Curriculum

The online Illinois Interactive Report Card for Dunlap CUSD #323 can be found here.  It contains a variety of information including district demographics, academic profile, staffing, and per pupil spending. Listed below are academic highlights from the District Report Card.

Scope and Sequence Documents are available for each grade-level, subject, or course. Each document outlines which specific learning standards are focused upon during different parts of the school year. As content used if the vehicle to introduce, develop, and master a specific learning standard, the content that teachers use is not necessarily listed. Teachers plan based on student readiness, interest, and preferred learning style, so any content-specific questions will want to be directed to the appropriate teacher.

The documents are organized by subject and then grade level. High school documents are organized by course name. A link to the website can be found here.

More information about the extensive work Dunlap CUSD #323 has completed over the years to ensure a viable, equitable curriculum and high-quality feedback to students and parents as it relates to standards-based reporting at the elementary level can be found here.

Currently the Dunlap School District offers a World Language Program for kindergarten through fifth grade students.

The program model is a communicative immersion approach in which students will be learning through routines, thematic units, songs, movement, conversation and games. Formative assessment will take place throughout the unit and three forms of Summative assessment will take place at the conclusion of each unit; Interpretive Communication, Interpersonal Communication and Presentational Communication.

Please visit the Elementary World Language Wiki Page for further information.

The Dunlap Community Unit School District #323 believes that while all children can learn, they learn at different rates and in different ways. Gifted and talented children are those who demonstrate or have the potential to demonstrate exceptional levels of intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership abilities. In order to fully develop such capabilities, these students require differentiated education programs beyond those provided by the general education curriculum.

Enrichment Eagles
The Enrichment Eagles program offers services for qualifying students in grades 3 through 5. 

Enrichment Eagles Process (an Overview)
Enrichment Eagles Sponsors review scores in order to identify exceptional learners for participation in the Enrichment Eagles Program. Numerous ability and achievement assessments scores are reviewed to determine qualifying students. The newly updated Enrichment Eagles Handbook describes the identification process more in-depth.

Parents of qualifying students will receive an invitation letter prior to the beginning of the school year. Students in 4th and 5th grades who qualified during the previous school year will automatically be asked to participate.

An informational meeting will be held for parents and students at individual schools each September, and the Enrichment Eagles Program will then begin for students. 

CogAT  
The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) provides information about a student's level and pattern of cognitive development and is administered to students in grades two, four, and six.

You can visit the CogAT website for more details about the assessment and learn how to interpret your student's ability profile by clicking here.

Appeal Process for Enrichment Services
Numerous academic and ability scores as well as teacher recommendation are reviewed to identify students in need of enrichment services. If you believe that an error in identification has occurred based upon one or more of the conditions described below you may submit a letter of appeal.

Appeals must be based upon one or more of the following conditions:

1. A circumstance believed to have caused a misinterpretation of the testing results
2. i.e., incorrect birthdate or grade level used in calculating the student’s score
3. An inequitable application of the identification procedures
        i.e., the applicant’s proficiency with the English Language
4. An extraordinary and temporary circumstance that negatively affected the validity of the test results.
        i.e., a traumatic event or situation immediately preceding the test

If you believe one or more of these conditions apply to your child, you will need to submit a letter to your child’s principal. The letter should include the following: 

             1.      The condition that affected your child’s performance
             2.      Any additional information that supports your appeal
             3.      Your name, address, and phone number as well as your child’s name, grade, and school.

Appeals are reviewed by the Appeals Committee, which includes teachers and administrative staff.  All submitted documents are closely and carefully reviewed.  The Committee is looking for evidence that the results of the testing are not a true representation of the child’s abilities.  The decision of the Appeals Committee is final. Parents will receive written notification of the decision.

Elementary appeals for the Enrichment Eagles must be submitted by the end of the first day of student attendance.

Resources & Website Links
Enrichment Eagles Website

Enrichment Eagles Sponsors

     Both Dunlap Middle and Dunlap Valley Middle Schools offer enriched math and English Language Arts courses in each grade level. Enriched courses are for students who have an aptitude and strong interest for math or ELA and provide rigorous assignments aimed at advancing their identified strengths. The course names in each grade include:

     While Algebra I and Algebra I Honors are listed here, both courses are available for any student wanting to enroll. As Algebra I is a high school requirement, either course is for high school credit.

Dunlap High School offers an array of options for all students wanting to challenge themselves academically. Honors-level courses are available in each of the following departments:

• Business
• English
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics
• Science

Additionally, for the 2019-20 school year, DHS will offer 16 Advanced Placement courses. Among the College Board's course list, we will be offering:

Each AP course is year-long and in May of each year, students are able to sign up to take AP Exams to earn college credit. For more information about our course offerings, choose the appropriate document on the Curriculum Guides page on the DHS website. For more information about AP testing, see the College Board website. 

To coincide with our district mission to empower students to achieve their individual potential, Dunlap CUSD #323 began researching a 1:1 technology initiative in 2014. After multiple site visits, piloting programs throughout our district, and ongoing refinement through our 1:1 Technology Committee, we began device deployment during the 2017-18 school year. 

The vision of the 1:1 Technology Program is to enhance and transform learning opportunities, while providing all students with equitable access to technology. Please visit our 1:1 Technology Website for more information.

Dunlap Accelerated Placement

As Dunlap Community Unit School District 323 aims to "empower all students to achieve their individual potential," some exceptional learners may require a more challenging learning environment. to ensure appropriate placement and student success, the District has a policy for evaluating and recommending accelerated placement, in accordance with the Accelerated Placement Act (Public Act 100-0421). 

