Thursday Dec. 10, 2015 Vol. 3, No. 40
The Weekly Post
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State schools report card shows growth, challenges By BILL KNIGHT
Each of five area school districts evaluated in the state’s new school Report Card can legitimately find positives and negatives. On the positive side: Brimfield has a high graduation rate and low incidence of student mobility (transfers in and out of school) and efficient operational spending; Elmwood has the highest score for college readiness, and improved its math scores; Farmington improved in both reading and math and had the area’s lowest per-pupil instructional spending; Princeville improved its reading score by 10 percent; and Williamsfield has the smallest class size and spending that seems high but remains lower than the state averFor The Weekly Post
Tentative OK for new business
age. The school Report Card is an annual Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) instrument issued since 1986 that’s intended to offer a glimpse of Districts’ situations. “Illinois’ award-winning Report Card is a model for other states to provide in-depth, meaningful data about school learning environments in an easily accessible format,” said State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, Ph.D. A school comparison doesn’t imply competition between Districts but an indication of different circumstances’ successes and challenges. After all, very few families opt to attend public schools outside their geographic districts. And learning is the
School report card a snapshot of School Districts’ situations School (Enrollment)
Class Size
FTE1 Teachers
Mobility2
Grad. Rate
College Ready3
Instruction4 Operation
Academic Growth5
Brimfield (714) Elmwood (693) Farmington (1,438) Princeville (772) Williamsfield (297) State of Illinois
21 18 18 17 12 -
46 48 93 55 25 -
6% 19% 13% 7% 10% 12%
97% 91% 92% 92% 74% 86%
62% 68% 43% 46% 23% 46%
$4,903 $6,297 $4,154 $5,721 $7,379 $7,419
101/110 102/108 101/98 100/114 97/97 99/103
1 4
Full Time Equivalent Teachers Average expense per pupil
2 5
3 Transfers in and out Those scoring at least 21 on the ACT exam Numbers are for Reading/Math, with 100 signifying no growth
most vital statistic. Of course, learning is difficult to gauge, as shown by the struggle to have a test that measures academic achievement. The new school Report Card doesn’t yet include results from the first PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) test, which replaced the Illinois Standards
Achievement test (ISAT). However, the Report Card notes “academic growth” in reading and math. There, Farmington improved from 2013 in both areas, and the other four had mixed results, although most showed “positive growth” and all seem better than the national benchmark as evaluated by the National Assessment of Educa-
CHRISTMAS IN PRINCEVILLE
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Ex-Billtown teacher Banks files lawsuit WILLIAMSFIELD – The Williamsfield teacher who quit in January after she said she was given a choice between resigning or being investigated for improprieties has filed suit against Williamsfield School District 210 and its Board of Education as well as a Middle School cheerleading coach. The lawsuit by Ann Banks, a former Billtown English teacher, alleges Banks breach of contract and defamation. Banks claims she was defamed in a Sept. 18 social-media exchange written by cheerleading coach Amanda Secrist, and that the District violated terms of the agreement she, the District and the Williamsfield Education Association labor union signed when she took an administrative leave and resigned. For The Weekly Post
For The Weekly Post
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tional Programs. That shows that American students between Grades 4 and 12 tested at 36 to 38 percent at or above proficient in reading and 26 to 40 percent at or above proficient in math. Brimfield showed positive growth in reading and math and improved from 2013 in math;
By BILL KNIGHT
By TERRY BIBO
BRIMFIELD – As long as they follow village commands, a new animal grooming/boarding business can “stay” at 124 W. Knoxville. Every seat was claimed at the Village Board of Trustees meeting Monday night, mostly to discuss a special use permit for Jeff Wagoner and Barb McKown. The brother/sister partners’ new business would be on a property which is zoned for commercial use, but the bordering properties are currently in residential use. Potential neighbors voiced concerns the business wouldn’t meet zoning code, although the Zoning Board of Appeals had recommended board approval, and Village Attorney Rick Johnson had agreed. “You get the most control because it is a special use,” John-
$8,650 $9,087 $8,782 $9,087 $12,674 $12,521
Aubrey Hopkins and her mother, Kelsie Hopkins, were smiling during a visit with Santa at EB Buildings & Lumber last Saturday during Princeville’s Holiday Homecoming. A gingerbread house contest also attracted entries like the one at left during the annual Princeville event – one of several Christmas events held in area towns last weekend. Photos by Collin Fairfield.
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