Education Matters: Metro-east school report card highlights and other news

Welcome back to Education Matters, the Belleville News-Democrat’s newest biweekly column.

Lately, a few major themes have dominated our education coverage.

First, the Illinois State Board of Education released its 2024-25 School Report Card, offering a wealth of new data for schools statewide. We have been analyzing these statistics and identifying trends that could impact your child’s education. This week, we have several exciting shoutouts to share. If there’s something you’re curious about, feel free to email me at mlammert@bnd.com.

Second, there have been ongoing updates regarding federal nutrition programs. While it appears school meals will not see major disruptions, districts are stepping in to help feed students at home.

How did metro-east schools fare?

If you ask parents, teachers and administrators what makes a good school, you will probably receive a variety of answers. That makes a question like, “How is my school doing?” difficult to answer.

That is why, when first diving into the 2024-25 Illinois Report Card, which was released Oct. 30, we looked at each metro-east school’s summative designation. The designation a school receives draws on many indicators of quality and success, from test scores to absenteeism. These data points are measured for specific groups of students as well as for the school population as a whole.

The highest designation a school can achieve is “Exemplary,” awarded to schools in the top 10% statewide for overall performance. Last week, we put a few nearby schools that earned this honor in the spotlight: Illini Elementary in Fairview Heights, Webster Elementary in Collinsville and Wolf Branch Elementary in Swansea.

When we expand our scope to the rest of St. Clair and Madison counties, along with Monroe, Randolph, Washington and Clinton counties, we see roughly 30 other schools achieved this high mark. They include Freeburg Community High School, Mascoutah High School, Scott Elementary School in Mascoutah, New Athens Junior High, most schools in Triad Community Unit School District 2, most schools in Columbia Community Unit School District 4, Waterloo High School and four schools in Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7.

To browse school-specific data, visit illinoisreportcard.com.

Schools lend hand as SNAP concerns persist

As the federal government shutdown persists and so does uncertainty about its food programs, a number of metro-east schools are lending a hand. Here’s a few examples:

• Collinsville District 10’s Kahok Strong is collecting food, hygiene items and monetary donations for the Collinsville Food Pantry. Items can be dropped off at the high school, the middle school, Dorris Intermediate School, and the administration building. Contact Toni Geisen at tgeisen@cusd.kahoks.org or Jacob Post at jpost@cusd.kahoks.org for more information.
• Wolf Branch School District is expecting students’ need for food supplies to increase with SNAP and TANF uncertainty and put out a social media call for families who wish to help to send extra items with their child to school.
• O’Fallon’s Estelle Kampmeyer Elementary is collecting food and supplies for families in need now through Friday, Nov. 7. Collection boxes will be at the front office and throughout the building, or donations can be shipped to the school directly through an Amazon wishlist, available at https://a.co/g5VwJXp. The PTO suggests each grade bring a different variety of items: first bring breakfast items, second bring canned or boxed meals, third brings pasta, rice and beans; fourth brings canned fruit and veggies, and fifth brings personal care items and paper products.
• Note that James Avant Elementary and Gordon Bush Alternative Center, both within East St. Louis District 189, partner with the St. Louis Area Food Bank. Avant’s food pantry is only for families whose children attend the school, but Gordon Bush’s serves the broader community.

Honor Roll

• Last week, Collinsville High School announced Margot Schusky is the October Senior Student of the Month and Abigail Morris is the October Student of the Month. Whiteside School District 115 also announced Sept. 7 that its grade Student of the Month in October is Marli Cobbs.
• Central Junior High’s Jahnell Braylock received October’s gift card for good behavior.
• Harmony Intermediate Center and Emge Junior High announces each month’s Positive Office Referral recipients at the beginning of the following month. For October, the following students were recognized: seventh graders A’Morie Lewis, Jadyn Bean, Armonee Stubbs and Khloe Meyer; eighth graders Jessica Gill and Ariuel Palmer and fourth graders Hannah Lenstra and Jedidiah Seger. 
• Also within District 175, Emge Junior High Student Council gave October Staff Shoutouts to Emge Junior High paraprofessional Jesse Rodriguez and Harmony Intermediate sixth grade teacher Bree Gerfen.
• Granite City High School Marching Warriors are Grand Champions at the 2025 Greater St. Louis Marching Band Festival for the third time this year. The competition was held at Belleville West.

