ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION 2026 REPORT CARD

D99 CELEBRATES ACADEMIC GROWTH, EL PROGRESS, IMPROVED ATTENDANCE AND ACKNOWLEDGES ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF ‘SCIENCE OF LEARNING’ METHODOLOGY

On Friday, Oct. 30, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released its 2026 Illinois Report Card at https://bit.ly/4z8PslD.

The annual Report Card, released by the Illinois State Board of Education, provides a snapshot of school performance, highlighting areas of success as well as opportunities for continued improvement.

“Cicero District 99 is proud of students’ growth and continues to analyze ways to enhance learning outcomes for all,” said Dr. Aldo Calderin, superintendent of Cicero District 99. “Specifically, we have begun to incorporate the Science of Learning into teaching practices. District staff are planning lessons with the ‘to be remembered’ content as its focus, while ensuring that students are effortfully thinking throughout the lesson.”

‘To be remembered’ content refers to the specific information, facts, concepts or skills that an instructional design or teaching strategy intends for a learner to encode into long-term memory, rather than just passively encountering.

One key feature of the report card is the annual summative designation — a federally required descriptor based on six indicators of academic performance that shows how well each Illinois school meets the needs of its students.

Beginning with the 2026 Illinois Report Card, Illinois replaced its previous accountability designations with a new framework called Profiles of Performance. Schools are assigned one of five profile levels: Exemplary, Approaching Exemplary, Commendable, Developing or Comprehensive. Profiles of Performance recognize both strengths and opportunities for growth and are intended to support continuous improvement at every school.

In this year’s report, Cicero District 99 has: 

• 10 Commendable schools

  • Abraham Lincoln Elementary School (PK-6)

  • Cicero East Elementary School (4-6)

  • Cicero West Elementary School (PK-3)

  • Columbus East Elementary School (4-6)

  • Drexel Elementary School (K-6)

  • Goodwin Elementary School (PK-6)

  • Sherlock Elementary School (PK-6)

  • Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School (3-6)

  • Warren Park Elementary School (PK-6)

  • Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (K-6)

• 2 Developing schools

  • Columbus West Elementary School (PK-3)

  • Liberty Elementary School (PK-3)

• 1 Comprehensive school

  • Unity Junior High School (7-8)

This year’s ISBE Report Card highlights District 99’s academic growth in nine schools, while two schools — Cicero East and Cicero West — earned Approaching Exemplary. 

For EL progress, 10 schools earned Approaching Exemplary, while two schools earned Exemplary — Liberty and Warren Park. 

 In addition, 11 schools earn Commendable ratings in attendance, while two schools earned Approaching Exemplary — Sherlock and Warren Park. 

Though District 99 acknowledges it has plenty of room to grow, administrators are proud of overall growth on the path toward continued improvement of student outcomes.

 “Our commitment to the Science of Learning, the intentional use of the District 99 Planning Process to identify the ‘to-be-remembered’ content, and the power of purposeful lesson design ensures that learning is never left to chance,” Calderin said. “We are committed to ensuring that we collaboratively plan, teach with purpose and ensure that all students learn.”

All District 99 staff members are committed to ensuring the improved outcomes for all of our students now and in the future. 

We encourage families to review the full Report Card to learn more about student outcomes and school performance in Cicero District 99. The Report Card is one of many tools that can help the District community celebrate successes, understand areas for growth and support continuous improvement for all students.

Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting the success of our students and schools.