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Freedom Middle School presents literacy, math and MTSS gains at Berwyn South SD 100 board meeting
Summary
Freedom Middle School principal Enrique Oella and MTSS lead Colleen Humphris highlighted curriculum shifts toward quality writing (CER rubric), focused math instruction, daily WIN intervention time, and extracurricular clubs that they said are boosting student engagement and growth.
Freedom Middle School staff presented classroom strategies and assessment outcomes to the Berwyn South SD 100 board, describing district-aligned literacy and math plans, expanded intervention schedules, and student clubs that administrators said support belonging and academic growth.
Principal Enrique Oella said the school shifted from emphasizing the quantity of student writing to the quality, using a common CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) rubric across content areas so students approach writing consistently. "We truly believe that every student deserves a chance at high-quality instruction," Oella said, describing cross-curricular PLC work and ELA conferencing focused on revision.
On math, Oella said the school reinforced 'decide and defend' strategies and returned to paper-based assessment targets (computation, explanation/modeling and reasoning) to better measure students' mathematical thinking. Colleen Humphris explained schedule changes that created daily WIN time for tier 2 and tier 3 students; she said tier-three math was serving 52 students and tier-three reading 45 students, with exits reported: 21 tier‑2 students and 12 tier‑3 students moved to lower intervention tiers after showing growth.
PLC coach Dana Lord summarized how teams analyze student work and implement targeted instruction; she noted exploratory teachers (PE, art, band) are using the CER rubric to support writing across content areas. Board members congratulated staff and asked follow-up questions about dual-language assessment inclusion and curriculum choices (Amplify for ELA and Camino/Camino for Spanish language arts).
