Here’s How Cicero District 99 Schools are Doing in New Illinois Report Card
By Irene Romulo and Tomas Uriostegui
On October 30th, 2019 the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released their annual report card giving schools in the state a designation based on how well they are meeting student needs. Top schools are classified as exemplary or commendable while the lower rated schools are either underperforming or lowest performing. Four of Cicero’s 16 schools in District 99 continue to be ranked as underperforming while ten are listed as commendable. No school has received an exemplary designation.
Details about the report are worth discussing with parents, community members and local school board officials. By law, school districts in the state must publish the ISBE report card on their website and present the results at a local school board meeting by November 30. Although District 99 has posted the results online, when asked by a Cicero Independiente reporter, twelve parents at Cicero West, one of the schools ranked underperforming, had not yet been notified of the school’s designation.
Parents like Antonia Aviles and Efrain Perez, who both have children at Cicero West, said they had not yet received information about the designation.
“I never heard about it,” said Aviles who also mentioned that her daughter is doing better academically in Cicero than in her previous school.
“Yes, I am worried [about the score] but this is also good for us to know so that when we go to the meetings with the teachers we can ask them about this,” said Miriam Galvan, another Cicero West parent. “We can ask why we weren’t informed, why this is happening or why are the statistics showing such low levels for these schools?”
A spokesperson for District 99 pointed us to the district's official statement but the superintendent and assistant superintendents did not return several of our requests for comment.
ISBE provides resources to support school districts by engaging with school administrators, legislators, parents and other stakeholders in advocating for policies that improve education and ensure equitable outcomes for all students. The annual report card measures how schools and administrators are meeting student needs. The designation that each school receives is based on several factors including: results on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness exam, absenteeism, the number of English language learners who demonstrate proficiency, and graduation rates for high schools. For the first time, the report also includes information about where federal and state financial resources are being allocated per student. To learn more about the designations, click here.
These District 99 schools were ranked as commendable:
Abe Lincoln Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $12,996)
Columbus East Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $14,733)
Columbus West Elementary School * (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $15,866)
Daniel Burnham Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $10,601)
Drexel Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $13,261)
Liberty Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $13,457)
McKinley Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $15,282)
T Roosevelt Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $10,847 )
Warren Park School * (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $10,972 )
Woodrow Wilson Elemetary School * (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $11,943)
*School was underperforming last academic year and has now improved.
The schools below were ranked underperforming last year and this year. According to Ralph Grimm, former chief education officer for ISBE, underperforming schools have one or more student groups that are not performing at the expected level. These schools are eligible for additional funding and resources to address the deficiencies of the schools.
Unity Jr High School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $13,979)
Cicero East Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $ 11,120)
Cicero West Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $11,706)
Goodwin Elementary School (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $13,025)
These schools were not ranked for this year:
Woodbine Elementary School * (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $12,149)
District 99 Early Childhood Center (Per-Pupil Expenditures: $19,000)
*School was commendable last academic year
For more information on the Illinois Report Card, and District 99’s results click here. Parents and community members can make comments or ask questions about this and any other issues related to the school district at the board meetings. The next District 99 School Board Meeting will be Wednesday, November 13, 2019 @ 6:30 pm at Sherlock Elementary School.
