The Illinois State Board of Education has named two CCSD21 schools as exemplary and eight CCSD21 schools as commendable, as compared to all schools across Illinois. The designations are part of the new Illinois Quality Framework required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and were released today on the Illinois School Report Card.
“We witness the growth and achievement of students in our classrooms every day,” said Dr. Michael Connolly, Superintendent of CCSD21. “The new framework allows us to celebrate our many successes and identify targeted student groups with additional support to ensure all learners are being challenged at the highest levels.”
Longfellow and Tarkington Elementary Schools, designated as exemplary, performed in the top 10% of all schools in Illinois.
Cooper and London Middle Schools, and Field, Frost, Kilmer, Poe, Riley, and Whitman Elementary Schools were named commendable. The school population, and all student groups within the schools, met the academic performance, growth, and school quality expectations of the State of Illinois.
Two CCSD21 schools, Holmes Middle School and Twain Elementary School, received an under performing designation, which means there are specific smaller groups within the student population who require additional support to maximize their growth and achievement. As part of the new accountability system that launched this year, these schools will receive targeted aid to support these learners in accelerating their academic growth.
“We welcome the opportunity to access additional funding, tools, and learning partners to build on the talent of our incredible teachers and staff at Holmes and Twain,” Connolly said. “We look forward to including all parents, families, and community partners in the work ahead to continually reflect and improve upon our practice.”
“The strength of a school community is not and cannot be reflected in a single test score nor is it accurately reflected on an annual report card just like a single snapshot of a sporting event cannot reflect the entirety of the contest,” said Phil Pritzker, President, CCSD21 Board of Education. “The strength of a school community is found in the enthusiasm for learning we see in the daily activity and effort in our students; it is in seeing where the students are each day and building upon those daily successes our students create and experience in our classrooms experience in the classrooms. It is in the support of parents, and it is in the hard work and dedication of faculty and staff.”
To complement the Illinois Report Card, CCSD21 has launched a new District Data Dashboard, where more information about CCSD 21 schools and their successes may be viewed. To access the Data Dashboard, please visit www.ccsd21.org/datadashboard. To access the Illinois Report Card, please visit www.illinoisreportcard.com.
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