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Urbana SD 116 unveils district and school improvement plans targeting MAP growth and chronic absenteeism
Summary
District staff presented a new common school‑improvement template and district goals that emphasize MAP‑measured growth, targeted subgroup gains and reductions in chronic absenteeism; principals described school‑level SMART goals and supports including coaching, walkthroughs and co‑teaching.
Chassy Beist, the district’s director of equity and school improvement, told the board the district adopted a common school‑improvement template to align goals, supports and accountability across schools. "We have Equity goals included as well," Beist said, emphasizing a combined focus on curriculum fidelity, leadership development and attendance strategies.
The presentation front‑loaded district targets tied to NWEA MAP growth: by Spring 2025 the district aims to raise the share of students meeting or exceeding projected ELA growth by about 15 percentage points (for example, from roughly 40% to 55% in cited spring baseline data). Beist outlined priority subgroup targets — including a 15 percent math proficiency increase for African‑American students and a 10 percent gain for Latinx students in grades 3–8 — and a district goal to reduce chronic absenteeism from roughly 49% to 34% by Spring 2025.
Principal Danielle Jackson presented her school’s SMART goals and implementation steps. "Our goal is by May of 2025 44% of first to fifth grade students will meet their English language arts growth projection as seen on NWEA MAP," Jackson said, adding the school plans weekly coaching, PLCs and student goal‑setting. Jackson described practical steps being taken to support those targets — regular walkthroughs to monitor curriculum implementation, home visits for chronically absent students, and use of Panorama and other tools to track progress with monthly SIT‑team reviews.
Board members pressed staff on assessment choices and subgroup measurement. Beist and other presenters clarified that MAP is used as an interim, adaptive growth tool (three administrations per year) while the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IR) remains the state proficiency measure. "MAP gives us checkpoints throughout the year to say these students are on track or we need to intervene," Beist said.
Why it matters: the district reframed improvement work around growth and equity measures rather than proficiency alone, so progress will be judged by year‑to‑year student growth and by targeted subgroup gains. The board voted later in the meeting to approve the continuous school improvement plans as presented.
Next steps: district leaders said they will return with progress updates and that principals and district coaches will continue monthly reporting to the board and SIT teams.
