Columbia High School has received an exemplary rating for performance by the Illinois State Board of Education. (Photo courtesy of Columbia CUSD 4)

Columbia CUSD 4 tops Monroe County school districts in nearly all academic performance measures tracked by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on its 2019 School Report Cards.

However, all public-school districts in the county received good grades — “exemplary” or “commendable” – from the ISBE this year; with none rated “underperforming” or “among the lowest 10 percent in the state.”

Three of  Columbia CUSD 4’s four schools are rated exemplary this year by the ISBE. One is rated commendable.

The district has a 98 percent graduation rate, a three percent student mobility rate, a five percent chronic absenteeism rate, and a 92 percent teacher retention rate.  With $18 million in financial resources, the district has 83 percent of the capacity to meet its state-set $22 million financial adequacy target.

The district’s Columbia High School, Eagleview Elementary School and Parkview Elementary School are rated exemplary. Its Columbia Middle School is rated commendable.

ISBE 2019 School Report Cards information for other major Monroe County school districts is as follows:

Red Bud CUSD 132 (two schools) — Both of the district schools are rated commendable.  The district has a 90 percent graduation rate, an eight percent student mobility rate, a 13 percent chronic absenteeism rate and a 90 percent teacher retention rate. With $13 million in financial resources, the district has 118 percent of the capacity to meet its state-set $11 million financial adequacy target.

Waterloo CUSD 5 (five schools) — One schools is rated exemplary. Four are rated commendable. The district has a 90 percent graduation rate, a four percent student mobility rate, an eight percent chronic truancy rate, and a 93 percent teacher retention rate. With $24 million in financial resources, the district has 80 percent of the capacity to reach its state-set $29 million financial adequacy target.

Valmeyer CUSD 3 (three schools) — All three district schools are rated commendable.  The district has a 92 percent graduation rate, a four percent student mobility rate, a 10 percent chronic absenteeism rate and a 94 percent teacher retention rate. With $3.6 million in financial resources, the district has 74 percent of the capacity to meet its $4.9 million financial adequacy target.

For ISBE report card information on Millstadt CCSD 160, New Athens CUSD 60, Smithton CCSD 130 — the St. Clair County School districts serving portions of Monroe County —as well as explanations of the data tracked in the report cards, see the lead article in last week’s Metro East Chronicle.