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Berwyn South board approves Piper school improvement plan after questions on growth targets
Summary
The Berwyn South SD 100 board approved Piper Elementary’s school improvement plan required by the Illinois State Board of Education after discussion about the plan’s growth targets, especially for English learners.
The Berwyn South SD 100 Board of Education voted to approve Piper Elementary School’s school improvement plan at its May meeting after board members asked for clarifications about the plan’s performance targets and the subgroup it targets.
The plan must be uploaded to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) this month because Piper carries "targeted" status, board members said. The board approved the plan on a roll-call vote; the motion carried.
Board members raised concerns about the size of the improvement targets and whether they addressed the subgroup named in the plan. A board member who pulled the item for discussion noted the plan lists the English learner (EL) subgroup as a priority but that several of the numerical goals on later pages do not explicitly reference EL students. Staff said the school improvement planning team, which included Piper staff and an ISBE consultant, set the goals after reviewing multiple data sources such as NWEA and the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR).
District staff described baseline performance cited in the discussion as roughly 28–29 percent meeting or exceeding standards in ELA and about 31 percent in math on the school report card. The school’s stated MAP goal for ELA in the SIP is 40 percent meeting or exceeding, the team said. Staff emphasized the SIP focuses on incremental growth and on improving subgroup outcomes rather than setting statewide-proficiency-level targets immediately.
Board action: the board first approved the consent agenda with Piper removed, then voted separately to approve the Piper school improvement plan so it could be uploaded to ISBE. The vote recorded approval by board members Irene Dreinth, Elizabeth Jimenez, Steinfeld, Camallero, Butler, Palace, Gonzales and Trent (recorded as aye; motion carried). The plan’s principal, Ms. Piper Simpson, had presented a school spotlight to the board earlier, staff said; the principal was not present for this vote.
The district will upload the approved plan to ISBE and monitor implementation through the SIP process, with staff and the school reporting back on progress.
