Downers Grove GSD 58 frames 2025'26 strategic priorities; spotlights MTSS and ISBE mental-health screening
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Summary
District leaders presented the 2023'2028 strategic plan priorities for 2025'26 at a curriculum workshop Oct. 27, emphasizing PLC Plus, a new K'5 MTSS intervention guidance document, and planning to implement Illinois State Board of Education'mandated universal mental-health screening (cohort 2) by the end of the 2026'7 school year with an opt-out.
At a curriculum workshop on Oct. 27, Downers Grove Grade School District 58 administrators outlined the district's strategic priorities for 2025'26 and highlighted a new district-wide intervention guidance document intended to standardize Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) across elementary schools.
Administrators said the district will continue to use its strategic plan as a five-year framework and will focus on a limited set of priorities each year. Presenters described the PLC Plus model to create more consistent, data-focused grade-level conversations and said the district will implement a formal K'5 MTSS guidance document this year to align universal screening, diagnostic assessment and progress monitoring across the 11 elementary schools. The guidance document adds a diagnostic-assessment step for students at or below the 25th percentile on universal screeners, prescribes progress-monitoring frequency tied to need and defines exit criteria for interventions.
The district also said it is preparing to comply with an Illinois State Board of Education requirement to implement a universal mental-health screening for students in grades 3'12. District staff said District 58 is in ISBE's cohort 2 and must have administered a screening by the end of the 2026'27 school year. Presenters said ISBE will provide a screening tool districts can adopt or districts may select an alternative; families will have an opt-out. Translation, data privacy and tool availability remain to be confirmed, and staff said any missing ISBE tool could delay district implementation.
Administrators told the board they will form a stakeholder group to plan implementation, will communicate opt-out and privacy policies to families, and will use lessons learned from earlier assessment rollouts to shape outreach.
Ending: District staff said they will return to the board in November for final approval of annual strategic priorities and will continue to report progress at future board meetings.
