District 57 reports year-two strategic plan progress; launches fee-based summer school pilot

The Mount Prospect School District 57 superintendent reported to the board June 18 on the district’s Year 2 progress under its five-year strategic plan and previewed a pilot enrichment summer school program to run July 7–25.

The superintendent said the district’s strategic plan — approved by the board in 2023 — has advanced faster than originally anticipated in some areas, citing as a key Year 2 accomplishment the voter-approved referendum that allows the district to plan a new Lincoln Middle School and an addition at Westbrook for full-day kindergarten. “As we conclude year 2 of this 5 year plan, we are immensely proud of where we are,” the superintendent said, adding that administrators will bring recommended recalibrations for superintendent goals back to the board in August.

The administration is launching a pilot enrichment summer school program because federal grant funding that had previously supported summer bridge programming will not be available after this year. The teaching-and-learning team planned fee-based classes designed to offset operating costs: incoming first–second graders had 24 registered, incoming third–fifth graders had 36 registered and incoming sixth–eighth graders had 41 registered, for “a total of over a 100 kids,” the superintendent said. Offerings include design thinking, STEAM innovators, coding, realistic fiction and a Middle School Jumpstart designed for incoming sixth-graders.

The superintendent said six district teachers volunteered to run the pilot. The district will monitor participation, staff feedback and learning outcomes and return updates to the board. The administration framed the pilot as a response to the end of specific federal funding and as a creative way to sustain bridge programming while the district evaluates long-term supports.

Board members asked about improved attendance and reduced chronic absenteeism noted in the packet; the superintendent credited targeted family communication, wraparound supports and strengthened school connection and follow-up procedures. The superintendent also said district staff are pursuing partnerships with nearby districts, including planned ninth-grade data sharing with District 214; that data is expected to be presented with spring data next month.