D-15 Among State’s Leaders in Honor Roll Awards

Ten of Community Consolidated School District 15's schools have made the 2011 Illinois Honor Roll, up from nine in 2010.

The Illinois Honor Roll is a joint project of the Illinois State Board of Education and Northern Illinois University. The Honor Roll celebrates the accomplishments of exemplary Illinois public schools by recognizing schools in three categories:

• Illinois Spotlight Schools are high-poverty schools where high academic performance is closing the "achievement gap."
• Illinois Academic Improvement Awards are given to schools that have made substantial gains in performance over the last three years.
• Illinois Academic Excellence Awards are given to schools that have sustained very high academic performance levels on state assessments over at least three years.

This year, the Honor Roll recognized 703 schools from 302 different districts. Among those 302 school districts, District 15 ranked second in percentage of schools appearing on the Honor Roll, and fourth in total number of individual school awards.

Seven of the 10 District 15 schools named to the 2011 Illinois Honor Roll have received Illinois Academic Excellence Awards. All seven of the schools have received this honor in the past. Those schools are:

• Hunting Ridge School (2005-2011)
• Marion Jordan School (2004-2011)
• Pleasant Hill School (2004-2011)
• Plum Grove Junior High (2007-2011)
• Frank C. Whiteley School (2004 and 2008-2011)
• Willow Bend School (2010-2011)
• Walter R. Sundling Junior High (2010-2011)

The 438 schools that received 2011 Academic Excellence Awards had to meet the following criteria:

• At least 90 percent of students met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for at least three consecutive years.
• All schools must have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the past two years, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The three other District 15 schools to be named to the 2011 Illinois Honor Roll were named Illinois Spotlight School. Those schools are:

• Lake Louise School (2011)
• Virginia Lake School (2011)
• Winston Campus Junior High (2010-2011

The 167 schools that received 2011 Illinois Spotlight School recognition had to meet the following criteria:

• At least half of the students enrolled had to be classified as low income in 2011.
• Schools must have made Adequate Yearly Progress for the last two years, 2010 and 2011, as required by No Child Left Behind. In 2010, at least 77.5% of students met or exceeded standards. In 2011, at least 85% of students met or exceeded standards.
• At least 50 percent of students met or exceeded those same standards in the two preceding years, 2009 and 2010.

-Story Submitted by Community Consolidated School District 15