In June 2025, East Alton Wood River High School District #14 adopted its FY26 Strategic Plan, outlining four key priorities to guide our work throughout the 2025–2026 school year. As we have settled into the second semester, we are pleased to provide our community with a mid-year progress update.
On February 23 2026, the District’s Strategic Planning Team met to formally monitor progress, identify completed action steps, and clarify next steps for the remainder of the school year. The discussion centered on maintaining momentum while ensuring continued alignment to the priorities established in June .
Priority I: Academic Excellence
The District has strengthened its focus on data-driven instructional practices. Fall 2025 MAP Growth data has been reviewed, and staff met individually with students prior to the Winter 2026 assessment to compare results and set updated growth goals. Incentives for student participation and measurable growth were also established.
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) remain a cornerstone of instructional improvement. Since the start of the year, staff have engaged in an opening-day PLC workshop, an October institute day, and ongoing monthly interdisciplinary and departmental PLC meetings. Teams are using MAP data to analyze proficiency and growth trends, with continued emphasis on implementation monitoring and feedback.
Academic intervention classes are fully operational, with monthly progress reviews based on student data. While the academic side of our Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is functioning well, further development is needed on the social-emotional component. One SEL student survey has been completed, and refinement of this work is ongoing.
Priority II: Excellence in Student Supports
Approximately 50% of students are currently participating in leadership or student voice initiatives.
Oilers LEAD, directed by Mr. Beatty, and Youth Alive, sponsored by Mrs. Roethe, are active student-led organizations. Two Student Voice Roundtables have been hosted this year, providing direct opportunities for student feedback and engagement.
Senior Mentors recently conducted a climate survey with freshmen to better understand student belonging and school experience. The next phase will focus on identifying students not currently involved in activities or leadership roles.
Work also continues on aligning the OilerNation Athletic Continuum. Meetings with feeder district athletic directors and superintendents are being planned to strengthen long-term alignment.
Priority III: Professional Excellence
Professional development connected to inclusive excellence is actively underway. Last week’s half-day teacher training focused on continued PLC work centered on poverty, student behavior, and instructional consistency, grounded in the Ruby Payne framework. Across all PLC groups, there was strong alignment in identifying root causes impacting student performance, particularly emotional regulation, academic language, task initiation, planning, and communication skills. Staff recognized that many discipline concerns are not rooted in defiance, but rather in undeveloped skills or misinterpretations of expectations.
A key takeaway from the session was that the “hidden rules” of school how to use formal academic language, begin tasks independently, manage tone and volume, and appropriately seek assistance are often assumed rather than explicitly taught. Teachers committed to modeling and directly teaching these skills alongside academic content.
PLCs also reinforced the importance of using a consistent “adult voice” when addressing behavior, emphasizing calm, expectation-based language, private redirection, and offering choices instead of ultimatums. This work aligns closely with our Capturing Kids’ Hearts framework and strengthens relational capacity across classrooms.
Structurally, PLC systems continue to strengthen, with two meetings held monthly. Agendas and deliverables are documented, and teams are demonstrating increased consistency in meeting established collaboration norms. To date, the District has conducted four departmental PLC meetings and two professional development days, resulting in IEP compliance rates above 90% and 75% of IEPs containing measurable SMART goals.
The next phase of this work will focus on systematizing these practices through common language, shared expectations, and predictable routines so students experience consistency throughout the building.
Priority IV: Communication & Community Engagement
Efforts to strengthen family and community engagement remain ongoing and intentional. In December, the District published its Fall 2025 District Update, a comprehensive first-semester report outlining financial performance, strategic plan implementation, academic outcomes, and safety initiatives. This semester-based reporting structure increases transparency and provides the community with clear context around district decision-making.
A second semester report will be published at the conclusion of the school year in May, reinforcing our commitment to consistent, structured communication with OilerNation.
In addition to formal reporting, social media engagement continues to grow, with at least two success spotlights published monthly highlighting students, staff, and program achievements. These stories reinforce community pride and strengthen the Oiler identity.
Looking ahead, the District plans to launch an Oiler Pride Parent Survey and increase participation in the statewide 5Essentials survey process. The measurable goals remain a 10% increase in stakeholder pride and satisfaction metrics and a 15% annual increase in digital engagement analytics.
Moving Forward
The February progress monitoring session confirmed that substantial work is underway across nearly every priority. Several initiatives are fully operational, many are progressing steadily, and a small number remain intentionally paused to ensure focus and sustainability.
The Strategic Planning Team will reconvene on April 20 for the next formal progress monitoring session. That meeting will focus on measurable outcomes and identifying which goals are complete, which remain in progress, and which may require adjustment before the end of the fiscal year.
A final Strategic Planning session is scheduled for June 10, where the team will formally conclude FY26 goals, evaluate overall impact, and establish priorities and measurable targets for the 2026–2027 school year.
This structured monitoring cycle ensures that the Strategic Plan remains a living framework guiding decision-making, resource allocation, and continuous improvement.
Our commitment remains unchanged: to provide an inclusive, data-informed, student-centered environment that empowers every Oiler to achieve personal success.
We appreciate the continued support of our staff, students, families, Board of Education, and community as we advance the FY26 Strategic Plan together.