IL-EMPOWER PARTNERSHIP IMPROVES ISBE REPORT CARD SCHOOL DESIGNATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Carrie Miller
cmiller@eddirection.org
801-456-6700

IL-EMPOWER PARTNERSHIP IMPROVES ISBE REPORT CARD SCHOOL DESIGNATIONS

November 5, 2019 (SALT LAKE CITY)—According to the 2019 Report Card issued by The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), all five Ed Direction partner schools received improved report card designations. Report card designations help identify schools in need of assistance through IL-EMPOWER, a statewide school improvement support system. Through a comprehensive vetting process, Ed Direction was approved to partner with five of the state’s lowest performing schools. Each of these partner schools increased at least two designation levels in just one year.

“It’s astonishing to see the level of improvement our partner schools achieved in just one year,” said Dr. Hollie Pettersson, partner of Cicero Group and Ed Direction practice-lead. “They took this challenge head-on and worked with our coaches and their IL-EMPOWER School Support Managers to develop a framework that improves student learning, and the 2019 Report Card indicates our partnership is making a measurable difference for students.”

Side-by-side with IL-EMPOWER’s School Support Managers, Ed Direction’s team focused on providing schools with an unbiased assessment of student learning and practical guidance to address root causes of underperformance. This transparent approach ensures that expertise about school improvement is developed through relevant on-the-ground experience paired with actionable feedback.

The Ed Direction partner schools and their 2019 Report Card designations are below:

Ed Direction Partner School	2018 Report Card Designation	2019 Report Card Designation
A-C Central Middle School	Lowest Performing	Commendable
Chrisman-Scottland Junior High	Lowest Performing	Commendable
Pinckneyville Elementary School	Lowest Performing	Exemplary
Spring Garden Elementary School	Lowest Performing	Commendable
Tri City Junior High School	Lowest Performing	Commendable

 

Illinois Summative Designation	Description
Exemplary	A school in which no subgroup is performing at or below the level of the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I-eligible schools, a graduation rate of greater than 67 percent, and whose performance is in the top 10 percent of schools statewide
Commendable	A school in which no subgroup is performing at or below the level of the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I-eligible schools, a graduation rate above 67 percent, and whose performance is not in the top 10 percent of schools statewide.
Underperforming	A school in which one or more subgroup(s) is/are performing at or below the level of the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I-eligible schools.
Lowest Performing	A school that is in the lowest-performing 5 percent Title I-eligible schools in Illinois and those high schools that have a graduation rate of less than 67 percent or less.

 

ABOUT ED DIRECTION:

Ed Direction, the K-12 education practice of Cicero Group, serves as a nationally recognized educational policy and practice thought leader. Ed Direction builds the local capacity of school systems to implement evidence-based practices that increase the efficacy of educators to ensure optimal academic, social, and emotional growth for students in service of Cicero Group’s overarching purpose: Helping people create and continuously deliver extraordinary results.

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