Celebrating Success
The district has been creating a website page focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that was unveiled to the Board. Included in that page are students’ stories that center around DEI. Dr. Scott Warren, superintendent, will show the website page to the Superintendent’s Advisory Council on Equitable Education (SACEE) in the fall before making it public.
Board Committee Assignments
The Board discussed district committee assignments for the school year.
Communications Survey
Margaret Van Duch, Communications Coordinator, presented the Board with an overview of the findings from the Communications Survey that parents completed in June. The survey covered communication methods in the district and the families’ responses to those methods. Areas of improvement will include prominently placing upcoming events in newsletters and improving website navigation.
World Language Update
Dr. Katie Reynolds, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, discussed the district’s K-8 Spanish program for the 2023-2024 school year. The original goal of the program was for students to begin high school with a Novice Mid or a Novice High level of performance on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language. To date, many eighth-grade graduates are outperforming those goals in part due to the amount of Spanish instruction students are receiving in D103. The goal of the Spanish review was to reduce the number of instructional minutes in order to align with the district’s original achievement goals for eighth-graders. This plan was originally set to go into practice during the 2024-2025 school year. Due to a change in staffing at Sprague, the district is moving up one component of this plan, the elimination of Spanish in kindergarten this fall. The district is also reviewing the number of minutes students are in Spanish each week at various grade levels.
5Essentials Report
The Board discussed the 5Essentials report, an annual state survey regarding the elements for effective schools. Parents, students, and teachers are invited to participate in giving feedback on school climate and learning conditions in District 103 each Spring. The results showed that District 103 is well-organized for success. The State will make the report available to the public in October 2023.
