Long List of Schools Named to State Honor Roll
Posted on: Friday, 1 February 2008, 06:00 CST
By Scott Wuerz, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.
Feb. 1----
More than two dozen metro-east schools have been named on the State Board of Education's annual Illinois Honor Roll.
"This is a program that was started in 2003 as a way to recognize schools for their accomplishments," said State Board of Education spokeswoman Andrea Preston. "They can get the awards for things like meeting their adequate yearly progress goals or making other academic improvements."
The awards are divided into three categories:
Spotlight Schools -- This award recognizes 508 high-poverty, high-performing schools statewide that are beating the odds to overcoming the "achievement gap."
Metro-east schools honored as Illinois Spotlight schools include Douglas, Franklin, Henry Raab, Union and Westhaven elementary schools and West Junior High School in Belleville; Kreitner, Summit and Webster elementary schools in Collinsville, Maryville, Prather and Wilson elementary schools in Granite City; Brown, Dunbar, Edgemont, Jackson, Lilly-Freeman, Miles D. Davis elementary school in East St. Louis; and Centreville, Elizabeth Morris, Huffman, Lalumiere, Maplewood, Penniman elementary in Cahokia.
Academic Excellence Awards -- This goes to schools that have sustained high academic performance over at least three years.
The only metro-east school to get this honor was New Douglas Elementary in northern Madison County.
Academic Improvement Awards -- These go to schools showing substantial gains in their state report cards over three years.
Brown, Lilly-Freeman and Nelson Mandella elementary schools and Clark Middle School in East St. Louis, Ellis and Whiteside elementary schools in Belleville, Huffman Elementary in Cahokia and John A. Renfro Elementary in Collinsville received this award.
"I congratulate and applaud the efforts of those principals, teachers, parents and community members who made it possible for these schools to rise to the level of excellence required to make the Illinois Honor Roll," state Superintendent Christopher Koch said.
"It is also noteworthy to see that many schools continue to maintain this achievement year after year. Making the Illinois Honor Roll is an achievement that should be celebrated. It represents the hard work that takes place in the classroom everyday."
Contact reporter Scott Wuerz at swuerz@bnd.com or 239-2626.
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Source: Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.)
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