From working to increase girls’ participation in STEM fields, 1:1 technology implementation, and new curriculum in the classroom, District 204 has spent this past year improving education for the future.
But one obstacle still to overcome is the achievement gap. Despite higher than average scores overall, African American students in general scored much lower than white students on the PARCC Test.
“Almost 70 percent of African Americans are not proficient in ELA and 75 percent are not proficient in math,” said Andrea Collier, a Waubonsie Valley High School PAGES Member.
The district has found success working with individual students, but parents would like to see action on a wider scale.
One problem the board has made strides on: the lack of air conditioning in many of its elementary school classrooms.
They amended the budget this fall to push forward the completion of phase three of its plan to complete the installation of air conditioning in its elementary school classrooms, meaning 56 percent of them will be cooled by the start of the next school year.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
