River Trails schools explore new reading, tech programs

Mount Prospect-based River Trails School District 26 has enacted several new academic programs designed to reflect changing state standards and keep the district up-to-date with technology.

Among the new programs is a reading/English program called Scott Forseman Reading Street, which will be used in kindergarten through fifth grade. Reading Street is developed around Common Core academic standards, which recently were adopted by the state of Illinois.

“The previous program we had just didn’t meet the rigor of the Common Core,” said Matt Silverman, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “So we decided to go with a complete redo.”

The Reading Street program places greater emphasis on skills like research, writing and comparing/contrasting different text types, Silverman said. Those skills are important under Common Core standards, which are designed to better prepare students for the global workplace. Implementing the new program carried with it a one-time cost of $125,000, Silverman said.

Another initiative this year is expansion of a “one-to-one” technology pilot program, which gives every student in select classrooms access to Google Chromebooks. Silverman said that five classrooms representing a variety of grade levels were chosen for the program.

“So far, the response has been great,” Silverman said. “The teachers love it, the students love it. There are so many ways you can make use of this technology in the classroom.”

The district had previously experimented with a take-home program, in which computers were given to students for use at school and at home. But district leaders decided it made more sense to keep the computers in the classroom.

“The Chromebooks fit right into the students’ desks, so they’re always there,” Silverman said. “If a teacher wants to incorporate a video or some digital textbook material into a lesson, it’s easy for the students to open the computers and find it. It makes for a more active and engaged classroom.”

The pilot program got under way last school year, and it was expanded this year, when roughly $50,000 was budgeted for the program. The district hopes to continue expanding it over the next three to five years, with the ultimate goal being full participation throughout the district.

Recalibrating teaching methods to match the Common Core and keep up with 21st-century expectations can be challenging, but so far, the faculty and staff in District 26 are adapting well, Silverman said.

“It can be difficult, but it’s also exciting,” he said. “We’re trying to keep the proper perspective, that this is a marathon, not a sprint. So far, the teachers here have been amazing.”