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District 21 sees mixed results on state report card; EL exit rates and attendance highlighted
Summary
District 21 leaders told the school board that the district’s 2024–25 Illinois State Report Card shows higher-than-state EL and low‑income populations, above‑average EL exit rates districtwide, and a chronic absenteeism rate below the state; staff described targeted work for two schools with subgroup shortfalls.
At a Nov. 13 meeting of the Wheeling CCSD 21 Board of Education, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Childress reviewed the district’s 2024–25 Illinois State Report Card, saying the district must interpret performance against state benchmarks with attention to local demographics.
“we have over 70 languages ... about 74 languages in the district,” Dr. Childress said, and noted the district’s English learner (EL) population is roughly 54 percent, well above the state average. She told the board those demographic differences affect direct comparisons with statewide performance.
Dr. Childress highlighted a district average EL exit rate of 9.7 percent compared with the state’s 7.1 percent and reported that 11 of the district’s 13 schools exceed the state exit average. “That is not a norm at all,” she said of double‑digit middle‑school exit rates, crediting programmatic changes and language allocation adjustments for the gains.
She also explained how the state assigns summative designations by subgroup. Tarkington and Whitman received targeted‑support designations because the subgroup for students with disabilities fell below the state threshold; Dr. Childress cited a subgroup summative score of 36.78 for Tarkington (threshold cited at 38.71) and 33.27 for Whitman. She said administrators are disaggregating data and auditing programs to address those subgroup shortfalls.
On attendance, Dr. Childress said the district’s chronic absenteeism rate for 2025 was 21.5 percent, below the state rate of 25.4 percent. She described multiple drivers—an increase in families taking vacations during the school year and changes in attitudes after COVID remote learning—and outlined a tiered monitoring system (green/yellow/red) that triggers parent contact and targeted interventions.
Board members asked about recent trends and the possibility of the current attendance patterns affecting future report‑card outcomes; Dr. Childress said the district is monitoring attendance daily and will include more granular vacation‑and‑illness breakouts in a future presentation.
The board did not take formal action on the report card; Dr. Childress said next steps include professional learning communities, continued literacy work and targeted supports for students with IEPs and other identified subgroups.
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11, 2025.
