Today, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released the annual Illinois Report Card, which provides a comprehensive overview of school performance across multiple educational indicators and assigns each school a summative designation as part of the state’s accountability system.

We are proud to share that Joseph Sears School has earned an Exemplary designation, the highest distinction awarded by ISBE. This places our school among the top 10 percent of schools statewide, recognizing our high achievement, strong growth, low absenteeism, the absence of any underperforming student groups, and high participation in our annual parent, student, and staff survey. This accomplishment reflects the dedication of our students, the commitment of our educators, and the partnership of our families. It stands as a testament to our collective pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement in every area of student learning and well-being.

Academic Performance
In both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math, our students again earned all available points for academic proficiency, maintaining the high achievement levels we have come to expect. Over the past year, we have also continued our efforts to improve academic growth, and the results have been outstanding.

• ELA: Student growth increased from the 54.4th percentile to the 61.2nd percentile.
• Math: Student growth increased from the 48.5th percentile to the 61.5th percentile.

Both results exceed our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan goal of achieving student growth rates of at least 60 percent. As you may recall, we have spent a significant amount of time and energy over the last few years reviewing and updating our curriculum in both core subjects and special offerings. The gains we have seen in student growth are the direct result of this updated curriculum and our focus on professional development designed to meet each student’s unique learning needs.

Attendance and Engagement
We are equally proud of our continued progress in student attendance. Chronic absenteeism decreased from 5.7 percent last year to 3.8 percent this year, well below our Strategic Plan target of keeping chronic absenteeism under 10 percent. This improvement reflects the hard work of our attendance committee, the dedication of our families, and the positive outcomes of our Culture of Care initiative, which ensures every student feels welcome, engaged, and ready to learn.
Our results from the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI) Survey, completed by students, staff, and families, align with this trend. The findings from this survey affirm that our efforts to build a welcoming and inclusive environment are making a measurable difference, and we remain committed to strengthening this work in the years ahead.

Sustaining Excellence: The Road Ahead
Earning an Exemplary designation is a proud milestone, but it is not our destination. Guided by our 2022–2027 Strategic Plan and the Portrait of a Sears Graduate, we will continue to focus on both academic excellence and the development of the whole child. Our efforts will focus on sustaining and expanding the practices that led to our success through curriculum alignment, collaboration, and innovative teaching and learning approaches.

As we move toward a fully aligned curriculum, our staff will continue to collaborate through Tuesday In-Service sessions, engaging in professional learning and curriculum analysis to ensure each student’s academic needs are met. Our Curriculum Committees will play an important role in identifying and implementing programming adjustments that support mastery of state standards in the year ahead.

In addition to measuring our success through the Illinois Report Card, we use our Strategic Plan to guide our goals and measure progress across all dimensions of the Portrait of a Sears Graduate. You can view the current Strategic Plan, along with its key performance indicators, on our website.

As we prepare to develop the next Strategic Plan, we are inviting input from students, staff, and families to help shape our future goals and priorities. Your feedback is essential in ensuring that our plan reflects the values and aspirations of our school community. The Strategic Plan Survey is open through tomorrow, October 31, and we encourage all families to share their perspectives.

To learn more about the planning process and vision guiding this work, please view the Strategic Plan Overview Video.

Thank you for being an active partner in shaping the future of The Joseph Sears School. Together, we can build a plan that honors our traditions while advancing our shared vision for excellence.