Lyons Township High School is one of 64 schools in the state to receive the Bright A+ award based on academic performance, putting it in the top 5 percent in the state.
Its list of alumni make up a veritable Who’s Who in science, business and the arts. In 2003, the school ranked 785 out of the top 1,300 high schools in the country.
Yet it failed to make adequate yearly progress for the second straight year in a row according to the No child Left Behind Act of 2002.
Now under “School Improvement Status,” LTHS is required to offer alternative school attendance opportunities to students.
Meanwhile, Superintendent Timothy Kilrea said the school already has implemented programs for the two groups of students that did not meet up to the AYP standards this year, the economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities. Last year, Hispanics failed to meet the standard but this year did, Kilrea said.
“The state looks at students who are not making it but doesn’t look at the improvements made,” he said. “That is the whole paradox of this legislation.”
As for the two groups that showed no improvement, Kilrea said he district has been working on it.
Professional Learning Communities have been established that focus more on teaching from learning. The district has also restructured its humanities program and implemented reading measures targeting students who need assistance.
“We’ve also implemented ACT prep classes for our juniors, not to mention curricular teams that have taken a look and restructure their curriculum delivery,” Kilrea said. “The difficulty with AYP is we are identified in one end as a high-performing school, which we are, and on the other end were being told were not making it.”
Scott Eggerding, District 204 director of curriculum and instruction, said earlier this month the district also was developing a combined studies program that brings together biology studies with reading for sophomores as a means of improving the scores of students with disabilities.
Combining both is expected to also improve problem-solving skills, leading to a better understanding of the material, he said.
Kilrea said the AYP should not be taken as an overall indicator of a school’s progress or success.
“There are other indicators that are not looked at by No Child Left Behind,” he said. “Some of the top 50 schools in the nation have not me the AYP standard.”
Subgroups make or break district grades
K*- cpEach school’s report card shows how the entire student body did on the tests, and breaks down the scores into smaller student demographics. These subgroups — based on race, socioeconomic status or other factors — are measured if a school has 45 or more students in the group.
For a school to achieve “adequate yearly progress,” a certain percent of the entire student body and each subgroup has to pass the bar in both math and reading. In 2009 the minimum is 70 percent.
Elementary School District 102
PASS OR FAIL? Failed
WHY Subgroups at two schools, Park Junior High School and Congress Park Elementary School, did not meet AYP expectations.
Park Junior High School Failed
• HISPANIC 59.6 percent met Reading Safe Harbor Target
• STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 57.1 percent met Reading Safe Harbor Target,
• STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 67.7 percent met Mathematics Safe Harbor Target
Congress Park Elementary School Failed
• ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED 64.6 percent met Reading Safe Harbor Target
WHO PASSED Cossitt Avenue Elementary School, Forest Road Elementary School, Ogden Avenue Elementary School
La Grange School District 105
PASS OR FAIL? Failed
WHY While all of the district’s five schools passed individually, each of the schools did not have enough students in the categories of Limited English Proficiency, Economically Disadvantaged and Students with Disabilities to qualify as a subgroup. A minimum of 45 students is needed to qualify. Once combined at the district level, there are 45 or more students, which becomes a valid subgroup for AYP status.
WHO PASSED William F. Gurrie Middle School, Hodgkins Elementary School, Ideal Elementary School, Seventh Avenue Elementary School, Spring Avenue Elementary School
La Grange Highlands District 106
PASS OR FAIL? Passed
WHO PASSED La Grange Highlands Elementary School, La Grange Highlands Middle School