Parents/guardians/caregivers and teachers should note that in addition to academic ability, a student's motivation and social-emotional maturity are equally important factors when it comes to accelerated placement. Please speak to your child's building principal first before completing a referral if any of the following situations are present:

• The student has a sibling in the same grade level to which the student may be accelerated;
• The student is sufficiently challenged by the curriculum at his or her current grade level;
• the student would be significantly less emotionally mature than typical students at the grade level to which he or she may be accelerated; or
• The student responds negatively to parent(s)/guardian(s) about the possibility of acceleration.

Accelerated Placement forms are due each year by April 1 for the next academic year's placement. Mid-year acceleration is unlikely but may be granted on a case-by-case basis.

What is "Acclerated Placement"?

As defined by the Accelerated Placement Act, "'Accelerated Placement' is the placement of a student at the instructional level that best matches that student's needs by allowing access to a curriculum that is usually reserved for children who are older or in higher grades than the student." Accelerated Placement options in Dunlap CUSD #323 include early entrance to kindergarten and first grade, individual subject-level acceleration, and whole-grade acceleration. Acceleration is not limited to those who may have been identified as gifted or talented, not does such identification guarantee accelerated placement.

Early Kindergarten Entrance refers to the practice of a student who will not yet be five years of age by September 1 demonstrating the emotional maturity and academic readiness in order to be successful in kindergarten.

Early First-Grade Entrance refers to the practice of a student entering first grade before natural matriculation due to showing the social-emotional maturity and academic readiness in order to be successful in first grade.

Subject-Level Acceleration refers to the practice of assigning a student to specific content/coursework one grade level higher than is typically provided, given the student's age and/or current grade level, for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities in a specific content/subject area.

Whole-Grade Acceleration refers to the practice of assigning a student to one higher grade level than he or she would be assigned base don age and/or entry into the Kindergarten through Twlefth Grade Education System (Elementary and Secondary) for the purpose of providing access to challenging learning opportunities

Early Entrance to Kindergarten or First Grade

More information and the application form for Early Entrance Screening can be found here.

Referral Procedures for Acceleration Consideration

Any student residing in the district may eb referred by a teacher, administrator, guidance counselor, school psychologist, or a parent or legal guardian to the building principal for evaluation for potential accelerated placement. A student may refer him or herself through a district staff member who has a history and understanding of the student's academic needs, and the principal or designee shall obtain written permission from the student's legal parent(s) or guardian(s) in order to conduct Accelerated Placement Evaluation.

Please complete "Academic Acceleration Referral & Permission Form" by April 1 (or the next business day for years that April 1 is on a weekend). Completed forms can be emailed to the following individuals:

• The Building Principal where your student currently attends (or will attend for early entrance applications)
• Matt Andrews, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction & Human Resources, mandrews@dunlapcusd.net

Criteria for Acceleration

Multiple data pieces are examined for both subject and grade-level acceleration. Assessments that are part of the District's Assessment Schedule are examined first--among these assessments are STAR Reading and Math Assessments, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), and the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA). Additional assessments will be selected as deemed necessary by the District evaluation team for either whole-grade or subject-level acceleration.

Illinois school districts must administer different types of assessments throughout the school year for a variety of purposes. In particular, districts must conduct benchmarking assessments and achievement assessments. Additionally, Dunlap CUSD #323 does administer aptitutde and abilities assessments for enrichment consideration at the elementary and middle-school levels.

Benchmarking Assessments

As it relates to English language arts and mathematics, school districts must provide screening benchmark assessments that serve to monitor student progress throughout a student's education and monitor progress. By comparing performance on these types of assessments and/or monitoring growth and achievement over a span of time, districts can identify students who may be at-risk and in need of academic intervention.

In Dunlap CUSD #323, we utilize the Renaissance Star Enterprise Assessments to evaluate a student's proficiency and measure growth in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. For ELA monitoring, students in kindergarten (and some first-grade studnets) take the Star Early Literacy Assessment, while first through eleventh-grade students take the Star Reading Assessment. All first through eleventh-grade students take the Star Math test to measure math conceptual, procedural, and computational understanding and progress. 

Benchmark assessments are administered three times a year: fall (August/early September), winter (January) and spring (late April/early May).

Achievement Assessments

All Illinois school districts must administer mandatory assessments that measure students' proficiency against the Illinois Learning Standards, starting in the third grade. These assessments include the following:

• Illinois Assessment of Readiness (Grades 3-8)
  • Measures ELA and Math proficiency
• Illinois Science Assessment (Grades 5, 8, & 11)
  • Measures cumulative science proficiency across the subjects of physical science, life science, earth and spance science (fifth grade), and chemistry (eighth and eleventh grades).
• PSAT 8/9 (Freshmen); PSAT 10 (Sophomores)
  • A preliminary assessment aligned to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), measuring student's grade-level mastery in the areas of ELA and mathematics.
• SAT (Juniors)
  • The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures student's proficiency in ELA and mathematics and renders a composite score to help students determine the next best steps for their post-secondary goals.

Exact assessment dates will always be communicated to families via email or building newsletters. More information on Illinois assessments can be found on the Illinois State Board of Education website.

Aptitude & Abilities Assessments

As referenced in the "Elementary Enrichment Eagles Program" and "Middle School Enrichment Services" tabs, additional testing is conducted to identify students who are showing the need for additional support to advance their mastery of grade-level standards. The additional assessments include:

• The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
  • Measures students' verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning abilities.
  • An FAQ document can be foud here.
• Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT) - Fifth-Grade Students only
  • Measures students' understanding of pre-algebraic concepts.