Emerson Excellence in Teaching Awards

More than 100 St. Louis-area educators were recognized with Emerson’s Excellence in Teaching Awards. According to a news release, awardees were selected by their school administration. Southwestern Illinois honorees include Benjamin Moore of Central Junior High School in Belleville 118, Brian Zurek of Alton Middle School in District 11, Gina James of Joseph Arthur Middle School in O’Fallon’s Central 104, Susanna Benson of Webster Elementary School in Collinsville 10, Melissa Struif of East Alton-Wood River High School District 14, Cynthia Roller of the Wyvetter Younge School of Excellence in East St. Louis 189, Ronnie Stuart of Freeburg Community High School, Chrissy Garon of Illini Elementary School in Fairview Height’s Grant CCSD 10, Sarah Germann of High Mount School in District 116, Molly Freimuth of Lewis & Clark Community College, Ana Schnellmann of Lindenwood University, Trisha Gass of Mascoutah’s District 19, Kevin Zanelotti of McKendree University, Gwen Scheibel of Millstadt Consolidated School in District 160, Erik Hager of New Athens Elementary School in District 60, Ashley Stefanisin of Edward A. Fulton Junior High in O’Fallon District 90, Tracey Ritzel of O’Fallon Township High School in District 203, Jamie Juhas of Pontiac Junior High School in Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105, Jessica Roentz of Central Intermediate School in Roxana Community Unit School District, Sarah Shelton of Shiloh Middle School in District 85, Jamie Keck of Signal Hill School in District 181, Sarah Presson of Triad Middle School in District 2, Ashley Brown of Whiteside Middle School in District 115, Cassandra Gillespie of Wolf Branch Middle School in District 113 and Lynne Adams of Hartford Elementary School in Wood River-Hartford District 15.

Mark your calendars

• There are a number of Veterans Day events in area schools. Central Junior High is inviting all school family members who are veterans to a special breakfast on Nov. 6 at 8:15 a.m. in its library. Collinsville Middle School’s breakfast and festivities for local veterans start at 9 a.m. on Nov. 7 in the school’s library; email Karan Kalous at kkalous@cusd.kahoks.org for more information.
• Also on Nov. 7 and 8, Collinsville High School’s Drama Club is presenting Halloween shows — “Hallmarks of Horror” by Peter Bloedel and “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” by Dan Zolidis —  at 7 p.m. in the auditorium for just $5.
• High school juniors and seniors looking into a career in health care can shadow various roles (and network!) during Hospital Sisters Health System’s Health Care Bootcamps in Breese, Highland, Greenville and O’Fallon. Apps are due Nov. 14. For more information or to sign up, visit http://bit.ly/4hGGSDH.
• The third annual CAVE Career Expo will be held from 4-6:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the CAVE. Belleville high school students and their families can meet professionals from various fields (agriculture, food and natural resources; arts and communications; finance and business; health sciences and technology; human and public services; manufacturing, engineering, technology and trades; and information technology). In addition to exploring potential careers, students can also learn how to make a resume with SWIC Career Services, leverage social media for job searches and networking and enjoy food trucks. RSVP by Nov. 14 at https://bit.ly/47nV7tJ.

Resource Round-Up

• St. Louis Area Foodbank is hosting two local distributions this week. On Thursday, Nov. 11, there’s a drive-thru at 9 a.m. at House of Prayer, 5501 North Park Drive in Washington Park. Later that morning, there’s a walk -thru pantry at 10 a.m. at Faith Baptist Church, 9724 Holy Cross Lane in Breese. According to St. Louis Area Foodbank’s website, verification of personal income is not required for the Breese distribution.
• Also in partnership with the St. Louis Area Food Bank, Hope Church Monroe County (9273 Coach Stop Road in Columbia) is hosting a drive-thru food distribution at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 7. St. Louis Area Food Bank’s website asks that patrons arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time, though, and that they do not require any identification or verification of income.
• On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, the St. Louis Area Food Bank is having a drive-thru distribution specifically for active-duty Military members and those with veteran status and their families at First United Presbyterian Church, 1303 Royal Heights Road in Belleville. One must show verification of their status, such as a valid military ID or DD214. It’s first-come, first-serve until supplies run out, starting at 9:30 a.m. Distribution could last until 11 a.m.
• East St. Louis School District 189’s drive-thru Flyers Feeding Families Food Pantry is back at 10 a.m. on Nov. 17 at the Gordon Bush Alternative Center, 1516 Gross Ave. in East. St. Louis.
• The holidays may seem a long time away, but we all know that time sneaks up on us. We will update you on holiday resources as they crop up. That being said, The Mind of Christ Church, with other partners, are hosting their annual toy, food and clothing giveaway at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 at Metrobus in East St. Louis. Register online at https://bit.ly/3LlH6UQ.
• STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) take-home activities are available while supplies last for second through sixth graders at Granite City Six Mile Regional Library District Locations: 2001 Delmar Ave. and 2145 Johnson Road.

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

• There’s been a lot of talk about SNAP and WIC benefits lately, but the programs schools use to provide free and reduced-price lunches are also federal programs. We dug into how school meals could be impacted if the shutdown persists.
• Earlier this year, the Illinois State Board of Education explained they were changing the scores students needed to get on state tests to be considered “proficient.” The BND explained why they were changing, and now, with the new Illinois Report Card reflecting those changes, Chalkbeat Chicago dives into the impacts.
• Capitol News Illinois explained how performance gaps persist within new Illinois Report Card data.