Speaking with Stawick
Speaking with Stawick is the blog of District 146 Superintendent Dr. Jeff Stawick. Please subscribe for update notifications to be sure you don't miss the latest news and information from the administration.

Recent Posts
It has been a year unlike any other. Although 2020 began normally, March brought everyone many challenges to face. Our teachers, staff, and families stepped up to help our students continue learning at home for the remainder of the school year. The District 146 community pulled together hosting drive-by parades, virtual clubs, and even a recognition event for our graduating eighth grade class in an effort to bring joy and a sense of normalcy.

As it became obvious the 2020-2021 school year would have to begin remotely, our administration and teachers worked together to develop an enhanced remote learning plan for our students. As the second trimester grew closer, we determined our students could safely return to in-person learning. Once again, our administration and teachers came through and put together a hybrid experience that allowed all families who chose it, a chance for their children to return to the classroom.

Since then, our families and staff have done a remarkable job keeping our COVID-19 positive cases down, and our cases of on-campus close contacts very low. By monitoring for symptoms, keeping students who aren’t feeling well at home, and completing daily health and temperature checks, we have so far avoided any major outbreaks. You can follow these statistics by visiting our COVID-19 Dashboard, which is updated weekly.

As most cases are being traced to personal and community events and gatherings outside of school, please continue to carefully consider nonessential activities and observe the advice of health experts who remind us to practice social distancing and wear a mask. If our families and staff remain vigilant and cautious, the number of positive cases at our schools will remain low.   

I am so grateful for our teachers, staff, administrators, and families for the efforts you have all taken to continue offering our students a quality education. My wish for 2021 is that you all remain healthy and happy, and that we can return safely to normal school as soon as possible. Happy Holidays and I wish you a wonderful new year.
Posted by superintendent  On Dec 23, 2020 at 4:23 PM
  

As you may know, we have begun the process of updating the District’s Strategic Plan. The current plan was launched in 2014 and has driven our improvement over the last four years. We are very proud of the progress we have made on our goals. You can see our progress, along with some fast facts about the District, on the District’s Strategic Dashboard.

We are very excited to update the plan to identify our new goals for the future, which will be developed using feedback from our stakeholders. We have already conducted focus groups of parents, students, staff members, community leaders, and Board members. On Tuesday, January 15, a parent town hall meeting will be held in the Fulton Cafeteria at 6 p.m. If you are available, I encourage you to attend and share your input. Surveys will also be sent to make certain we gather information from all of the District’s stakeholders.

The inclusive, research-based strategic planning process assures our decisions are based on data rather than intuition. Most importantly, it helps us create the future of our schools in the image our stakeholders desire.

We have once again partnered with the ECRA Group to develop our new strategic plan. ECRA Group is a leader in educational assessment, research, analytics, and strategic planning, and assisted the District with our original Strategic Plan.

I will keep you all updated on the strategic planning process, and look forward to sharing the finished result with you later this year.

Posted by superintendent  On Jan 14, 2019 at 10:31 AM
  
This post corrects and offers additional information on the designations written about in the previous post, "Telling Our Story."

In my last post, I mentioned Central Middle School was designated by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) as Underperforming. This designation came as a result of PARCC scores for two student subgroups.

Just today, I received word from ISBE that after further review, Central will not be designated as Underperforming, but as Commendable. As a matter of fact, Central, Fierke, Fulton, and Memorial are have all been designated as Commendable. I am also excited to announce that Kruse has been designated as Exemplary. Schools designated as Exemplary are in the top 10-percent of all schools in Illinois. 

As stated in my previous post, the District values more than just PARCC scores and data from the Illinois State Report Card. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to take a look at the District’s new Dashboard to see first-hand how our schools strive to educate the whole child.

When we first heard that Central would be designated as underperforming, we began working on an improvement process that targeted the two subgroups identified by ISBE. Be assured that we will continue this work to achieve high levels of learning for all students in District 146. 
Posted by superintendent  On Oct 31, 2018 at 11:09 AM
  
Later this month, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will be releasing the 2018 School Report Cards. The School Report Cards offer information on topics like standardized test scores, demographics, and finances.

Along with the impending release of the School Report Cards, ISBE has notified the District that Central Middle School has been designated as “underperforming with targeted support.” This designation comes as a result of PARCC test scores for two student subgroups at Central: English Learning students and Students with an Individual Education Plan (IEP). We are excited for the opportunity to utilize ISBE resources and continue our improvement. 

The underperforming designation provides us with additional funding from the state that help our improvement plan. The District has already begun working on the improvement process internally.

There is no doubt the information provided in the School Report Cards is useful, but the District values more than just PARCC scores. The information we value tells the story of District 146 and demonstrates how our schools enrich the education and lives of each student. We are excited to tell you that story through a new public dashboard.

On our dashboard you will find information about our social/emotional curriculum that helps shape the whole child. Also included is data on our English Language Learner students and our inclusive teaching styles, which highlight the District’s pride in our diversity. We also highlight our award-winning students, clubs, programs, and departments.

Screenshot of Dashboard

You can find the District’s dashboard by clicking here. I invite you to look over the data, strategies, and objectives we provide. There are many links to documents, videos, and photos embedded within the dashboard that illustrate our story in ways the State Report Card cannot. The Dashboard is a living tool that will continue to evolve as we update it with new data, ideas, and strategies for success. I hope you find the information as valuable as we do. If you have any comments after viewing the information, I would love to hear from you. 
Posted by superintendent  On Oct 19, 2018 at 10:39 AM
  
Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.