Benchmarks help identify District 54's needs, successes
We constantly ask ourselves the following questions: How are we doing? Are our students making academic progress? How do we compare with other school districts? Are we providing value for our community's tax dollars?
To answer these questions in an objective and in-depth manner, District 54 has been involved in a comprehensive Benchmark Study over the past several months. This type of process has been successfully used in the business world and is now gaining momentum in public education.
Benchmarking provides an unbiased and impartial perspective on how a business or school system is performing. The findings help to identify what is working and which areas are in need of improvement within a particular school system or business.
Benchmarking is a process that helps organizations identify, understand and adapt effective practices that have been successfully used by others in improving their overall performance.
The results of District 54's Benchmark Study will be used to help identify gaps in our school system, determine the next priorities for where we need to improve and highlight areas where we have been successful.
A representative team of board of education members, teachers, support staff and administrators met earlier this year to identify and determine which districts would be used as our measure for comparison. Sixteen districts were carefully selected based on factors such as size, demographic diversity, family income levels and student mobility.
A thorough analysis of how well our students perform in reading, mathematics and science was undertaken. In addition, financial aspects involving the cost of educating students, controlling expenditures and an overall cost benefit profile were studied.
At a recent board of education meeting, the findings were shared. It was shown that over the past two years, statistically significant improvements were seen in both reading and mathematics.
Reading showed the largest overall gains with significant improvement in every grade except third. Much of this success can be attributed to the dedication of our staff in effectively implementing our new core literacy program.
Reading in the early grades will continue to be a primary area of focus. As a district, we will be investigating and then implementing different ways of providing support to students who struggle in the early grades.
District 54 continues to demonstrate strong achievement in mathematics. We anticipate that this trend will continue as a new junior high mathematics curriculum is implemented. We have more students than ever before who successfully completed algebra and geometry during their junior high school experience.
Science was found to be our greatest area in need of improvement. Even though our overall test scores are high, we ranked much lower when compared to other districts in the area and throughout the state.
To address this finding, the purchase of a new science curriculum and support materials was recently approved by our board of education. These will be used in every classroom beginning next school year.
The Benchmark Study confirmed that District 54 is fiscally responsible. Overall costs are contained and expenditures continue to be in alignment with available revenues. The vast majority of dollars are used to support and improve student achievement.
The overall conclusion was that District 54 continues to exceed expectations when compared with other districts. Since 2006, there is clear evidence of statistically significant academic improvement in both reading and mathematics.
These types of gains are only possible when our board of education, parents, community, certified and support staff work together for the benefit of every student.
Special thanks need to be given to our employees and residents of Schaumburg Township. Your hard work, commitment and ongoing support continue to make each of our schools a great place to learn!