Changes help school district to keep looking toward future
Most of us are anxiously anticipating the change of seasons from winter to spring. We are tired of shoveling our driveways, cautiously walking to avoid slipping on a patch of ice and carefully dodging the increasing number of potholes on our roads. Everyone seems to be more than ready for spring to arrive.
Like the change from winter to spring, District 54 is in the midst of annual and ongoing change. For most of us, these are exciting times. Yet the idea of change often brings feelings of apprehension and uncertainty.
To keep pace with the rapidly changing world around us, we must constantly evaluate what we do and seek ways to improve the educational experiences that we provide our students. Over the past several years, School District 54 has implemented a variety of changes that will benefit our students.
Professional learning communities have been established in every school. Teams of teachers and support staff work collaboratively to address the needs of their students. Specific intervention and enrichment opportunities have been created across grade levels and departments. This change in structure has provided greater and more varied teaching and learning opportunities for our staff and students.
Many of the supports that are provided by our central office staff have been realigned or restructured. These changes will enable us to continue to offer high-quality services, along with more customized services to staff members and students in each of our 27 schools.
A number of building level and central office administrators will be working in different schools or departments next year. These changes were carefully made after evaluating how we can be more effective in supporting student learning. Different people bring a fresh perspective and new ideas which can be helpful as we move forward.
Specific curriculum content and a number of our instructional practices have also changed. We are in the second year of utilizing our new grade-level essential outcomes for literacy and implementing a new core literacy program. Reading achievement across our district has never been higher.
Our core math curriculum has also been updated. This year, the latest edition of the Everyday Mathematics program is being used in kindergarten through sixth grade.
In April, the Department of Instruction will be making a proposal to the board of education to revise the junior high math curriculum. If approved, algebra will become part of the standard junior high mathematics curriculum. A revised kindergarten through eighth-grade science curriculum with new support materials has been purchased, and will be used next year.
Never before has change occurred at such a rapid and exponential rate. If we are going to prepare our students for success in high school and beyond, it is necessary for us to continually evaluate and improve how and what we teach our students at every grade.
More than 40 years ago, John F. Kennedy said, "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
To achieve District 54's mission of Ensuring Student Success, we remain committed to building upon our strong foundation, which has been built over time, and making the necessary changes to enhance the learning and growth of our students.