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CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH ADVANCES Gators girls volleyball team wins Class 4A regional title after taking both sets from Crystal Lake Central / C1 NWHerald.com
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D-155 seeks another appeal on bleachers Judge denied request for stay on tear-down order By JEFF ENGELHARDT
At a glance
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Kyle Grillot file photo – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Hannah Beardsley Middle School STEM teacher Matt Moderhack (right) works with seventh-grader T.J. Bragdon while he works on software to create designs for laser printing during class in Crystal Lake. Illinois gathered nearly 60 focus groups and crafted a strategic communications plan ensuring its new state report card is helpful and accessible to everyone.
Assessment shift Illinois students will take new standardized test this school year By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com The page is turning on Illinois education as this school year brings with it a new state test and new academic achievement standards. “This year is one of transition as we plan to administer the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) this spring,” Illinois State Board of Education spokeswoman Amanda Simhauser said in an email. Aligning with the new and more rigorous Common Core State Standards, PARCC will replace the Illinois Standard Achievement Test and the Prairie State Achievement Examination, both of which
Best, worst ISAT averages in McHenry County school districts To see more ISAT and PSAE test scores from 2013-14 for all McHenry County school districts, visit NWHerald.com.
School district
ISAT average score 2014
Change from ISAT average score 2013
Huntley D-158
76.5
- 0.4
Fox River Grove D-3
74.6
- 2.3
Riley D-18
74.5
+ 9.8
Carpentersville D-300
58.4
- 0.9
Woodstock D-200
55.8
- 0.7
Harvard D-50
40.3
+ 2.1
Illinois average
58.7
- 0.1 Source: Illinois State Board of Education
Illinois students took for the final time last school year. ISAT and PSAE scores, as well as new growth and col-
lege readiness metrics, can be accessed on the state’s report card website, www.illinoisreportcard.com.
From 2001 until this year, federal expectations dictated whether a school and district made “Adequate Yearly Progress” based on guidelines set by the No Child Left Behind Act. Progressively on the rise in recent years was the benchmark percentage of students that had to meet or exceed reading and math standards set by the state – 85 percent in 2012 became 92.5 percent in 2013. The goal was for 100 percent of students to meet or exceed standards by 2013-14. However, ISBE Superintendent Chris Koch in a recent teleconference said thanks to a federal waiver Illinois received in April, the
See STANDARDS, page A6
CRYSTAL LAKE – Community High School District 155 is continuing to fight the legal battle over the $1.18 million bleacher expansion a McHenry County judge ruled was subject to Crystal Lake zoning laws. District 155 attorneys returned to the McHenry County Courthouse on Thursday to ask Judge Michael Chmiel for a stay on an order to tear down the Crystal Lake South High School bleachers by Dec. 1. Like the hearing on Oct. 16, the district was not granted additional time and is now appealing the teardown ruling. There are already two pending appeals connected to the case. The first appeal challenged Chmiel’s ruling that city ordinances applied to school districts, which was affirmed by the appellate court and could now be heard by the Illinois Supreme Court if justices choose to hear the case. The second appeal comes
$1,000 Daily fines District 155 is vulnerable to after being ordered to tear down the Crystal Lake South bleachers from a Sept. 5 hearing where Chmiel ruled the district needed to enter the city’s zoning process. The district filed its challenge to the ruling with the appellate court and Tom Burney, attorney for the residents who brought the suit, said he filed his response Thursday. Unlike the first appeal, Burney said the appellate court would likely make a decision based solely off the written arguments and would not hear oral arguments. “The first appeal was for more of a general legal principle, and the second one is under the statute the neighbors brought their suit under requiring the district to
See BLEACHERS, page A6
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
A view from the press box into the backyards of Amberwood Drive residents. During home games, security guards keep spectators from the top two rows of the bleachers.
Huntley officials considering fiber-optic network possibilities Village to meet with consultants about using high-speed communication lines already installed near Interstate 90 By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com HUNTLEY – Officials in Huntley are exploring opportunities to connect village facilities to high-speed, fiber-optic lines along Interstate 90 that could, one day, lead to a similar communication network currently being considered in Woodstock.
Village staff within the coming weeks will meet with consultants from Northern Illinois University about potential ways Huntley could use the proposed fiber-optic network in the Woodstock area and high-speed communication lines already installed near I-90, Village Manager Dave Johnson told the Northwest Herald.
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“It mainly looks like a project for us in Huntley for governments to use to achieve cost efficiencies and capabilities that we now don’t have.” Victor Narusis, Huntley business recruitment coordinator Unlike the proposed Woodstock network, the village has no plans to use untapped fi-
ber-optic lines for economic development since officials found many of Huntley’s industrial
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Fox Lake hires company to complete demolition on bunkhouse left vacant for past five years / A3 STATE
Surprise rally for Hornets
State’s attorney uncovers evidence of threats, coercion leading to original conviction / B4
See NETWORK, page A6
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cost efficiencies and capabilities that we now don’t have.” As village officials examine the issue, they could look to partner with neighboring entities such as Huntley District 158 or the Huntley Park District, as part of an agreement that would share the high-speed network and the
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Harvard’s boys soccer team gets support from school as it prepares for state semifinal matchup against Timothy Christian / C1
parks already are equipped with fiber optics, provided by the private sector, said Victor Narusis, village business recruitment coordinator. “We thought about economic development initially, but that seems to be pretty wellserved here in Huntley,” Narusis said. “It mainly looks like a project for us in Huntley for governments to use to achieve