For the second consecutive year, one Glen Ellyn elementary school failed to meet state performance standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Since specific groups of students at Churchill Elementary School failed to reach the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), required by the state of Illinois and the federal government, students can choose if they want to switch to a different school within Glen Ellyn School District 41.

Three student subgroups at Churchill did not meet state performance goals (AYP) for 2011: Hispanic, limited English proficiency and economically disadvantaged students, according to Julie Worthen, communications director for District 41.

These AYP requirements were put into place in 2001 under a federal law to ensure that every student makes yearly progress in learning, or essentially gets smarter each year. To achieve that goal, the No Child Left Behind Act sets the bar higher each year for testing scores. As the years pass, the requirements increase until 2014 when 100 percent of students are expected to meet or exceed these state test scores, which has become a cause for concern for school district officials. 

“We take our student growth in learning seriously and are never satisfied when any child has not learned to his/her potential. We know that Churchill is not a failing school and hearing this label used is painful to all of us,” District 41 Superintendent Ann Riebock said in an Aug. 12 letter to district parents.

Last week Riebock sent a letter to Churchill parents notifying them of their options. Under the law, school district officials must give parents the option to send their children to another school in the district since the school receives Title I funds and failed to meet the requirements for the second consecutive year. 

If parents decide to send their child to another elementary school in the district, the school system is required to provide transportation for those students, if they live outside the transportation boundaries

The deadline the for choosing another school is Aug. 22. But Worthen said parents of students in the failing subgroups will first have priority to move to another school. However, class capacity at the other schools will have to be factored into any reassignments.

“Most families are pretty happy with the school. You don’t have a lot of people who want to uproot their child,” Worthen said.

Worthen said failing AYP grades is increasingly common among schools, as they approach the 2014 requirement. And, Riebock said no school would make AYP if the 100 percent standard were in place today.

For the coming academic year, nearly every student (92.5 percent) will be required to meet or exceed state standards under the NCLB. 

Despite the failure to meet NCLB standards in those subgroups for 2011, Riebock defended the academic standards at Churchill. In the letter, Riebock said the school provides a “strong learning environment with talented teachers and committed leadership.”