District 87 Achievement Gap Task Force

1
District 87 Achievement Gap Task Force

• February 9, 2005

2
District 87 is Committed to the Achievement of
All Students

• In the past seven years, District 87 has
• Adopted Board Goals specifically related to
  reading and math
• Implemented new curriculum aligning
  classroom instruction to the Illinois State
  Standards
• Purchased new instructional materials at all
  grade levels
• Provided coordinated staff development
  initiatives
• Standards Aligned Classroom Project
• Working with Children and Families in Poverty

3
District 87 is Committed to the Achievement of
All Students

• In the past seven years, District 87 has
  provided
• Tuition free summer school to the most needy of
  our elementary students
• Extended year learning opportunities for
  Sheridan, Irving and Stevenson students through
  the Summer Bridges and Early Start programs
• Full day kindergarten at Bent, Irving, Sheridan,
  and Stevenson

4
District 87 is Committed to the Achievement of
All Students

• In the past seven years, District 87 has
• Reduced elementary class sizes
• Employed highly qualified staff at all schools
• Increased high school graduation requirements for
  the Class of 2009 and beyond
• Among the highest standards in the state

5
Results

• All six of our elementary schools are among the
  highest performing schools in Illinois compared
  to schools with the same populations
• All elementary schools in District 87 made
  adequate yearly progress this year
• Based on ISAT data
• math scores of elementary African American,
  Hispanic and Asian students have improved
• reading, writing and math scores for elementary
  low income students have improved.
• reading scores for low income students at 8th
  grade has improved
• math scores for eighth grade students have
  improved

6
Results

• All elementary sub groups have shown improvements
  in all schools
• Each year a greater percentage of BHS students
  are completing Algebra and Geometry
• Bloomington High School has one of the highest
  graduation rates in Central Illinois

7
An Achievement Gap Exists

• An achievement gap exists between poor and
  minority students and their counterparts
• This is not unique to District 87, an achievement
  gap exists at the national and state levels
• We owe it to our students to do everything we can
  to eliminate the achievement gap

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Recommended Action

• Formation of an Achievement Gap Task Force. 
• The membership will include Board members,
  teachers, parents, administrators, community
  leaders and others, to be determined, from each
  of our schools. 
• All schools and sub populations will be
  represented on this task force.
• McKinsey Consulting has offered to work with
  District 87 to structure and organize this task
  force for free. 

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Goals for 2005-06

• The task force will be responsible for achieving
  three goals during the 2005-06 school year. 
• The first goal will be to synthesize research
  related to the achievement gap issue. 
• The second goal will be to take this information
  and create an action plan that identifies the
  essential knowledge, skills and resources needed
  by parents, our community and educators to close
  the achievement gap and improve learning by all
  our students.   
• The third goal of this task force is to develop
  an assessment instrument to evaluate the
  understanding of all stake holders related to the
  variables that impact the achievement of
  students.

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2006 and Beyond

• In year two, 2006-07, members of the task force
  will become team leaders in their respective
  schools 
• We will form learning teams in each school
  consisting of educators, parents and community
  members 
• Task Force members will use the action plan
  created in year one, 2005-06, as the basis of
  next steps taken in years two, three and four

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Task Force Membership

• Task Force members must be willing to commit
  extended time to this project. 
• Our plan is to educate all stakeholders about the
  needs of students experiencing the achievement
  gap and ways to meet their needs. 

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Next Steps

• Board Approval To Move Forward
• February 23, 2005
• Discussion/Meetings to Design Approach and Refine
  Project Leadership
• March 15, 2005
• Letters of Invitation Sent
• March/April, 2005
• Formation of Task Force
• April/May, 2005
• Organizational Meeting
• Prior to the end of this school year.
• Task Force Begins Work
• Summer/Fall, 2005

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Questions