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Dr. Christy Sefcik, Ed. D.

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Dr. Christy Sefcik, Ed. D.

 Superintendent

 

 

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  • October 31, 2018

    Dear Grant Families,

    The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released our 2018 School Report Card today. The Report Card shows how well our school is progressing on a wide range of educational goals. We are pleased to report that Grant Community High School received a designation of Commendable. 

    The designation is a descriptor of how well our school is meeting the needs of all students, based on the following measures of performance:

    Measures of Academic Performance and Growth (75%)

    1. English Language Arts Proficiency (10% in 2018-19; 7.5% in 2019-20)
    2. Math Proficiency (10% in 2018-19; 7.5% in 2019-20)
    3. Graduation (50%)
    4. English Learner Progress (5%)
    5. Science Proficiency (0% in 2018-19; 5% in 2019-20)

    Measures of School Quality/Student Success (25%)

    1. Chronic Absenteeism (7.5% in 2018-19; less than 7.5% in 2021-22)
    2. 9th-Graders on Track to Graduate (6.25%)
    3. Climate Survey (5%; full credit until 2019-20)
    4. College and Career Readiness (6.25%; full credit until 2021-22)
    5. Fine Arts (0% in 2018-19; more than 0% in 2021-22)                                

    As you can see, indicators and their corresponding percentages will be phased in over time in order to comply with Every Student Succeeds Act.  We are likely to see additional changes to the measures of performance as ISBE incorporates student growth as a factor for high schools.  Student growth is already a heavily weighted measure for K-8 schools.  Measuring growth at the high school level was not possible historically, as up until last year only students in grade 11 took a state assessment.  With the addition of PSAT/SAT suite of assessments for grades 9 through 11, it will now be possible to incorporate student growth for high schools.

    The School Report Card may be found at www.illinoisreportcard.com, but we’d also like to share just a few of our highlights with you here:

    • 94% student attendance
    • 92% of freshman are on track to graduate on time
    • 90% graduation rate
    • 80% of students enroll in college
    • 429 students took early college coursework while at Grant
    • 1,776 college credits earned through successful AP tests
    • 21 average class size

    As mentioned previously, we received a Commendable designation.  Here is a brief description of the four possible School Designations:

    School Designations

    Exemplary

    Commendable

    Underperforming

    Lowest-Performing

    ·         Performance in the top 10% of all schools

    ·         High schools with graduation rate higher than 67%

    ·         No underperforming student groups at or below the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5% of all schools

    ·         Eligible to apply to serve as an IL-EMPOWER Learning Partner

    ·         Performance not in the top 10% of all schools

    ·         High schools with graduation rate higher than 67%

    ·         No underperforming student groups at or below the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5% of all schools

    ·         Eligible to apply to serve as an IL-EMPOWER Learning Partner

    ·         One or more student groups underperforming at or below the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5% of all schools; groups must have at least 20 students in at least three indicators

    ·         Completes a Work Plan for School Improvement and provided targeted support through IL-EMPOWER process

    ·         In the lowest-performing 5% of Title I eligible schools statewide

    ·         High schools with graduation rate at or below 67%

    ·         Completes a Work Plan for School Improvement and provided comprehensive support through IL-EMPOWER process


    We are very proud of the collective efforts of faculty, staff, students and parents to make learning a priority here at Grant Community High School.  We are also proud of the positive culture and climate that isn’t measured in this School Report Card, but is essential in creating the type of learning experience we want for our students.  As always, we will continue to focus our efforts on our goal of improving student achievement and look forward to sharing more positive results with you as the year progresses. 

    If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Thank you.

    Sincerely,

    Christine A. Sefcik, Ed.D.

    Superintendent