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SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Matthew L. Montgomery, Ph.D.

Lake Forest District 67

Board of Education Meeting

April 23, 2024

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Building a strong Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and a seamless literacy instructional model to meet the needs of every student learning to read

Year One Implementation �K-5 Reading Instruction

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The Science of Reading

Reading Rope

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Amplify ELA 6-8

Tightening the Rope

Fluency

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7th Grade Amplify Poetry and Poe Unit
“Who Killed Edgar Allan Poe?" was an immersive and interactive educational experience where students delved into the world of Poe's writing while honing their critical reading and writing skills. As participants in the mystery quest, students embodied various characters from Poe's works or literary critics, investigating Poe's fictional murder scene and analyzing real-life critiques to ultimately solve the intriguing whodunit, which also draws parallels to Poe's own mysterious death.
Large image on the left: Students had 3 options for their "Tell Tale Heart" Flex Day:

Option 1 (Straight Ahead) offered students to continue on their current path, involving activities like reader's theater and writing tasks;
Option 2 (“Up Hill”) presented a slightly more challenging route, including writing the Poe short stories from new perspectives and deeper analysis;
Option 3 Pictured with Isabelle Alexander presenting her argument (“Mountain Climber” option) was the most challenging, involving debate and putting the narrator of the "Tell Tale Heart" on trial. Students were encouraged to choose the option that suited them best for an enrichment challenge.

Image top right: (from left to right) Kelly Maigler (7 ELA teacher); Nicole Karkazis (7 ELA teacher); Michael Barry (Instructional Coach) as Edgar Allan Poe; Dr. Kellie Kopach (7 ELA teacher) - Hanging out with Edgar Allan Poe during the Amplify Poetry and Poe Unit - specifically, during the "Who Murdered Edgar Allan Poe?" quest.
Image bottom right: Poe-cabulary - Students engaged in a vocabulary inquiry project focusing on vocabulary encountered in Poe's literature and poetry. They explored root words, prefixes, and suffixes, writing definitions using multiple meanings and parts of speech, incorporating sentences from professionals, and including images to enhance understanding dedicating a slide to each word, and immersing themselves through exploration and discussion with peers and their class.

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Staff Development and Coaching

Writing

Continued professional learning
Rubrics and exemplars aligned to standards
Additional opportunities

Differentiation

Scaffolds
Extensions
Enrichment

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Learning Walks

April 23 at Everett

May 16 at Sheridan

This spring, District 67 is piloting a Learning Walk initiative that we plan to fully implement during the 2024-25 school year.
Small groups are guided by our Director of Teaching and Learning, Instructional Coaches, and other administrators to observe how students engage with content and respond to teaching structures, identify specific strengths in classroom environments, and look for trends to inform future support.
Today, we were joined by members of the Board of Education and my Superintendent’s Advisory Council for a Learning Walk at Everett Elementary School, led by Dr. Renee Fitzsimmons.
Learning Walks provide a firsthand look at the work being done in our classrooms to achieve our educational goals and related metrics.
Our next Learning Walk is scheduled for May 16, and we plan to continue them throughout the 2024-2025 school year.

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LFHS Reads 2024

Sign Up by May 10!

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Harvard Graduate School of Education �AASA Ambassador

Institute for Superintendent and District Leaders

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A Conversation with Parenting Expert

Ellen Galinsky

In Partnership with the Family Action Network

Watch here!

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DPM 8th Grade Graduation

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

5:00 PM

LFHS West Field House