D62 Education Terms
School districts often use abbreviations for educational terms. We're sharing some common ones to help you understand them.
- ACCESS: English language proficiency assessment administered to English Language Learner students in kindergarten through 12th grade in Illinois.
- AI: Artificial Intelligence
- BEST: Behavior Educational Support Team
- BPAC: Bilingual Parent Advisory Council
- empowerEd: Consulting firm with expertise in special education, inclusion and equity
- EST: Educational Services Team
- ESY: Extended School Year summer school program
- FDK: Full day kindergarten
- Hexters: Program which allows 6th grade students to experience each Encore class for 6 weeks. Hexter classes include Drama, Music, Family and Consumer Science (FACS), Art, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Spanish.
- i-Ready: Benchmark assessment tool
- IAR: Illinois Assessment of Readiness
- IEP: Individualized Education Plan
- IS: Instructional Services
- ISA: Illinois Science Assessment
- Newcomers: Foreign-born people who have recently arrived to the United States.
- MAP: Measures of Academic Progress - a computerized adaptive assessment that measures a student’s achievement and growth in K–12 math, reading, language usage, and science.
- ML: Multilingual (students and staff that support those students who have languages other than English at home)
- MTSS: Multi-tiered systems of support a framework to support students divided into three tiers -
- Tier 3: Intensive individualized/small-group interventions for those students who have significant academic or behavioral needs
- Tier 2: Targeted group interventions for at-risk students utilizing classroom and small group academic and behavioral strategies
- Tier 1: Universal, school-wide interventions designed for all learners and intended to prevent academic and behavioral challenges
- OT: Occupational Therapist
- Paraeducator: Teacher assistants in classrooms, also know as Paras
- Parent University: Two-week program designed for Multilingual Learner families.
- PLC: Professional Learning Community
- PT: Physical Therapist
- SAEBRS: Social Emotional Learning (SEL) screening tool
- SEL: Social Emotional Learning
- SEPAC: Special Education Parent Advisory Council
- SRO: School Resource Officer
- STRIVE: (Structured Teaching for Readiness, Independence, Voice & Engagement) as the new name for our former Educational Life Skills program.
- WIN: What I Need - intervention block for students