Simon Says - Thoughts from your superintendent 😊
In the last couple of Community Updates, I've mentioned the strategic planning process that is underway this year. The last time a formal, community wide mission and vision exercise was completed was just about 20 years ago, so this is timely work. Our first Community Stakeholder Team meeting was held Tuesday evening and I was happy to take part and work with a group of nearly 50 parents, community members, Board members, staff and administrators to discuss what we mean when we say 'Children at their Best!' This motto has proven to hold high value in the Gower Community for a generation and was just as recognizable to the group assembled as Apple's 'Think Different', or Disneyland's 'Happiest Place on Earth'. What does this slogan mean now, 20 years later? And how will it guide our mission and vision as we head into the next quarter of the 21st century? Those are the important questions our Core Stakeholder Team is working together to answer. I look forward to sharing their progress and final work in the months ahead.
Recently, our schools sent home information that provides parents with insight into what 'Children at their Best!' might look like on the academic front. Individual 3rd - 8th grade student reports from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness were sent home along with Fall NWEA/MAP reports; a separate assessment used from grades 1-8 as a way to benchmark current student performance and measure growth in the winter and again in the spring. It is a lot of information:) As a parent, I've always tried to keep a healthy perspective on 'balance' as it applies to the overall student experience. As much as I found the data reports for my own children informative, I was always cautious to avoid putting too much stock into these 'snapshots' of performance. Answers to questions such as, 'How did your day go?' or, 'Did you enjoy school today?' always meant more to me than norm-referenced scores and/or percentile rankings. But again, balance.
I encourage parents to dig into these reports if you haven't done so already and be sure to reach out to your child's teacher with any questions you may have. I also encourage you to keep asking those important 'How was your day?' questions and to reach out to us the moment you get an answer that just doesn't sit right. And keep in mind, as the 1st Quarter comes to an end at Gower Middle next week and the 1st Trimester at Gower West will end just a few weeks later, this is a perfect time to review those report cards ahead of Parent Teacher conferences on Nov. 25th. Our conferences have always been well-attended and provide an opportunity to discuss the ongoing changes, growth, and development taking place in your child's learning or in areas that may be impacting your child's learning.
If you are interested in a district-wide perspective on student performance, you may find some value in visiting our Academic Performance webpage. The Beginning-of-Year Student Performance Data presentation that was discussed in last night's Board meeting is on this page and you will see that our students are performing remarkably well. The annual IL School Report Cards for schools are expected to be published by the Illinois State Board of Education on Oct. 30th and will be linked to our Academic Performance webpage accordingly.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our school district and, as always, if you have any questions, or would like to discuss any other Gower Community topic further, please reach out to me directly at vsimon@gower62.com.
Respectfully,
Dr. Victor Simon
Superintendent of Schools
