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Board reviews dual-language assessments and staff seeks commitment to consolidation and fidelity
Summary
District staff reported updated dual-language assessments (I-Ready in Spanish/English, LAS Links, LAS pre-screen), program consolidation proposals and cohort ACCESS exit-rate data showing improvement across recent cohorts; the board asked for more cohort and comparative data before making structural commitments.
District multilingual leaders presented a status update on Dual Language programming, assessment tools and accountability measures and asked the board for clear direction to proceed with consolidation and fidelity improvements. Administrators reminded the board that Illinois school code requires bilingual services where a school has 20 or more students in a single language group and that District 59’s chosen delivery model is dual language with some school-specific blends (Spanish, Polish, etc.).
Staff described new assessments and accountability measures: kindergartners now receive a pre-LAS (listening/speaking) to establish baseline Spanish or English oral language levels; the district administers LAS Links at the end of second grade and in fifth grade to track Spanish-language growth; and teachers also use I-Ready in both English and Spanish to monitor progress. Leaders said these data allow the district to identify students who are progressing toward bilingualism and to have timely conversations with families if a student is not on track.
Administration asked the board to commit to dual language as the district model so staff can pursue consolidation—clustering bilingual resources, creating partner-classroom staffing, and hiring bilingual interventionists—to raise fidelity and outcomes. Staff said consolidation and dedicated resources are necessary to avoid spreading interventionists too thin across many small program sites.
Board members expressed support for improving the model but requested more cohort-level and comparative evidence before making a long-term governance commitment. The administration presented cohort ACCESS exit-rate data by year showing an upward trend in the percentage of EL students exiting English-language services by fifth grade (example cohorts cited in the presentation included a rise from 35.7% for an earlier cohort to 48.4% for a later cohort). Board members asked for regular benchmarking updates and recommended scheduling a committee-of-the-whole data review in October.
No formal policy change or vote on consolidation occurred at the meeting. Administration will provide additional cohort data, overlay newcomer status and school-level conditions, and continue community engagement through BPAC, Director Talks and the dual-language task force.
