College of Education

Summer 2006 News & Notes

Previous Semesters

This is a significant achievement and honor for the schools and JPDSP.

Full Story:

By Catherine Ann Velasco
STAFF WRITER

JOLIET - Despite the obstacles of teaching students who live in poverty, five Joliet Grade Schools and Rockdale Elementary School made the third annual Illinois Honor Roll announced Monday by the Illinois State Board of Education and Northern Illinois University.

"These kids are showing you don't have to be from an affluent school district or an affluent home to do it. All kids can do it and these kids are proving it," said Marilyn McConachie, coordinator of the Illinois Honor Roll for Northern Illinois University.

In total, nine Joliet Grade schools were put on the 2004-05 Illinois Honor Roll for their successes, including Eisenhower Academy for its continued achievement. More than 90 percent of Illinois Honor Roll schools made Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.

The Illinois Honor Roll acknowledged 683 schools with three kinds of awards:

• Spotlight Schools: Farragut, T.E. Culbertson, Forest Park Individual Education, A.O. Marshall, Taft and Woodland elementary schools in Joliet Grade School District and Rockdale Elementary School were honored as high performing schools, beating the achievement gap. The criteria is to have at least 50 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch and to have 60 percent of students meet or exceed standards in reading and math on state tests. There were 316 schools in this category.

Conventional wisdom is that student performance reflects demographics so students living in high poverty will do poorly academically, but these schools prove otherwise, McConachie said.

"These schools have very high expectations for all kids," she said. "They do not believe that some students aren't going to make it. They believe everyone is. The proof is in their performance."

First-rate principals, remarkable educators and supportive families are the common threads among Spotlight Schools, she said. There is a focus on making sure everyone is ready to read prior to first grade. Spotlight schools also make sure students have mastered reading skills in first- and second grades, and they often pay attention to nutrition and health.

McConachie said sometimes students who are not meeting the standards have eyesight or dental problems and the pain interferes with learning, which sometimes is mistaken as a behavior problem when it is really a health issue.

• Academic Improvement Awards: Gompers Junior High School and Edna Keith Elementary School were two out of 306 schools to show substantial gains over three years. Criteria included an upward trend in test results, 7.5 points gain in scores above last year or 15 percent over two years. Gompers and Edna Keith were two of seven Joliet Grade schools that didn't meet annual yearly progress last fall. But the schools made such strides that they deserved to be recognized for those efforts, McConachie said.

• Excellence Awards: Eisenhower Academy was one of 101 schools that have sustained high performance over at least three years with 90 percent of its students consistently meeting or exceeding state standards in reading and math.

"We have many schools in the state that consistently perform at high levels year after year," McConachie said. "They are some of the best schools in the nation. They are some of the best schools in the world."

Rockdale Superintendent Keith Ashcraft has already framed the certificate and hung it in the hallway of the school. He credits his teachers, students and parents for all the hard work.

"I think it just good old-fashioned teaching. So much goes back to classroom teachers and the climate of the school," he said. "There is no substitute for quality of teaching, but you have to create an environment for teachers and students to succeed. Create a great environment for learning and our teachers take off on it."

Phyllis Wilson, superintendent of Joliet Grade School District, was delighted with the district's success.

"We're thrilled nine of our schools made the list," she said. "Our teachers and staff have been working so very hard with our students. I'm so proud of them. To have your work recognized at that level is extremely impressive."