On October 31, 2018, the Illinois State Board of Education released its annual School Report Card.  This report card shows how well a school is progressing on a wide range of statewide educational goals.  As part of the new report card, each school received a designation, signifying how well our schools are meeting the needs of all learners based on several performance indicators; such as academic performance, individual student growth, and student absenteeism.

This year Illinois schools received a report card with new designations: exemplary, commendable, underperforming, and lowest performing. While 70% of the schools were considered commendable, only the top 10% were considered exemplary.  Palos Heights School District 128 is excited to announce that one of these schools was Independence Junior High School. This means that IJHS student performance in math and English Language Arts was in the top 10% of all of the elementary schools in the state of Illinois on the statewide assessment Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).  

Both Navajo and Chippewa Elementary Schools received the designation of commendable which indicates that students are meeting above average growth and achievement but falling outside of the 10% highest performing schools statewide.

IJHS principal, Mr. Kevin Kirk, and Superintendent, Dr. Dawn Green, attribute the school’s success to hardworking staff, supportive parents and community, outstanding students, a districtwide focus on teacher collaboration, and a commitment to providing our students with a strong curriculum aligned to the Illinois learning standards. 

Daily Southtown News Article