Dear Beach Park Learning Community,
Yesterday, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released the annual Illinois Report Card, a tool to increase transparency and accountability of public schools in the state. You can access our full report card here.
While no single report can fully capture the daily progress students make or the personal journey they are on, we use these tools to measure our growth and align our resources to continue supporting our students on their journey to Learn, Lead, and Succeed.
Beach Park District 3 2025 Report Card Highlights:
4/5 schools achieve “Commendable” designations for the first time!
Howe Elementary moved into the “Targeted Support” designation due to a technicality in the progress measurement for students with disabilities, whose progress is best measured beyond the capabilities of the report card system.
Reading proficiency jumped from 20.9% to 29.2%*
Math proficiency excelled from 9.2% to 14.2%*
*Note: ISBE adjusted the benchmark score to determine what is “proficient” on the IAR. Adjusted for the 2024 cut-off score, our students still increased 8.3% and 5% respectively.
Areas of Focus for 2025-2026 and Beyond:
Creating engaging learning environments and opportunities in all subjects through belonging and dynamic lessons. When students are engaged, they achieve greater growth.
Sparking curiosity in all classrooms
Targeting math proficiency at all buildings through our Strategic Action Plans.
Family Partnerships! We decreased chronic absenteeism to 26.6% of students being absent 10% or more of the time, down from our all-time high of 38.7%, but it’s still too high. There’s no substitute for being at school to learn.
Please join me in celebrating the students, staff, and families of our Beach Park Community, as well as the partnership in academic learning and support. We are proud of our combined efforts to meet our students where they are and help them grow, learn, lead, and succeed. The new report card shows that while we have work to do, we are on the path to becoming a Blue Ribbon school of excellence.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out, as my door is always open.
In Partnership,
Dr. Denise Wilcox, Superintendent