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District 62 presents year‑end strategic-plan progress; readies full‑day kindergarten for 2026–27
Summary
Superintendent and administrators reported progress on District 62’s five strategic goals — including literacy work, MTSS refinement, and planning to implement full‑day kindergarten beginning in the 2026–27 school year — and highlighted school-level initiatives at Cumberland and North elementaries.
Superintendent Dr. Hamade and district leaders presented an end‑of‑year report on District 62’s five strategic goals at the May 19 board meeting and said the district is preparing to implement full‑day kindergarten beginning with the 2026–27 school year at Iroquois, with plans to scale to other schools.
The presentation summarized three priority areas under student growth and achievement: preparing for full‑day kindergarten, expanding middle‑school encore offerings, and advancing research‑based literacy practices. District leaders said administrators and coaches have engaged in LETRS professional development to align literacy instruction with current reading science, and that a literacy leadership committee has been formed to center teacher voice.
Under Goal 2 (learning environment), the district highlighted data‑driven efforts to improve multi‑tiered systems of support (MTSS), PBIS refinements and universal SEL screening. The district also announced the launch of its first Special Olympics team this year, celebrating student participation and increased inclusion opportunities.
Goal 3 (workforce) activities included new staff feedback channels (stay interviews, district check‑ins), formation of a Superintendent Council to enhance transparency, and recruitment planning to staff full‑day kindergarten. On resources (Goal 5), the district reported design work for full‑day kindergarten is concluding with STR Partners and Pepper Construction; the district also purchased nearly two acres adjacent to North School to support future planning.
Administrators from Cumberland and North elementary schools gave school‑level presentations tied to the strategic goals. Highlights included Cumberland’s accessible playground (a portion funded through a Rivers Casino grant), multiple community partnerships (including Uncle Pete’s Ministry), nine Cumberland students honored for Special Olympics participation, use of Title I funds for family engagement events, and new clubs and extended‑day offerings. North School described co‑teaching expansion, instructional‑coach cycles (44 cycles impacting over 520 students), multicultural events and new student supports funded through Title I and Title III.
The district also noted noninstructional initiatives: new logos for the district’s 12 schools developed with student and community input, website refinements and evaluation of an “Ask AI” tool for family information access.
Board discussion acknowledged the progress and the ongoing work to scale improvements consistently across diverse school contexts. Leadership said further cost and construction proposals related to full‑day kindergarten will be brought to upcoming meetings for board consideration.
