Thank you for your interest in Strategic Planning. This page will be updated often during the planning process.

Our Board of Education has scheduled three special Board meetings to review the work of the design team and provide feedback prior to our final draft. Therefore, no Board members will be directly participating on our Design Team. These special meetings will be open to the public. Here are the dates, times, links and passcodes and we will send out reminders about these meetings closer to the dates:

BOE Forum over Zoom:

Wednesday, March 8 from 6-7pm (Passcode: 42671021)

Click here to view the BOE Forum from 3-8-23

Tuesday, April 4 from 6-7pm (Passcode: 50028831)

Thursday, April 20 from 6-7pm (Passcode: 62572001)

We have also added some additional times to our schedule for community input and feedback on our work. We are hopeful that these times will provide enough opportunities for our community to give input into the plan. Here are the dates, times, links and passcodes and we will send out reminders about these meetings closer to the dates:

Community Forums over Zoom:

Wednesday, March 8 from 7-8pm (Passcode: 16528576)

Thursday, March 9 from 1-2pm (Passcode: 59820952)

Tuesday, April 4 from 11am-noon (Passcode: 50725095)

Tuesday, April 4 from 7-8pm (Passcode: 69795213)

Thursday, April 20 from noon-1pm (Passcode: 07765868)

Thursday, April 20 from 7-8pm (Passcode: 94480479)

Please also be on the lookout for surveys in between each of our retreats. We need your input! 

Final Plan Team Meeting May 3, 2023

Click on links for detailed information:

Agenda

Slide Show

Setting District Direction Retreat April 17, 2023

Click on links for detailed information:

Agenda

Handout

Slide Show

SAMPLE Preferred Future Statements

SAMPLE Goals and Aligned Strategies

Vision Retreat March 21, 2023

Click on links for detailed information:

Vision Retreat Article Prep: SCUSD Vision 2035, Forging the Future, A Vision that Changed a School, What if We Don't....

Vision Retreat Agenda

Vision Retreat Hand outs

Vision Retreat Slide Show

Vision Retreat SWOT Feedback Analysis

Data Retreat March 2, 2023

Click on links for detailed information:

Data Retreat Overview

Data Retreat Presentation Overview

Strategic Planning Data Retreat Documents 

Data Retreat Agenda

Strategic Plan Data Retreat Slide Deck

Strategic Planning Data Retreat Handouts

Finance/Tech Presentation

Student Achievement and Growth Strategic Plan Presentation

Climate and Culture Strategic Planning Presentation

Data Retreat Findings

DRAFT SWOT Analysis

We want to thank all of the members of our design team for their commitment to this work!

As part of the Strategic Plan process, the district is asking for your feedback to ensure the direction of the strategic plan team is informed by the thoughts and opinions of all stakeholders. Your feedback is critically important to the process. 

Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey on the SWOT analysis to tell us what you think!
The survey will be open from March 8 to March 15 at noon. No personal information is collected.

Strategic Plan Design Team video featuring Dr. Lisa Leali 

Spanish Version Strategic Plan Design Team video featuring Dr. Lisa Leali

Future Ready FAQ

Future Focused FAQ

January 2023

What is the current picture of student growth and achievement for District 65 coming out of the pandemic?

Student achievement and growth information from our latest round of state standardized assessments can be found here on Illinoisreportcard.com. Here is a table summarizing data from this assessment of our students in the spring of 2022:

Here are the spring scores for NWEA MAP tests from the Spring of 2022:

What are the differences between these two assessments?

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness is a multi-day assessment that is administered by the State of Illinois. It is based on the Illinois Learning Standards. This is the accountability measure for the state. The assessment has two static versions given to students randomly. Students take this assessment on the computer. The district receives the results of these assessments after students leave for the summer.

