Dear District 100 Families,

 

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released the annual School Report Card today. The Report Card shows how well schools are progressing on a wide range of educational goals and includes valuable information about school districts including academic progress, student and staff characteristics, attendance, accountability, and finances. Academic performance is based on the 2024 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment (DLM-AA) proficiency scores for 3rd through 8th grade students. 

 

District 100’s data shows that our overall academic performance has improved since last year in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. Student proficiency in ELA increased by 11%, from 24% in 2023 to 35% in 2024. In math, the district increased from 22% to 24% proficiency, and in science, overall proficiency was 50%, up 6% since last year. The growth percentile for the state is 50 in both ELA and Math. District 100 exceeded the state growth percentile in math at 54 and in ELA at 53. In other notable areas, our teacher retention remained steady at 86%, up 4% since 2022, and our percent of adequacy for school funding is 77%, an increase of 5% over last year.

 

Each school’s Report Card includes a summative designation, or measure of progress in academic performance and student success. The state considers multiple measures when determining which summative rating is appropriate for each school, including 2024 ELA, Math, and Science proficiency scores, growth in ELA and Math, English language learners’ progress to proficiency, chronic absenteeism, and student participation in the school climate survey. The five possible school designations are: 

 

• Exemplary – Schools performing in the top 10 percent of schools statewide with no underperforming student groups.

• Commendable – A school that has no underperforming student groups and whose performance is not in the top 10 percent of schools statewide.

• Targeted – A school in which one or more student groups is performing at or below the level of the “all students” group in the lowest performing 5 percent of schools.

• Comprehensive – A school that is in the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in Illinois.

• Intensive Support - A school that has completed a full Comprehensive Support school improvement cycle, but whose performance remains in the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I-eligible schools statewide at the end of the four-year improvement cycle. 

 

Emerson Elementary School, Hiawatha Elementary School, Irving Elementary School, Komensky Elementary School, Pershing Elementary School, Freedom Middle School and Heritage Middle School received commendable designations. Piper Elementary School received a targeted designation. The areas targeted for improvement at Piper include ELA and Math growth, which account for 50% of the summative designation score, particularly for English Language Learners.

 

The Illinois Report Card highlights our schools and district, reflecting accomplishments of our students, the talent and commitment of our staff, and the strong partnerships with our families and community. District 100 appreciates the support of our families in their students’ overall academic growth and achievement and we need your help to address one of the critical indicators of student success: chronic absenteeism.

 

Chronic absenteeism is defined as students absent from school, either excused or unexcused, for more than 10% of the school year. In the 2023-2024 school year, 27% of K-8 students in District 100 were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 17 days of school. This statistic is concerning, as attendance plays a vital role in students’ academic progress and social-emotional development. It is essential that we work together as a district community to improve this important indicator this school year. Unless your child is unable to attend due to illness, we kindly ask for your support in ensuring they are present every day.

 

We hold high expectations for all students and are seeing steady growth in our academic indicators districtwide. The Illinois report card highlights our schools and district and reflects the partnerships we have with our families and community. Please visit the Illinois Report Card website for more information on District 100 and your child’s school. We will also share the Illinois School Report Card information in a presentation at the Board of Education meeting on November 20, 2024.

 

Sincerely, 

 

Mary Havis, Ed.D.

Superintendent