State identifies Sauk Valley’s Exemplary, Targeted schools in latest report card

Six schools in the Sauk Valley region were categorized as Exemplary by the 2022 Illinois Report Card, the Illinois State Board of Education released Thursday morning.

Another four schools carried the Targeted tag, requiring them to develop a four-year action plan to address a specific need; in their cases, how they can improve education for children with disabilities.

All other public schools in Lee, Whiteside, Ogle and Carroll counties were designated as Commendable.

None were labeled Comprehensive, however, which is reserved for the lowest-performing schools and requiring an overhaul over a four-year period.

Lastly, the report noted that many area grade schools made dramatic turnarounds in math and English language arts in their first full year back after the COVID-19 period of lockdowns and remote learning.

“I can’t be more proud of how our educators worked,” said Chris Tennyson, regional superintendent for the Regional Office of Education 47, which serves districts in Lee, Whiteside and Ogle counties.

He emphasized the utility of measuring student growth in math and English during the fall, winter and spring assessments, even over the year-over-year results.

“These interim assessments … are a big benefit,” he said. “It gives you an immediate score. It’s really easy to see if those students are making gains.”

Tennyson also drew a distinction in the student growth over the past year vs. their proficiency against state standards at a given grade level.

“Kids learn differently and at different levels,” Tennyson said. “Did that student make progress? Did they show growth? That’s what we need to work with.”

All the figures in this story are based on preliminary numbers provided to the news media in advance of the release of the Illinois Report Card on Thursday morning.

Exemplary schools

In Whiteside County, the Exemplary-rated schools were Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Middle School, Erie High School and the Northside and Southside elementary schools in Morrison.

In Ogle County, Forreston Jr.-Sr. High School received the Exemplary designation. In Carroll County, it was Chadwick-Milledgeville Jr.-Sr. High School.

No Lee County schools received the Exemplary designation.

Targeted schools

Schools in the region rated as Targeted were: Jefferson and Washington elementary schools in Dixon, West Carroll Primary in Savanna and Lincoln Elementary in Rochelle.

English and math turnaround

No one was immune from learning lag during the pandemic, including area grade schools in English Language Arts and math. But the rebounds in 2021-22 were dramatic.

Some grade schools in Rock Falls, Sterling and Dixon had experienced double-digit declines in the scaling rating employed by ISBE to measure student growth between 2019 and 2021. The declines registered for area schools were as high as 17 points in math and 29 points in English during that period.

A few schools mitigated that somewhat: Montmorency saw only a 2-point drop in math and a 4.1-point drop in English. Meanwhile, Sterling’s math performance had a just a 5.7-point decline.

But student growth in all the schools returned to form once they were in session full time in 2021-22.

Dixon was up 16.3 points in math and 17.6 points in English; Sterling was up 14.1 points in math and 11.8 points in English; Rock Falls Elementary School District 13 was up 10.5 points in math and 15.7 points in English; East-Coloma Nelson was up 16.6 points in math and 29.2 points in English; and Montmorency was up 9.7 points in math and 20.8 points in English.

Graduation rates

Statewide, improved graduation rates were touted by ISBE, calling them the highest in 12 years.

In the four-county area, 11 schools had a 90% or better four-year graduation rate. Eastland High School achieved a rare 100%.

Other notably high graduation rates were Oregon High School at 97.8%, Chadwick-Milledgeville at 97.1% and Rock Falls High School at 96.1%.

The baseline for graduation in the four-county area was Rochelle at a still respectable 85.3%. All the other schools were higher than that.

Regional graduation rates for children with disabilities varied wildly; some smaller high schools don’t offer such programs. But there were notable achievements in that category: Byron had a 96.3% rate, Oregon a 92.9% rate, West Carroll a 92.3% rate, while Prophetstown and Rock Falls were both above 90%.

Teacher retention

The state said it was addressing the teacher shortage by retaining teachers and adding new ones to the employment rolls.

Sterling Public Schools reported that 10.6% of its certified staff were first-year teachers and Rock Falls High School was at 9.3%. The other districts in the three cities were between 2.8% and 5.6%.

As for teacher retention, Rock Falls High School brought back 94.3% of its teaching staff, Montmorency 91.1% and East Coloma-Nelson 90.9%. The baseline for retention was Sterling at 75.7%.

Sterling Public Schools is the largest employer of the core districts, at 198 teachers. Dixon has 154 teachers, Rock Falls Elementary District 13 has 70.

Proficiency in English, math, science

Proficiency reflects the percentage of students who met or exceeded grade levels, regardless of where they started. ISBE contends it has some of the most rigorous standards in the nation, reflected in its seemingly low proficiency rates.

The schools in the three-city area with the highest English language arts proficiency are Rock Falls Middle School at 38.3%, Madison Elementary in Dixon at 30.9% and Montmorency in Rock Falls at 26.1%.

Those with the highest math proficiency were Montmorency at 31.2%, Rock Falls Middle at 23.7% and Merrill in Rock Falls at 23.1%.

As a subject, science is more difficult to gain a reading on for 2022, as ISBE substituted participation rates for proficiency in 2022. Schools with the highest science class participation were Montmorency at 55.6%, Madison at 54.6% and East Coloma-Nelson at 54%.

Enrollment

Statewide, enrollment stabilized. ISBE said that is reflected in the annual decline of birth rates, which has been at 2% since 2010.

Here are enrollments by school districts in each county:

Lee: Dixon 2,463, Amboy 721, Ashton-Franklin 484, Steward 66, Paw Paw 114.

Whiteside: Erie 618, River Bend 918, Prophetstown 754, Sterling 3,161, Morrison 935, Rock Falls ESD 855, East Coloma-Nelson 231, Montmorency 223, Rock Falls High School 558.

Ogle: Kings 81, Creston 82, Rochelle High School 895, Oregon 1,467, Forrestville Valley 732, Polo 517, Meridian 1,418, Byron 1,478, Rochelle grade 1,511, Eswood 70.

Carroll: Eastland 706, West Carroll 906, Chadwick-Milledgeville 357.