EAST ST. LOUIS — The Illinois State Board of Education recently revealed the spring 2024 Illinois Report Card to update the public on how each school and district are progressing on a wide range of educational goals. IllinoisReportCard.com is the state’s official source for information about public schools across Illinois.
One primary element of the School Report Card is the annual summative designation, which indicates how effectively schools are meeting the diverse needs of all students. Summative designations are calculated by assigning each school points across a range of academic and student success indicators, such as graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and academic growth.
Schools can receive one of five designations: Exemplary, Commendable, Targeted Support, Comprehensive Support, or Intensive Support.
Of the East St. Louis School District’s 9 eligible schools*, 7 were awarded a COMMENDABLE designation by the State of Illinois in 2024.
“We are making meaningful progress toward our goals,” said East St. Louis School District 189 Superintendent Arthur R. Culver. “I commend our school leaders, educators, support staff, and especially our outstanding students and their families. Their hard work and commitment to excellence continue to drive improvements in numerous indicators of student success.”
Both Lincoln and Mason/Clark Middle Schools received a Targeted Support designation, meaning that they are performing well but have room to improve in how they serve a specific student subpopulation, namely, students with disabilities.
Notable areas highlighted on this year’s School Report Card include:
- James Avant Elementary – The highest-scoring school within the district, Avant came close to achieving Exemplary status, a distinction awarded to only the top 10 percent of schools statewide in Illinois.
- Dr. Katie Harper Wright Elementary – Wright experienced the greatest summative score increase from the previous year, showing considerable overall improvement.
- Lincoln Middle School – Advanced two designations in one year.
- Mason/Clark Middle School
– Advanced one designation in one year.
- East St. Louis Senior High School (includes Gordon Bush Alternative Center) – Advanced two designations in one year.
- The district’s 9th grade on track is 83 percent, its highest in the last six years, and above the state averages for both Black (80 percent) and Low-Income (82 percent) groups. East St. Louis Senior High School and Gordon Bush Alternative Center’s contribution to this 9th grade on track data was even higher at 85 percent.
- East St. Louis School District 189 is outperforming all comparative districts and nearing the state average on Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) math growth.
- East St. Louis School District 189 is outperforming all comparative districts on IAR reading and math performance.
- East St. Louis School District 189 has been closing gaps in the areas of student learning, learning conditions, and elevating educators. These represent the measurement of equity in students’ access to opportunities and programming.
- The district’s teacher retention rate of 91.3 percent is now higher than the state average of 89.6 percent. East St. Louis School District has annually increased its teacher retention rate since 2017.
District Goal for All Schools to Achieve Top State Ratings
The most recent Illinois Report Card data verifies the strong, sustained academic growth compared to the historical performance of East St. Louis schools 10+ years ago.
Only 4 of 9 schools achieved the distinction of Commendable in 2018. School District 189 now has 7 of 9 schools recognized as Commendable by the State Board of Education. Superintendent Culver noted, “While there are reasons to celebrate, our work continues. We are committed to ensuring that all our schools and student groups achieve Commendable or Exemplary ratings.”
Chronic Absenteeism Concerns and Community Support
School attendance is a powerful predictor of student success. Likewise, chronic absenteeism, where student rates of missing 10 percent or more of school days within an academic year (with or without a valid excuse), is also a key metric the Illinois State Board of Education and schools use as early indicators of concern.
New 2024 data reveals the district’s student chronic absenteeism rate (56.1 percent) is more than double the state average (26.3 percent). This poses a significant challenge to advancing District 189 schools from Commendable to Exemplary ratings. However, the District has shown improvement since its 2018 chronic absenteeism rate of 81.9 percent.
Addressing chronic absenteeism is a challenge that requires more than just the district’s efforts. Superintendent Culver invites the community to support consistent student attendance to ensure every child’s success in school. He declared, “With a united approach including parents, families, and the wider community, I am confident that we can tackle the root causes of chronic absenteeism and create lasting change for our students.”
Note:
* The Illinois Report Card is an accountability system for K-12 public schools. ExceleRate Illinois is a quality rating and improvement system for early childhood programs, including Licensed Child Care Centers, Licensed Family/Group Child Care Home, School Based Preschool Programs, and Head Start/Early Head Start Programs.
The East St. Louis School District’s Vivian Adams Early Childhood Center is a Gold Circle of Quality – the highest designation from ExceleRate Illinois. Gold Circle programs meet or exceed specific quality benchmarks on learning environment, instructional quality, and all administrative standards; group size and ratios; qualifications; and professional development.
