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2025

Harold Washington

Elementary School

�State of the School Address

October 27, 2025

hwespacers.org

ONE TEAM. ONE GOAL. ALL GROWTH!!

Mrs. Keyonna L. Payton, Principal

Mrs. Takyra Garner, Asst. Principal

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Our Commitment to Every Family

We know that anxiety remains high given the recent escalation of federal activity and we want to be clear: Harold Washington Elementary School is — and will remain — a welcoming, safe space for all students regardless of immigration status.

Our District is working closely with the City of Chicago and trusted community partners to make sure families have the information, guidance, and support they need.

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Before we go further, we want every student and family to know that you are welcome here.

We know that anxiety remains high given the recent escalation of federal law enforcement activity in Chicago. For many of our Black and Brown families, and especially for our immigrant and mixed-status communities, these moments can bring real fear and uncertainty.
I want to be clear: our school will always be a welcoming, safe space for every child, no matter their background or immigration status.
We’re not in this alone. Our district is working closely with the City of Chicago and many trusted community partners to make sure families have the information, guidance, and support they need.
You’ll see several resources throughout this presentation, but before we get into those, we want to take a moment to ground ourselves in the power of hope and what that means for our community.

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Hope as a Form of Resistance

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

— Desmond Tutu

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“

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Resources To Support Families

We want families to be informed, supported, and safe.

Visit cps.edu/immigration for resources and information on:

How CPS is keeping staff and students safe at school
Constitutional rights
Nonprofit organizations offering immigration assistance, including legal aid
Traveling to-and-from school and around the community
Family emergency preparedness
Workshops and trainings on Know Your Rights and family preparedness
Student mental health
Post-secondary financial aid for undocumented and mixed-status families

Other helpful resources:

Visit illinoisimmigrationinfo.org, a one-stop site with legal and social supports.
Call the ICIRR Family Support Hotline at 1-855-435-7693 for 24/7 help in English, Spanish, Polish, Arabic, and Korean.

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We know that many families are looking for clear information and support right now. Our priority is to make sure every student and family feels informed, supported, and safe.

You can visit cps.edu/immigration to find up-to-date resources about how CPS is keeping our schools safe, understanding your rights, preparing for emergencies, and accessing legal and community support.
You’ll also find workshops and trainings on Know Your Rights and Family Preparedness, as well as guidance on mental health supports and financial aid for undocumented or mixed-status families.
This site will be continuously updated to offer the most reliable information.

We also want to highlight illinoisimmigrationinfo.org, which brings together trusted organizations from across the state to provide legal and social supports.

And if you or someone you know needs help right away, the ICIRR Family Support Hotline is available 24/7—in English, Spanish, Polish, Arabic, and Korean—to connect families with real people who can listen and help.
We stand with you and are here to support your family.

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Part 1

01	CPS Vision, Mission & Strategic Plan
02	Continuous Improvement & Our Plans
03	Family & Community Partnerships
	Appendix

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School Vision & Mission

Our vision is that every student is empowered by a culture of learning. We strive to engage all students in a rigorous, well-rounded instructional program and a rich experience in co-curricular programs that will prepare graduates for success in college, career, and life.

Our mission is to provide a high-quality education that will integrate the fine and performing arts and technology to meet the diverse needs of all students.

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Ethical and

Collaborative Leaders

Empowered Decision Makers

Engaged Community Members

Adaptable and Independent Thinkers

Inquisitive �Learners

We remain committed to our mission of providing a high-quality public education for every child, �in every neighborhood, that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.

