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Board eyes interchange spending Will vote March 17 on paying $289K for startup engineering in Marengo woman Tina Hill, enter into an intergovernmental R-Woodstock, called agreement with Marengo and allothe measure a single cate $289,608 toward the startup enstep and a “well-calgineering costs. The city already has culated risk” toward spent $274,706 toward the effort – the determining whether total cost of the interchange is estian interchange can mated at $60 million. become a reality. The County Board Transportation Tina Hill “I think this is Committee recommended approval a project to try and of the funding on a 4-2 vote Wednesday morning. Committee Vice-Chair- move forward,” Hill said.
By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board will vote later this month whether to move forward with funding preliminary engineering for a full interchange at Interstate 90 and Route 23 south of Marengo. Board members will decide at their March 17 meeting whether to
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But opponents, such as Diane Evertsen, R-Harvard, question the cost versus the benefit, and point out that spending the money to examine feasibility is no guarantee that the state will approve the project. Evertsen was one of two “no” votes in committee. “Once they start a study and
Backers of the idea maintain that a full interchange will spark economic development and job growth in McHenry County, especially in the southwest corner. None of McHenry County’s connections with I-90 actually lie within the county – the recently-finished full interchange at Route 47 in Huntley is in Kane County, as are I-90’s interchanges with Randall Road and Route 31.
See BOARD, page A9
Our goal for all students is to make them college- and career-ready. Until that number is 100 percent, we are not going to be satisfied. Carl Vallianatos, director of curriculum and instruction for McHenry School District 156
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS AT McHENRY COUNTY SCHOOLS WHO MET AN ACT COMPOSITE SCORE OF 21 DISTRICT 19
DISTRICT 155
DISTRICT 300
DISTRICT 158
DISTRICT 50
DISTRICT 12 DISTRICT 154
DISTRICT 156
DISTRICT 157
DISTRICT 200
STATE AVRG.
70.90
70 60.90
60
68.70
60.80
60.90
60.10
58.50
55.40 53.10
50.30
50
48.50 45.80 44.40
40
38.00
36.40
Graphic by R. Scott Helmchen – shelmchen@shawmedia.com
PERCENTAGE WHO MET AN ACT COMPOSITE SCORE OF 21
73.60
36.00
30
28.80
20
By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO A majority of students in numerous McHenry County school districts aren’t ready to tackle college coursework, new state education data shows – even as schools devote more attention to prepare students for college and career upon graduation. As part of an effort to better inform families about student achievement, the Illinois State Board of Education this school year released new measurements designed to give the public a more complete picture of school performance. One of the state’s new measurements redefines students’ college readiness. The standard measures the percentage of public high school graduates in 2014 who earned
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at least a 21 on the ACT, a combined score that mirrors the ACT national average. By the state’s definition, a majority of graduates in six of 10 area school districts aren’t ready for college coursework. Officials from numerous local districts said they weren’t satisfied with their figures and vowed improvement. “Our goal for all students is to make them college- and career-ready,” said Carl Vallianatos, director of curriculum and instruction for McHenry School District 156.
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“Until that number is 100 percent, we are not going to be satisfied.” Spanning two McHenry high schools, only 47 percent of District 156 graduates in 2014 were considered ready for college coursework, a data review on the new state standard shows. A majority of graduates from districts in Algonquin, Harvard, Hebron, Johnsburg and Woodstock aren’t considered college-ready by the state’s ACT standard. Roughly 46 percent of 2014 graduates throughout all Illinois school districts were considered ready for college coursework, according to state education officials. Nearly 50 percent of Johnsburg District 12 graduates, 49 percent of Algonquin District 300 graduates, and 46 percent of Woodstock District 200 graduates were considered ready for college coursework.
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n Students in many McHenry County schools aren’t ready for college, state data reveals
NOT PREPARED sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
JOHNSBURG HIGH SCHOOL
HARVARD HIGH SCHOOL
HUNTLEY HIGH SCHOOL
HARRY D. JACOBS HIGH SCHOOL
HAMPSHIRE HIGH SCHOOL
DUNDEE-CROWN HIGH SCHOOL
PRAIRIE RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL
CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL
CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
CARY-GROVE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL
ALDEN-HEBRON HIGH SCHOOL
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Graduates from Alden-Hebron District 19 and Harvard District 50 fared the worst in the area. Roughly 36 percent of District 19 graduates and 29 percent of District 50 graduates were considered college-ready. District 50 spokesman Bill Clow said the Harvard school district emphasizes internal measurements that track individual student growth and provides administrators and teachers with timely feedback on student needs. “Our data shows District 50 students who do go to college are well prepared and perform well,” he said. “Likewise, we work to provide those students who choose to go to trade school, the military or directly to work with the tools and skills they need to flourish in those environments.”
See SCHOOLS, page A9
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