The NWEA/MAP is an assessment that we are fortunate to be able to purchase as a district, to use in order to complement the state standardized IAR assessment. MAP is an adaptive assessment, which means that each assessment consists of one session per content area (typically taking about an hour) in which students are given grade level questions first. Then the assessment adapts to the students’ answers. If the student gets some grade level questions wrong, the assessment will give easier questions and likewise will give harder questions when a student is successful at grade level questions. The assessment will continue in this pattern until a score has been determined that indicates the students range of ability.

This assessment is given three times per year by our district, and we receive the results right away. The data are not publicly available, but individual results are sent home to each student’s household. The data from these assessments are used to support decision making during the school year for individuals and groups of students. The information from these assessments are more actionable than those from the IAR, which at best give us a more holistic overview of the district and its programs.

The MAP test also indicates a student growth score. The percentage of students who met their target growth on this assessment for the 21-22 school year is indicated in the table below:

Is it possible that a student could be performing at a high level and not growing, or performing below grade level but showing accelerated growth?

Yes, both of these scenarios happen. That is why both growth and achievement levels are something that the district watches closely. It is difficult to determine how the district is performing if only one measure or assessment is taken into consideration on the aggregate for this reason, as well. Additionally, some of our students show growth on their language proficiency through the ACCESS test for English Language Learners and some students show personalized growth on their Individualized Education Programs.

Regardless, District 65 is working to improve our student achievement and growth performance and will continue to work to provide an accurate assessment of our progress to the Board of Education and community. A more comprehensive list of the assessments given in District 65 can be found here.

I’ve heard that our schools and district have received a failing grade from the state, is that true?

Lake Bluff District 65 has not received a failing grade from the state. This rumor is false. In fact, in the spring of 2022, our schools received the highest ratings (LBES - Exemplary and LBMS - Commendable). To be clear, the data from the Illinois School or District Report cards do not translate to ABCD or F type grades from the state, nor does the state issue these types of grades to schools or districts. Illinois does issue ratings to schools based on many factors on the report cards. The ratings that the state issues are calculated based on growth and proficiency relative to other districts around the state, the number of underperforming subgroups of students, and graduation rates. That being said, we understand that we still have work to do in the area of student achievement and growth and will continue to work to improve those results for our students. 

How is District 65 performing relative to other districts across the state?

Lake Bluff Elementary School received an Exemplary rating from the State of Illinois because they performed in the top 10% of elementary schools in the state in the spring of 2022.

Lake Bluff Middle School received a Commendable rating from the State of Illinois because they had no underperforming subgroups but did not perform in the top 10% of the state.

Below are some neighboring districts and their results on the IAR in the spring of 2022:

What do these different results mean?

Data from this comparison indicates that District 65 is rated similarly to our high performing neighbor.  However, there are a myriad of factors that influence student achievement and growth on the state assessment.  The fact that every district in Illinois has different populations of students, resources, facilities, etc., makes it difficult to compare results on this one assessment, which is the only source of public data.

How are we using the results from the IAR?

Here in District 65, we are focused on improving outcomes for all students, with a specific effort concerning outcomes for students in our minority populations (students who live in poverty, students with complex support needs and who require an individualized education program, students who are multilingual and students of color). This has been a focus since before the pandemic and we continue to work on this area of our practice through improvements in literacy instruction, staffing increases, and professional development opportunities for our teachers. 

We will continue to prioritize our resources to ensure that our staffing plan, programming decisions and financial resources are dedicated to improving outcomes for students in these groups.

How can parents support students with these assessments?

District 65 offers a standards-based curriculum, focused on the state standards for all students and differentiated learning experiences for students who need support below or above grade level. It is important for parents to encourage students to complete their work at school or at home, so that they can practice on these standards. Additionally, limiting screen time and encouraging students to read at home can be very helpful.

While we do our best to ensure that students are not anxious about the assessment process, we ask that parents encourage students to do their best and give their best effort on all of our assessments. Sometimes students are under the impression that these assessments are not important. Not only are they helpful in making decisions for individual students, but the results are how we are measured as a system.

