Dear Parents and Community Members:

School districts throughout Illinois publish an annual “report card,” which provides information about the performance and demographics of our schools. I present to you the 2009 Hawthorn District 73 report.

The snapshot of data provided in this report card is based largely on how students scored in the Spring 2009 Illinois State Achievement Tests (ISATs), a series of standardized tests mandated by the State of Illinois. This is not related to your child's individual report card, but rather offers more general information about the performance and demographics of our schools and other schools across the state.

The state standardized test is just one way to measure student achievement. While we take this data and the ISAT process very seriously, we have many more measures in place to provide us with powerful, actionable data. Throughout all of our schools, teachers and principals are using a variety of resources to help identify students’ strengths and weaknesses. Our emphasis on effective, immediate and on-going assessment through such tools as our internal Measures of Academic Process (MAP) and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), combined with daily authentic assessments, offers us a realistic understanding of each student’s progress. Overall, this data shows that all of our schools and our student continue to move in the right direction — “Learning for All, Whatever It Takes.”

All of our teachers and support staff, administrative team and the Board of Education members are committed to the success of each and every student. It is vitally important for the entire community to participate with us in this process. On behalf of the Board of Education, thank you for your interest and for your support of our students and schools.