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Plainfield SD 202 middle‑school leaders report reading gains, ask board to review 8‑period schedule options
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Summary
Middle‑school directors told the Curriculum & Technology committee that 2025 ELA/IAR results are above state averages and that the district is shifting to stronger Tier‑1 instruction and targeted interventions; leaders asked the board to evaluate staffing and cost options for an 8‑period middle‑school day or study‑hall model to enable daily teaming and planning.
Middle‑school leaders for Plainfield SD 202 told a committee Dec. 10 that students made notable gains in reading on the 2025 Illinois Assessment of Readiness and that the district is prioritizing Tier‑1 instruction paired with targeted interventions to sustain growth.
Katie Pearson, a middle‑school presenter, said district middle schools are “well above the state average” on ELA and that “our median is definitely higher than a typical growth pattern,” noting 11 percent of middle‑school students currently receive formal reading intervention while about 27 percent participate in honors or advanced coursework. Presenters attributed recent gains partly to focused instruction and assessments such as iReady, and said many students enter intervention and exit before high school after measurable improvement.
Math scores recovered more slowly than ELA, presenters said, with sixth grade showing the largest gains. Staff reported 9 percent of middle students receive formal math intervention and described a growing use of personalized learning tools such as IXL to support classroom instruction.
A recurring operational theme was the district’s effort to implement a full middle‑school “teaming” model—daily shared planning and intentional cross‑curricular instruction for cohorts of students. Presenters said pilot schools found teaming is effective when it occurs multiple days per week; the district currently often can team only once weekly because of scheduling and staffing constraints.
To enable daily teaming and common planning, staff outlined two alternatives: add two encore periods to create an eight‑period day (which raises staffing costs) or reintroduce a daily study hall/coverage period (lower staffing cost but greater supervision challenges). Board members asked staff to return with formal proposal language and cost projections on both models so the board can weigh instructional benefits against fiscal impact. “Give us some language of some proposal around moving to a possible middle‑school 8‑period day coupled with some cost projections for staffing,” one board member asked; staff agreed to provide options.
Next steps: staff will produce cost estimates and draft proposal language for the board’s review and return with recommendations in January.
