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Eisenhower High School leaders highlight student projects, rising graduation rates and attendance focus
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Summary
Doctor Rodriguez presented Eisenhower High School’s extracurricular achievements, scholarships, a student-built panther sculpture and academic trends, noting growth in upper grades, a freshman dip and an attendance initiative after reporting a 75% freshman on-track rate as of Jan. 30.
Doctor Rodriguez presented highlights from Eisenhower High School to the Decatur Public Schools District 61 Board of Education, spotlighting student work, arts recognition and academic trends.
Rodriguez thanked custodians, security, secretaries, teaching assistants and Aramark cafeteria staff for their roles in school operations and noted extracurricular successes: two Panthers advanced to sectional wrestling, students in the agricultural center are welding a 9-foot panther sculpture to display outside the school, and three students performed in the ILMEA All-State Orchestra with another chosen for the ILMEA Future Music Educator Seminar. Four students received $4,000 scholarships from Milliken University. Rodriguez also described a partnership with Kroger that produced a student-developed popcorn blend called “Panther Spice.”
On academics, Rodriguez said the school has set a five-percentage-point annual growth goal in reading and math. She reported that 10th–12th graders have met or exceeded the year’s growth targets while ninth graders showed a dip on the December assessment; the district has implemented a targeted course to address ninth-grade learning gaps. Rodriguez said freshman on-track data stood at 75% as of Jan. 30 and that the school is aiming for 85% or better by the end of the year. She noted last year’s graduation rate rose nearly 8% and said attendance remains a top area for improvement, citing the district code that allows up to 17 missed days in a school year and describing quarterly attendance incentives.
Board members asked follow-up questions about the ninth-to-tenth grade drop and the nature of attendance incentives; Rodriguez attributed some differences to cohort size and the traditional academic challenge of tenth grade and emphasized the need for community and family partnership to improve daily attendance.
The presentation concluded with an invitation to Eisenhower’s Black History Month art exhibition on Feb. 26, featuring band and choir performances and a reading by nationally recognized poet Aubrey Barnes. The board moved on to the meeting’s public participation period afterward.
