As fathers of children in Lake Forest Schools, we hoped that the 2022-2023 State of Illinois report card would demonstrate what the Lake Forest Schools administration has been emphasizing about 2021-2022's assessment data: that it was just one data point of minor concern. Yet, to our dismay, the release of the 2022-2023 ISBE report card reveals that the current leadership of the Board of Education and Lake Forest administration continues to leave 1 in 3 children behind.
District 115 Percent Meeting Basic Proficiency
(Per the State of Illinois)
Before we share some initial findings based on the report card, we at Parents Care want you to know that we are dedicated to providing deeper insight into this issue so that we can begin to strategically work together to guide the Board and administration on how we can start to address these deficiencies seriously. To achieve this, we will be spending the days, weeks, and months ahead analyzing and communicating additional information about the state of academic performance at Lake Forest High School, and we encourage you to share your thoughts and work with us to help our schools achieve their potential.
To be sure, except for Mathematics, there has been a small degree of measurable growth. Despite this, the post-COVID recovery reveals continued sweeping and severe performance deficits with, at best, marginal growth demonstrating a slight increase of 3.8% for ELA and a minor increase of 5% for Science.
In the case of Math proficiency, it has DECREASED by 2.2%.
It is important to remember that the scores demonstrate nearly 1 in 3 of our children cannot meet the basic threshold for proficiency set by the state of Illinois for ALL schools across the state.
Yesterday, Superintendent Mathew Montgomery responded to these proficiency deficiencies by saying that "we can and should celebrate growth."
We, however, do not believe it is appropriate to celebrate growth when nearly 1 in 3 children are left behind.
We know that our schools are capable of so much more.
Is it too much to expect student growth to be proportional to the 23% growth he saw in his salary this year?
Given this crisis, we do not need another "5-year Strategic Plan," more multi-year committees, or fancy plans focusing on "global citizenship," diversity/inclusion, or social and emotional health.
We need an "all-hands-on-deck" action plan dedicated to immediately redressing the academic deficiencies our schools are leaving our students with starting TODAY.
It should be at the forefront of every decision from now on, and the community should be communicated with on the details and progress of academic achievement with the same zeal as we saw during the campaign to pass the $160 million referendum.
It will take the attention and efforts of the entire community to turn this ship around, but we are as optimistic as ever that together, we can help our schools succeed ALL of our children.
Thank You,
Parents Care
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