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Elmhurst D205 reports rising special-education enrollment, expanded supports and improved test results
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Rubenstein told the Board of Education on May 20 that District 205 is serving about 1,500 students with disabilities, has expanded facilitated IEPs and professional development, and is seeing year-over-year gains on Illinois assessments, particularly in math.
At the Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education meeting on May 20, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Dr. Rubenstein told the board the district is serving roughly 1,500 students with disabilities and has increased supports, staff capacity and aligned curriculum to produce improved assessment results.
Dr. Rubenstein said the district serves between 14 and 20 percent of students at each grade level with special-education services and that the number served rose about 5 percent year over year. "We are required by law to provide special education services for any student who needs them, ages 3 through the age of 22," he said, noting services begin at Madison Early Childhood and extend through transition programs at the Bridges Transition Center.
The presentation described program changes begun after a 2018 review: a special-education administrative reorganization, use of facilitated IEPs, enhanced programming and new curricular materials. Dr. Rubenstein said more than 70 percent of students with disabilities now spend 80 percent or more of their day in general education settings, a placement he linked to stronger academic and social outcomes.
District staff reported measurable gains on state assessments. Dr. Rubenstein said D205 students with disabilities had increased ELA scores by 16.1 percentage points over five years and that the district now leads comparison districts in math achievement, an increase of 8.5 points since 2021. At the high school he noted 36 percent of students with disabilities met the evidence-based reading and writing benchmark and 14 percent met math benchmarks last year.
District staff credited aligned curricular work and targeted professional development. The report cited implementation of Illustrative Math at middle and high school levels, increased use of evidence-based reading programs, expanded FastBridge progress monitoring, and specified coaching and planning time for teachers in specialized high school classrooms.
Dr. Rubenstein also outlined supports beyond instruction: partnerships with the Special Education Cooperative (SASID) for therapy services; a concierge mental-health referral service originating from a $250,000 state grant that now continues as 205 CARES; and outreach to private and parochial schools in district boundaries to provide proportionate services under federal requirements.
Board members thanked staff and asked about gaps between ELA and math growth. Dr. Rubenstein said the math gains reflect a concerted district effort to train teachers specifically in math instruction; he and board members said similar focused work on reading instruction is underway and expected to affect future ELA growth.
The district also highlighted transition programs that prepare older students for postsecondary work and life. Board members praised the Bridges Transition Center for on-the-job coaching and community college partnerships.
The presentation closed with next steps: continued teacher training on tiered curricular materials, expanded transition surveys beginning in seventh grade, expanded mental-health first aid training, rollout of behavior-tracking tools, and continued facilitated IEPs. Dr. Rubenstein said more updates will follow at future board meetings.