Student Centered

Whole Child

Equity

Academic Excellence

Community Partnership

Continuous Learning

Core �Values

Graduate �Profile

Our Continued Mission to Serve Every Child

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How We �Define Student Success

Our Approach to Accountability and How We Support Schools

How We Invest �in Schools and Communities

How We �Make Major Decisions

EVERY STUDENT has a rigorous, joyful, and equitable daily learning experience	EVERY SCHOOL creates the conditions and implements the practices to drive continuous improvement through an equity lens	EVERY COMMUNITY has inclusive and collaborative partnerships for thriving schools
THE DISTRICT provides equitable resources and supports to each school

Four Major Philosophical Shifts

Priority Areas

Embracing Targeted Universalism

to better understand what students need and co-design diverse solutions to help every student achieve universal goals

Visit cps.edu/FiveYearPlan to learn more

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This is year, our district is embarking on the second year of our 5-year strategic plan. The theme is “Together We Rise” towards success in 2029.
This plan is rooted in Targeted Universalism, as part of a renewed focus on equity. This is the belief that we set a high standard of universal goals for everyone, and then we provide the support that every student needs to meet that standard by co-designing diverse solutions.
We are focused on four major philosophical shifts as a District that will help us achieve greater equity for our students:

redefining student success
redesigning our accountability system and how we support schools, i will elaborate on that shortly
changing the way we support our schools and communities
using community engagement to drive decision-making

The district has three major priority areas for providing equitable resources and supports to each school:

First,seeing to it that EVERY STUDENT has a rigorous, joyful, and equitable daily learning experience
Next,working together so EVERY SCHOOL creates the conditions and implements the practices to drive continuous improvement through an equity lens
And partnering so that EVERY COMMUNITY has inclusive and collaborative partnerships for thriving schools

You can visit cps.edu/FiveRearPlan to learn more

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The Daily Student Experience

Rigorous

Joyful

Equitable

Daily Learning

Experiences

9

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Part 2

01	CPS Vision, Mission & Strategic Plan
02	Continuous Improvement & Our Plans
03	Family & Community Partnerships
	Appendix

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Continuous Improvement & Data Transparency (CIDT) on School Profile Pages

What You’ll Find on our New School Profile Page

A more complete picture of progress and performance — not just test scores.�

NOW INCLUDING

Outcome Metrics: Information about how students are doing academically, socially, and emotionally
Equity Information: How the school’s results compare when we account for different student needs and opportunities
NEW THIS WINTER Practice Metrics: What the school is doing to support teaching, learning, and student well-being�

Evidence of�Student Learning�and Wellbeing

Adult Capacity

and Continuous

Learning

Inclusive and

Collaborative School

And Community

Daily Learning

Experiences

EQUITY

TARGETED UNIVERSALISM

INCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Join us in planning the next CIWP by learning from this data with us! We make decisions based on evidence like this and your input.

See our Profile Page

→

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In accordance with our Continuous Improvement and Data Transparency Policy, also known as CIDT, our school profile page were updated since our last State of the Schools Address and I want take a 2 minutes to highlight this because our updated school profile give you a more complete picture of our school’s progress and performance - not just test scores. Here you’ll see

Outcome Metrics with information about how our students are doing academically, socially, and emotionally.
Equity Information showing how our school’s results compare when we account for different student needs and opportunities.
And NEW THIS WINTER you will also see many Practice Metrics that shed light on the work we are doing to support teaching, learning, and student well-being.

Our school uses this data, and so much more to, make decisions every day. You can use this information to learn about our school’s strengths and areas for growth. We invite you to partner with us in planning conversations such as to create our goals and strategies for our upcoming Continuous Improvement Work Plans (CIWP).

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CIDT | School Profile Pages

School Overview

District Investment

CIDT Components (click to expand)

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Continuous Improvement Work Plan (CIWP)

Our Priorities

Curriculum & Instruction
Connectedness & Wellbeing

Year 1: SY24 Year 2: SY25 Year 3: SY26

See our full CIWP

cps.edu/CIWPFinder

←

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2024–2026 CIWP Priority 1

If we...

Build teacher capacity through ongoing professional development and continuous cycles of learning in order to increase their ability to provide high quality Tier 1 instruction and the implementation of intervention supports.

then we see...

Teachers will be able to progress monitor with fidelity in order for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students to receive MTSS interventions as outlined in Branching Minds.

which leads to...

A 10% decrease in the percentage of students in grades 3-8 Intervention and Urgent Intervention on the SY25 STAR 360 ELA and MATH assessments. A 10% decrease in the percentage of students K-2 who are two or three grade levels below on the iReady Reading and Math assessments.

