 News STEVENSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AWARDED NATIONAL HONOR Stevenson Elementary School in Bloomington has been named a No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Stevenson is one of 16 schools in Illinois who earned this honor. The No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement to high levels. The schools are selected based on one of two criteria: · Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests; and · Public schools whose students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests. Stevenson School was nominated based on its standing among the top 10 percent of schools in Illinois on standardized test scores.
STEVENSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECEIVES ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S ACADEMIC EXCELLENT AWARD
Stevenson Elementary School has received an Academic Excellent Award from the Illinois State Board of Education. Across the state, 438 schools earned this award for 2009. To earn an Academic Excellence Award, a school must meet the following criteria:
· In PreK-8 schools, 90% of students must have met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for at least three consecutive years;
· Schools must have made Adequate Yearly Progress in 2008 and 2009 which includes: o At least 70% meeting and exceeding standards in both reading and mathematics; o 95% participation rate in state assessments for all students in each subgroup; o Attendance rate of at least 90% for elementary schools. BENT, IRVING AND SHERIDAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS RECEIVE ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S SPOTLIGHT SCHOOLS AWARD Bent Elementary School, Irving Elementary School, and Sheridan Elementary Schools have been selected as 2009 Spotlight Schools by the Illinois State Board of Education. Across the state, there are 425 Spotlight Schools this year.
The criteria for selecting Spotlight schools in 2009 are rigorous:
· At least half the students are from low-income families in 2009.
· At least 60% of students must have met or exceeded standards in both reading and mathematics in 2009.
· At least 50% of students met or exceeded standards in both reading and mathematics in the two previous years; 2008 and 2007.
· Schools must have made Adequate Yearly Progress in the two previous years as required by No Child Left Behind, which in 2009 meant the following:
o At least 70% meeting and exceeding standards in both reading and mathematics; o 95% participation rate in state assessments for all students in each subgroup; o Attendance rate of at least 90% for elementary schools.
BLOOMINGTON HIGH SCHOOL NAMED ONE OF THE BEST IN U.S. Bloomington High School has been named one of the best high schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report for the second year in a row. The rankings, announced in December 2009, were the result of analyzing data for more than 21,000 high schools in 48 states. According to the US News & World Report website, the methodology for determining the best high schools is based on the principle that a great high school serves all its students well, not just those who go on to college. Schools were also required to demonstrate that they successfully educated students across a range of performance indicators. US News & World Report, with School Education Services, looked at whether schools performed better than state averages on standardized tests; factored in the school’s percentage of economically disadvantaged students; looked at whether the least-advantaged students performed better than average for their peers throughout the state; and looked at how well students are prepared, academically, for college.
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