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District 59 winter benchmarks: reading dips slightly; district outlines MTSS, Summit and other interventions for English learners
Summary
Superintendent Tom reported a slight drop in winter reading benchmarks (72.9 to 72.3), highlighted a 45% English-learner population and described targeted interventions (i-Ready diagnostics, Summit language checks, MTSS, co-teaching) after the district recorded a 1.6-point average intervention gain versus a 4-point target.
Superintendent Tom presented the district nd leadership team's winter benchmark report on Feb. 11, saying the district saw a modest decline in reading performance at midyear and laid out steps to address the trend.
"We dropped a little bit from where we started the year," Tom said, describing a fall-to-winter change from 72.9 to 72.3 on the district—enchmark measure. He framed the results within the district greement to a KPI that 80% of students should be at or above the 25th percentile and said the winter snapshot raised questions about implementation timing, instructional focus and test administration.
Tom and staff emphasized supports for English learners, noting the district's 45% EL population and a suite of interventions: MTSS review, targeted teacher coaching, additional ESL staffing, co-teaching models and a new junior-high language proficiency tool (Summit) that provides six-week progress checks. Susan, a district instructional lead, described newly structured ESL levels and co-teaching training this year to increase access to grade-level rigor while scaffolding language development.
Katie, an instruction specialist, explained how teams use multiple data points for intervention decisions rather than a single cut score: "We look at i-Ready, class performance, curricular assessments and the MTSS process to identify students for intervention," she said. The district reported that students receiving intervention are averaging a 1.6 percentage-point gain at midyear; the stated expectation for intervention participants is a minimum 4-point gain by year end.
Board members pressed for historical comparisons, slide details and follow-up data; administration promised to include additional comparative slides and distribute the board packet update on Friday. Tom said the district will continue classroom- and grade-level deep dives to refine supports and monitor the end-of-year picture.
The presentation closed with the district noting math performance remains a relative strength and that the full benchmark packet will be provided in the board update.
