Founded in 1907, Fox Lake School District 114, located in Spring Grove, Illinois, developed a strong educational belief that student learning and growth are maximized when the best interest of the child is at the heart of their decisions, and available resources are utilized effectively and efficiently.
About Fox Lake:
2 District Buildings
Over 700 K-12 Students
18% of Students Have an IEP
Location: IL
To back their beliefs and uphold their mission of Maximize and Foster Learning and Growth For All Through Continuous Improvement, the district realized they needed to improve their RTI/MTSS process to ensure each student’s academic struggles were properly addressed.
After adding EmbraceMTSS®, Fox Lake School District saw the following benefits:
- documenting student plans and progress in a centralized location
- transferring students' information and progress data faster
- consistency in MTSS processes
The Problem:
“School psychologists and other providers would just use Google docs or Google drive and they created their own MTSS form. It got messy, it was all in different places and different areas,” explained Cathy Jawnyj, MTSS Facilitator.
“That’s why the district decided to move forward with a system - so everything was in one place.”
Administrators attempted to utilize different avenues after Google docs, and were disappointed with the lack of functionality.
“You had to do this ridiculous process that took too much time,” stated Cathy. Fox Lake knew it was time for a change, but choosing a new software was not something to take lightly, especially when there were so many providers to choose from.”
Cathy Jawnyj
MTSS Facilitator
"We were so excited there was an MTSS component, a lot of companies don’t have the MTSS component that talks to the IEP software."
The Goal:
“The Fox Lake team spoke with some neighboring colleagues and were given a referral. “When we started looking for a different IEP platform, we saw Embrace® was the best from other districts, and since Embrace®’s IEP software was really easy to use, we adopted the MTSS program as well.” elaborated Cathy.
“We were so excited there was an MTSS component, a lot of companies don’t have the MTSS component that talks to the IEP software.”
Cathy Jawnyj
MTSS Facilitator
"All of your teachers and specialists can add on to [the plan] and it’s all in one place."
The Solution:
A simple and centralized location for documenting student plans and progress
It was important to find a streamlined software that would truly make staff's lives easier by providing them with a simple and centralized location for documenting student plans and progress.
“What’s great about the system, you have your data gathering sheets and you can upload all of your data onto it. All of your teachers and specialists can add on to it and it’s all in one place,” Cathy said.
Easy transfer of MTSS information
Transferring a student’s information and progress data is vital to saving time and ensuring success. “When we are ready to move the student to an initial evaluation for an IEP, the school psychologist can click a button and transfer the MTSS information over into the initial IEP process. It’s very easy to use and self-explanatory.”
Consistency in MTSS processes
By creating consistency in processes, while promoting best practices, Embrace®’s easy-to-use software gives districts the most efficient means to document and monitor student plans.
Cathy shares her love for our software within her professional circles.
"It’s very easy to use and self-explanatory... I always recommend Embrace®!"
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