Events

Learn how to use growth and proficiency projections to set strategic goals and guide improvement efforts from the very beginning of the school year. Participants will explore best practices for applying growth data within their own context, using projections to drive goal setting, improvement planning, and progress monitoring. They will work through projections for the upcoming year, establish growth and proficiency goals, and align their work to ECRA’s best practices framework. This session is ideal for district and building-level administrative teams focused on reviewing student progress and evaluating the impact of programs and interventions.

Location: District 45 in Villa Park, IL

Learn how to use growth and proficiency projections to set strategic goals and guide improvement efforts from the very beginning of the school year. Participants will explore best practices for applying growth data within their own context, using projections to drive goal setting, improvement planning, and progress monitoring. They will work through projections for the upcoming year, establish growth and proficiency goals, and align their work to ECRA’s best practices framework. This session is ideal for district and building-level administrative teams focused on reviewing student progress and evaluating the impact of programs and interventions.

Location: Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 in Oak Lawn, IL

Learn how to use growth and proficiency projections to set strategic goals and guide improvement efforts from the very beginning of the school year. Participants will explore best practices for applying growth data within their own context, using projections to drive goal setting, improvement planning, and progress monitoring. They will work through projections for the upcoming year, establish growth and proficiency goals, and align their work to ECRA’s best practices framework. This session is ideal for district and building-level administrative teams focused on reviewing student progress and evaluating the impact of programs and interventions.

Location: Southern Illinois

Learn how to use growth and proficiency projections to set strategic goals and guide improvement efforts from the very beginning of the school year. Participants will explore best practices for applying growth data within their own context, using projections to drive goal setting, improvement planning, and progress monitoring. They will work through projections for the upcoming year, establish growth and proficiency goals, and align their work to ECRA’s best practices framework. This session is ideal for district and building-level administrative teams focused on reviewing student progress and evaluating the impact of programs and interventions.

Location: Moline-Coal Valley School District – Moline, IL

Learn how to organize and refine your strategic dashboard to maximize leadership impact. Participants will explore key elements of effective dashboard design and learn how to structure each page to support clear communication, informed decision-making, and strategic alignment. This session is ideal for superintendents and district leaders.

Learn how to use growth and proficiency projections to set meaningful goals and drive improvement from the start of the school year. Participants will explore best practices for applying growth data to their own context, using projections to inform goal setting, improvement planning, and progress monitoring. Through hands-on work with their upcoming school year data, teams will set growth and proficiency goals aligned to ECRA’s goal setting and progress monitoring framework. This session is ideal for district and building-level administrative teams focused on reviewing student progress and evaluating the effectiveness of programs and interventions.

Learn how to analyze annual WIDA ACCESS projections in the ECRA platform to set meaningful goals and personalize programming based on individual student needs. Using ACCESS subscores and predictions, EL instructors and program leaders can better align supports to accelerate student growth and progress toward program exit. This session is ideal for superintendents, district leadership teams, and EL program leads.

Learn how to analyze proficiency and subtest performance on local and state assessments to support curriculum development and instructional planning. Participants will explore ways to compare performance against state and national standards, triangulate results, and identify areas for improvement. This session is ideal for curriculum specialists, EL directors and coordinators, student services leaders, and curriculum and assessment teams.

Learn how to use Growth Updates to monitor progress against projections and support MTSS implementation. Participants will apply best practices using their own data, conduct seasonal program reviews, and create student groupings to inform next steps. The session will also revisit and update the goal-setting and progress monitoring framework introduced in the fall, guiding teams in reviewing progress at the student, building, and district levels. This session is ideal for district and building-level administrative teams focused on evaluating student progress and strengthening the impact of programs and interventions.

Learn how to accurately measure academic return on investment throughout the school year so that you can make sound budgeting decisions. If you need to reduce programs but don’t want to adversely affect critical student outcomes, you need reliable, critical program evaluations you can trust. In this session, you will learn how ECRA’s school improvement platform uses the most sophisticated predictive analytics in the marketplace to place and monitor students so that you can accurately measure programming. You can then maintain critical programs for vulnerable students, shift resources to programs that are working, and develop programming based on your students’ actual needs. You will leave with a pragmatic and action-oriented approach to budgeting that puts students at the core of all decision-making.

Learn how to create and manage multiple dashboards that align school improvement efforts and initiatives to district key performance indicators. This session is ideal for district and building administrative teams seeking to strengthen alignment, monitor progress, and drive strategic outcomes.

School leaders are asked to make high-stakes decisions with limited time and imperfect information. Whether setting achievement goals, allocating resources, or evaluating district initiatives, the ability to anticipate outcomes has become increasingly important. Join ECRA Group to learn how School Improvement uses predictive analytics to help district leaders establish more meaningful goals, identify students who may be at risk of missing important milestones, and evaluate whether programs and interventions are making a measurable difference. This session will explore practical applications of predictive analytics and demonstrate how forward-looking data can support more effective planning, decision-making, and continuous improvement efforts. With School Improvement, districts can leverage predictive models to set personalized growth targets, monitor progress toward goals, and better understand the impact of initiatives designed to improve student outcomes.

