USD116 BOE Update: Nov. 12, 2024

The Board of Education recognized the following USD #116 employees who have served in the armed forces.

NAVY:

• UMS: Priscilla Kraut

• UMS: Lena Davis
• Thomas Paine: Bradley Benner

AIR FORCE

• UHS: Charles Atteberry, Chris Moller and Jerry Moreland

AIR FORCE and ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

• UHS: Eric Rittman

The Illinois Report Card is released annually and published by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The annual report offers a complete picture of student and school performance for all school districts in the state of Illinois.

Some key takeaways:

• The average proficiency rate since 2022 shows an increase from 8% to 12.4% in ELA.
• Almost all K-8 schools showed math growth after adopting the first year of our core math curriculum.
• 2024-25 is the first year of our new English/Spanish Language Arts curriculum for grades K-12. The District has done a restructuring of literacy and intervention staff support to directly impact the implementation of the new core language arts curriculum.
• Inequities persist in academic data. We continue to work on this as a District goal
• UHS has increased its graduation rate 3%, while focusing on several school-wide initiatives such as AVID systems, high-yield instructional strategies, and social-emotional learning.

• Chronic absenteeism improved by 10% from 2023. (Chronic absenteeism counts excused and unexcused). The District is focusing on "Attendance Matters" in every building.
• Growing number of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education. Students in CTE see higher graduation rates.
• UHS has seen an increase in students taking dual credit courses.

The Summative Designation is given annually based on the prior year's performance. It is based on multiple measures of indicators of academic achievement and student success. There are five possible designations; exemplary, commendable, targeted, comprehensive and intensive.

UHS: Commendable

UMS: Comprehensive

Leal: Targeted

King: Comprehensive

DPW: Intensive

Thomas Paine: Comprehensive

Yankee Ridge: Due to the redistricting and reorganization of our Spanish and French Dual Language Programs to create the new Yankee Ridge Multilingual School, the state has recognized the program as a new school entity. This resulted in the school not having a designation this year, along with limited school report card data.

Q: What is being done during the year in regards to 9th Graders being on track and identifying the students who need extra supports?

A: We have Freshman Academy 9: The students get extra study support and time with a teacher individually. The teachers look at the students math and reading data, to see how they can be lifted. There are also tutoring options after school.

Q: How many class size adjustment TAs do we have this year compared to previous years?

A: We have one this year. It is one of the lowest numbers we've ever had, thanks to redistricting.

Dr. Ivory-Tatum's Superintendent Report: Nov. 12 Supt. Update

Highlights:

• Sectional Coach of the Year
• UHS Fall musical