Dist. 214 approves school improvement plans

The Northwest Suburban High School District 214 school board approved school and district improvement plans as required under the No Child Left Behind Act for failing to make adequate yearly progress two or more consecutive years.

The plans include new methods of intervention for struggling students, increased professional development and more integrated ways of using technology to help students learn, said Rosemary Gonzalez-Pinnick, associate superintendent for educational services.

At its Thursday meeting the school board unanimously approved plans for Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Hersey, Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling high schools as well as an overall district plan.

Only 11 Illinois high schools made adequate yearly progress last year, Gonzalez-Pinnick said, including only one from the suburbs — Deerfield High School.

In 2012, 92.5 percent of 11th-grade students from each school, as well as from a variety of subgroups, were expected to meet or exceed state standards.

With so few schools making adequate yearly progress, Gonzalez-Pinnick said the district is also focused on other standards of success, and officials are happy with what they’ve seen.

“We’re working hard to provide the best opportunities for our students,” she said. “D’s and F’s are down, our ACT scores are up. Do we have students who are not where they should be? Yes, but that’s what the intervention strategies are for.”

The government has not reauthorized No Child Left Behind since 2007, but districts are still required to follow it.