	Goals	Progress Made Last Year
Practice �Goal(s)	The ILT and MTSS Teams will collaborate with teachers to develop SMART goals, select Progress Monitoring Tools as well as Intervention supports to monitor student learning and progress in the Branching Minds platform.	In SY25, Branching Minds usage increased, and teachers in collaboration with the Intervention team progress monitoring.
Performance Goal(s)	Tier 2/ 3 students will utilize Freckle a minimum of 3 times per week for 20 minutes working on ELA & Math goals.	Progress monitoring occurred in majority of all grade bands, and approx. 40-50% of students receiving Tier 2 and Tier 3 services demonstrated measurable growth on STAR360/iReady.

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SY25 Practice/Perfromance Data

The ILT leads instructional improvement through distributed leadership.
ILTs design and implement professional learning aligned to their CIWP
ILT conducts a meaningful instructional learning cycle.
As a school we just completed a “Planning”/Pillar 1 Learning Cycle and now we are currently working on Learning Cycle #2 focused on Student Academic Discourse
90% of classrooms have visible alignment posted between standard, learning target and task.

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In alignment with the CIDT, we want first to share with you some of the practices we have in place at this time. This data reflects the inputs, of the work we are doing, and is a critical aspect of improvement. Practice data is important for us to pay attention to in order to achieve our performance goals.

NOTES TO THE SPEAKER

What practice data would you like to highlight about the work your school is currently doing and may want to focus on this school year? Consider the practices named here.

Curriculum

and Instruction:

Curriculum
Instruction
Inner Core/Learning Conditions
Distributed Leadership
Balanced Assessment
Assessment for Learning

Inclusive

and Supportive Learning:

MTSS Framework
MTSS Academic Interventions
Least Restrictive Environment
IEP Fidelity
Tier 1 EL Instruction
Language Objective Mastery

Connectedness

and Wellbeing:

Universal Teaming Structures
Healing Centered Supports
Enrichment and Engagement Programing
Re-Entry Planning

Postsecondary

Success:

C4 Instruction Plan
Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) Structures
Work-Based Learning
HS: Advanced Coursework
HS: Industry Recognized Certification
HS: Postsecondary Leadership Teams
HS: Alumni Support Initiative

Partnerships

and Engagement:

School-Family Community Relationships
Two-way Communication
Student Voice Infrastructure

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2024–2026 CIWP Priority 2

If we...

Provide teachers with continued professional development on the implementation of SEL program Second Step, monitor usage, develop SEL bulletin boards from Second Step lessons and use the PBIS continuously with fidelity.

then we see...

Students reporting to school on-time, students displaying desired behaviors, regular Second Step lessons being taught as evidenced by monthly SEL themed bulletin boards, BHT/CCT will conduct walks in order to collect data on implementation of SEL curriculum and implementation of Live School with fidelity.

which leads to...

A 10% decrease in students requiring intense SEL support for Tier 3 behaviors, an increase in incentive participation with 70% of students earning school-wide incentives through points earned in Live School, and a decrease in the number of ICT infractions by 7%-10%.

	Goals	Progress Made Last Year
Practice �Goal(s)	The BHT and MTSS team will analyze the information presented and determine an implementation plan to address students' social-emotional concerns.	Staff documented student behavior utilizing discipline tracker and Branching Minds for significant social-emotional and behavioral concerns for students.
Performance Goal(s)	The percentage of students requiring Tier 3 social-emotional and behavioral support will decrease by 10% as evidenced by Branching Minds intervention data, and a reduction in repeated behaviors	All staff documented Tier 3 SEL and discipline behaviors. Which allows for SY26 to continue that work by ensuring that all staff are receiving professional development in Restorative Practices.

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SY25 Practice/Performance Data

All staff will engage in quarterly SEL/professional learning aligned to student needs, and student feedback on belonging and adult relationships will increase by at least 70%.

100% of staff consistently utilize PBIS-LiveSchool to award points aligned to school-wide expectations, resulting in 20% increase in positive student behavior.