What is the District’s plan to address student achievement and growth improvement?

Curriculum reviews have begun at each grade level and in each department. Teams have been reviewing the data and aligning the results to their work with students. Teachers are also working in collaborative teams to develop formative, curriculum-based assessments which can give us more timely and actionable data on student needs. Finally, our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) has been updated with new resources and our schedules at both schools include time for students to receive interventions when necessary.

The District has been working to address achievement gaps since before the pandemic. Additional support for students' social and emotional needs was provided in the fall of 2019, and we continue with that support today, in addition to more support for math instruction at the elementary level. Through our strategic planning process beginning in February of 2023, we will set targeted goals for academic improvement. We will work collaboratively with our community to set benchmarks in order to measure our progress in a meaningful way and communicate our progress with the community utilizing more than one assessment tool.

I have recently heard a podcast about the program that the district uses to teach literacy and I am wondering how the district is handling this conversation?

District 65 is committed to making the best instructional decisions we can for our students, and investing in teacher professional development to that end. We are aware of the recent conversations in the broader educational community regarding the Units of Study, Fountas and Pinnel and Reading Recovery. Additionally, we are aware of the Science of Reading and its alignment with those programs.

We are currently working with our staff to analyze our programs, specifically concerning early literacy, and develop a plan to ensure that all students are receiving the fundamental elements of an effective reading, writing and literacy education. More information will be provided to the Board and community as our plan is constructed and there will be additional opportunities for community engagement around this issue.

Will the District be engaging in Strategic Planning now that our current plan is almost finished?

Yes, District 65 has vetted three external partners to facilitate our next Strategic planning process, which will begin in February 2023. We will be working with Catalyst for Educational Change.

How can parents/community members/stakeholders get involved in that process?

We will be working with CEC to solicit volunteers from all stakeholder groups in the community. The entire community will be notified about this process and the opportunities for involvement. We will be looking for community members, parents, staff and students who represent all demographic groups and ages of our population.

What will be included in the strategic planning process?

Utilizing current data, CEC will help us to determine what additional data we need and will support us in collecting those data. Then, our staff and administration will work with our Board and a group of volunteers to evaluate our current plan, determine which aspects need updating (incorporating the current Portrait of a Learner), drafting those updates and presenting them to the Board for approval.

After the plan is developed, CEC will work with the administrative team to develop specific action plans and benchmarks, as well as a process for reporting back to the Board and community periodically.

How will the district measure success in the future?

The strategic plan will guide our progress for the next three to five years and our success will be measured by our progress toward the goals that are outlined.

THRIVE is a committee that started in the spring of 2021, where is their work at this point and what are the action steps for the future?

The THRIVE group met throughout last school year in subcommittees:

• Student Voice and Agency
• Social Emotional Learning
• Parent and Family Engagement
• Culture and Climate

Each subcommittee developed a goal for their work and drafted questions for the THRIVE surveys that were sent out to community members, parents and students last spring. The subcommittees have met to review the data and determine what information from those surveys can be brought forward to the strategic planning committee so that the work of that group can be reflected in the overall plan for the district.

Moving forward, THRIVE will continue to meet one to two times per year to review their goals and give feedback to the district on how we are doing.

What is our partnership with True North and how does it support our students with complex learning needs and our work on closing achievement gaps?

District 65 belongs to True North Educational Cooperative 804, which is a collaborative effort between 18 districts in our area to serve and support students with complex learning needs and who need an individualized education program (IEP). True North supports us with students who need a different learning environment, different learning resources or support, or different staffing needs.

They also provide professional development to our staff which can be applied not only to students with learning differences but to all our students. We are proud of our partnership with TrueNorth and the important work they help us do.

I wish I could see more of all that is happening with the district on our website. Is there anything that can be done to update it?

We are in the process of updating our website and it should be released in the summer of 2023. We believe that it will be an easier and more effective way to communicate with the broader community about all the wonderful things happening in District 65.