Crystal Lake Central highlights International Newcomer Academy; staff reports gains in course completion and language supports

Carson, principal at Crystal Lake Central High School, told the Crystal Lake Community High School District 155 board on March 11 that the district’s new International Newcomer Academy (INA) now serves students for all nine class periods at Central rather than splitting time across buildings.

The move, Carson told the board, was intended to increase newcomer students’ sense of belonging and curricular continuity: “Our hope … is for you to hear the story not just of what we're doing now, but of where we've been, kind of the process, of how we've gotten to this point,” Carson said.

The nut graf: District staff described INA as a consolidated program that centralizes instruction and wraparound services for newly arrived multilingual students. Presenters said the academy aims to accelerate English language acquisition while keeping students on graduation pathways.

Mark Rispecki, assistant division leader of the International Newcomer Academy, summarized program logistics and supports, including home‑language outreach, guided building tours for new families, and curriculum tailored to widely varying academic backgrounds. Rispecki said staff use Rosetta Stone for individualized language practice and Microsoft 365 tools that allow families to view translated presentations by scanning QR codes.

Jared Beckler, vice principal at Crystal Lake Central, presented outcome data and goal measures staff used to track progress. Beckler said the INA set a goal of a 5 percent increase in multilingual students achieving a 2.8 GPA; he reported the program exceeded that goal and reported a 13 percent increase in the first year. He also said 98.5 percent of INA students are on track to graduate and characterized that as “67 out of the 68 on track to graduate.” Earlier in the presentation staff stated the academy serves 67 students, representing 13 countries and six languages; presenters did not reconcile the “67” vs. “68” headcount during the briefing.

Program schedule and services described to the board included core academic courses, electives taught by certified staff, a seminar hour that uses Rosetta Stone and SchoolLinks for college and career planning, and dedicated collaboration spaces for social‑emotional supports. Staff also said roughly 20 percent of the academy’s students enrolled in District 155 after the start of the school year.

Students from the INA addressed the board during the presentation. Students described classroom experiences and learning supports in short remarks about English classes, favorite courses and college plans. Vladimir (Wislav) Koropecky, identified as a student from Ukraine, said learning English is essential to future college and career plans: “I think the English is really helpful, in my life because if I want to go to find a good college or find good work, I need to speak English,” he said.

Carson and other presenters credited Steve Canope, director of Multilingual Services, and a team of staff for home visits, outreach, translation services and curriculum design that the presenters said were critical to the program’s first‑year results.

Board members did not take formal policy action specific to the INA during the presentation; the board framed the session as an update and thanked staff for the work.

Ending: District staff asked the board for continued support as the program develops; presenters signaled plans to continue collecting and reporting outcome measures in future updates.