as part of a continuous improvement model. He described a cycle of examining, reflecting and adjusting, and gave numeric examples used in the presentation: reaching a target where "38 percent of our African American students are at or above the sixteenth percentile" could lead to a higher target the following year, and a chronic absenteeism target that falls from "45 percent" to "32 percent" in subsequent years, if initial targets are met.
Nick directed board members to online resources: a school improvement website that hosts intensive, comprehensive and targeted school documents; an on-demand learning series; and a statewide spreadsheet listing allocations for every school that receives them. He also noted a list of 48 contracted learning partners and said presentations and contracts from an open house are posted on the site.
The presenter described a helpline (phone and email) monitored by an assistant who routes questions to appropriate staff. "If a specific question comes in from East St. Louis District, it goes right to Christina," he said, adding that district coordinators often contact Christina or other supervisors directly. He also shared a QR code that links to his contact information and asked trustees to complete a feedback form for the training: "I do ask that everybody please take a few minutes to do that."
The session concluded with a brief procedural motion to adjourn. Board member Remi Dane moved to adjourn; Board member Willie Ray seconded. A roll call recorded affirmative votes for Remi/Remy Dean (recorded as "Yes"), Willie Ray ("Yes"), Walter Hood ("Yes"), Timothy Lockett ("Yes") and Latoya Mosley ("Yes"). The chair declared the meeting adjourned.
Resources mentioned during the presentation include the state school improvement website and the helpline for questions; Nick encouraged board members to reach out directly if they had follow-up questions or requested assistance in applying the continuous improvement model.
