District 200 Implementing Common Core Curriculum Changes

District still on target for math and language arts changes starting in 2013.

As District 200 continues to adopt Common Core State Standards, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Faith Dahlquist on Wednesday outlined a framework for implementing training standards for staff in the district. Common Core is a rigorous educational program aimed at teaching 21st Century skills that are aligned with work and college expectations. District officials began mapping out the transition to Common Core standards in the fall of 2011. During a district committee of the whole meeting Superintendent Brian Harris said the district has high expectations for students' college readiness, but there are some segments of the student population who are not as prepared. “We have to come up with a culture of collaboration,” …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (1)

JanS

2:48 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Faith Dahlquist and the district want us to accept that Common Core is a good thing by faith. It is a national standard that our state agreed to implement because it came with $ and relief from no child left behind. They agreed to to it sight unseen - the standards were not even written at the time. Furthermore, allowing one small group to set standards on a national basis is too much power in …   more ›

D200 to Change Math and Reading Curriculum

Plan will better prepare students for college and career paths in 21st Century, D200 says.

Improving educational standards can be a daunting task, but it’s one the staff of Community Unit School District 200 is tackling with fervor. During a Wednesday night school board committee of the whole meeting Faith Dahlquist, D200 assistant superintendent of educational services, told the board they were reworking the district's curriculum in math and language arts in order to better prepare students for a career or college path. Dahlquist said new math standards are expected to be in place by 2013 and new language arts standards the following year. The new curriculum is spurred in part by the adoption of Common Core State Standards, a rigorous educational program aimed at teaching 21st Century skills that are aligned with work and …

• Photos (1)

Students Leave Low-Scoring School

Ten schools in District 200 fail to meet Adequate Yearly Progress, but only parents at Johnson Elementary had the choice to move children.

The parents of 22 students at Johnson Elementary School opted to move their children to different elementary schools in District 200 after the school failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2011. Adequately Yearly Progress is the measurement for reading and math performances for the federal educational reform initiative No Child Left Behind. In Illinois, AYP is measured by the Illinois Student Achievement Tests. NCLB requires that every child meet standards in reading and math by 2014. This was the second year Johnson Elementary failed to meet AYP, according to district officials. Because the school receives federal Title I funds—monies allotted to assist public schools with high numbers of low income students—parents at Johnson …

• Photos (1)

The District 200 Chalkboard

Because of NCLB, District 200 Addresses Achievement Gaps, Plans for Improvement

The No Child Left Behind act has changed the way student achievement is measured across demographic groups.

At District 200 high schools, it is both the best of times and the worst of times, to paraphrase Charles Dickens. Recently issued Illinois State Report Cards (available online by searching at http://iirc.niu.edu/Default.aspx) show District 200 students' scores on the widely-used ACT college entrance exam reached an all-time high of 24.4 for the class of 2010.  These scores beat the previous record, 24.2, set in 2000 at a time when a much smaller percentage of students took the test.  Yet both Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Both schools have also been on Illinois Academic Watch Status for the last four and five years, respectively. What's behind this apparent …

• Photos (1)