Mid-year update on the district’s strategic plan and its “power metrics,” featuring presentations from multiple departments including Academics, Special Education, Business, Technology, Facilities, and the Fine Arts Centre.
1. Power Metrics: Academic Data (Priority One: Enhance Teaching and Learning Practices)
This section focuses on using quantitative data to assess core academic health.
MAP Growth Assessment (Grades K-8)
- Description: MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) is a computer-adaptive test taken by students three times during the year (fall, winter, and spring). It is designed to find a student’s true instructional level by attempting to give them questions they have a 50% chance of answering correctly, which determines their RIT score. Growth targets are set based on the average growth of a large national sample of students (approx. 8.5 million). The goal is to match or exceed the national average growth target.
- Data Highlights (Students with IEPs):
- The percentage of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) meeting their growth targets in math showed significant improvement.
- Math (2023): 49%.
- Math (Next Two Years): 64%.
- The reading achievement gap for this group is also closing, with a progression from the 47th to the 50th percentile.
- Systemic Focus: Better results are consistently seen in math due to a clearly articulated K-8 math curriculum, leading the administration to focus on establishing an equally rigorous and articulated core curriculum for K-8 ELA/reading instruction to improve those scores.
ACT Scores (High School Juniors)
- Description: The district switched back to the ACT from the SAT, which has created volatility in trend data due to changes, including a shift to an online test and the upcoming introduction of the computer-adaptive “enhanced ACT”. The district’s goal is to get students over the benchmark for college readiness.
- College Readiness Metric: The college readiness score predicts that a student has a 75% chance of earning a “C” or better in their college-level freshman course (math or English).
- Data Interpretation: Due to the annual change in the cohort taking the ACT (the current junior class), the scores are interpreted as a system score rather than individual student growth. Annual targets will be adjusted in the spring because the district has already exceeded its predicted measures.
2. Priority: Fostering Inclusion and Belonging
This priority is driven by the understanding that student engagement and a sense of belonging are crucial facilitators of academic success.
- Sense of Belonging Metric:
- Data (Spring Last Year): 70%.
- Annual Target: Growing about 1% or 2% each year.
- Scores were slightly lower at the 6 through 12 levels.
- Special Education Context (Significant Disproportionality):
- The district received a state citation for the over-identification of Black students with a Specific Learning Disability. Black students in the district were found to be four times more likely to be found to have a learning disability compared to the average student.
- The subsequent deep-dive analysis revealed that students with the least academic growth were those missing the most instructional time due to absenteeism, discipline, or restrictive placements.
- This finding shifted the focus to a district-wide commitment to belonging, resulting in instructional and cultural changes to reduce exclusionary practices.
- The overall special education identification rate in the district is 13% , which is below the Illinois state average of 16%.
- Discipline and Absenteeism Data (5Lab): This shift is evidenced by data showing:
- A decrease in discipline referrals (ODRs – office discipline referrals).
- An increase in attendance.
3. Priority: Operational Excellence and Resource Stewardship
This priority ensures the prudent and accountable use of taxpayer resources.
Financial Profile Score (ISBE)
- Description: This metric assesses the district’s financial strength and its ability to fund student learning initiatives using a 4.0-grade point average scale. The score is based on factors like fund balance, days cash on hand, and debt ratio.
- Current Score: The district has maintained a 4.0 average for the last several years.
- Target: The goal is to maintain “recognition status,” which is the highest category and requires a score above 3.5. The score is expected to dip below 4.0 as funds are invested in “warm, safe, dry” facilities projects.
Business Office Operations
- Cashless System (My School Books): The system went live in August for registration fees and lunch balances. The district is trending toward lower cash collection (moving the needle down) but saw a spike in November.
- Food Service (Organic Life):
- Meal Counts Increase: 17% year over year. The increase suggests students find the food satisfactory.
- Enrollment and Residency (Re-registration):
- Description: Annual re-registration ensures contact information (address, phone number) is current for safety and communication.
- Current Rate: 96% (up from 95% last year).
- Goal: To reach at least 99%.
4. Technology Department
The department focuses on providing reliable, high-quality service and maintaining mission-critical systems.
- Scale and Scope:
- Daily Device Connections: 14,000 devices.
- Daily Security Events Filtered: 3.4 billion.
- Peak Internet Speed: 7.8 gigabits per second.
- Work Order Metrics (Tickets):
- Total Tickets: Close to 1,000 less than last year.
- Average Tickets Per Month: 676.
- On-Time Close Rate (Goal 95%): Achieved 98% for the whole year.
- Incidents (Breakage): Currently at 48.5% of tickets (down from 52%-53% last year).
- System Uptime: Achieved the goal of 99.99% (four nines) uptime for mission-critical systems, highlighting the reliability of the infrastructure.
- Challenges: Rising tech costs, increasing complexity from AI and governance/compliance requirements, and a slight backlog of larger projects.
5. Batavia Fine Arts Centre (BFAC)
The BFAC aligns its goals with supporting the strategic plan through artistic excellence and community outreach.
- Arts in Education Program:
- Description: This program identifies and curates arts options for different grade levels, often connecting learning to family-attended evening events.
- Tickets Experienced (as of Nov. 30):
- Last Year: 72.
- Current Year: 588.
- Anticipated Total Attendance: 1,200 throughout the year.
- Pay What You Will Program (National Tours):
- Description: This program provides equitable access to national touring artists, allowing patrons to pay any price they are willing to afford.
- Tickets Experienced (as of Nov. 30):
- Last Year: 89.
- Current Year: 358.
- Financial Impact: The program has generated nearly three times the income and attendance of the previous year.
- Facility Stewardship: Projects include making the facility ADA accessible and secure by relocating the elevator and building a secure backstage wall. A former office space was converted into a podcast studio for student video production classes.
6. Facilities and Transportation
This area is focused on improving operational efficiency, facility maintenance, and student safety.
Facilities
- Work Orders (Incident IQ): The department has adopted the same work order system as technology to streamline processes.
- Response Time (Goal 1 Day): Currently nearly one day (1.2 days in November).
- Resolution Time (Goal 3 Days): Current average is 5 days. The high school has improved efficiency by equipping custodians with Chromebooks.
- Deferred Maintenance: The goal is to reduce the backlog of projects, particularly those related to warm, safe, dry infrastructure, by moving forward with projects like the Louise White school renovation and the Gustafson/Nelson flooring project.
- Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): A pilot program focusing on temperature and airflow is being developed for H.G. Storm school. The current mandate requires bringing in 10% outside air, which the new system will monitor.
Transportation (Buses)
- On-Time Performance:
- Current Rate: 98.1%.
- Goal: 99%.
- Recent turnover in the entire leadership team at Illinois Central (the service provider) is noted as a factor.
- Route Efficiency:
- Current routes are 190 (down from 193).
- Safety (Accidents):
- Goal: One accident per 100,000 miles.
- Current Status: Zero accidents to date.
DOCS: https://go.boarddocs.com/il/bps101/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DLUQ2D672B14
Author: Jim Fahrenbach
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