At the Berwyn South School District 100 board meeting, Pershing School staff presented a school spotlight highlighting new teacher collaboration and student-behavior initiatives.

Principal Diana Cabazi told the board Pershing emphasizes "educating the whole child," and noted the school was designated as a targeted school after the students-with-disabilities subgroup did not demonstrate adequate growth in ELA; the school has set SIP goals intended to raise proficiency by roughly 5–8 percent from the prior year. "We foster a love of learning," Cabazi said, adding staff and parent partnerships are central to the effort.

Julie Janicek, Pershing's literacy coach, described voluntary six-week "collab labs"—teacher cohorts that observe one another, learn evidence-based strategies and plan classroom implementation. "Currently in the Syntax Squad, we have, 15 teachers," Janicek said, explaining the program connects directly to the school improvement plan and includes classroom observations and peer feedback.

Assistant Principal Joel Duquette reviewed winter MAP assessment snapshots, saying the school shows overall growth compared with last year: a larger share of students are in the high-growth range while fewer remain in the low range. Duquette reported the school-level reading growth is roughly at the 50th percentile and math growth near the 60th percentile, and noted progress for students with disabilities in math and reading.

Maria Gonzales and Amanda Dunnigan reviewed Pershing's Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program. "We've had continued success with PBIS this year," Gonzalez said, describing monthly behavior focuses, blue-and-gold 'paws' rewards and assemblies that have reduced referrals and increased positive classroom behaviors.

Staff recognized several students for collaboration and confidence, and district leaders said the spotlight reflects a combination of family engagement, targeted instruction and professional learning. School leaders said they will continue to monitor SIP metrics and report back to the board as new data are available.