Two Dist. 59 schools are honored

Devonshire Elementary School in Des Plaines and Ridge Family Center for Learning in Elk Grove Village have earned 2011 Academic Excellence Awards from the Illinois State Board of Education. The Illinois Honor Roll recognizes schools in three ways: Illinois Spotlight Schools are high-poverty, high-performing schools that are beating the odds: schools that receive the Academic Improvement Award show substantial gains on test scores over three years; and schools that receive an Academic Excellence Award have at least 90% of their students meeting or exceeding state standards in both reading and mathematics for at least three consecutive years.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Devonshire School has received an Academic Excellence Award. This means Devonshire students have been excelling for at least the last six years. Ridge Family Center for Learning captured its first Academic Achievement Award this year, meaning its students have been excelling for the past three years. Principals Randy Steinkamp and Barbara Zabroske, their staff and especially the students of Devonshire School and Ridge Family Center for Learning should be congratulated for this outstanding achievement!