New Student Supports and Changing School Ratings in Springfield

The Springfield District 186 Board of Education celebrates year-end milestones and unveils a new partnership with the NAACP and the Outlet to support students facing expulsion, including a scholarship honoring a longtime community leader. The board also reviews upcoming graduations, summer resources, and a major shift in Illinois’ school accountability system from percentile rankings to clear proficiency and growth standards. 17mins

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Original Meeting

Monday, June 1st, 2026
7658.0
Board Of Education Meeting | June 1, 2026
Full Meeting on YouTube
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Brian Wojcicki
Springfield, Illinois
Government Relations & Legal Services Professional
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In This Video
  • Incoming Superintendent Terrance Jordan highlighted year-end school celebrations, recognized students completing the Back to School Stay In School and Project Search programs, and shared information about the district’s summer meal opportunities for children and families.
  • Incoming Superintendent Jordan outlined the day’s high school graduation ceremonies and reminded families to schedule back-to-school physicals and watch for related summer events.
  • Incoming Superintendent Jordan introduced a collaborative effort among the district, the NAACP, and the Outlet to improve services for students and invited representatives to share more details.
  • Austin Randolph, representing the Springfield branch of the NAACP, thanked the district for its support of the Back to School Stay in School program and reflected on the program’s history of leadership being passed between community partners as it prepared for another transition.
  • NAACP endorsed the Outlet as the next leader of the Back to School Stay in School program, reaffirmed the program’s mission to keep students engaged and successful, and pledged continued NAACP collaboration with the district to support minority students and increase minority educators.
  • Mike Phelon, founder of the Outlet Mentoring program, outlined a new partnership to support students facing expulsion by keeping them enrolled in the district while providing an alternative site with academics, mentorship, workforce training, mental health support, and other services.
  • Incoming Superintendent Jordan commended the board for prioritizing support for expelled students and announced a new annual scholarship honoring a long-time NAACP partner for graduates of the Outlet program.
  • Incoming Superintendent Jordan transitioned to a presentation on updated state accountability rating measures taking effect in the next school year and remarked positively on the changes to how districts would be evaluated.
  • Jamar Scott, District 186 Chief Achievement and Improvement Officer, explained how new state accountability designations shifted from comparing schools to each other toward evaluating whether schools were actually producing proficient students.
  • Chief Achievement and Improvement Officer Jamar Scott explained that while multiple indicators and federal requirements remained, the new state accountability system reduced frustration by shifting school designations from percentile-based comparisons among schools to measuring each school against a clear proficiency standard.
  • Chief Achievement and Improvement Officer Jamar Scott described how the new accountability system set clear proficiency and growth benchmarks—such as 75% student proficiency and specific growth targets—so schools were evaluated against fixed performance standards rather than against each other.
  • Chief Achievement and Improvement Officer Jamar Scott explained how the new accountability system reframed attendance as continuous attendance, allowed strong results on measures like attendance and the 5 Essentials survey to boost a school’s designation, and shifted Illinois’ ratings from ranking schools against each other to evaluating them against clear performance criteria, with new baselines to be set in October.
  • President Austin announced the date and adjusted start time for the next regular board meeting, noted the last day of school for balanced calendar schools, and shared the schedule for upcoming high school graduation ceremonies.
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