Gurnee Grade School students earn Excellence Award
By Frank Abderholden fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com February 6, 2012 6:52PM
Gurnee- Gurnee Grade School has earned the 2011 Excellence Award for Exemplary Academic Performance. The first school in the Gurnee 56 district to receive this award. They are having a student assembly with Principal Mrs. Jennifer Glickley.. | Joe Cyganowski~For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: March 8, 2012 8:11AM
The 420 students of Gurnee Grade School learned Monday morning that they were honored by the Illinois State Board of Education with the 2011 Excellence Award for Exemplary Academic Performance on the Illinois Learning Standards test.
“I was awestruck because it’s about the work you guys have done,” Principal Jennifer Glickley, who has led the school for the past five years, told the students assembled in the gymnasium. It took three straight years of 90 percent or more of the students meeting or exceeding standards in reading and mathematics.
“Teachers and students, let’s give ourselves a big hand,” she said as the gym erupted in cheers and clapping.
They were the only school in District 56 to receive the award, and they were one of 438 schools across the state to receive the honor. “Behind each school’s success is an untold story of extraordinary passion and dedication on behalf of administrators, teachers, parents and students. We commend each school for its commitment to improvement and excellence,” said State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico.
“We could not be prouder of you,” Glickley told the students, “Make sure you thank your teachers. They spend hours pushing you harder and harder to do better and more,” she said. Only 1 percent of the schools in the state get the award.
“This is a big deal. You should be proud of yourselves,” she said.
Gurnee Grade School is an option school — parents get to choose it. There is a waiting list for every grade level, kindergarten through eighth grade. Besides having 92 percent of the students meeting or exceeding, the schools also have to have subgroups such as special education meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as well.
Glickley said this was the first time a school in the district has won the award. She said having students and teachers together for two years provides a good relationship with students and families. “A lot of our success is the relationship and the commitment to this philosophy,” she said.
One philosophy that has been at the school for a long time is the assemblies where students are honored for different accomplishments. On this morning, Emily Young, Aaron Roloff, Bonnie Hart, Alisa Hart, Tamia Cook and Greg Baseley were recognized as future game-makers for learning computer programing logic and working with the FBI program called ALICE.
David Catanus was recognized for gaining 26 points on his reading score that brought him up to the 94th percentile. Khayla Garrett raised her reading score by 23 points and John Venisnik was recognized for knowing all the presidents of the United States — the order, their middle names and dates in office. Austin Rawski was challenged to read 20 books and write a summary of each to earn a $20 gift certificate for the book fair, and he did it.
“We try to find little things for the students to feel good about academically,” she said of the regular assemblies where students are recognized. Now the school has been recognized by the state as well.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment