Parents, teachers, staff and community members gathered in seven table groups March 25, 2026, for the fourth and final session of the Reimagine Alton initiative, a community-led effort aimed at shaping the future of the Alton School District.
The meeting opened with Superintendent Elaine Kane, who reviewed feedback and key takeaways from the previous session. She emphasized two central priorities identified by participants: increasing student attendance and improving graduation rates.
Attendees then spent five to 10 minutes reviewing a draft action plan designed to address those goals. The plan focuses on registration and parent orientation, consistent student recognition, community communication partnerships, strengthening family engagement and graduation celebration and recognition.
Participants discussed a series of guided questions in small groups, offering feedback on which actions would be most effective and what barriers could limit success.
Speaking for her table, Christina Coy, an Alton School District parent and principal of Eunice Smith Elementary School, said student recognition has strong potential to improve attendance and graduation rates. She suggested incentives such as gift card raffles to motivate students.
Coy also identified potential challenges, including determining who would facilitate the program. For community outreach, she recommended using RiverBender.com as a platform to share information.
She added that providing child care during meetings could help increase parent participation in future engagement efforts.
Reimagine Alton is a community-driven initiative that invites families, staff and residents to work together to address challenges, build on district strengths and foster a stronger sense of belonging for students. The effort centers on the district’s improvement plan, a multiyear strategy to enhance student achievement and create a more supportive learning environment.
Feedback from all sessions will be compiled into a report from the Reimagine Alton committee and presented to the Board of Education in June 2026. This session marked the final meeting in the series.
More information about the initiative, including executive summaries from the previous three workshops, is available on the district’s Reimagine Alton webpage: https://www.altonschools.org/reimaginealton.
