U.S. Department of Education November 2002
2002-2003 No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Cover Sheet
Name of Principal Mrs. Nancy A. Goodman
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other) (As it should appear in the official records)
Official School Name Christian Heritage Academy
(As it should appear in the official records)
School Mailing Address 315 Waukegan Road ______
(If address is P.O. Box, also include street address)
Northfield IL 60093-2719
City State Zip Code+4 (9 digits total)
Tel. (847) 446-5252 Fax ( 847) 446-5267
Website/URL www.christian-heritage-academy.org Email
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date______
(Principal’s Signature)
Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
Name of Superintendent N/A
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
District Name N/A Tel. ( )
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
N/A Date______(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board
President/Chairperson Mr. Jeff Smith
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
I have reviewed the information in this package, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
PART II DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
DISTRICT (Questions 12 not applicable to private schools)
1. Number of schools in the district: _____ Elementary schools
_____ Middle schools
_____ Junior high schools
_____ High schools
_____ TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: ______
Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: ______
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[x ] Suburban
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ ] Rural
4. 11 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at this school?
5. Number of students enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalK / 21 / 10 / 31 / 7 / 33 / 23 / 56
1 / 22 / 15 / 37 / 8 / 18 / 18 / 36
2 / 11 / 22 / 33 / 9
3 / 22 / 18 / 40 / 10
4 / 19 / 27 / 46 / 11
5 / 22 / 25 / 47 / 12
6 / 21 / 22 / 43 / Other
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 432
6. Racial/ethnic composition of 82.9 % White
the students in the school: 1.4 % Black or African American
0.9 % Hispanic or Latino
14.8 % Asian/Pacific Islander
0.0 % American Indian/Alaskan Native
100% Total
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: __4.58____%
(This rate includes the total number of students who transferred to or from different schools between October 1 and the end of the school year, divided by the total number of students in the school as of October 1, multiplied by 100.)
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 12(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 8
(3) / Subtotal of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)] / 20
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1 / 437
(5) / Subtotal in row (3) divided by total in row (4) / 0.045
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100 / 4.58
8. Limited English Proficient students in the school: 4.54_____%
20 Total Number Limited English Proficient
Number of languages represented: 7
Specify languages: Assyrian, Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Romanian, Spanish, Swahili
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: N/A %
N/A Total Number Students Who Qualify
If this method is not a reasonably accurate estimate of the percentage of students from lowincome families or the school does not participate in the federallysupported lunch program, specify a more accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it arrived at this estimate.
10. Students receiving special education services: 8%
35 Total Number of Students Served
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
____Autism ____Orthopedic Impairment
____Deafness ____Other Health Impaired
____Deaf-Blindness 6 Specific Learning Disability
____Hearing Impairment ____Speech or Language Impairment
____Mental Retardation ____Traumatic Brain Injury
10 Multiple Disabilities ____Visual Impairment Including Blindness
5 Entering Program 14 In process of testing to determine whether these are developmental issues (1-2nd graders)
11. Indicate number of fulltime and parttime staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of Staff
Full-time Part-Time
Administrator(s) 2 1
Classroom teachers 21 1
Special resource teachers/specialists 6 7
Paraprofessionals 1 7
Support staff 6 8
Total number 36 24
12. Student-“classroom teacher” ratio: 20-1
(This does not include any of the specials teachers or instructional aides)
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students. The student drop-off rate is the difference between the number of entering students and the number of exiting students from the same cohort. (From the same cohort, subtract the number of exiting students from the number of entering students; divide that number by the number of entering students; multiply by 100 to get the percentage drop-off rate.) Briefly explain in 100 words or fewer any major discrepancy between the dropout rate and the drop-off rate. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout and drop-off rates.
2001-2002 / 2000-2001 / 1999-2000 / 1998-1999 / 1997-1998Daily student attendance / 96.2% / 96.25% / * / * / *
Daily teacher attendance / 96% / 96% / * / * / *
Teacher turnover rate / 20% / 20% / 8.7% / 14.3% / 10%
Student dropout rate / N/A / N/A / N/A / N/A / N/A
Student drop-off rate / N/A / N/A / N/A / N/A / N/A
CHA averages only one teacher absence per day, including full-time, part-time, and “specials” teachers. *We began electronically tracking our student and teacher attendance two years ago, so we do not have ready access to actual attendance numbers for teachers and students before 2000-2001. If needed, we will research past files to supply additional information.
PART III SUMMARY
Provide a brief, coherent narrative snapshot of the school in one page (approximately 475 words). Include at least a summary of the school’s mission or vision in the statement and begin the first sentence with the school’s name, city, and state.
Christian Heritage Academy of Northfield, Illinois, is home to creative thought and its purposeful expression. This month, some third grade students formed a secret plot to raise money to assist the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. They convinced the staff to let them operate a popcorn sale. They purchased and prepared microwave popcorn and offered it at lunch, choosing classmates to keep track of the math. Their enterprise netted over $70, and intrigued everyone who heard about it, including fourth and fifth graders who began to consider schemes like hair-braiding services and bake sales. The constant theme: devising ways to help another grade in need.
