Illinois State Superintendent Christopher Koch visited Collins School on Monday, Feb. 6, to present 13 District 54 schools with Academic Excellence Award from the Illinois State Board of Education in recognition of their exemplary performance on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test from 2009 to 2011.

Aldrin, Collins, Dirksen, Dooley, Fairview, Fox, Hale, Hoover, Link, Nerge and Stevenson elementary schools, Lincoln Prairie School, and Frost Junior High School were among the 438 schools to receive the Academic Excellence Award for 2011 by sustaining high performance levels on state assessments for at least three years.

To achieve this award, schools must meet the following criteria:

All schools must have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2010 and 2011.

At preschool through eighth grade schools: 90 percent of students must have met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for the three most recent school years.

District 54 is one of only three school districts in Illinois to earn more than 10 Academic Excellence Awards this year. In addition, many of our schools are repeat winners:

Dirksen, Hoover, Nerge and Stevenson elementary schools are receiving the Academic Excellence Award for the fourth consecutive year.

Dooley, Fairview, Hale, Lincoln Prairie and Frost are receiving the Academic Excellence Award for the third consecutive year.

Collins, Fox and Link are receiving the Academic Excellence Award for the second consecutive year.

The state assessments are used to measure adequate yearly progress for all public schools. District 54 students in third through eighth grade will take the test from March 5 through 16 this year.

The Illinois Honor Roll celebrates the accomplishments of Illinois public schools that are providing high quality education for all their students.