Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Equity in Education

Wednesday night could be a defining moment for District 742 when we present our baseline data about where we are as a district with regards to closing the achievement gap. We feel we have the right programs and people in place to make significant gains with all student groups.

Our Equity Service Department will present our strategic direction and where we are as a district. We recognize that there's concerns that need to be addressed, but this is an opportunity to present where we were at the end of last year so that we can once again present a year from now to hopefully show gains. This department continues to work hard, but we also recognize that we are still growing since this is just 1.5 years in the making.

Even though it may still not be evident, we feel that we have made significant progress by:
  • giving more students access to preschool
  • providing all-day-everyday kindergarten
  • making improvements to our English Language Learning programs
  • improving Target Services programs
  • providing classroom teachers opportunities for professional development
  • creating positions that give teachers more resources to impact learners
  • bringing focus to literacy and math programs
  • giving more student access to tutors
  • enhancing partnerships with our Universities
  • ...and the list goes on

Therefore, if you're interested in hearing more about these programs and what we will continue to do with our Equity Services program, you are welcome to join us for this 6:30 PM meeting Wednesday night.

7 SKILLS STUDENTS NEED FOR THEIR FUTURE - TONY WAGNER