In the eighth grade Bible classes, the teacher presented the surprising news that the younger students had created a fundraiser to support them. They brainstormed: how would they best welcome and thank the third graders when the gift was presented? One class settled on involving the third graders in a mystery story that everyone would solve as partners. The other homeroom decided to take the third graders outside for games and a scavenger hunt.
Our mission is to offer “an exemplary education, based on biblical values, to students of Christian families, equipping them to be lifetime followers of Jesus Christ.” Instruction in the Bible is central to our mission. Working out biblical knowledge in wise relationships is central to learning the Bible. At CHA, a lesson often revolves around finding another group and serving them. It’s not unusual to see an eighth grader mentoring a pre-k through third grade student in reading, writing, or a project-based assignment.
Our mission implies passion for both spiritual and intellectual growth. The school was founded in 1984 in the midst of academically excellent public school districts. The founding families took a giant step of faith, presuming to create a new school that could compete. The desire was not to shelter Christian children, but to challenge them at the highest level. The vision was a generation of graduates who would enter the secular high schools with rigor in their scholastic preparation and integrity in their characters.
The academic training has indeed been rigorous. Test scores are high. Graduates going to nationally ranked public high schools are well placed. A local freshman honors English teacher was recently asked to rate our graduates. “Your school is doing a wonderful job of preparing students for honors coursework at the high school. And trust me, I can’t say that to many schools.”
In the sixth grade, a man-sized map of India stretches across the wall. It is sectioned into states, and dotted with pins symbolizing villages, armies, and agricultural units. The sixth graders have just finished a simulation game in which they occupied Indian territory, traded rice, timber, spice and carpets, and worked through actual historical crises from the ages of the Gupta and Maurya Empires. The game was invented by a former teacher, now an administrator, and adapted by the current sixth grade teacher. The teacher not only wraps up the unit with an intensive test, but a heart-to-heart classroom discussion, asking probing questions about the simulation. How did we treat each other in the disagreements over resources? What was motivating the rush to militarize? What have we learned about ourselves?
PART IV – INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Private Schools
1. Report the school’s assessment results in reading (language arts or English) and mathematics for at least the last three years for all grades tested using either state tests or assessments referenced against national norms at a particular grade. For formatting, use the sample tables (no charts or graphs) at the end of this application. Present data for all grades tested for all standardized state assessments and assessments referenced against national norms administered by the school. If at least 90 percent of the students take the SAT or ACT, high schools should include the data. If fewer than 90 percent of the students in the appropriate classes take the SAT or ACT, do not report the data. Limit the narrative to one page.
a. Disaggregate the data for any ethnic/racial or socioeconomic groups that comprise sufficient numbers to be statistically significant (generally 10 percent or more of the student body of the school). Show how all subgroups of students achieve at high levels or improve dramatically in achievement for at least three years. Explain any disparity among subgroups.
b. Specify which groups, if any, are excluded from a test, the reasons for the exclusion, as well as the number and percentage of students excluded. Describe how these students are assessed.
c. Attach all test data to the end of this application and continue to number the pages consecutively.
Part IV: #1. CHA’s Assessment Results in Reading and Mathematics
Our students have recorded excellent results with the Terra Nova test from CTBS. Our most recent test-takers were the seventh and eighth graders, who maintained our school’s consistently high standards.
In December 2002, these classes took tests in Reading, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies and Spelling. In each category, their performance, on average, greatly exceeded the performance of other students their age around the country. We can see this trend if we focus on the eighth grade, the highest year at Christian Heritage Academy, although it also remains true in the lower grades.
One of the first scores on the summary provided to us describes “Grade Mean Equivalent.” This attempts to answer the question, “At what grade level would the students probably be able to perform?” In each subject area, our eighth graders look something like twelfth graders, except in the category of Spelling, where they might be around the tenth grade.
As a rule, however, we have found the “Grade Mean Equivalent” to be a little too general for our purposes. We want more information, more specificity. The report provides another data point for the whole class – a percentile placement of their averaged scores. This line item, “NP of the Mean NCE,” also speaks well of our classes. In Reading, for example, our eighth graders’ mean score was 89. This means that their average score was better than 89% of test-takers their age around the nation. All other percentiles tell the same story, except for Spelling. Here, our eighth graders did better than 74% of the nation.
For an even more complete picture, CTBS has broken down our population into five levels. To define the differences between the levels, they give the profile of students at certain marker points within the group. The first of these is the “90th Local Percentile,” meaning the unnamed student whose score puts him above exactly 90% of the rest of our eighth grade. This student is then given a “Grade Equivalent” and a “National Percentile,” all of which are very strong.
A second level is the student at our three-quarters mark, the “75th Local Percentile” whose score puts him above 75% of our eighth grade. This student may not be in our top ten percent, but still is in the top ten percent of the country, since his National Percentiles are almost all in the mid-nineties.
The breakdowns continue to the fifth level, a student at our “10th Local Percentile.” Even students in our lowest achieving group, rates near or better than the average student across the country.