Illinois has singled out three District 65 schools for academic achievements.
Dewey Elementary, 1551 Wesley Ave., received a 2008 Academic Excellence Award, while Chute Middle, 1400 Oakton St., and Dawes Elementary, 440 Dodge Ave., won recognition as Illinois Spotlight Schools.
“I think it is always nice for a school or district to receive recognition for the hard work that is going on in the schools,” said Pat Markham, communications director for District 65 and school board secretary.
Dewey is the first District 65 school to receive an Academic Excellence Award, in addition to being one of only 388 schools honored in a state that has almost 4,500 elementary schools, Markham said. To be eligible for the award, at least 90 percent of students had to meet or exceed state standards in reading and math for three consecutive years.
For Andrew Krugly, Dewey principal, the achievement can be accredited to one major factor.
“I think bottom line, it’s all about good teaching,” Krugly said. “We hold our kids and teachers to very high expectations.”
While the Dewey community will be in a flurry during state testing next week, celebration of the award will take place in the spring in conjunction with the opening of a large addition on the south end of the school, Krugly said.
Chute and Dawes were among 500 schools recognized as Illinois Spotlight Schools. The honor is given to schools with high poverty rates among students that still maintain high academic achievement.
“They are overcoming the obstacles that are often associated with high poverty rates and making a difference,” Markham said.
This is not the first time that District 65 schools have been recognized. In 2007, all three middle schools and four elementary schools received accolades.
Chute and Dawes needed to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress targets for two consecutive years and maintain attendance rates of at least 90 percent to be acknowledged.
The honor given to these schools is even more significant because the targets set by No Child Left Behind, which was established in 2003, become harder to reach every year, Markham said.
The district-wide achievement can be attributed to a curriculum that is implemented across the district and adjusted by each school, she said.
“Each individual school does things slightly differently to best meet the needs of the children they are serving, but it all stems from the same curriculum,” Markham said.
