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Muffley Elementary highlights reading, writing and attendance gains at Decatur SD 61 board meeting
Summary
Muffley Elementary Principal Maria Wiggins told the board the school has added a writing goal to its school improvement plan, runs a flexible MTSS/RTI block with 30 groups and reported growth across reading and math; the school serves about 381 students and cited a target summative designation of 49.4 for 2026.
Maria Wiggins, principal at Muffley Elementary School, presented a district-highlight slideshow at the Jan. 13 Decatur Public Schools District 61 board meeting outlining instructional strategies, supports and recent growth.
Wiggins described the school's theme, "racing toward excellence," and explained several standing teams that support instruction and operations, including an instructional leadership team, a building leadership team, an MTSS/data-review team and an attendance committee. She said the school added a writing goal to its school improvement plan because staff view writing as an instructional priority alongside reading and math.
Wiggins detailed a daily building-wide MTSS/RTI block during which students rotate through 30 different groups for targeted instruction. She said the school uses progress monitoring every five to six weeks to move students between groups as needed and cited tools such as IAR practice books, Lumos Learning, 'You Fly', '6 Minute Solutions' and ReWorks as resources.
On outcomes, Wiggins said Muffley served 381 students with 57 staff at the time of her slides. She said the school improved two designation levels in its summative rating from 2023 to 2025 and set a 2026 target of 49.4. Wiggins highlighted enrichment and incentive programs—junior TAs, STEM groups, attendance incentives including the "Woot Woot Wagon," assemblies, community partnerships with MacArthur High School's Mac Unity Club and donation drives (25 bikes given for attendance/behavior, 40 Thanksgiving baskets provided to families).
Board members asked whether the writing goal included cursive instruction; Wiggins said it refers to the writing process, not handwriting, though the district uses Handwriting Without Tears to support handwriting. A board member praised the school's MTSS/RTI structure and attributed part of the gains to consistent progress monitoring.
Wiggins closed by directing people to the school's Facebook page for more information and thanked the board for the opportunity to present. The board followed the presentation with public participation and other agenda business.
