DeKalb CUSD 428 reviews winter MAP results, flags attendance and discipline disparities
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Summary
District leaders told the school board that overall MAP growth looks positive in several grades but third and fourth grades lag, attendance is up in many buildings, and suspension rates remain disproportionately high for students of color; administrators pledged deeper classroom‑level analysis and follow up.
DeKalb CUSD 428 board members on Tuesday heard midyear academic data showing mixed gains across grades and persistent equity gaps in discipline.
Administrators said several grades are outperforming the 50th‑percentile benchmark on MAP growth while third and fourth grades are below expectations. "We're still seeing that students of color are being suspended at a much higher rate than other students in our district," said the presenter, urging the board the discrepancy "has not gotten any better." The presentation did not include suspension detail beyond the acknowledgement of the disparity.
The district explained the MAP display: orange bars indicate the percentage of students who met their individual growth goal, while black bars represent national growth percentiles. "We should be excited about anything above 50," the presenter said of the national average. Administrators highlighted changes in middle‑school scheduling and a new ELA curriculum in some grades as possible contributors to higher growth in those buildings.
Board members pressed for follow‑up analysis on why third and fourth grades are lagging. One trustee asked whether the pattern reflects a single cohort, instructional delivery, or curricular fit; administrators said they are "interrogating" the data at classroom and cohort levels and plan targeted learning walks and deeper curriculum reviews. Sarah Schafer, identified in the meeting as the elementary math manager, was named as a staff member who will look into specific classroom practices.
At the high‑school level, administrators reported a notable milestone for a longstanding intervention: "After four years of implementing our Freshmen on Track, our freshman track rate is now 90 percent," an administrator said, calling the result the highest since the program began and crediting professional development and staffing changes.
Dr. Lisa Becker, assistant director of student and family services, said the district submitted ISBE monitoring materials and noted ongoing efforts to align special education instruction with general education rigor. Becker also said district‑level inclusion and outplacement data exist, but individualized records about how much teacher time is spent on IEP‑related services are collected at the student/team level and would require targeted reporting.
Administrators said they will return with a deeper, classroom‑level analysis of third and fourth grade performance and additional detail on discipline data. The board did not take action on these topics Wednesday; staff were asked to produce follow‑up information for future meetings.