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Some of the practices we have in place at this time. This data reflects the inputs, of the work we are doing, and is a critical aspect of improvement. Moving forward, we will spend to spend more time looking at our practice data in order to achieve our performance goals.

NOTES TO THE SPEAKER

What practice data would you like to highlight about the work your school is currently doing and may want to focus on this school year? Consider the practices named here.

Curriculum

and Instruction:

Curriculum
Instruction
Inner Core/Learning Conditions
Distributed Leadership
Balanced Assessment
Assessment for Learning

Inclusive

and Supportive Learning:

MTSS Framework
MTSS Academic Interventions
Least Restrictive Environment
IEP Fidelity
Tier 1 EL Instruction
Language Objective Mastery

Connectedness

and Wellbeing:

Universal Teaming Structures
Healing Centered Supports
Enrichment and Engagement Programing
Re-Entry Planning

Postsecondary

Success:

C4 Instruction Plan
Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) Structures
Work-Based Learning
HS: Advanced Coursework
HS: Industry Recognized Certification
HS: Postsecondary Leadership Teams
HS: Alumni Support Initiative

Partnerships

and Engagement:

School-Family Community Relationships
Two-way Communication
Student Voice Infrastructure

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Appendix

	The following slides contain additional key outcomes from our 2024–2025 school year. If you have questions related to this data, please join an upcoming parent event such as our next PAC Meeting-Second Thursday of the month. LSC Meeting-Third Thursday of the month. Additional data points and explanations can be found on our CPS School Profile.

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2025 Illinois Report Card

Summative Designation: Commendable

No underperforming student groups
A graduation rate greater than 67%
Not performing in the top 10% of schools statewide

Designation Meaning & Use

Rating to Direct Resources: Designed by Illinois to comply with federal law which requires that more state resources go to the schools with the highest need, as defined by student performance.
Not Measuring Quality: Rating system is NOT designed to measure the quality of school practice — state board of education does not consider its role to be setting standards for every Illinois district.

State designations should NOT be used to make claims about the quality of practices present in a school.

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<<INCLUDE ONLY APPLICABLE SLIDE FOR ILLINOIS REPORT CARD>>

Based on our school’s 2024-2025 performance, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has recently assigned us designation of Commendable on the 2025 Illinois Report Card.

Commendable means we:

have no underperforming student groups
a graduation rate greater than 67%
are not yet performing in the top 10% of schools statewide

The state designed this rating system methodology to comply with federal law which requires that more state resources go to schools with the highest need, as defined by student performance. The state system is NOT designed to measure the quality of school practice. The Illinois State Board of Education doesn’t consider its role to be setting standards for every Illinois district. As a result, state designations should NOT be used to make claims about the quality of practices present in a school.

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iReady: Reading

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iReady: Math

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Part 3

01	CPS Vision, Mission & Strategic Plan
02	Continuous Improvement & Our Plans
03	Family & Community Partnerships
	Appendix

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For ES Only: Planning for KG & High School

Key details for students and families planning to start KG & HS next year

The GoCPS K–9 Application for 26–27 school year is open! Apply by 5 p.m. Friday, November 14th, 2025 at apply.cps.edu. Learn more about the K–9 application process in these tutorial videos: Elementary School, High School
Pre-K families are encouraged to apply! Starting this year, Pre-K families have a priority to stay at the school where they attend Pre-K if they apply through the GoCPS application. (Some exceptions apply; families can refer to their GoCPS application for details.)
SY26 Individualized Learning Plan Scope & Sequence for 6th–8th grade has launched and is active for student completion in SchooLinks. Tasks culminate to build a student’s postsecondary portfolio!

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Family & Community Partnerships

We Need You!!

Join our efforts! Here are some family/community groups supporting our school and when they meet:

LSC Meeting-Third Thursday of the Month
PAC Meeting-Second Thursday of the Month

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Did you know?

We are a Sustainable Community School and a Fine and Performing Arts School!!!

MORE INFORMATION COMING…

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We are a Sustainable Community School!!

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What does SCS look like?

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Seven Guiding Principles of SCS

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Six Principles of SCS

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