Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the District 90 schools were one of two districts in the state with three or more schools to receive exemplary designations for all schools. The article originally reported District 90 was the only Illinois district in that category. Itasca District 10 was also recognized for the same accomplishment.
River Forest District 90 has something only one other district in the state has: All three schools in the district – Lincoln Elementary, Willard Elementary and Roosevelt Middle School – were designated Exemplary in the annual Illinois Report Card 2023-24 that was made public Oct. 30.
Exemplary schools are those that rank in the top 10% of the state, while Commendable schools rank in the next 67%.
In the previous year, Willard and Lincoln schools were Exemplary. Now Roosevelt has joined that group. District 90 was the only one in Illinois with three or more schools to be awarded Exemplary designations for all district schools, according to a press release.
“In three years, we’ve gone from one to three schools,” said Dr. Ed Condon, District 90 superintendent. “My first reaction was immense pride of our school community. Most importantly, it’s the students who bring their A-game every day. All of us associated with our school community are honored to be a part.”
District 90 enrolled 1,338 students in 2023-24 – 65.3% white, 11.1% Hispanic and 6.6% Asian. About 5% were Black. Average class size dropped from 20.5 to 19.3.
A concern for many nearby districts is the growth of chronic absenteeism, but this is an area where District 90 went down, to 9.3% in 2024 from 13.4% the prior year. Condon said the better statistic to consider is the 9.2% rate in 2022.
“The 9.3% is a decrease and more typical to the previous year,” Condon said, “but it’s still higher than we wish. We can’t provide high-quality teaching if the kids aren’t in school.”
Managing chronic absenteeism comes down to building principals’ ongoing communications with families, underscoring the importance for kids to be in school, he said, along with informing families of absence rate.
There was plenty for Condon to be pleased about in the report card. A full 76.4% met or exceeded performance levels for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test in English/Language Arts. That was up from 66.7% in 2023. In Math, 66.8% met or exceeded IAR performance levels, compared with 60% in 2023 and 73.4% in pre-pandemic 2019.
“On the standardized assessment IAR, we’re pleased our students are achieving pre-pandemic levels in ELA and Math,” he said. “We’re really proud of that.”
He was also stoked about an over 80% proficient or exemplary showing on Science assessment, with 45.2% exemplary.
But the key stat, in Condon’s mind, is the IAR Growth Percentile relative to other students in the state. In ELA, 59.8% achieved better than the state mean of 50%. In Math, 62.3% achieved better than that 50% state mean. In 2023, the district achieved 55% in ELA and 58% in Math.
“It’s a value-added metric,” Condon said of the IAR Growth Percentile. “Report cards still have a student achievement assessment, but student achievement has fallen in relation to growth. Schools are ensuring every kid is growing.”
Also notable: Condon is seeing narrowing performance differences in ELA and Math between boys and girls.
“It’s a unique statistic, but something we follow in D90,” he said. “We want to see all kids performing at high level.”
Of course, any report card – for student or district – will reveal areas that require ongoing improvement. One that caught Condon’s eye was the 10% At Target achievement in the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) assessment for students with cognitive disabilities, with none listed as Advanced. In pre-pandemic 2019, 23.5% performed At Target with another 11.8% listed as Advanced. Approximately 1% of students take the DLM assessment.
Another area of concern is continued gaps between non-low income and low-income students. The Achievement Gap in the IAR for ELA was minus-35 in ELA and minus-39 in Math.
“To see those gaps continuing is something we’re going to be working on,” Condon said.
On the flip side, Teacher Retention is still a positive, sitting at 90.9%, almost exactly what it was in 2023 and in line with pre-pandemic 2019 (92.3%). Over 79% of 120 total teachers possess a master’s degree or higher.
“We invest heavily in identification and hiring,” Condon said. “The culture here is a culture of commitment. I hope that it provides an environment where their contributions are valued. We’re so fortunate to have the people we have.”