Elmhurst SD 205 board hears data showing gains; district outlines ACT alignment and tiered reading supports

Elmhurst School District 205 officials on Feb. 24 presented winter assessment results showing the district’s median K–8 student scored near the 70th national percentile in reading and reported above‑median fall‑to‑winter growth.

In a presentation titled “Monitoring progress and taking action,” the district’s data team said multiple elementary schools are performing above expected proficiency levels for their socioeconomic cohorts. The presentation cited a national comparison that, the district said, showed Elmhurst’s reading achievement rose by more than a full grade level over four years compared with much smaller gains in similar districts. "Our median D205 students scored at the 70th percentile nationally in reading," said Dr. Campbell, the district data presenter.

Why it matters: Board members framed the data as evidence the district’s multi‑year investments in aligned curricula, MTSS (multi‑tiered system of supports) and instructional coaching are producing results, and they pressed for comparable detail at York High School.

The district described how the NextPath data platform provides preconfigured dashboards and "data walls" that help school teams identify students needing tiered supports. Officials outlined the district’s approach to early literacy: tier 1 universal instruction, tier 2 classroom reteaching, and tier 3 interventions delivered by reading specialists. Programs named in the presentation included Fun and Focus (Spanish literacy supports), the Wilson Reading System and Just Words. "We identify students in red and yellow and match programming before jumping to more intensive supports," a presenter said.

York High School staff described steps to align instruction with the ACT suite of state accountability assessments. Katie Lyons said York has integrated ACT‑aligned skills into core courses, used cohort data to target students approaching benchmarks and held multiple professional learning sessions with the district partner Academic Approach. "We're embedding ACT‑aligned skills into daily instruction and providing boot camps and targeted workshops for students," Lyons said.

The district also announced proposed updates to instructional materials for four Advanced Placement courses. Those materials will be available for a 30‑day public review from March 2 through April 10, 2026; the district will post materials online, make physical copies available at the district office, collect feedback via a Google form and return to the board for final approval on April 21.

Public comment: A parent urged the board to address class sizes and asked the district to reduce a cited class‑size figure of 27 to 25 where possible, saying larger classes pose challenges for families with multiple children.

What’s next: District staff said they will provide the board with additional high‑school‑level detail on how MTSS and NextPath data will be used at York to mirror the depth of information presented for K–8, and will post the AP materials for public review starting March 2.

(Reporting based on the board presentation and public comment at the Feb. 24 Elmhurst SD 205 Board of Education meeting.)