CHSD 128 superintendent outlines expanded MTSS supports; district reports early drop in D/F grades

Superintendent Dr. Clanton told the CHSD 128 Board of Education on Oct. 27 that the district is expanding academic supports under a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), and presented early progress-period data the administration says show fewer D and F grades than in recent years.

"MTSS is not a program. MTSS is really an operating framework for the school," Dr. Clanton said, explaining that the district is concentrating resources on both universal classroom practice (Tier 1) and more targeted interventions (Tier 2).

Under Tier 1, Dr. Clanton said staff implemented "Ready to Learn" practices this fall, including a consistent approach to classroom phone management and a focus on instructional strategies to capitalize on increased student attention. He told the board that in a recent district health-and-well-being survey, 89 percent of students reported paying attention in class over the prior two weeks, which district staff described as a favorable shift compared with historical results.

For Tier 1 academic access the district is expanding co-teaching and inclusion-facilitation models so students can access rigorous courses with in-class supports. "Weare trying to ensure that all students have access to rigorous courses," Clanton said, noting co-teaching pairs a general-education teacher with a special-education or English-language-learning certified teacher and that inclusion facilitators work with course teams and teachers.

Dr. Clanton described stepped Tier 2 supports that have been added or intensified this year. The district placed two full-time math tutors in each high-school academic-support room (the ARC at Vernon Hills and the Workshop at Libertyville) so any math teacher can assign students for sustained small-group or individual tutoring. The district also added three content-area interventionists at each high school (one each for English, math and science) who work with course teams to pre-teach and re-teach material and to design reassessments.

Other Tier 2 supports described include a refined PAWS program and executive-functioning coaches focused on organization and study skills, and intensified literacy and numeracy blocks taught by certified teachers with reading or math expertise.

On early outcomes, Clanton presented a five-year view of the percentage of grades recorded as Dor F at each progress period (progress 1 through progress 8). He said the district historically sees the highest share of D/F grades in the FebruaryMarch (mid-year) period and the lowest at semester ends. "At Libertyville right now in progress 1 and 2 we see the lowest percentage of D's and F's that we've seen in the past several years," he said. "At Vernon Hills we see a lower percentage of D's and F's than we saw last year." Clanton cautioned the board he would not overclaim causation, calling the trends "signals" rather than proof that any one intervention produced the change.

Board members asked for implementation details and data clarity. Board member Raul Deshmukh asked how and when students are identified for interventions; Clanton said building-level intervention teams meet every other week and that teams review grades, attendance and other indicators to place students, particularly freshmen and sophomores, into supports. Deshmukh and other members pressed the administration to identify cohorts earlier and to better share building-by-building definitions after the board identified a discrepancy in how the two high schools reported counts of students using math-tutor supports. Clanton said the district is continuing to reconcile differences in building coding and reporting.

Several board members praised the addition of paid math tutors to supplement peer tutors. Dr. Clanton noted Vernon Hills has about 125 peer tutors this year and that the paid tutors were intended to provide steadier, longer-term support for students who need it.

The presentation closed with an invitation for follow-up detail; Clanton said teams will continue monitoring progress-period grades and intervention enrollments and will return to the board with further breakdowns by grade and course as the year progresses.

District materials provided to the board list the components described above and show the number of students currently connected to interventionists and PAWS/executive-functioning supports; the board asked administration to refine the reporting format and to provide grade-level breakdowns at a future meeting.