Though a large portion of Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A students met or exceeded state expectations, the district still failed to achieve adequate yearly progress in math for the subgroup of students with disabilities.

“Unfortunately we knew this time would come when the subgroups are not able to meet the performance target,” said Mary Gricus, assistant superintendent for District 113A. “It’s a problem being experienced by schools in this area and across the state.”

To have met AYP, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act, 70 percent of all students, and all subgroups, had to meet or exceed expectations in math and reading on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test.

For School District 113A’s 2009 report card, 85 percent of all students met AYP in reading and more than 88 percent met AYP in math. However, the district did not make AYP in math for students with disabilities. About 53 percent of special education students are meeting the AYP target in math.

The district’s objective is to have the special education students make AYP of 77.5 percent in 2010.

Gricus said the district’s principals are working with their teachers and student services teams to design improvement plans for individual students who did not make AYP. Each building’s School Improvement Plan team also is analyzing the data and designing grade level and/or school-wide strategies to address areas in need of improvement.

“We are working within parameters of limited budget and personnel resources, so the principals and teachers will essentially be working with the resources and programs that are currently in place,” she said. “This means that priorities for some programs and staff may shift to address AYP needs.”

The district’s goal for 2010 is to have 77.5 percent of all students meeting or exceeding expectations in reading and math, as required by federal law. By 2014, 100 percent of students nationwide must meet or exceed standards under the current NCLB Act.

Superintendent Tim Ricker acknowledges not making AYP is serious.

“But we don’t want to forget that a large portion of our student population meets or exceeds state standards,” he said. “That’s a testament to our teachers. And we have good kids, too, let’s face it. The combination bodes well for our district.”