LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School received the state’s “exemplary” status for the first time since the rating program started in 2018.
According to the state, the exemplary rating is for schools performing in the top 10 percent statewide with no underperforming student groups.
Most other schools are given the “commendable” designation, as has Lyons Township over the years.
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The latest designations came out when the state updated the Illinois Report Card last week.
At this week’s school board meeting, member Tim Albores half-jokingly suggested the school hold a parade for the rating.
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“I know how hard it is to get that rating,” said Albores, a school administrator in another district. “That’s huge. Not a lot of schools get that rating. And it’s a lot of work. Can we do a parade? We need to be advertising and really celebrating this.”
Officials said the school promoted the achievement on social media and that they planned to hold an event for staff.
Other board members, including Jill Beda Daniels and Paula Struwing, agreed the school needed to let people know of the rating. Their ideas include hanging big banners.
Schools with lower low-income rates are better able to get exemplary ratings. Hinsdale Central, where 8 percent of students are low-income, has been getting the designation for years.
Both Lyons Township and York high schools have 18 percent low-income rates. York received a commendable rating.
Despite the success, Lyons Township High School officials acknowledged they have a lot more work to do.
The rate of chronic absenteeism remains a trouble spot. Last school year, 23 percent of students missed 20 percent or more of school days. That’s down from 28 percent two years before, but up from 13 percent in 2019.
This is part of a recent national trend.
“Chronic absenteeism does remain high. It remains high nationwide,” said Scott Eggerding, the high school’s curriculum director. “I think it confounds all of us honestly, but it’s a post-pandemic reality. It’s getting better.”
Also, the high school’s SAT scores dropped in English language arts and math last year. They’re significantly down from 2019, the year before the pandemic. That’s been the case across the state.
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