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District 207 reports high graduation rate, shifts to ACT and equity-focused strategic planning
Summary
Officials reported a 94% graduation rate, described changes from SAT to ACT testing and disaggregated subgroup gaps; the board reviewed the strategic planning process (portrait of a graduate, four draft goal areas) and forthcoming community engagement steps.
District officials gave a multi-part update on academic performance, accountability metrics and the district’s ongoing strategic planning.
Sean Messmer (assistant superintendent for curriculum and innovation) reviewed the annual school-report-card results, noting the district’s four‑year graduation rate is 94% and describing how the state’s move from SAT to ACT — plus revised proficiency benchmarks — affects year‑to‑year comparisons. He outlined growth metrics (the state target is 50% growth) and noted subgroup gaps that the district will address through targeted interventions.
Administrators described actions in progress: revamping intervention and math-intervention models, increasing co-teaching to support special education students in general‑education settings, and offering incentives for teachers to earn ESL endorsements. They also said the district is shifting parent/staff surveys to Panorama to improve response rates and the representativeness of the feedback.
Separately, the strategic-planning lead (Brett Clark) briefed the board on phases 2 and 3 of the district’s planning work: drafting a vision and portrait of a graduate, refining four draft goal areas (learning, belonging, guidance, and communications), and completing committee meetings on Dec. 11 and Feb. 2 before a planned April 6 board adoption. The district reported 40 focus groups and roughly 940 survey responses had informed the draft.
The board discussed next steps, data disaggregation, and how to communicate performance measures to families and prospective community members. Trustees emphasized the need for clarity about what the school-report-card labels mean and for context about chronic absenteeism and other measures.
