Community Consolidated School District 181 BOARD REPORT...In a brief snapshot, the feedback forms reflected that 91% ... often called 21st Century Skills in the field of education.

Community Consolidated School District 181 BOARD REPORT

CONTACT: Dr. Renée Schuster TITLE: Superintendent’s Report DATE: November 18, 2013

Celebrations and Recognitions I want to begin American Education week by recognizing our outstanding District 181 staff who collectively and individually have made the education of our students their life’s work. We appreciate your talent, dedication, and hard work which provides a daily example of All Students, All Staff in action. Together, you are making a difference in the lives and futures of District 181 students. Learning for All Family Education Series On Wednesday, November 20 at 6:30 p.m., an interactive presentation on Common Core Math will be held at Elm School. No registration is required. More information about this event and others in the series is available online at www.d181.org > Academics > Learning for All. On Saturday, November 9, over 50 community members participated in the Fall Family Symposium. Sessions included topics on homework support, social and emotional learning, planning for an IEP, preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences and student use of social media and texting. Most participants completed feedback forms upon completion of each session. In a brief snapshot, the feedback forms reflected that 91% of participants were very engaged and 7.5% were somewhat engaged. In addition, 79% strongly agreed and 16.5% agreed that the program provided them with insight; 0% disagreed. All presentations are posted on the D181 website at www.d181.org > Academics > Learning for All. In addition, videos of the presentations were recorded and will be posted on the same webpage. The next symposium is scheduled for Saturday, April 12. The topics are tentatively set to focus on technology in the classroom and in the home. The Family Symposium and Learning for All Family Education Series was generously sponsored by the District 181 Foundation. We thank our community partners for their support, including District 86, the D181 Foundation, the D181 SELAS Committee, the D181 Family Resource Network and our D181 staff associations (HCHTA and HESS).

Community Surveys / Engagement / Lunch and Learn Parent, staff, and community surveys are open now through November 26. Computers will be available at each school for parents to complete the survey during Parent-Teacher Conferences on November 25 and November 26. Additionally, a postcard advertising the survey and other District events was mailed to all homes in the District, among many other communication tactics. Community Engagements nights were held on November 12 and 13 and welcomed a total of 20 individuals. While the turnout was relatively small, the level of conversation and dialogue was very strong. We will present a summary of the notes from those sessions during the Board meeting on December 9. We extend our thanks to those who attended and the many staff who made these events possible. We held our second Lunch and Learn event on November 14. We had a total of ten guests attend, close to our intended capacity of 12. After presenting highlights of recent District news, attendees shared questions on topics of their interest. The format worked well for more personal dialogue, and we look forward to the next Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, January 21. Math Committee Update The Department of Learning and District Math Committee continue to make progress on the revision of the mathematics curriculum. The Math Committee has begun the process of reviewing research on best practices and learning more about the Common Core Standards. The committee began its work by identifying norms, generating questions to guide their research, and developing a mechanism to reach consensus. The team has studied the Eight Mathematical Practices and how they guide instruction for the new standards. The practices are built upon the standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in 2000. Some key components include the following:

• Students will focus on learning the major conceptual understandings prior to being introduced to formulas or rules.

• Manipulatives will be important for all students to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts.

• Students will need to discuss, explain and justify multiple solutions to a given problem.

A review of prototypes from the PARCC assessment revealed that students will be asked to complete short and extended responses, performance-based tasks, and technology enhanced items. The questions will focus on mathematical understandings, procedural skills, and the ability to apply the skills to authentic problems. A sample problem (Grade 3) is below.

Data Monitoring District administration, principals, and teachers have been monitoring our fourth grade students’ progress in math closely. The data shows that 90-95% of current fourth grade students are ready to progress to the concepts in fifth grade math based on multiple measures, including the Fall NWEA MAP, Everyday Math summative assessments, and classroom performance. The following table shows the data from the Everyday Math eSuites report on the percent of students mastering the objectives from the fourth grade unit Number and Operations.

Unit – Number and Operations

Percent of Students Demonstrating Mastery

95% Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering

97%

Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understanding of operations on whole numbers

94%

Understand decimal notation for fractions and compare decimal and fractions

94%

As fourth grade students progress into fifth grade curriculum, our teachers will dive deeper into foundational skills of multiplication and division. The fifth grade teacher guide provides a roadmap on how to differentiate instruction for students at the fourth, fifth, or sixth grade level. Below is a chart from the Everyday Math fifth grade teacher guide that shows how this will work. During Parent-Teacher Conferences, teachers will share specific information with parents about how their child is progressing in math. For the 5-10% of fourth grade students who are at the fourth grade level, the District will provide optional, additional instruction before or after school at no cost to parents. Suburban School Superintendents During the Suburban School Superintendents’ Conference, I had the opportunity to introduce Dr. Tony Wagner, who presented information from his recent book Creating Innovators. Dr. Wagner stressed the importance of developing students’ skills in critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration, often called 21st Century Skills in the field of education. Upcoming Board Agenda Items The administration is currently working on the following items for the upcoming Board meeting:

Source: Everyday Math

December 9, 2013 • Tax levy hearing & approval of tax levy • FY13 audit • Discussion of stakeholder input from community, parent, and staff

surveys, Community Engagement meetings, and the Visioning Workshop • Policy revisions • Mid-year progress report • Superintendent’s mid-year evaluation

We welcomed Chinese delegates to our schools on November 11. They visited Prospect School and Monroe School, enjoying not only conversation and tours with our team of educational leaders, but also Veterans Day assemblies. We extend special thanks to Monroe Principal Justin Horne and Prospect Principal Anne Kryger for their gracious hospitality.