Riddled with potholes, WHD SD147 eyes repairing 155th St. near Kich Elementary School
School board president Michael Smith wrote a letter to Harvey requesting the city repave the street. After receiving a rejection, the district is looking into funding the repairs itself.
The West Harvey Dixmoor School District 147 board of education meeting included an announcement about 155th St. repairs as well as a report on student progress compared to last year.
Secretary Mable Chapman said board President Michael Smith wrote a letter to Harvey “in reference to the abysmal decay of the streets right outside this building, asking them to do something.”
The board holds its meetings at the now-closed Kich Elementary School on 155th St. and Hoyne Ave. That intersection has scores of potholes and dips in the asphalt that causes vehicles to jolt up-and-down.
Superintendent Kenneth Scott clarified to the HWH that Harvey leadership has said it cannot repave the street, and thus the district is looking into funding the repairs itself.
Curriculum, instruction and assessment report
Louisa Shannon and Dr. Sarah Midlock, Director and Assistant Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, gave their beginning-of-year report to the board. The report covered what actions the district took to accelerate student growth, impact, and next steps.
Kindergarten iReady data showed that 100 percent of students were performing on grade level in math and reading. In reading, 19 percent performed above grade level, and 7 percent performed above grade level in math.
A total of 15 percent of first through eighth grade students performed at or above benchmark in reading — a five percent increase from last year. Nineteen percent were classified as “on watch,” 19 percent merited an intervention, and 47 percent were categorized as urgent.
In math, 10 percent of first through eighth graders performed at or above benchmark, up 3 percent from last year. Seventeen percent are “on watch,” 22 percent need intervention, and 50 percent are under urgent status.
The district has instructional support coaches to assist teachers with math, english language acquisition, reading and science. There are also instructional improvement teams, behavioral support teams, as well as curriculum and attendance committees.
Chronic absenteeism declines and data-driven decisions
Midlock said that initiatives like daily phone calls for absent students and home visits after two consecutive days absent significantly reduced chronic absenteeism from 31.35 percent in 2025 to 16.91 percent in 2026.
Behavioral offenses were also down 32.6 percent from last year after transitioning security officers to culture and climate coaches and training all staff in Capturing Kids’ Hearts protocols.
Shannon said the district will continue to focus on collecting data this year. “We are all about data-informed practice,” she said. “So, we’re constantly saying, are we getting better at the work we are here to do? If we’re not, what are we going to do to fix it?”
The district will provide more coaching for teachers in small-group learning, lesson, and unit planning. They will also enter strategic partnerships to improve areas including attendance, reading, and math.
Monthly financial report
Superintendent Kenneth Scott gave the monthly financial report in place of chief school business official Janiesa Owens, who was not present. He said the district started the year with a $28.5 million fund balance, has spent $3.6 million thus far, and brought in $1.5 million. That brings the current fund balance to $26.4 million.
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