Chatsworth Grade School Wins Again !

Chatsworth Grade School Wins Again !: "

Update from "Chatsworth Illinois Memories"   From www.pantagraph.com   Chatsworth school among area honorees   By Phyllis Coulter | pcoulter@pantagraph.com | Posted: Friday, February 26, 2010 7:46 pm | CHATSWORTH — For the second year in a row, Chatsworth Grade School has received double honors for academic achievement as part of the state honor roll. Several other schools also were honored. Chatsworth is part of Prairie Central School District, based in Fairbury. It is one of five schools in the state to earn both the Spotlight Schools and Academic Excellence awards. Some 975 schools are listed on the 2009 Honor Roll, which is overseen by the Illinois State Board of Education and Northern Illinois University. Chatsworth’s 145 pre-kindergarten to fourth- grade students have a poverty rate of about 70 percent. Despite that, “we set our expectations high and students meet them,” said Principal Karen Hazelrigg. In Downs, both Tri-Valley elementary and middle schools earned the Academic Excellence award. Superintendent Curt Simonson said the high school again has been cited among the top 25 high schools in Illinois and was nominated for the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award. The Illinois Honor Roll has three categories. “Spotlight Schools” have more than half of the students from low-income families and more than 70 percent met or exceeded standards in state tests. “Academic Excellence” schools have sustained high performance, with more than 90 percent meeting or exceeding state standards on standardized tests for more than three years. “Academic Improvement” schools showed at least a 7.5-point improvement in state test scores in both reading and mathematics between 2008 and 2009, or at least a 15-point improvement in state test scores in both reading and mathematics since 2007. In Central Illinois, 35 schools were honored. They were: Academic Improvement: Gridley Grade School; Deland-Weldon, Dwight, LeRoy and Tremont high schools. Spotlight Schools: Bent, Irving and Sheridan elementary schools, Bloomington; Central School, Pontiac; Centennial, Kimes, and Oakland Park elementary schools, Streator; Emden Elementary; Northwest Elementary, Lincoln; Chatsworth Grade School. Academic Excellence: Central Intermediate School, Washington; Chatsworth Grade School; Colene Hoose, Grove, Fox Creek, Northpoint, and Prairieland elementary schools, Unit 5 (Normal); Grundy, Lincoln, and Jefferson elementary schools, and Morton Junior High, Morton; Lexington elementary and high schools; Lincoln Elementary, Pontiac; Meadowbrook Elementary, Forrest; Olympia West Elementary, Minier; Stevenson Elementary, Bloomington District 87; Tremont elementary and middle school; Tri-Valley elementary and middle school, Downs. On the Net: http://www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu Posted in Education, Local, News on Friday, February 26, 2010 7:46 pm

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