Taking time to reflect on a successful school year at District 88

It’s hard to believe, but the end of the 2013-14 school year is only a little more than two months away.

It has been an incredible school year at District 88, filled with success in academics, athletics and activities for our students and staff, and I would like to take a moment to reflect on those accomplishments. To see a summary and photos of those achievements, go to http://tinyurl.com/pzol3p8 (for Willowbrook) and http://tinyurl.com/nkjm9xv (for Addison Trail).

Some of the highlights from this school year include:

Post-secondary success: Students from the Addison Trail class of 2013 are attending colleges and universities in 13 states and were accepted to nearly 100 colleges and universities in 26 states. Students from the Willowbrook class of 2013 are attending colleges and universities in 20 states and were accepted to 156 colleges and universities.

Advanced Placement enrollment: The number of Addison Trail students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses increased to 1,580 in 2013 from 414 in 2004. The number of Willowbrook students enrolled in AP courses increased to 1,146 in 2013 from 352 in 2004. AP courses allow students to experience college-level rigor and earn college credit while still in high school.

Prairie State Achievement Exam results: On the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), Addison Trail and Willowbrook students increased their scores in math and reading from 2011-12 to 2012-13. Last year, Willowbrook was recognized by the Daily Herald as having the highest gains in test scores of all suburban high schools in the Herald’s coverage area, and Addison Trail received that recognition from Chicago Sun-Times in 2009.

Graduation rates: District 88’s four-year graduation rate for 2012-13 was 89.2 percent, compared to the state’s 83.2 percent. The district’s five-year graduation rate for 2012-13 was 91.2 percent, compared to the state’s 87 percent.

District 88 awards: Addison Trail was named as one of America’s Best High Schools by Newsweek in 2009, 2010 and 2013. Willowbrook received that honor in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. Addison Trail and Willowbrook were named as two of America’s Most Challenging High Schools by The Washington Post in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Addison Trail and Willowbrook were named as Best High Schools by U.S. News & World Report in 2012.

Alignment: District 88 continues to align with its feeder school districts and local colleges and universities to ensure students have a smooth transition to and from the district.

Focused on all students: While we’re proud of the above accomplishments, we’re even more proud to continue our focus on celebrating the successes of all students. Whether it’s a student in our ESL program, our Special Education Transition Program or a high-academic achiever, our goal is to help each student reach his or her full potential. We also are thrilled with how much our students and staff give back to the community.

We’ve had many successes this year at District 88, but we are always looking to improve. That’s why we’re participating in the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) 5Essentials Survey. That survey was launched last year and is a statewide opportunity for students in sixth through twelfth grades, faculty and parents/guardians to weigh in on questions related to leadership, collaboration, family involvement, instruction and school environment.

At least 50 percent of students and teachers and 30 percent of parents/guardians at each school must fill out the survey for ISBE to have enough data to generate a school-level report. Responses will be kept confidential and will not be linked to any individual. The survey is being conducted through April 25 at https://illinois.5-essentials.org. I encourage you to participate in this survey to let us know what we’re doing well and where we can make changes to get better.

Thank you for your continued support of District 88.