Pardon the questionable grammar, but being named an exemplary school by the state ain’t easy
But it’s an apple on the desk for Riverside-Brookfield High School District 208 to do it two years in a row, the result highlighted by annual Illinois Report Card 2023-24 that was made public Oct. 30.
Exemplary schools are those that rank in the top 10% of the state, while “commendable” schools rank in the next 67%. RBHS scored 91.98, just over the “exemplary” threshold. In 2023, RBHS scored 92.20.
That score in and of itself left principal Hector Freytas beaming, but he wasn’t one to take full credit.
“Ten percent of the schools according to the Illinois report card achieved this, and it’s difficult,” he said, noting that success is a team effort from the school board, superintendent, teachers and support staff. Everyone contributes.
“There is no way you can do it yourself,” he said. “We have to work together to deliver the best service and best education to our students.”
Riverside-Brookfield enrolled 1,637 students in 2023-24, 51.8% male and 48.1% female. About 45.4% were white, while 43.2% were Hispanic and 5.4% were Black. Seventeen percent were Asian.
Freytas said the graduation rate is 50 % of a school’s score, and at this, Riverside-Brookfield achieved 94.9%, well ahead of the state mark of 87.7%. That was a full percentage point ahead of 2023.
Why?
“We have a legacy of great teaching and instruction,” Freytas said. “I always had a belief in it. I knew our numbers were similar to last year. The target moves somewhat, but our teaching and learning and love for students hasn’t changed.”
Like a lot of districts in western Cook County, chronic absenteeism continues to be a challenge for RBHS, where the district posted 19.9%, up slightly from 19.2% in 2023. It’s consistent, but Freytas said, “I want my students here at RB. When a student is absent, it’s worrisome.”
Freytas said each student has five mental health days they can take throughout a school year, which are counted against a student, much like sick days. Freytas doesn’t necessarily like that approach, but he said that he believes mental health matters as much as physical health.
He added that after two consecutive days missed, school staff and counselors follow up with the student and parents.
“If it’s mental health, it’s important,” he said. “If you’re not healthy to be in school, stay home and regain your brain.”
Another potential area of concern was the junior class’s SAT results. The SAT is an admission test accepted by all U.S. colleges and is intended to determine a student’s level of college readiness in the academic subjects of English/language arts and math.
About 13.2% of students scored at Level 4 in ELA, which exceeds proficiency, down from 18.1% in 2023. Students achieving Level 4 in math dropped to 7.4% from 12.4% in 2023.
“We want good tests scores, and some things have changed in standardized testing,” Freytas said. “We’ve gone from paper testing to digital testing. We’re reviewing our curriculum to improve in that area.”
In overall proficiency, which includes multiple assessments, like the SAT and DLM (dynamic learning maps), RBHS dropped slightly in ELA to 41% from 47.9%. Math also fell slightly to 39.1% from 44.4%. But science jumped to 65.5% from 57.9%.
Another area that showed consistency was ninth grade on track, which stood at 97%, almost a full percentage point ahead of 2023. There are several reasons for that, Freytas said.
“I would say we have strong feeder schools, preparing their kids to be on track,” he said. “Our student service department, they knew students that struggle and our teachers are flexible. They want their students to learn to master the content. Some kids need three or four opportunities.”
Teacher retention rate sat at 96.7%, up almost three percentage points from 2023 (93.9%). The key there, Freytas said, is that “staff members love working here, they want to work here. people are well treated and supported. We love giving autonomy to our teachers for programs they want to implement.”
While there was a lot to like in the data for Freytas, he also made it clear that ongoing improvement is a must. To that end, there are a lot of questions that need to be addressed in any given year for any school.
“Your job as a school is to get them graduated and ready for college and careers,” he said. “That’s huge. Standardized testing is important, are you providing in-school practice for the SAT? Is it embedded in the curriculum?
“Freshmen on track you have to monitor. Math and English, what are you doing to support the understanding and mastering of those areas? What are you doing for those linguistically diverse students? Are you providing certified teachers that are bilingual?”