District to join ECRA consortium for English-language-proficiency growth model at $1,000 per year

Superintendent Joel Hansen told the board that several districts across Illinois formed an informal consortium with Educational Consulting Research Associates (ECRA) to develop an English-language-proficiency growth model tied to the state ACCESS assessment. District 94 signed on at $1,000 per year for three years to receive a broad overview; administrators said a $3,000-per-year option would provide more disaggregated reports. Rationale and process: The superintendent said the consortium arose after an initial attempt to obtain the underlying state data via FOIA was denied; ECRA can assemble and disaggregate the public data across participating districts. The district plans to review the brief report first and consult the new Director of Multilingual Services, Dr. Juan Suarez, about whether to upgrade to the more detailed option. Board members asked for additional information about ECRA’s business, data security and confidentiality practices before moving to a higher-cost option. Outcome: The board was informed of the renewal/consortium participation; the initial $1,000-per-year option was presented as below the board-approval threshold but the superintendent sought the board’s awareness.