Dist. 88: DeVry classes a success

Even though students and teachers from Addison Trail and Willowbrook high schools are still in back-to-school mode, the District 88 school board is already thinking about next summer.

Specifically, they have summer school on the brain.

On Monday, the board discussed the progress of its newest initiative that launched last June: a partnership between District 88 and DeVry University in Addison, which provides math instruction for students who are not scoring at grade level on standardized tests.

Officials said approximately 45 students from the district participated in classes at DeVry, with all showing improvement except for one.

Elizabeth Prindiville, District 88's director of curriculum and learning, said the partnership will continue next summer.

She also tracked some of the students' progress after summer school, finding that they are now succeeding in regular math classes.

"I couldn't help but think that students who got the interventions, well, it speaks volumes about how they are doing now," Prindiville said.

Their new concern for this program, in addition to reading intervention classes also offered by the district, is now logistics.

Also on Monday, architect James Murphy of Wight & Company said construction on both Addison Trail and Willowbrook high schools will likely begin in late spring or early summer of 2008. The work is part of a $115 million renovation project for both schools that voters approved last spring.

Prindiville said it is too soon to know how programs will be affected by construction, but the board will soon discuss how to keep them going if key classroom spaces are affected.