Learn how to use state report card-aligned Data Briefs from ECRA Group to support deeper analysis and more effective messaging. This session will introduce tools such as the IL Percentile Analysis and the Comparative District Analysis, and share strategies for uncovering and communicating more positive narratives in your Illinois State Report Card data.

Learn how to separate the urgent from the important, and how to tell in advance which of today’s decisions will still matter in twenty years. Dr. Michael Lubelfeld and Dr. John Gatta open the four-part Leadership Series by offering a leadership challenge to articulate and quantify the outcomes that matter most. Lessons learned will be shared about how to keep the few things that matter in public view. As the adage goes, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. Participants will leave with an understanding of how to stay focused on what matters to improve their school.

Learn how to use state report card-aligned Data Briefs from ECRA Group to support deeper analysis and more effective messaging. This session will introduce tools such as the IL Percentile Analysis and the Comparative District Analysis, and share strategies for uncovering and communicating more positive narratives in your Illinois State Report Card data.

State accountability reports tell only part of the story. Learn how ECRA Group’s state-aligned Data Briefs help districts uncover deeper insights through State Percentile Analysis and Comparative District Analysis reports, enabling leaders to identify strengths, add context to results, and communicate a more complete picture of district performance.

Learn how to use state report card-aligned Data Briefs from ECRA Group to support deeper analysis and more effective messaging. This session will introduce tools such as the IL Percentile Analysis and the Comparative District Analysis, and share strategies for uncovering and communicating more positive narratives in your Illinois State Report Card data.

Join ECRA Group and CESA Purchasing on October 20 for an engaging in-person Thought Leadership Workshop focused on helping district leaders turn data into meaningful action. Whether you’re reviewing state report cards or evaluating district performance, this session will provide practical strategies you can immediately apply.

You’ll explore how to communicate results more effectively with school boards and community stakeholders, gain deeper insight into your district’s performance through comparative analytics, and learn how data can support goal setting, progress monitoring, and continuous school improvement. Walk away with actionable ideas to help your district make more informed decisions with confidence.

Featured Presenter: Dr. John Bruesch, Chief Operating Officer, ECRA Group

Dr. John Bruesch brings more than 25 years of cabinet-level leadership experience in public school districts, along with firsthand experience as a classroom educator. His unique perspective combines the practical realities of district leadership with insights gained from partnering with school systems across the country. Attendees will benefit from real-world strategies, proven best practices, and practical guidance they can immediately apply in their own districts.

• Price: Free, lunch included
• Location: In-Person at CESA 2

Looking ahead does not require a crystal ball; it requires seeing the signals already in front of you. Learn how future-focused leaders use prediction models to look around corners by using the information their district already has to see which students may need support before those students appear on anyone’s list. Dr. Michael Lubelfeld and Dr. John Gatta examine the profile of students that leaders are not worried about, and demonstrate how school Improvement (mission, vision, values, goals & goal setting) processes that include early warning systems can identify hidden needs, focus attention earlier, and create the conditions every student needs to succeed.

Every district has schools that consistently exceed expectations and others that struggle to gain momentum. What separates them? This webinar will demonstrate how ECRA’s School Improvement solution helps district leaders uncover meaningful insights hidden within their data. Learn how to identify schools outperforming expectations, recognize patterns of growth across student groups, and better understand the factors contributing to school success. By moving beyond traditional achievement comparisons, leaders can gain a clearer picture of performance and make more informed decisions to support continuous improvement.

Learn how to use state report card-aligned Data Briefs from ECRA Group to support deeper analysis and more effective messaging. This session will introduce tools such as the IL Percentile Analysis and the Comparative District Analysis, and share strategies for uncovering and communicating more positive narratives in your Illinois State Report Card data.

Learn how to use state report card-aligned Data Briefs from ECRA Group to support deeper analysis and clearer messaging. This session will introduce the WI Percentile Analysis and the Comparative District Analysis, along with strategies to uncover and communicate more positive narratives from your Wisconsin State Report Card data.

State accountability reports tell only part of the story. Learn how ECRA Group’s state-aligned Data Briefs help districts uncover deeper insights through State Percentile Analysis and Comparative District Analysis reports, enabling leaders to identify strengths, add context to results, and communicate a more complete picture of district performance.

Saying no is not retreat; it is how leaders protect the few priorities that can move the needle. Learn how courageous leaders decide what to stop, not from instinct alone, but from evidence about whether a program produced enough impact to earn another year of attention and funding. Dr. Michael Lubelfeld and Dr. John Gatta discuss the construct of Academic Return on Investment (ROI) as a leadership approach to drive student outcomes. Participants will leave with an understanding of how to use prediction models to set evidence-based thresholds for program impact, promoting clearer decisions about which programs to keep and which to cut.

This session will focus on strategies to ensure alignment between district and school improvement plans. Led by Dr. John Bruesch and Dr. Adam Cibulka, who bring over 40 years of combined experience in public education, participants will learn how to effectively monitor and evaluate strategic initiatives to maximize student success. This session is ideal for superintendents and district leaders.